WKRP in Cincinnati to be Re-Released on DVD–With Most of the Music!

In a post on Time-Warner’s upcoming The Midnight Special collection, I lamented about the bastardized reissue of  WKRP in Cincinnati.  While the original broadcasts broke new ground by being one of the very first TV shows to use real music as part of not only the soundtrack but of the narrative.

After it went off the air, it languished in limbo, prevented from being released on VHS and DVD because of onerous licensing restrictions placed on that music. (This is the same reason we don’t have fantastic SCTV compilations; those issues are ongoing.)

After a while, someone said “F**k it. Let’s just get it out there.  We’ll just awkwardly dub in some stock music.”

And so it came to pass that the public was duped into buying one of the most godawful video collections of all time.

However, there is good news.  A company called Shout Factory has taken upon itself to break through the regulatory logjam to restore WKRP to its former glory.  Well, almost.  But certainly close enough for rock’n’roll.

Read more here. And thanks to Adam for the tip!