10.30 Rising Damp
11.00 WKRP In Cincinnati
Rising Damp. Season 3, Episode 3. "Clunk Click" Rigsby buys a new car.
It has some funny moments but there's nothing subtle here and - at times - it's unrecognisable as an episode of Rising Damp. It opens with a dialogue between Rigsby and Alan but, instead of a lengthy debate, we get a short exchange setting up the plot of the episode: Rigsby has a new sports car. Rigsby with a sports car? Seems to stretch credulity. As does the fact that Miss Jones immediately agrees to a date at the local Country Club. Things are going so well for Rigsby, I almost him to wake up and for it all to turn out to be a dream.
The date does not go as expected, and there is some fine comedy here (particularly from Frances de la Tour) but none of it feels remotely like RD. By the end of the episode, Philip has convinced Rigsby that he has run over his own cat. Phillip has played mean tricks on the landlord before but this one goes on far too long and doesn't generate enough laughs to justify itself.
One of the weakest episodes in the run.
WKRP In Cincinnati. Episode 68. "Clean Up Radio Everywhere" A religious group tries to censor the station's playlist.
Not many laughs in this one, but absolutely one of the very episodes of WKRP. Instead of being preachy, the story is subtle and intelligent. And everything that happens is driven by the characters. Remarkable. What should be a boring issue-driven episode, instead becomes a fantastic character-study of Arthur Carlson and an examination of his relationship with his team.
When the story opens, Carlson is a bit clueless about the big picture and agrees to the demands of Dr. Bob and his organisation. This leads to some great between Carlson and the other regulars. As the tale unfolds, Carlson slowly comes to realise what is really going on and - as a consequence - he modifys his position. The scenes using the lyrics to "Imagine" by John Lennon will make your spine tingle.
The story ends on a realistic note: Carlson digs his heels in, stands side-by-side with his DJs and - as a consequence - the station loses a lot of advertisers. These final scenes, showing Carlson first with an advertiser and then with Dr. Bob, are superb.
Highlight? WKRP (intelligent)
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Fri, Feb 13, 09 - Rising Damp, WKRP In Cincinnati
