S4E17 - "Fire"

Send a note to Allen & Donna…WELCOME BACK!!
There's a Fire in the Flimm Building!! Alliteration loving Les is happy to hear it's on the FIFTH floor! The gang was just leaving for the day as the conflagration broke out.

Herb and Jennifer made it on the elevator. They walked right past Johnny who was coming in for work...ummm...yeah, you'll need to ask Johnny about this one.

Herb and Jennie-poo wind up trapped between the 8th and 9th floors...the rest of the gang is stuck on 14.

Johnny decides, since he's got 12 hours to kill, he might as well plunge into the jaws of death...or something like that. He rides a firehose down into the elevator shaft in order to save Jennifer, Herb and the stranded car.

If this is sounding less like an episode of WKRP and more like an Irwin Allen disaster film...you'd be right! It's one of the most ambitious episodes of the series, and the last for Director Will Mackenzie. Get your popcorn, fellow babies, and push "play"...we're about to avert downtown Cincinnati from a major disaster!!

WATCH ALONG DETAILS...
[Want to watch along with us? It's a blast!! We highly recommend the 'Shout Factory' boxed DVD set of the entire WKRP series. For reasons you'll have to listen to in the "Prolog" episode, all streaming versions of the original "WKRP in Cincinnati" have had the original music cues removed. Generic music beds and stings were used in place of the original music for the syndicated version of the series. 'Shout Factory' has been able to restore an estimated 85% of all WKRP music cues to the original "as-aired" content for their DVD release. They've also restored scenes that had been cut to shorten episodes for syndication. The original eps ran 25 minutes. The syndication eps were shortened to 22 minutes. Over 88 episodes that's more than four hours of lost content, including the performance by "Detective" at the end of "Hoodlum Rock." Get the COMPLETE series...get the Shout Factory DVDs. The Shout Factory complete series box has a release date of 2014. All individual seasons of Shout Factory disks were released starting in 2015.]

The WKRP-Cast is a weekly re-watch podcast spending time with the original "WKRP in Cincinnati" which aired from 1978-82. New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hey Fellow Babies!! We talked to Gary Sandy. Don't miss our exclusive interview with Andy Travis now available from the WKRP-Cast. Wherever you get your podcasts.
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Some episodes may currently be unpublished because we are in re-runs. They will all be coming back in the next few weeks. Subscribe in your favorite Podcast Player and you'll get updates when they are re-released.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, everybody, This is Jerry Sandy and thank you very
much for listening to the wuk Rpcast.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
So just sit right down, relax, open your ears real wide.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
And say weather today in the greater Cincinnati area. Are
you awake? Are you awake now?

Speaker 3 (00:19):
But the Senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could
not explain his nudity.

Speaker 4 (00:24):
Same what Dear God, She's gonna kill us all.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Welcome to the WKRP Cast. My name is Alan Stairs.

Speaker 5 (00:31):
And I'm Donna Stair. This is the fourth and final
season of our week by week, episode by episode.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Rewatch join us for this final season as we're getting
into the music, the.

Speaker 5 (00:42):
Trivia, and the fun of WKRP.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
So, fellow babies, stay tuned and stay cool. It's time
for the WKRP Cast.

Speaker 5 (00:50):
I'm a WKRP Simpson.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Now, welcome back to the wkr peak Cast. This week
we're getting a little cluster of phobic. What is our episode, Donna.

Speaker 5 (01:05):
We're gonna be talking about fire. The air date was
March seventeenth, nineteen eighty two. Written by Dan Gunselman, executive
story consultant Lisa eleven, directed by Will McKenzie. A fire
alarm sounds just as the WKRP crew is heading home.
Herb and Jennifer are the first to leave and wind

(01:28):
up getting trapped on the elevator going down. Herb then
tells Jennifer some rumors he's been spreading about them being together.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Tonight's episode represents another time slot move. The show's been
off the last couple of weeks. No rerun, nothing, just off.
Circumstantial Evidence ran on February twenty fourth and did not
do well. It led off Wednesday's primetime at eight pm
Eastern and would finish the week as the fifty fourth

(01:59):
highest ranked program out of a total of sixty four.
It was the lead in for a show called The
Two of Us. In the nine and ten o'clock hours.
That night, CBS hosted the twenty fourth Annual Grammy Awards.
The Grammys drew a decent audience. It would be the
twenty sixth highest rated program of the week.

Speaker 5 (02:20):
WKRP then disappeared for two weeks. This seems like a
response to them showing so poorly. On Wednesday, March third,
CBS ran a special in the eight pm hour, The
Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. It was followed by
a first run TV movie called Desperate Lives. CBS is

(02:43):
struggling no matter what they run. The circus and movie
combo lose the night in a big way. The Ringling
Brothers are the forty ninth highest rated program of the week.
The movie drops to fifty third. Meanwhile, Real People on
NBCO D is number nineteen for the week and easily

(03:03):
wins the first hour of the night. In an interesting
powerhouse duo, the Lee Majors series The Fall Guy on
ABC airs at nine, followed by Dynasty at ten. Amazingly,
Dynasty and The Fall Guy tie as the fourteenth ranked
show of the week.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
The Ringling Brothers beat circumstantial evidence. So the next Wednesday,
March tenth, still no new WKRP, actually no WKRP of
any kind, not even a rerun. Dropping it completely out
of the schedule is a great way to lose what
little audience they had, thanks a lot, CBS. So instead

(03:45):
of WKRP, CBS ran back to back repeats of Get
This to Bugs Bunny cartoons in the eight o'clock hour,
and Bugs will actually beat a rerun of Greatest America
Hero So that's going to make them feel good. It's
a rerun of Real People that wins the time slot.

(04:06):
The rest of the night, CBS goes with a rerun
of a TV movie called Father Figure. It doesn't do
all that bad for a rerun, coming in at number
forty two for the week.

Speaker 5 (04:17):
This week, WKRP is back, only it's an hour later
at nine o'clock Eastern. It is now the lead in
for a show called Baker's Dozen at nine thirty Tonight
is the pilot episode of Baker's Dozen. It's a sitcom
set in a New York City police station, starring Ron
Silver and Cindy Weintraub. It's a mid season replacement that

(04:41):
lasts a total of six episodes. Don't WKRP is still
coming in third only this week. Their overall finish is
a bit better. Fire places number thirty seven out of
sixty eight shows.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
Interesting to note this time move now pitts WKRP against
NBC's The Facts of Life head to head. The episode
of Facts airing tonight, according to Hernandez, was called The
Academy in a Wow It's a Small world twist. The
Academy is one of the seventy seven episodes of Facts

(05:19):
of Life, directed by Asad Callata, so WKRP is directly
competing with Assad. Here's even more incestuous awareness. Facts of
Life is now the lead in for the Tony Randall
sitcom Loves Sydney. Many of the staff of WKRAP, including
Hugh Wilson, had worked on Tony's previous sitcom, The Tony
Randall Show. We're also pretty sure they gave both Tony

(05:42):
and Love Sidney a shout out during the episode Jennifer
and Johnny's Charity when we met Judge sid Randall.

Speaker 5 (05:51):
Don't get too comfy in this new time slot, fellow babies.
We're only here tonight, next week for Dear Liar, then
next week with the creation of Venus. After that, the
show disappears for another two weeks. Ugh CBS is brutal
on these guys. Starting in April of nineteen eighty two.

(06:14):
We get into the real end of the season weirdness
more when we get there, but for now, let's enjoy
the final directing effort from the second most prolific director
in the entire series, mister Will McKenzie. Hey, do you
smell smoke?

Speaker 1 (06:32):
I'm not gonna get to use that sound effect anymore.
Will's sound effect. I'm going to miss that. We start
this one in the lobby. Jennifer's putting on her coat
as herb enters the lobby from the door leading back
to the bullpen. No fashion alert this time. The suit
he's wearing is an old friend. It's the three piece
brown one with the chalk lines on it. Herb has
what looks to be a trench coat draped over his

(06:54):
left arm as he walks up to Jennifer.

Speaker 4 (06:56):
I joined the religion unless you have two wives.

Speaker 6 (07:00):
I want two wives.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
Jennifer grabs her collection heads for the main door of
the lobby. Herb as Jennifer if he can have a
lift home, firm.

Speaker 6 (07:09):
I don't go anywhere near your home ever.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
Jennifer leaves the lobby.

Speaker 5 (07:14):
The practice of having multiple wives is called polygamy in
the US, even though they haven't done it for more
than one hundred and twenty years. Polygamy is associated with
the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter day Saints,
or Mormons. Plural marriage was only practiced by Mormons in
the early days of the church. It was fairly common

(07:36):
in most Mormon communities by the mid eighteen hundreds. It
didn't last long By eighteen ninety, the president of the
church at the time, a guy named Wilfrid Woodruff. He
condemned the practice.

Speaker 1 (07:49):
Herbs probably not going Mormon. As of nineteen oh four,
the LDS began excommunicating anyone who practiced plural marriage. The
only world religion to still permit multiple wives is Islam.
Herb had better check into this closely before he makes
any big moves. Even though the practice of multiple wives

(08:11):
is allowed by Islam, it's not encouraged. Muslim men can
take up two four wives, though of course Muslim women
can never marry multiple husbands.

Speaker 5 (08:22):
Mister Carlson comes out of his office just as Bailey
enters the lobby. She's coming from the direction of the bullpen.
Bailey tells mister Carlson, good night, good.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
Night, Bailey Bush, what oops.

Speaker 5 (08:36):
Even though Art has a reputation for napping in his office,
it's not something you should mention to him.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
We cut to the elevator out in the hallway of
the fourteenth floor. This is a brand news set for us.
We've heard people talk about writing the elevator. We've always
known we're on the fourteenth floor, but this is the
first time we've actually seen the elevators. HERB has caught
up to Jenny.

Speaker 7 (09:00):
The seal tell me not to come home tonight.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
I want you to know that.

Speaker 1 (09:06):
The elevator door is open, and we see Johnny leaning
on the railing inside the elevator. He's turned with his
back to the elevator door. Jennifer asked Johnny what he's
doing here.

Speaker 4 (09:18):
I overslept.

Speaker 6 (09:19):
I'm late, Johnny. It's five thirty pm.

Speaker 8 (09:24):
Corny.

Speaker 6 (09:25):
No, you're not on the air for twelve and a
half hours.

Speaker 1 (09:31):
Doctor Fever off by twelve and a half hours. Jennifer
goes ahead and gets on the elevator with HERB and
Johnny has gotten off.

Speaker 5 (09:40):
The elevator doors begin to close, and we hear Bailey
yell hold as she comes running around the corner. But
it's too late. The doors have already closed. Mister Carlson
is right behind Bailey. He's not letting her comment go.

Speaker 1 (09:54):
And let me tell you something, gil shot, lady, I
get a lot of work done behind that closed door.

Speaker 5 (09:58):
Bailey turns to mister car Carlson and apologizes, saying her
mind is on getting to the bank.

Speaker 9 (10:04):
You see, if I don't deposit my paycheck, I'll have
checks bouncing all over town like little rubber balls.

Speaker 1 (10:10):
Wow. Remember checks, checks? Yeah, checks, We've still got them,
But the use of paper checks is going the way
of snail mail. You might recall bouncing a check means
you wrote it for more than what you knew you
had in the bank at the time. Bailey's trying to
cover checks she's written before they get back to her bank. Now,
in the days before digital processing and digital transfer of funds,

(10:33):
there could be up to ten days between when you
wrote a check and when the funds were actually deducted
from your account.

Speaker 5 (10:41):
These days, the period from writing to redemption is not
nearly so long. It is still possible to bounce a check,
but it can cost you up to one hundred dollars
in fees on top of the cost of the check,
plus bouncing a check can impact your FICO score. The
term bouncing for bad checks was first used in the

(11:02):
US in the nineteen twenties. The term refers to a
check that bounces back to the person who tried to
cash it. Bad checks are also referred to as rubber
checks in the banking industry.

Speaker 1 (11:14):
Johnny is leaning on the wall next to the elevator.
He's punching the down button over and over.

Speaker 4 (11:20):
Anybody want to get breakfast?

Speaker 1 (11:22):
We can hear sirens from outside, and they're getting closer.
Art notices Johnny for the first time, and he asks
what he's doing at the station.

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Oh, I came in a little early this.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
Morning, Johnny flashes Carlson a smile.

Speaker 5 (11:38):
Mister Carlson hears the sirens. He and Bailey run to
the window at the end of the hallway.

Speaker 10 (11:43):
The fireg what wow, a whole bunch of them.

Speaker 5 (11:48):
Carlson is as excited as a little kid. He and
Bailey are peering out between the blinds, looking down at
the street. Mister Carlson tells Bailey there was a time
in his life when he couldn't wait to become a fireman,
so I.

Speaker 3 (12:02):
Could slide down that brass pole, then, you know, guide
that hook in latter truck and feed that little spot.

Speaker 5 (12:09):
Mister Carlson notices some of the sirens have stopped. It
must be close, and Bailey pulled the blinds apart on
the window and peer down again.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
Bailey says she doesn't see a fire Art tells her
to watch which way the trucks turn. Well, the trucks
don't turn.

Speaker 10 (12:25):
They're stopping right in front of the building downstairs.

Speaker 1 (12:29):
Bailey turns and runs over to Johnny.

Speaker 6 (12:31):
Johnny, do you smell smoke.

Speaker 8 (12:34):
Me?

Speaker 3 (12:36):
When I came through the lobby, it was real kind of.

Speaker 1 (12:39):
Foggy, and he was half asleep anyway, So Bailey doesn't
nervous giggle as she sniffs the air. As the gang
waits by the elevator, we head into our Themek sens.

Speaker 5 (12:59):
We come back from our first break and we're in
the studio. Since we're in the studio, we've got to
pause for a quick poster watch. We only have a
couple of new things to talk about this week.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
First off, up high on the door coming into the studio,
is a poster for the new album from sax player
and jazz virtuoso Grover Washington Junior. It's called Come Morning.
This is the first album after his phenomenal nineteen eighty
one release Wine Light and the number two hit single

(13:32):
Just the Two of Us. Now the magic doesn't last
for Grover. There is a single from this one, but
it barely cracks the hot one hundred. Be Mine, with
vocals from Grady Tait, goes to number ninety two just
a month before this episode aired.

Speaker 8 (13:50):
Be Mine to No Time, It's Right for You.

Speaker 10 (14:01):
And.

Speaker 5 (14:02):
Too Too Good to the right of Grover Washington over
the Cincinnati Map as a poster promoting George Carlin's return
to the stage is nineteen eighty one comedy album A
Place for My Stuff.

Speaker 3 (14:17):
That's all you need in life, A little place for
your stuff. That's all Your house is a place to
keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff,
you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around
all the time. A house is just a pile of
stuff with a cover on it. You can see that

(14:41):
when you're taking off on an airplane. You look down
and you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff,
all the little piles of stuff. And when you leave
your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody
to come by and take some of your stuff. They
always take the good stuff. They never bothered with that
crap you' saving. All they want is the shiniest stuff.

Speaker 5 (15:04):
This was Carlin's ninth studio album. Unlike his previous releases,
this one was not entirely stand up. Some of the
bits were studio recorded tracks, usually poking fun at the
formats of community radio and TV.

Speaker 1 (15:20):
I remember seeing him do that bit place for my
stuff on Johnny Carson. He had to clean it up though,
because I listened to it to get it for the
show today, and there are some bad words in there
that he couldn't say on Johnny. He edited those out.
So as we fade up in the studio, venuses on
the air. We hear never too much by Luther Vandros

(15:41):
playing as Venus reads from a book.

Speaker 11 (15:44):
The time of transition is a pun us when the
warmth of day fails to the cool blue of night.
At five thirty three on Friday, this is Venus, my children,
coming to you from the top of the flim building,
with a beacon of love shining ever so bright, afraid
of the darkness.

Speaker 1 (16:01):
Since we caught Venus slipping Shakespeare in on Us, we
did do a search on this passage. We couldn't find
a specific author. Venus flips the lever to start one
of the turntables. Nothing happens. He sits and stares at
the turntable for a second, then begins flipping the lever
back and forth quickly, because that's gonna help.

Speaker 5 (16:26):
New York Soul and R and B singer Luther Vandros
put out fourteen albums in his short lifetime. The song
Venus Comes out Of is the very first single from
the very first Luther Vandros album, Never Too Much, was
the name of both the single and the album, released
in October of nineteen eighty one. It was written, composed, produced,

(16:49):
and performed by Van DROs.

Speaker 12 (16:51):
Oh Abou is this from them? Stale Us Up?

Speaker 5 (17:12):
The single dominates the hip hop and R and B charts.
It will peak at number thirty three on the US
Hot one hundred. Van DROs receives two Grammy nominations in
nineteen eighty two on the basis of this album Best
New Artist and Best R and B Vocal Performance Male.
This song is ranked at number four hundred sixty six

(17:35):
on the Rolling Stone list of five hundred Greatest Songs
of all Time. Vandros, who suffered from both diabetes and hypertension,
died in two thousand and five at the age of
fifty four.

Speaker 1 (17:49):
When the turntable lever doesn't work, Venus begins spinning the
turntable by hand. This isn't a great idea and still
does nothing. He continues flipping the lever repeat heatedly as
he talks into the mic.

Speaker 4 (18:02):
Yes, the darkness, what usually happens at night?

Speaker 1 (18:06):
Venus begins pushing the turntable around again with his hand.

Speaker 8 (18:10):
A time of a night.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
Day, Thus a cycle, a cycle that repeats itself, night
after night after night. What a better time than to
repeat that other song, the one you just heard again.

Speaker 1 (18:25):
Venus starts the other turntable, Never too Much begins playing again.

Speaker 4 (18:30):
Down this chunk oh.

Speaker 5 (18:33):
Venus realizes his mic is still on.

Speaker 4 (18:35):
Sorry, my children.

Speaker 5 (18:38):
The door to the studio opens and Andy walks in quick.
Andy's wearing nice gray pants, a collared shirt with a tie,
and a knit v neck vest with a dark blue jacket.
He appears to be in a very pleasant mood.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
This turntable is stuck again, Andy on Friday night. Yeah,
blew my whole sege.

Speaker 1 (18:58):
Venus begins taking the turntable apart. Turntable is a pretty
simple device. There's one motor turning the platter, and either
that motor is working or it isn't. If it isn't,
like now, pretty much all you can do is replace
the motor. Andy tells Venus he'll deal with it on Monday.

Speaker 10 (19:15):
Right now, I got to rush somewhere to meet someone
to do something that is more important than.

Speaker 4 (19:19):
The invention of ready would SLLL.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
Hey, hey, hey, hey, Andy is just dying to tell
Venus about his weekend plans. Venus is pretty agitated about
the turntable not working.

Speaker 2 (19:32):
I had to same time to the second man, I'm
like fever, I prepare for my show.

Speaker 1 (19:36):
Monday, Monday.

Speaker 6 (19:37):
I got big plans this weekend.

Speaker 1 (19:40):
Andy stands for a bit. He's waiting for Venus to
ask him about his plans. Venus doesn't take de bait.
He's too involved with the whole fixing the turntable thing. Okay,
I'll take you as much, and he pulls the stool
up next to Venus and has a seat. Involves an airplane,
breathing apparatus and a young woman.

Speaker 5 (19:59):
This sounds it's like some kind of a serial killer scenario.
Venus turns to look at Andy just as the studio
door opens and less steps in.

Speaker 13 (20:09):
And now a special look at this episode's bandage placement
for the five time Buckeye Newshawk Award winner, less Ness Men.

Speaker 1 (20:16):
This is the less Nessman bandage Report.

Speaker 13 (20:19):
Now here's Donna Stair with her report hop out less
Ness Men.

Speaker 5 (20:25):
Just above right wrist.

Speaker 13 (20:26):
This has been a look at the bandage placement boys,
Silver Sow and Copper Cobb Award winning journalist less nessman.

Speaker 5 (20:35):
Less flips on the lights and musters all the authority
he can manage.

Speaker 4 (20:39):
This relinquisher show.

Speaker 5 (20:41):
Venus tells Less to be cool. He is not in
the mood. We get the feeling. Let's pull stuff like
this on a regular basis. Less looks at Andy.

Speaker 10 (20:50):
Andy, if you don't make him relinquish a show, I
won't be responsible.

Speaker 4 (20:53):
You're not responsible, Less, I'm the news director. The building's
on fire. The building's on fire.

Speaker 5 (21:00):
Less begins jumping up and down as he says this.
Venus turns to Less, telling him that's a cheap trick.
He thinks Less is just going for attention. Andy continues
talking about his weekend plans.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
Mackenzie's kind of going for medcap on his last one,
isn't he It's some funny stuff happening. Less reaches over
from behind Venus and just grabs the mic. Andy, totally
oblivious to the mayhem in front of him, just keeps talking.
Venus grabs the mic back, and he unless begin a
tug of war to gain possession of the microphone.

Speaker 3 (21:35):
Stewards has taken Old Travis to the behind stud the
whole weekend of nothing but snorkeling.

Speaker 5 (21:42):
I'm Howie refers to himself in the third person.

Speaker 1 (21:45):
Yes, and he's just oblivious to the battle going on
in front of him. Less puts his mouth down by
the mic as he and Venus continue to struggle. Less
is still trying to make this alliteration thing his news signature.

Speaker 10 (22:02):
Flames phil fitth floor, Flim Building, fireman fight first conflagration.

Speaker 1 (22:05):
Okay, now this gets Andy's attention. He looks at Less.
Less repeat what he just said, only with more emphasis.

Speaker 4 (22:13):
Flames phil fitthlor Flim Building.

Speaker 5 (22:15):
We kept back to the elevator hallway. Mister Carlson is
still at the window looking out.

Speaker 4 (22:21):
I don't see flames anywhere.

Speaker 5 (22:22):
Bailey asks Johnny if he saw anything when he came in.

Speaker 4 (22:26):
Bailey, when I hear sirens, I don't look back.

Speaker 1 (22:31):
You remember that little life lesson book that the dad
wrote to his son. It was like each page was
one thing. Could you imagine Johnny writing one of those
life lessons from Johnny? If you hear sirens, never look back.
That's page thirty three.

Speaker 8 (22:45):
How about it?

Speaker 4 (22:45):
Said chili parlor next door. They've been begging for a.

Speaker 1 (22:47):
Fun so Art mentioned the chili parlor next door. We'd
have never given a thought to this line until we
visited Cincinnati. Chili is a huge part of the fabric
and culture of Cincinnati. If you've never been, you can't
understand what an enormous impact this one dish has had
on the entire area. Cincinnati is the home of Skyline ChIL,

(23:11):
founded in nineteen forty nine by Greek immigrant Nicholas Lamborghinis.
Skyline Chili is an addictive and integral part of the
entire area. The skyline they're referring to in the name
is the skyline of Cincinnati. There are seemingly dozens of
Skyline Chili locations throughout the city. And yes, one of

(23:33):
them is a block neighbor to the Cincinnati Enquirer Building
aka the Flim Building.

Speaker 5 (23:40):
And we eight at that Skyline Chili twice.

Speaker 1 (23:42):
Yes, we did during our business It was dannylicious.

Speaker 5 (23:45):
That's why we went twice. Andy comes quickly around the corner,
happy to see them.

Speaker 4 (23:50):
Andy, there's a fire in a building right on his block. Yeah,
I know, we're in it.

Speaker 6 (23:54):
Huh we are We can't be. I've got to get
to the bag.

Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, I've got twelve and a half hours to kill me.

Speaker 4 (24:00):
I go, where's it?

Speaker 8 (24:01):
I've got to go.

Speaker 5 (24:01):
Andy holds up his hand to quiet them. He says,
so far the fire is contained to the fifth floor.
He suggests they all keep their heads about this, and.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
On cue Venus comes running around the corner.

Speaker 10 (24:15):
Goodbye all these Wait wait a minute, Venus, shit's quitting time.

Speaker 1 (24:18):
Man Venus is poking at the elevator buttons frantically. Although
he easily has a couple of hours left on his ship.

Speaker 4 (24:28):
It's okay, less, it's on the air.

Speaker 2 (24:29):
He's interviewing a fireman.

Speaker 4 (24:30):
Did you know he's nuts?

Speaker 1 (24:34):
Yeah, i'd agree with that, Andy has Venus if he
knows you're not supposed to take an elevator during a fire.
They all begin talking at once. Bailey has had a knock.

Speaker 6 (24:45):
Said, now, who volunteered to be firewarden on this floor?

Speaker 8 (24:49):
Now?

Speaker 6 (24:49):
Who is supposed to know what to do?

Speaker 1 (24:51):
Bailey crosses her arms and waits for a response.

Speaker 5 (24:55):
Mister Carlson clears his throat. Of course, the guy who
wanted to to be a fireman as a kid, of
course he'd jump at being fire warden. If it hadn't
been Art, we'd have pegged less for the job. I
feel safe, mister Carlson begins telling them all what to
do and how to do it.

Speaker 4 (25:13):
They will all exit via the fire stack.

Speaker 5 (25:15):
They run toward the stairway door.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
Wait a minute.

Speaker 14 (25:18):
First of all, you gotta take the precaution of feeling
that door to be sure that it's not warm.

Speaker 4 (25:22):
Andy.

Speaker 5 (25:25):
Andy opens the fire door. Smoke immediately comes pouring out.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
Oh, I don't know, he's the warp.

Speaker 5 (25:32):
Now, let's take a look at Venus's Viban threads. Venus
is not really all that Viban, not this week. He's
looking good, but not spectacular. He's wearing a gray sweatshirt
over a collared shirt and some gray slacks. Venus always
does layers well. The graphic on the sweatshirt is interesting.

(25:56):
It's a blinged out version of the iconic front end
of a seventies Rolls Royce silver shadow. The distinctive vertical
grill is a signature of this era of Rolls. If
you could zoom in on the license plate, you'd see
it says Rolls Royce in all.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
Caps, pointing to the one fire door, tells them. This
is it. Bailey is panicking.

Speaker 6 (26:26):
Why isn't there supposed to be another one?

Speaker 1 (26:29):
Yeah, Johnny speaks up.

Speaker 2 (26:31):
I may not know exactly what's going on here, but
I do know this. The elevator is safe because Herb
and Jennifer we're getting on when I got off, and
they are not trapped up here. They are safe.

Speaker 5 (26:40):
Johnny's logic aside the elevator is a bad idea. You've
seen the signs next to the elevators do not use
in case of a fire. There are a couple of
very important reasons for this rule. First and foremost is power.
Elevators run on electricity. One of the first things to
go out in any building fire is the power. It

(27:04):
will either be shorted by the fire or cut by
the fire department. You don't want to be stuck between
floors when the power goes out. The other concern is
the nature of an elevator shaft. The shaft acts like
a chimney through the building. Wherever the fire is in
the building, smoke and heat will find its way to
the elevator shaft as a way to vent You definitely

(27:27):
don't want to be in the way of the fire
as it's venting.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
We transition to another new set. This time we're inside
the elevator, where HERB is now on the phone. Jennifer
is swaying back and forth, tapping her clutch with her hand.
HERB hangs up the phone and smiles at Jennifer.

Speaker 4 (27:46):
We should be together to sign from God.

Speaker 1 (27:51):
Jennifer's not buying it.

Speaker 6 (27:53):
Dial again.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
A confine her picks up the phone and dials. Holding
the phone out to Jennifer, he says he I can't even.

Speaker 4 (28:04):
Get a ringing sound downstairs.

Speaker 1 (28:06):
He hangs up again, Looking at Jennifer, he walks a
little closer to her.

Speaker 4 (28:11):
We could be alone here all night.

Speaker 6 (28:15):
Impossible.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
She asked HERB if he had something to do with this.
As she dials the phone.

Speaker 6 (28:21):
Penus is still in his office.

Speaker 4 (28:23):
Didn't even dream anything. That's good.

Speaker 5 (28:25):
If you think you're feeling some deja vus, you're right.
Getting trapped in an elevator is so common in sitcoms
it's regarded as a sitcom trope. In a Cracked magazine
article called six Weird things that always happen in Sitcoms,
the number one thing is getting trapped in an elevator.
Archie was trapped on All in the Family and his

(28:48):
elevator mates were somewhat ethnic Saved by the Bell and
Give Me a Break both did elevator episodes. Night Court,
which was on the air for eleven seasons, went back
to the stuck in an elevator well for three different
episodes over the course of eleven years.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
Even those sitcom characters are getting trapped in elevators all
the time, it's really not that common an occurrence. Engineering
firm KJA calculated the odds of somebody being trapped in
an elevator. They determined this based on someone who takes
an elevator and average of eight times a day. If

(29:29):
you live and work in buildings with elevators, this isn't
hard to do. Your chances of getting stuck riding an
average of eight times a day, or about two hundred
and fifty times a month, are one in five thousand
each month. Over twenty five years of consistent riding, the
average goes down to about one in seventeen. Now, this

(29:50):
means a city dweller who rides daily has about a
six percent chance of getting trapped in an elevator at
least once in their entire higher lifetime. When it comes
to urban injuries per capita. Stairs and escalators are far
more dangerous than elevators.

Speaker 5 (30:09):
It rarely happens, but getting trapped in an elevator does happen.
The record for the longest entrapment in an elevator belongs
to a manhattanite named Nicholas White. In nineteen ninety nine,
Nick spent an entire weekend forty one total hours in
his office building's elevator. It wasn't an emergency or a

(30:32):
technical failure, it was just bad luck. Nick was working
late and decided to go down for a smoke on
a Friday evening. In a case of horribly bad timing,
the car was shut down for maintenance as he was
headed back up after a cigarette. The others working late
with him thought he'd skipped out on him. When he

(30:54):
didn't come back, they left for the weekend without saying anything.
Nick's forty one hour ordeal was caught on tape by
security cameras, and a time lapse of it is available
on YouTube.

Speaker 1 (31:05):
I only made it through about five hours of the
time lapse. I can't imagine having lived that. We cut
to a shot of Jennifer's phone on her desk, ringing.
Andy runs into the lobby and he picks it up.
It's Jennifer. She tells Andy she and HERB are stuck
in the elevator on the eighth floor. Andy tells her,

(31:25):
they know.

Speaker 10 (31:26):
Look, what we're trying to do is pri open the
elevator doors to make sure you're clear the fire, telling
him this is no hurry.

Speaker 1 (31:31):
Jennifer tells her to be quiet.

Speaker 6 (31:33):
What fire?

Speaker 4 (31:34):
Fire?

Speaker 1 (31:35):
Do you remember they got on before the truck survived.
Andy tries to calm Jennifer, telling her it's just a
little smoldering down on five. He's sure it's out by now.

Speaker 6 (31:46):
Can't you go down and check?

Speaker 1 (31:47):
Andy hesitates and tells her they're trapped on the fourteenth floor.

Speaker 5 (31:52):
Andy tells Jennifer less has a fire official on the
phone and he's going to go talk with him. He
says he'll get someone to stay on the line with her.
Andy hasks if the elevator doors are warm. They are not.
HERB is starting to get a little panicky. Andy tells
Jennifer she and HERB should try to pry open the
elevator doors and pop out onto the floor they are between.

Speaker 8 (32:15):
Pop Out.

Speaker 1 (32:18):
Pop out does not ring well with Jennifer. So Venus
comes into the lobby with a fire hose wrapped around
his shoulders, a little like a cape, or really more
like a boa. Venus tells Andy they got the doors open.
Andy asks Venus what he's doing. Venus looks down at
the water hose.

Speaker 11 (32:37):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (32:38):
I just feel better with it.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
Andy says, Jennifer's on the other end of the line
as he hands Venus the receiver. Venus is to keep
this line open while Andy goes to talk with the
fire guy and.

Speaker 4 (32:53):
Mister Carlo said everything is all right. Well that does
not mean anything.

Speaker 5 (32:57):
Andy tells Venus that Jennifer and herb are a little tense,
so nobody. Venus takes the phone from Andy. As Andy
heads out of the lobby, Venus puts the phone to
his ear.

Speaker 4 (33:09):
Hey, how's it going.

Speaker 1 (33:13):
We transition to the studio where loyal and possibly crazy
newsman Les Nesman is on the mic interviewing a fireman.

Speaker 10 (33:22):
So, if I'm may paraphrase you, Officer Shanks, for my
great many listeners, you allege that this raging sea of
flame is contained on the fifth floor, and that all
those in danger of the burning morass have supposedly been
evacuated and that no one theoretically has been hurt.

Speaker 1 (33:40):
The firefighter tells him, yeah, something like that. He begins
to talk about sprinklers, but Less interrupts him.

Speaker 10 (33:49):
Officer Shanks explain fire.

Speaker 5 (33:53):
Andy has come into the studio. Andy taps Less on
the arm and motions for him to play a cart.

Speaker 4 (33:58):
Exactly why do things burn?

Speaker 1 (34:00):
What kind of radio station is this?

Speaker 5 (34:02):
Andy puts the cart in the control board and pushes
a button. He's taken Less off the air. Sounds like
you should have done that a long time ago, it perturbed,
Less turns Andy. Andy takes the phone from the control
board and addresses the officer. Andy tells the officer they
are not on the air. The officer asks Andy if
this is a prank. Andy tells him no, it's just lessnessimate.

Speaker 10 (34:27):
No, so this is Andy Travis, program director of WKRP Radio.

Speaker 1 (34:30):
Less picks up the wall phone by the studio door
so he can listen in. Andy tells the officer they
are on the fourteenth floor of the FLIM building.

Speaker 6 (34:38):
You're kidding if people ought to get out of there.

Speaker 1 (34:42):
Andy tells the officer there's a lot of smoke and
the fire exit steps or they would. The officer tells
Andy there shouldn't be He explained, someone probably propped open
the door on the fifth floor. Less tells Andy not
to worry.

Speaker 4 (34:56):
They got ladders, not to the fourteenth floor.

Speaker 1 (35:00):
If they have a helicopters, not to speak of mets.
The officer tells him to Wendy. So after all of
this negative news, the officer tells them they'll be fine,
just sit tight and stay low.

Speaker 5 (35:15):
At the mention of stay low, Less drops to the floor.
Andy explains to the officer there are two people trapped
in the elevator between the eighth and ninth floors. The
officer tells Andy they will get some men up to
the elevator to help.

Speaker 4 (35:29):
How about if one of us could figure out a
way to get down to them from up here.

Speaker 6 (35:32):
Well, I can't officially advise you to do something.

Speaker 5 (35:34):
Like that, right, Andy tells the officer he understands, thanks him,
and hangs up. He heads out of the studio. He
has to step over Less as he leaves the studio.

Speaker 1 (35:45):
Even after the extensive conversation this officer has with both
Less and Andy, whoever's doing this voice does not get
a credit. I mean large Marge who talked for twenty
seconds to Less through the wall of the condo or
the wall of the duplex, and she got a credit
because she's a large March. She's large March. But this

(36:06):
poor person gets no credit. Now, I kind of think
it's possibly Stephen Kampman. He's done voices on the show
in the past. He does have performance experience, and he's
easily accessible to them.

Speaker 5 (36:20):
That's some guy they just grabbed off the street.

Speaker 1 (36:22):
Yeah, somebody out of the audience, because you come down
here and read these lines please. So I was curious
enough about who's on the phone, I decided to throw
it to Max. Max Tash is the coordinating producer in
season four, and he's the man whose name appears in
the WKRP credits second only to Hugh Wilson throughout the
run of the show. Max no stuff, and he allows

(36:43):
us to bug him now and then about WKRP tech
behind the scenes. According to Max, the guy on the
phone is episode director Will McKenzie. Will is such a
force as a director it's easy to forget he's also
an actor and was an actor way before he started directing.
Will has twenty one IMDb credits as an actor stretching

(37:05):
all the way back to nineteen sixty four. Thanks Max
for that tech.

Speaker 5 (37:09):
Inside, after Andy is out of the studio, we see
the DJ chair roll to the side of the shot.
The headphones from the control table are pulled off onto
the floor. Lessa's arm appears. He blindly turns the volume
up on the control board. We hear the end of
a commercial. Less's head pops up over the edge of

(37:31):
the console and he grabs the mic.

Speaker 4 (37:33):
This is les Nesman, We're back.

Speaker 1 (37:36):
We cut it back inside the elevator, where herb is
having trouble breathing as he loosens his tithes vault.

Speaker 7 (37:45):
Why couldn't this been made in a foreign country by
people who don't know what they're doing.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
Why Jennifer still has the phone to her ear.

Speaker 6 (37:53):
Getting stuff in here? Isn't it getting stuffy in here?

Speaker 4 (37:56):
Jennifer, I don't want to die in the suit.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
Andy begins to tell her something when the line goes dead.

Speaker 4 (38:04):
Hello.

Speaker 1 (38:07):
Andy looks at Venus with a worried expression.

Speaker 5 (38:09):
Venus asks what the officer said. Andy told him. He
said everything was fine. Andy looks at the water hose
Venus is carrying.

Speaker 4 (38:17):
Give me that thing.

Speaker 5 (38:18):
Venus steps away from Andy. Andy takes the end of
the hose and begins walking to the door. There was
no problem, Andy tells him, there isn't. Andy and Venus
begin to struggle. In a hilarious visual, we watch Andy
drag Venus, who is still holding on to the hose,
across the office floor and out the lobby door.

Speaker 1 (38:40):
And I love that Venus grabs whatever that thing is sitting.
It's like a message center sitting on the edge of Jennifer's.

Speaker 5 (38:46):
Desk, two trays or whatever.

Speaker 1 (38:48):
And it's not mounted to anything.

Speaker 5 (38:50):
First thing he saw.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
It has no weight to it. It's like he's hooking
his arm around something that's mounted to the floor, but
it just comes right off with him. So back in
the elevator, we are cutting around a lot. Jennifer is
tapping the disconnect lever as she holds the receiver to
her ear. Herb is now visibly distraught. He's pushed his

(39:12):
face up to the elevator door and he's yelling. His
mouth is right where the door is meeting. Jennifer decides
she needs to calm Herb down. She begins talking as
if there's someone on the other end of the line.

Speaker 6 (39:28):
I understand Andy, and Herb.

Speaker 1 (39:31):
Is in a panic. He puts his head next to
Jennifer's and pushes his mouth up to the receiver.

Speaker 6 (39:37):
We have nothing to worry about, her Sure.

Speaker 5 (39:39):
Herb has taken off his jacket. He's panting, trying to Breathe.

Speaker 6 (39:44):
Really, the fire is out.

Speaker 5 (39:46):
It is She returns to her fake phone call.

Speaker 9 (39:49):
Well, yes, it was quite a scare, but Herb calmed
me down.

Speaker 6 (39:53):
He's quite a hero.

Speaker 5 (39:54):
Herb is frantically unbuttoning his vest.

Speaker 4 (39:57):
I'm pretty used to disasters.

Speaker 6 (39:58):
Andy. We'll just wait here and relax.

Speaker 5 (40:02):
Then, Herb seems to be undressing.

Speaker 6 (40:05):
If you don't have to take anything else off.

Speaker 5 (40:08):
Reaching for the phone, Herb asks to talk with Andy.

Speaker 6 (40:11):
Andy, Herb would like to talk to you.

Speaker 5 (40:13):
Oh okay, Jennifer hands the receiver to Herb. He put
us on hold, quick thinking on Jennifer's park.

Speaker 1 (40:19):
Back up on fourteen, Bailey has wedge day Broom in
the elevator doors, forcing them to stay open. Johnny's bending
over and looking down the elevator's shaft. Just be careful, Johnny,
It's it's all the way down. Venus and Andy come
running around the corner with the fire hose Andy begins
hollering out his plan.

Speaker 4 (40:37):
Oh, here's the deal. I put a little loop in
this hose.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
Here're going to lower someone down to the top of
the elevator.

Speaker 1 (40:41):
There's a trap door there. We'll ok not the trap door.

Speaker 4 (40:43):
Get them both out of there.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
Bailey looks at Andy.

Speaker 9 (40:46):
About you said we had nothing to worry about, right, Sure?

Speaker 4 (40:49):
Hi, who's passenger?

Speaker 5 (40:51):
No one speaks.

Speaker 1 (40:53):
I thought of the idea.

Speaker 4 (40:54):
I did my part.

Speaker 2 (40:56):
Okay, I want to go.

Speaker 4 (40:58):
Do you know what you were saying? It's a possibility.

Speaker 8 (41:00):
Sure?

Speaker 4 (41:01):
Who else have you got?

Speaker 5 (41:03):
Johnny takes off his coat and sunglasses.

Speaker 1 (41:05):
Now I want to go.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
Look, it's a chance to leap into the jaws of death.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
What a great way to start a morning.

Speaker 8 (41:10):
Come on.

Speaker 5 (41:10):
Johnny takes the hose and begins to figure out how
to get into it like a sling. Venus grabs the
hose from Johnny. You can't let him do this, and
he points at Venus.

Speaker 4 (41:21):
Are you volunteering? Well, I mean, if his heart set
on it.

Speaker 5 (41:25):
Venus hands the hose back to Johnny.

Speaker 1 (41:27):
When it comes down to it, as a quick as side.
If you should ever get in a situation like Johnny,
hopefully that never happens, but should you. There is something
important you need to know the way passenger elevators are designed.
If they fail, the car shoots up. It is almost
impossible for an elevator to plunge thanks to multiple breaking systems,

(41:50):
one of them invented by elisha Otis in eighteen fifty three.
In addition to breaks which stop the car mechanically in
the shaft, there there is a counterweight designed to pull
the car up. If everything else goes wrong, the car
will shoot up. So getting in the shaft above a
stalled car like Johnny's doing would be much more dangerous

(42:13):
than coming at it from beneath.

Speaker 9 (42:15):
Wait a minute, you said that we need somebody who's
in great physical shape.

Speaker 5 (42:19):
Johnny hands the hose over to Bailey. Mister Carlson takes
the hose, saying he'll go. Andy takes the hose from
mister Carlson's.

Speaker 4 (42:26):
Well, go with Johnny.

Speaker 5 (42:27):
Johnny steps into the hose. The others form a line
and hold on as Johnny begins lowering himself down the
elevator shaft. There is a lot of groaning and moaning
the way to Kansas. Johnny's head disappears below the level
of the floor. As he works his way.

Speaker 1 (42:45):
Down, Wells comes running around the corner and he tells
him not now. The gang is still straining to lower Johnny.
Should we call somebody last He also announced that they
were off the air when they were off the yes, yeah,
so that's Less. He tells them he thought the fireman

(43:05):
had hung up on him. He's glad to know that
the phones are actually dead, so Less looks down the
elevator shaft and casually waves Hi Johnny. Suddenly the lights
go out. There is a loud noise and we see Andy,
Mister Carlson, Venus, and Bailey all getting pulled towards the
elevator opening. We cut to inside the elevator shaft, where

(43:28):
we see Johnny drop several feet. He stops quickly with
a little laugh. Then Johnny looks around dangling. Screen fades
to black and we head to a commercial.

Speaker 5 (43:42):
Now, the broom popped out of the elevator doors, right,
so the broom is gone too.

Speaker 1 (43:47):
And the broom fell down the elevator shaft. So it's
didn't hit Johnny, I guess, but it's somewhere down there.

Speaker 5 (43:54):
We come back from commercial break to find Johnny swinging
from the fire hose and singing his own version of
Somewhere over the Rainbow holl We can hear arguing from above,
lie down two more flowers, guys. Les is now holding
a large flashlight, the ones with the big square six

(44:16):
volt battery. He's shining it and everyone's faces. He's hidden
in my desk.

Speaker 10 (44:21):
I'm always here for the worst.

Speaker 5 (44:23):
Bailey Venus, Andy and mister Carlson are struggling to hang
on to the hose. Mister Carlson is trying to find
a place to tie it off. Les is just so
infatuated with his big flashlight. He's not much help. He
puts his hand over the lighted end and looks at it.

Speaker 10 (44:41):
Look, it's so bright you can see through my head.

Speaker 8 (44:44):
Right.

Speaker 1 (44:45):
Remember having one of those lights like Les has as
a kid, and when you put a new six volt
cell in it, that big battery, you get really bright
light for maybe twenty minutes, and then the battery fades.
But I remember doing what Less doing once, and I
was able to see the veins in the webbing of

(45:06):
my thumb. I am just amazed watching this, thinking about
the new sets that we're dealing with, and all the props,
the hoes and all the stuff they're having to deal with.
Dangling Johnny.

Speaker 5 (45:22):
I mean mckennay is really dangling, really dadless. It's not
a stunt.

Speaker 1 (45:26):
Double mackenzie is going out big here. This is when
you think about the production values and the work that
have that's gone into creating this episode. It is really
a lot happening here. Johnny was singing his own version
of the Academy Award winning Somewhere over the Rainbow. It
was written for the soundtrack to the nineteen thirty nine

(45:48):
film The Wizard of Oz and was sung by the star,
sixteen year old Judy Garland.

Speaker 8 (46:00):
Well that I heard won't.

Speaker 1 (46:12):
Although this song has become an institution, it almost didn't
make it into the film. Louis B. Mayor wanted it
cut after viewing and early screening. He thought the message
of the song went over the heads of the targeted
kid audience, and he claimed it slowed the movie down.

Speaker 5 (46:31):
The song was taken out of the next screening edit,
and Mayor claimed it was an improvement. Victor Fleming, the director,
along with a producer, associate producer, and Garland's vocal coach,
all fought to have the song reinserted. In the movie,
going against the great Louis B. Mayor could be damaging

(46:52):
to a career. Amazingly, they won, and Mayor had to
have been thankful that they did. Rainbow will go on
to when the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The
US Library of Congress has declared Wizard of Oz to
be the most viewed film in movie history.

Speaker 1 (47:10):
We transitioned to inside the elevator. Jennifer is sitting on
the floor, her back against the wall. She has a
spaced outlook on her face and the emergency lighting is on.
Herb is still on the phone, thinking he's on hold.

Speaker 4 (47:25):
I don't get it.

Speaker 7 (47:26):
I mean, I can understand him forgetting about me down here,
but you're down here too.

Speaker 1 (47:29):
Jennifer tells Herb to hang up. Herb doesn't want to
hang up in case Andy comes back.

Speaker 4 (47:34):
I thought that.

Speaker 1 (47:35):
Jennifer shakes her head at Herb, and Herb looks at
the receiver. Finally understanding, he hangs it up.

Speaker 5 (47:43):
Jennifer looks up at Herb.

Speaker 6 (47:44):
Would you put your arm around me, Herb? I'm frightened.

Speaker 5 (47:51):
Herb doesn't know what to say.

Speaker 4 (47:53):
Try I sit down or you want to stand up?

Speaker 5 (47:55):
Jennifer tells him it doesn't matter. So Herb slides himself
down along the wall and he puts a stiff arm
around Jennifer's shoulders. Herb doesn't get right next to her.
His arm is around her shoulders, but there's a space
between them.

Speaker 6 (48:11):
Thank you, don't mention it.

Speaker 5 (48:15):
Jennifer looks at Herb.

Speaker 6 (48:16):
We're going to be just fine. Things always work out
for me.

Speaker 5 (48:21):
Herb can't be Herbie when he's so scared.

Speaker 1 (48:25):
This is getting heavy. Yeah, he can't be. The bravado
is gone. Jennifer lowers her head. Herb looks more closely at.

Speaker 4 (48:33):
Her You crying, No, of course not.

Speaker 6 (48:38):
It's just the smoke car.

Speaker 1 (48:39):
Herb sits and thanks for a moment, then says he
knows why this is happening.

Speaker 7 (48:44):
God wants me out of the way, and he's burning
down a whole building to do it.

Speaker 1 (48:48):
Man, Herb is taking paranoia to new heights.

Speaker 7 (48:53):
He's been working on this all my life. The heart trouble,
I've had it, drink problem, that's me. Real estate. I
bought a home and the only neighborhood in the whole world. Well,
the property values.

Speaker 4 (49:09):
Have gone down.

Speaker 7 (49:12):
My best friend is less. Lucille thinks sex is a reward.
Come on, Herb, mow the lawn. No numbs tonight.

Speaker 1 (49:21):
The picture of what it is to be Herb Tarlk
just gets scarier and scarier. Jennifer tells Herb she's sorry.
She suggests they do something to take their minds off
where they are and what's happening. Herb looks up and
one eyebrow raises. Even in the most dire of circumstances,

(49:47):
Herb still Herb.

Speaker 5 (49:48):
I love it when Herb does an imitation of his
wife Lucille.

Speaker 1 (49:52):
Oh, every time he's done that before.

Speaker 5 (49:54):
Yes, I love that.

Speaker 12 (49:55):
I'm over here, over here.

Speaker 5 (49:57):
We cut to the interior of the elevator. Chef Johnny
continues to dangle. He's mumbling to himself. We can also
hear arguing continuing from above. As Johnny is swinging he
bumps into the ladder that is fastened to the wall.

Speaker 2 (50:14):
Fine letters, have no need, silly fire hose.

Speaker 5 (50:18):
We see Tarzan I mean Johnny start to climb onto
the ladder.

Speaker 1 (50:24):
Mad cap crazy. Oh, And once again this week, in
case you haven't figured it out, there's no studio audience.
Back inside the elevator, Jennifer and Herb are still sitting
on the floor. Now we go from mad cap crazy
Johnny swinging on the fire hose to this super serious
Herb and Jennifer thing that's going on. Herb's arm is

(50:44):
still around Jennifer's shoulders.

Speaker 6 (50:47):
I have an idea.

Speaker 1 (50:48):
Herb swallows hard at this. Jennifer sits up on her
knees and looks at Herb.

Speaker 9 (50:55):
I'll tell you a secret about me, something I've never
told anyone else, and then you tell me a.

Speaker 6 (51:00):
Secret about you.

Speaker 1 (51:01):
Jennifer say, She'll go first.

Speaker 6 (51:02):
Tonight Friday Night.

Speaker 9 (51:08):
Instead of doing something madly expensive with someone dashing and
wealthy and intriguing, I was just going to go home
alone and curl up in front of the fire with
a book, a paperback romance.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
Maybe this is for the best, after having seen Jennifer's
social calendar back in the episode I'll take Romance. She
really needs to slow down a little.

Speaker 5 (51:38):
Jennifer mentioned curling up with a paperback romance. It so happens.
In the early nineteen eighties, the US was in the
middle of the romance wars. Harlequin Enterprises, publishers of the
popular Harlequin romance and Harlequin Presents titles were a Canadian company,
they only hired British writers for their books. By nineteen

(52:01):
seventy five, seventy five percent of their sales were coming
from the United States. That year, they purchased a manuscript
from their first US author, Janet Daily. Harlequin was hesitant
about the change, and there was a lot of resistance
within the company. In nineteen seventy nine, Nora Roberts submitted
a manuscript and was rejected. Yes, Norah Roberts, who has

(52:26):
written two hundred and twenty five romance novels and spent
eight hundred and sixty one weeks on the New York
Times bestseller list, was turned down. She was told we've
already got our American author.

Speaker 1 (52:39):
In nineteen eighty, Simon and Schuster decided to tap into
the romance market. They formed Silhouette Books in nineteen eighty
and ran right out to hire those American authors who
had been turned down by Harlequin. Harlequin quickly realized their
mistake and ramped up their offerings for US authors. Then,

(53:01):
in nineteen eighty, Dell jumped into the mix with more
explicit sex scenes in their Candlelight Ecstasy titles. Silhouette also
launched racier imprints, and everyone was clamoring for writers to
fill the void. By nineteen eighty three, Silhouette was experiencing

(53:21):
an incredible ninety to one hundred percent sellout rate each month.

Speaker 5 (53:27):
It was all those frustrated housewives men.

Speaker 1 (53:30):
By nineteen eighty five, though the boom was over, readers
were burnt out and complaining about recycled storylines. Sales plunged,
and monthly returned shot up.

Speaker 5 (53:42):
Herb begins to giggle thinking about Jennifer home alone with
a trashy novel. It becomes a laugh. Jennifer joins in.

Speaker 6 (53:55):
And there have been more evenings like this, and I
cared no.

Speaker 5 (53:58):
Jennifer is nodding her head.

Speaker 6 (54:01):
Eight in the last year.

Speaker 5 (54:03):
Jennifer tells Herb it's now his turn. Herb says, oh,
he doesn't have anything to compare with that.

Speaker 6 (54:10):
Come on, a man like you must have all kinds
of secrets.

Speaker 5 (54:14):
Herb thinks for a bit, then he sits up on
his knees and faces Jennifer.

Speaker 4 (54:20):
There is something good.

Speaker 5 (54:22):
Jennifer is smiling and waiting to hear what Herb will say.

Speaker 4 (54:26):
Just we're trapped like rats, Herb.

Speaker 1 (54:29):
Herb takes a deep breath.

Speaker 4 (54:31):
I want to confess something to you.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
Well, I still have the chance, he hesitates.

Speaker 6 (54:37):
Just say it.

Speaker 7 (54:39):
I tell every man I meet that you and me,
that me and you, that the two of us are
you do on a regular basis.

Speaker 1 (54:48):
Jennifer stares at herb wide eyed and mouth open.

Speaker 4 (54:52):
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Speaker 7 (54:54):
I'm just glad I had a chance to tell you.

Speaker 4 (54:57):
In this last moment.

Speaker 1 (54:58):
Of herbs, interrupted by a noise from above, Johnny's head
pokes through the trap door in the ceiling.

Speaker 4 (55:08):
Hi, mind if I watch.

Speaker 5 (55:12):
We cut to a shot from inside the elevator shaft,
looking at the closed elevator doors. On fourteen. We see
the doors open slightly. Hands are visible.

Speaker 13 (55:22):
Shove it, mister Carlson, I said, shovel.

Speaker 5 (55:25):
There's one last big shove, and the elevator doors finally open.
Mister Carlson, Andy, Les, Bailey, and Venus all eagerly look
down the dark elevator shaft, calling Johnny's name, Less shines
his flashlight down into the darkness. Venus begins pulling up

(55:45):
the fire hose. Hey tech it uh oh. Venus gets
to the end of the fire hose with the loop
in it, empty. They all stare silently down into the
dark elevator shaft.

Speaker 10 (55:58):
Oh, we've got as the shaft.

Speaker 1 (56:01):
Johnny has joined Herb and Jennifer inside the elevator. Now
he's pulling a broom down into the elevator with them.
Oh hey, it's the broom that was holding the elevator
doors open.

Speaker 4 (56:13):
This ended up the roof.

Speaker 1 (56:14):
Johnny's smiling at Herb and Jennifer as he holds the broom.

Speaker 6 (56:18):
Oh, Johnny, I could hug you, away, could squeeze you,
I could kiss you.

Speaker 7 (56:21):
Today you climb down that dark, dangerous dirty hold favor
miserable next.

Speaker 8 (56:27):
Huh.

Speaker 1 (56:28):
Now, just to bring you with this broom her best Johnny,
How they can ever thank him?

Speaker 4 (56:32):
Think Jennifer mentioned something.

Speaker 5 (56:34):
Oh, Johnny, please just get me out of here, Johnny
tells Jennifer.

Speaker 2 (56:37):
Okay, just let me get my hands on something email.

Speaker 5 (56:39):
Johnny goes over to the control board and pulls off
the cover, which brings us to.

Speaker 9 (56:45):
The line of the episode.

Speaker 3 (56:47):
Huh, we had him like this and then you were
never in Vietnam.

Speaker 1 (56:52):
Oh, it's just stupid, but funny.

Speaker 5 (56:58):
Johnny grabs some of the cables inside the control box.
We hear a crackling noise and then a groan of
pain from Johnny. The lights come on and the elevator
begins moving. Johnny is seemingly being electrocuted. It's that sitcom
level of electrocution where it's painful but also funny, and

(57:19):
most importantly, it won't kill you. Johnny is clenching his
teeth with a pained expression as he continues holding the cables.

Speaker 1 (57:27):
We cut to the fourteenth floor with the perspective from
inside the elevator's shaft. We can hear motors humming.

Speaker 10 (57:34):
The elevator's moving, the elevator's moving.

Speaker 1 (57:36):
They all quickly back away from the elevator doors and
the doors close on their own.

Speaker 10 (57:41):
Well, this is great, Now we'll all be trapped together.

Speaker 1 (57:44):
The door is open to reveal Jennifer, Herb, and Johnny
standing in the glowing light of the elevator.

Speaker 2 (57:51):
Fourty floor Women's lingerie and another hobby of women.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
Yeah, Jennifer and Herb come off the elevator. Jennifer is
greeted by a big hug from Andy to Donnie tells
Andy there's a ladder going all the way down the chaft.

Speaker 5 (58:05):
Johnny is explaining what he did to get the elevator
to move.

Speaker 2 (58:09):
All I had to do was touch Jo wires.

Speaker 5 (58:13):
Johnny with his hand and a fist and a thumb
pointing up.

Speaker 2 (58:16):
Now, I can probably do something about these lights.

Speaker 5 (58:20):
Johnny points to the hallway lights. As he says this,
they pop on. Johnny has a surprise look on his face.
He looks at his hands as if they were magical.
The phone in the elevator begins to ring. Johnny jokingly
tells them all he probably fixed that too.

Speaker 1 (58:36):
Art picks up the phone, mister Carlson Fireward fourteen four Flimby.
The voice on the other end of the line asks
if the phone is working okay.

Speaker 4 (58:43):
Well, yeah, great, you know for a dead phone.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
They then ask if the people that were trapped in
the elevator are okay. Art tells him yes. The firefighter
says the fire is out and they can all go
home now. They all cheer. The voice on the phone
sounds like it might be the same guy who was
talking to last.

Speaker 5 (59:04):
Johnny looks around at everyone. He's a bit disappointed.

Speaker 4 (59:07):
Yeah, I was just getting into it.

Speaker 5 (59:11):
Vena says. He guesses that's it.

Speaker 4 (59:13):
Then the news game we call it a thirty.

Speaker 5 (59:15):
Bailey tells Johnny. She thought he was incredible and gives
him a big hug.

Speaker 1 (59:20):
I think we were all pretty darn We're all pretty
darn something.

Speaker 5 (59:23):
Jennifer is smiling as she looks at each of them.

Speaker 6 (59:25):
I want to thank each and every one of you.

Speaker 5 (59:28):
She turns to Herb, especially Herb. Herb smiles shyly at
Jennifer and he chuckles a little. He then looks at everybody.

Speaker 4 (59:36):
Oh, what are we all hang around here for? I mean,
I know Jennifer has a big evening planned.

Speaker 6 (59:41):
I almost forgot.

Speaker 5 (59:42):
Jennifer kisses Herb on the cheek.

Speaker 1 (59:44):
Less said in the news game this story was a thirty.
He's referencing one of the symbols used by journalists to
denote the end of printable copy, depending on who you
had as a journalism prof. At the end of finish copy,
you should put either three capital x's, three hashtag pound signs,
or a dash then a thirty, then another dash. All

(01:00:08):
three symbols mean the same thing, and they are most
likely all related.

Speaker 5 (01:00:13):
Sources agree the use of three capital x's was most
likely the earliest symbol for end of copy. Type setters
would take note of a strange set of letters like
three x's in a row. Since three x's equal thirty
in Roman numerals, the thirty was also adopted as an
acceptable end sign. Three hashtags were an alternative to x's

(01:00:36):
and can also still be found used to denote the
end of copy. All three methods are acceptable, and they
all mean exactly the same thing.

Speaker 1 (01:00:45):
I was taught three hashtags, and that's all I've ever
used at the end of press releases and stuff. I've
always put three hashtags, and I never knew about the
other two ways. Jennifer gets back on the elevator. Venus
says he better go put on a record, and he
starts walking away. Runway, wrong way, a little weird. Venus
turns and begins walking the other way. They talk about
where they all need to go as they're getting onto

(01:01:08):
the elevator.

Speaker 4 (01:01:08):
I want to get some breakfast.

Speaker 8 (01:01:09):
Oh well, I do have to go to bank.

Speaker 4 (01:01:13):
I've got an island in Paradise to get too. I
came to say no more. Oh well, guysh I gotta
go up.

Speaker 10 (01:01:18):
Where do I have to go?

Speaker 1 (01:01:20):
Urban less or left Standing in the hall. As the
elevator doors begin to close, we hear Johnny.

Speaker 4 (01:01:26):
Just think a few minutes ago. This very elevator was
a death trap.

Speaker 5 (01:01:32):
Less holds his flashlight under his chin, like it's time
for a ghost story.

Speaker 4 (01:01:37):
Was it scary down there, Herb?

Speaker 5 (01:01:40):
Herb puts on his overcoat.

Speaker 1 (01:01:41):
Scary.

Speaker 7 (01:01:43):
It takes more than a stalled elevator and a few
flames to ruffle the feathers of Herbert R.

Speaker 8 (01:01:48):
Charlie Chum.

Speaker 5 (01:01:50):
Herb winks it Less.

Speaker 10 (01:01:51):
Oh yeah, I forgot.

Speaker 5 (01:01:53):
Lets tells Herb he'll see him later, and he walks
down the hallway, looking back. Just before going through the door,
Less's Herb pushed the elevator button. Once Less is gone,
Herb pulls the collar up on his coat and walks
over to the door leading to the stairs. Herb gives
one more quick look around, then opens the door to

(01:02:14):
the stairs and walks through. No elevators for Herb. He'll
be doing the fourteen floor walk up, probably for a
while at least.

Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
And you know what we didn't do this week, a
history of the elevator. I did read a lot of
background and history on the elevator, but I just didn't
write anything about it. We invite you to do your
own research into the invention of the elevator at your
local library or at least pull it up on Wikipedia.
We also didn't mention The Towering Inferno, which was a

(01:02:47):
nineteen seventy four thriller produced by Irwin Allen and starring
a cast of thousands, including Steve McQueen. It was about
the biggest building in the world. Catching fire Less would
have had a field day. So that's going to do
it for fire. What is up for next week, Donna?

Speaker 5 (01:03:05):
Next week we'll be talking about Dear Liar. When Less
jealously plagiarizes Bailey's initial draft of a partially fictional news
story on air, the station's broadcast license is put in jeopardy.

Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
That's going to do it for this episode of the
WKRP Cast. If you'd like to watch along with us,
make sure to check our show notes. You can find
us on social media. Follow our Facebook page at wkrpcast,
and for more WKRP fun, become a patron go to
patreon dot com slash WKRP cast for behind the scenes fun,

(01:03:42):
full interviews and more.

Speaker 5 (01:03:44):
Got a question, comment or correction Let us know about it.
Write us at wkrpcast at gmail dot com.

Speaker 1 (01:03:52):
And remember to please rate and review us on Apple Podcast.
Thanks for listening.

Speaker 6 (01:03:58):
Bye now may the good News.

Speaker 14 (01:04:08):
The WKRP Cast is not endorsed by MTM Enterprises, Shout Factory,
or CBS. This podcast is intended for entertainment and informational
purposes only WKRP and Cincinnati. The WKRP logo, and all names, pictures,
and audio of WKRP and Cincinnati characters are registered trademarks
of MTM, CBS, shout Factory, or their respective copyright holders.

Speaker 4 (01:04:38):
Almost Got Babies booker