Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The New WKRP in Cincinnati

 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
type
TVTItem
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
label
The New WKRP in Cincinnati
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
page
TheNewWKRPInCincinnati
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
comment
The sequel series to the classic CBS Work Com WKRP in Cincinnati, which aired for two seasons (1991–93) in First-Run Syndication. Following a new group of employees at the eponymous radio station (along with some returning original cast members), The New WKRP picked up the plot threads left over from the original series and continued them in a new decade, introducing new conflicts and situations to keep the station staff on their toes.Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump) is still the station manager of WKRP, and is still making the station an unprofitable venture due to his indecisive, bumbling demeanor. After firing his latest program director for violating FCC regulations, he recruits Donovan Aderhold (Mykelti Williamson), who works to make the station's content fresh and exciting again. To that end, he brings in several new employees, including new nighttime DJ Mona (Tawny Kitaen), in addition to maintaining longtime employees Herb Tarlek (Frank Bonner) and Les Nessman (Richard Sanders). Meanwhile, Carlson's son Arthur Jr. (Lightfield Lewis) is poised to take over the station's management after his father retires, and maintains an arrogant attitude towards the employees. Past WKRP employees also return to lend a hand from time to time, including former receptionist Jennifer Marlowe (Loni Anderson) and DJ Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman).The second season retooled the plot, and jettisoned Arthur Jr. in favor of several new cast members, including new morning DJ Razor D (French Stewart). The series ended with a cliffhanger in which Donovan – returning from another city – was onboard a plane that crashed, leaving his fate up in the air.The series was notable for following up on details left unresolved from the previous series, and picking up with former main characters who had previously left the station. The series was cancelled at the end of its second season, not due to low ratings (as it did well in syndication) but to a lack of investors that were funding the show.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
fetched
2023-08-25T07:00:50Z
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
parsed
2023-08-25T07:00:50Z
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
processingComment
Dropped link to ClipShow: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_24321e44
type
Only Sane Man
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_24321e44
comment
Donovan plays pretty much the same Only Sane Man role as Andy from the original series.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_24321e44
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_24321e44
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_24321e44
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_260926c3
type
Failure Is the Only Option
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_260926c3
comment
Failure Is the Only Option: Much like the original, the station is continually hampered by a combination of bumbling management and continuous layoffs. Any attempts to save the station end with, at best, a temporary solution, and the station is little better off at the end of the series than where it was at the beginning. The fact that the AM band was largely relegated to news in the 90's, with all of the Top 40 stations jumping ship over to FM, likely played a part as well.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_260926c3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_260926c3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_260926c3
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_5473668f
type
Logo Joke
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_5473668f
comment
Logo Joke: The MTM logo, instead of being accompanying by the standard "meow" sound, has Les saying "Ooooh!"
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_5473668f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_5473668f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_5473668f
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_754df088
type
Put on a Bus
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_754df088
comment
Put on a Bus: Almost the whole new initial cast. Dana and Ronnie left partway through the first season. Jack, Clare, and Art Jr., were written off the show at the end of the first season, and never appeared again. Mona simply disappears from the show with five episodes to go. Of the new characters, only Donovan stays with the show throughout — although he leaves near the end and the "will Donovan come back" cliffhanger is never resolved. (Buddy is also seen on occasional basis throughout the series.)
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_754df088
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_754df088
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_754df088
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_80b5924
type
Left Hanging
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_80b5924
comment
Left Hanging: The second-season finale ended with Donovan (who previously left WKRP to take another job in another city, but reconsidered and was on his way back) being onboard a plane that had just crashed. This was intended to be resolved in the next season, but the series was cancelled, leaving his fate up in the air. Syndicated repeats typically omit the final episode, leaving it so that Donovan makes the decision to leave at the end of the show.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_80b5924
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_80b5924
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_80b5924
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_8426d2ac
type
Inherently Funny Words
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_8426d2ac
comment
Inherently Funny Words: The producer of Johnny's 'KRP-inspired sitcom pilot changes Les's taped out walls to a taped out desk, because desk has a "k" in it. Supposedly, the scientific idea behind this is that words with the letter "k" are more prone to cause laughter due to the way saying the word moves the facial muscles, so this joke actually makes some sense
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_8426d2ac
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_8426d2ac
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_8426d2ac
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_927b2f11
type
The Bus Came Back
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_927b2f11
comment
The Bus Came Back: Loni Anderson (Jennifer), Howard Hesseman (Dr. Johnny Fever), and Tim Reid (Venus) all appeared in guest spots for various episodes, with Fever appearing often enough to be considered a recurring character. Oddly, the only original actors who never came back were the two whose TV careers had dried up – Gary Sandy (Andy; he basically left Hollywood to focus on stage acting) and Jan Smithers (Bailey; she mostly gave up acting after her marriage to James Brolin).
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_927b2f11
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_927b2f11
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_927b2f11
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_9d70c212
type
Sassy Secretary
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_9d70c212
comment
Sassy Secretary: Ronnie Lee, who took over Jennifer's position as receptionist.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_9d70c212
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_9d70c212
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_9d70c212
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_aa58bf92
type
Working with the Ex
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_aa58bf92
comment
Working with the Ex: Burns and Allen are exes who still work together professionally.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_aa58bf92
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_aa58bf92
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_aa58bf92
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_cbe687ab
type
Corrupt Corporate Executive
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_cbe687ab
comment
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mama Carlson, who tries to sell the station to a prospective buyer in the premiere, and generally makes the station staff's lives a living hell throughout the series.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_cbe687ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_cbe687ab
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_cbe687ab
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d1f4d528
type
Treasure Map
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d1f4d528
comment
Treasure Map: One episode has the staff go on a treasure hunt inside the station building. In a subversion of the usual sitcom version of this trope, the treasure actually exists, but they caused so much damage to the building in the process of finding it that they have to sell it to break even.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d1f4d528
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d1f4d528
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d1f4d528
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d40d7fc1
type
Hypno Fool
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d40d7fc1
comment
Hypno Fool: Arthur is hypnotized with a post-hypnotic suggestion that he's a chicken, cued by the word "Colonel", and is snapped out when he hears "Sanders." Then he has a meeting with a Russian interested in the US radio market, who is a Colonel in the Russian army. His translator is named Buck Sanders. Hilarity Ensues.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d40d7fc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d40d7fc1
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_d40d7fc1
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_e236af66
type
Who Would Want to Watch Us?
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_e236af66
comment
Who Would Want to Watch Us?: In one episode, Johnny Fever had sold a pilot based on his time working at the station, but Executive Meddling made him pull out of the project. For example: instead of This Is My Side, the Les Nessman character had real walls but a taped-out desk and sat on the floor. Because "it's funnier". After all, "desk" has a "k" in it.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_e236af66
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_e236af66
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_e236af66
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f360fc33
type
Dumbass Has a Point
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f360fc33
comment
Dumbass Has a Point: More "eccentric" than "dumbass" in the case of Razor D, who fudged his credentials when applying for WKRP. Despite Donovan being furious at the deception, Razor pointed out that Donovan didn't check the references before hiring him, putting him on the air almost immediately.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f360fc33
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f360fc33
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f360fc33
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f5a3e496
type
Suspiciously Similar Substitute
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f5a3e496
comment
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Buddy Dornster is the station's laconic, disinterested engineer. During the classic series, that role was filled by Bucky Dornster, who was played by series writer Bill Dial. The two of them were apparently brothers, and so alike that they were almost interchangeable. Donovan plays pretty much the same Only Sane Man role as Andy from the original series. Razor D is the show's attempt to create a flaky DJ character in the mold of Johnny Fever, who even passes the torch to him in one of his guest appearances.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f5a3e496
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f5a3e496
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f5a3e496
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f645ee0d
type
Never Win the Lottery
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f645ee0d
comment
Never Win the Lottery: Les reports on a lottery where several people won a large pot, and bought many extravagant items before they got the cash — only to learn later that there were so many winners that the resulting payout wasn't enough to cover the items they bought.
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f645ee0d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f645ee0d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_f645ee0d
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_name
type
ItemName
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_name
comment
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_name
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati / int_name
itemName
The New WKRP in Cincinnati

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
Aftershow / int_7d5c29f5
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
B-Team Sequel / int_7d5c29f5
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
Breakup Breakout / int_7d5c29f5
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
First-Run Syndication / int_7d5c29f5
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
Pompous Political Pundit / int_7d5c29f5
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
Treasure Hunt Episode / int_7d5c29f5
 The New WKRP in Cincinnati
hasFeature
Work Com / int_7d5c29f5