Though it's not without a few flaws, i can't help but love this two-parter. I frequently find myself rewatching it and i love it every time, although that's probably just because howard hesseman and julie payne are given the chance to truly shine. On my first watch through, i was hesitant to watch it. I figured it would be another forced romance with plenty of awkward moments, but once buffy was introduced i was immediately hooked.
In case anyone doesn't know, howard hesseman and julie payne were both members of the improv comedy group 'the committee'. At this point they were both seasoned performers who had worked together plenty of times, and it shows (this is the same reason i love the hold up ep in season 1 so much). They have excellent chemistry, and it was something to behold. As great as the rest of the cast is, most of them were a little unpolished and (in my opinion) this is most obvious with gary sandy and jan smithers. (side tangent about smithers; the longer the series went on the more obvious it became that she wasn't all that invested in acting. She still did a good job and had plenty of great moments, but you could tell she didn't care as much as the rest of them. This isn't a criticism of her, loads of people aren't that excited about their work, it's just an observation.) however, hesseman and payne really were pros. I could go on about howard hesseman, but since he's in every episode i'll focus on julie payne. She absolutely nailed the character of buffy. Everything from her walk, her talk and her laugh was utterly spot on. I can't quite believe she's not in much, because she has such a talent. Every line she delivered was perfect, every mannerism, etc. And seeing her and hesseman play off each other was incredible. I wish i could watch more of her in action, especially alongside other performers of her talent because it really is something special.
As for the rest of the episode, it was pretty standard. Everyone did a good job, herb and les were great in their short moments at the end, but it wasn't really anything to shout about. Still enjoyable, but not amazing. But i can't bring myself to give it any less stars just for the sheer entertainment value of the buffy and johnny scenes. In my opinion, they outweigh the rest of the episode(s) and single handedly make it two of my favourite wkrp episodes.
In case anyone doesn't know, howard hesseman and julie payne were both members of the improv comedy group 'the committee'. At this point they were both seasoned performers who had worked together plenty of times, and it shows (this is the same reason i love the hold up ep in season 1 so much). They have excellent chemistry, and it was something to behold. As great as the rest of the cast is, most of them were a little unpolished and (in my opinion) this is most obvious with gary sandy and jan smithers. (side tangent about smithers; the longer the series went on the more obvious it became that she wasn't all that invested in acting. She still did a good job and had plenty of great moments, but you could tell she didn't care as much as the rest of them. This isn't a criticism of her, loads of people aren't that excited about their work, it's just an observation.) however, hesseman and payne really were pros. I could go on about howard hesseman, but since he's in every episode i'll focus on julie payne. She absolutely nailed the character of buffy. Everything from her walk, her talk and her laugh was utterly spot on. I can't quite believe she's not in much, because she has such a talent. Every line she delivered was perfect, every mannerism, etc. And seeing her and hesseman play off each other was incredible. I wish i could watch more of her in action, especially alongside other performers of her talent because it really is something special.
As for the rest of the episode, it was pretty standard. Everyone did a good job, herb and les were great in their short moments at the end, but it wasn't really anything to shout about. Still enjoyable, but not amazing. But i can't bring myself to give it any less stars just for the sheer entertainment value of the buffy and johnny scenes. In my opinion, they outweigh the rest of the episode(s) and single handedly make it two of my favourite wkrp episodes.