WKRP IN CINCINNATI: VENUS AND THE MAN (TV)
Summary
One in this series of comedy programs about the staff of a small radio station in Cincinnati.
During one of his shifts, Venus has a discussion with Cora the cleaning lady. She confesses that her teenage son Arnold is threatening to drop out of high school. She is upset that he does not wish to go to college even after she saved for his fund for years, and he appears to be getting involved with gang activity. Venus offers to talk to him in order to straighten him out, and asks Cora to send him to the station the following afternoon. Arnold arrives with his gang, all of them physically intimidating to Venus. Venus attempts to speak to Arnold in private, but they are interrupted by Les, who goes on a lengthy diatribe about the contributions of African-Americans to American culture and music before leaving. Arnold notes disparagingly that Venus “sound[s] white” to him, but Venus tries to tell him to rethink his life, believing that his current course can only lead to ruin. Arnold offers Venus a bribe, and notes that his mother refuses to profit off of his criminal doings. Venus manages to convince him to sit down and talk to him for half an hour as a favor to his mother.
They retreat to a storeroom, where Venus confronts Arnold over his criminal activities. He asks Arnold about his reasoning for dropping out of school, which he considers a waste of his time. Venus believes that his real reason is that he “look[s] like an idiot” there, and that his natural intelligence doesn’t manifest in a classroom setting. He tries to convince him that real inner strength is doing the right thing regardless of the attitudes of others, and that he could excel in school if he put his mind to it; he believes that Arnold is denying his own right to an education under the misguided belief that his school is trying to change him against his will. Arnold counters that he believes that an education would not benefit him, noting that it will not guarantee him anything in life. Venus notes that while this is true, it is still necessary for him to have any chance of “survival.”
He gets Arnold to admit that he has allowed himself to be “defeated” by the subjects of his education, and that he is “dumb” and unable to improve himself. Venus tries to prove him wrong, claiming that he can give him a lesson about the structure of the atom in only two minutes, thus allowing him to learn something about chemistry, his least favorite subject. He makes a bet that if he is able to do so, Arnold will go back to school and finish the semester. Arnold agrees, and Venus uses an analogy about rival gangs to teach Arnold about the subatomic components that make up an atom, including neutrons, electrons, protons, and the nucleus. Arnold admits that Venus’s lesson was effective, and Venus encourages him to embrace the elements of the world that he cannot see or touch, such as atoms, and that education is a form of “conquest” that he should embrace. Arnold agrees to go back to school, impressed by Venus’s reasoning. Arnold leaves and Johnny emerges, revealing that he was sleeping behind a shelf the entire time. He congratulates Venus on his teaching method, and Venus reveals that he worked as a teacher for three years before he quit, and that he is not proud of this decision. That night Cora comes to see Venus, excitedly informing him that his talk with Arnold worked. Venus is uncertain if Arnold will stay in school after the year is out, but maintains hope that he will. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: November 30, 1999 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:24:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:67617
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Comedy; TV - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1978-1982
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Hugh Wilson … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Rod Daniel … Supervising Producer, Director
- Blake Hunter … Producer
- Steven Kampmann … Producer
- Peter Torokvei … Producer
- Max Tash … Associate Producer
- Tom Wells … Theme Music by
- Gary Sandy … Cast, Andy Travis
- Gordon Jump … Cast, Arthur Carlson
- Loni Anderson … Cast, Jennifer Marlowe
- Richard Sanders … Cast, Les Nessman
- Tim Reid … Cast, Venus Flytrap
- Frank Bonner … Cast, Herb Tarlek
- Jan Smithers … Cast, Bailey Quarters
- Howard Hessman … Cast, Dr. Johnny Fever
- Keny Long … Cast, Arnold
- Veronica Redd … Cast, Cora