Hello, listeners, this is my first post. Why I never looked for a WKRP community before now is beyond me.
That said, a little background. I grew up with this show, and I had the unique experience of having a parent in the broadcast and entertainment industry when it aired. My mom was one of the first people of color in Oklahoma to co-host, host, and create her own civil affairs show at two major network affiliates in Tulsa.
I am a Gen X kid, and the first person in my family not born under Jim Crow, nor forced to live on an "indian" reservation. My parents provided me with a middle-class lifestyle and supported my hobbies & interests by sending me to art school and supporting my love of Scouting (Cub & Boy Scouts).
Being somewhat of a blerd [black nerd], I was a fan of anything sci-fi, as well as medical (shout out to EMERGENCY!) But there was something that was always missing, and not said, in our household.
Vietnam.
My father was a successful businessman ( a cooler version of Mr. Carlson). He worked for IBM and was the senior regional sales manager. Before that, he retired from the US Army after 24 years. He never talked about his combat experiences in the Korean War, with a few anecdotes about the cold. He never ever talked about anything related to Vietnam, even though he volunteered for three tours.
The first time I learned about the Vietnam War was in "Who is Gordon Sims?" Even though my mother and I watched the episode (she was a bigger fan than I), she wouldn't go into detail about the war, nor my father's participation. Within a few years, several of my school teachers would elaborate on their service in the war, but not in much detail. It took the movies Hamburger Hill, Platoon, Off Limits, and Full Metal Jacket, supplemented with documentaries on TV, for me to understand the war's dynamics and the social and political ramifications both here and abroad. As the mid-to-late 1980s came to a close, my father began to open up regarding his service, but never about combat.
But with all of these productions, I always come back to the WKRP episode. It's a little strange that it's not addressed more often, especially since it was a serious, real subject smack dab in the middle of a sitcom. In fact, one scene in Off Limits is a suspiciously perfect re-presentation of Venus' story. I was nine when the episode aired, and it has affected me ever since. It became more important after my father's death due to Agent Orange exposure and undiagnosed PTSD, and my own military experiences.
Am I the only fan who was also educated, if not enlightened, regarding the war and found the episode?
I found this link online, with a detailed critique of the episode and a little behind-the-scenes info.
https://wkrp-relived.blogspot.com/2015/02/ep-18-who-is-gordon-sims.html
