No, this is not a joke. WKRP In Cincinnati is really coming out on DVD. There are flyers in the new DVD release of the Pamela Anderson sitcom Stacked (I knew that sitcom was good for something).
The show has been held up for a very long time because of rights issues concerning the music. There was a lot of music used on the show, and getting the rights to use the songs again on DVDs is very hard for a TV show. Or even in syndication. Fans of WKRP will remember that when the show was shown in syndication, almost all of the rock songs were replaced by other tunes, and many of them didn't even fit the scene they were used in. It was very irritating.
So how have they solved that problem? Well...in some cases, they haven't. The people putting together the DVDs have used the original music when they can, and when they can't, they've spent time trying to find music that is different but fits the scene anyway. Sure, I'd love to see all the music stay intact, but this is better than nothing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-11-2006 @ 3:01PM
Red said...
Hooray! I've been waiting for this forever! This will definitely be in my collection ASAP!
"I'm telling you man, those phone cops play hardball!"
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12-11-2006 @ 3:02PM
Erin said...
That's the best news I've heard all day!! WKRP had the best theme song ever.
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12-11-2006 @ 4:11PM
Akbar Fazil said...
nice. This is just like the planned Wonder Years DVD set. Some songs will remain, other will have to be replaced. I am glad they are going for at least the partial replacement instead of the syndicated versions.
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12-11-2006 @ 4:24PM
Gonzo said...
I want this as bad as anyone. I really do. However, I hope that not a single set is purchased. I don't want to give the studio execs any sense that it is okay to change the music. I know in this case it's hard, but if they can be successful in this case, then what is to stop them from thinking that they can save money on all their series sets by replacing some of the music with cheaper stuff.
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12-11-2006 @ 4:31PM
1L said...
Who knew that Turkeys couldn't fly?
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12-11-2006 @ 4:34PM
Zakk said...
Say it with me people
BOOOOOOOOOGAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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12-11-2006 @ 4:58PM
Mark Rabinowitz said...
"Oh the HUMANITY!"
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12-11-2006 @ 6:41PM
Big Guy said...
Awesome news ... about time.
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12-11-2006 @ 6:14PM
elf said...
Gonzo, the producers would not change the music if they didn't have a choice, and in this case there's not much of a choice. On one hand, the artist may simply decline to sell the rights no matter how much money the producers offer, so then there's nothing the producers can do. On the other hand, if the monetary demands are very high, and such rights for popular and iconic songs can run several hundred thousand dollars, and the producers cave into the demands, then they'll have to increase the price of the DVDs and that will cost them sales.
Let's make up some realistic-sounding numbers. How many copies of each season of WKRP do you think they'd sell altogether? Let's say 500,000. And let's say that each episode has one song that the producers have to pay $100,000 for. For a 22-episode season that adds $2.2million to the production costs. Add $300,000 for lawyers fees and that makes it $2.5million. That comes out to $5 per DVD set. That doesn't sound like much, but price levels are very important. Put WKRP season 1 next to some equally popular show but with a price tag $5 higher then they'll lose quite a few sales. Sure, the devoted fans will pay the extra money, but they'll grouse about it and possibly be less likely to purchase subsequent seasons.
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12-11-2006 @ 6:12PM
Ralph said...
I can think of about half a dozen instances where the music was really key to a scene -- the main one that pops up is when Les was getting dressed for a big date (with Jennifer, I think) to Foreigner's "Hot Blooded".
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12-11-2006 @ 7:02PM
Dave said...
YES!!!! Finally. I won't be able to really believe it until I actually have it in my hand.
"The real cops are in on it too!"
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12-11-2006 @ 8:58PM
MrsEldubya said...
YES!!!! I loved this show but why couldn't we have had it in time for this Christmas so I could finally have something on my list.
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12-19-2006 @ 9:41PM
Adam said...
I can't wait!!!! This is one of my all time favorties.
"I'm a giant carp Andy!"
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2-28-2007 @ 5:06AM
Peter said...
I just checked the foxhome.com website and there is no mention of WKRP being released on DVD on 24APR07? Are you sure they are releasing it?
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