WKRP Episode: "You Can't Go Out of Town Again"

Another episode from the fourth season that feels a bit "off" in some ways, not because anybody's out of character, but because the acting and pacing seem a bit uncertain. This is probably due to the director, Howard Hesseman (he got to direct the episode because his character only has one scene in it), who didn't seem to take to directing as naturally as some of the other actors did. In writing terms, the episode has several story threads going on but seems oddly plotless: the main story, of Mr. Carlson finding out the truth about he and his wife met, doesn't really get going until the episode is almost over. (Though it actually used to be common for a sitcom plot to start late; it's surprising how many episodes of, say, The Bob Newhart Show don't begin the actual advertised plot until the halfway mark.)

I don't know about the songs in this one, except for the final song, which needs no introduction. Interestingly, this song was removed in the late '80s but restored in the "redubbed" '90s syndication package -- making it perhaps the only song that the MTM dubbers put back in instead of taking out.

Cold Opening

Act 1

Act 2