Talk:Venus Flytrap (WKRP in Cincinnati)

A continuity cock-up

There are a great many contradictory statements about this character, so many I feel that they should be reflected in the article if possible (it is totally unsourced as is, after all, and I've just watched the whole run on WGN America).

First, a few errors (I think, hence I'm bringing them up here rather than just changing the text) in the article. It is stated, "Gordon Sims is from New Orleans." Says who? Andy Travis found him working in New Orleans on his way to his own new job at WKRP and hired him right then and there (says the pilot in no uncertain terms), and this N.O. connection is repeated (with some variations I'll get to later) a number of times over the run. However, I'm unaware of any statements in the series of his origins, geographic or otherwise. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly open to being told that I missed some more or less passing reference to his childhood there. In the discussion of Reid's return to the role in one episode of the revival series, it is stated that Venus "readopt[ed] his real name...." In fact, once the desertion was straightened out, his real name was dropped several times over the remainder of the run. This brings us to...

One paragraph that is entirely in parentheses reads:

In a continuity error, when Venus first talks about Gordon Sims [in the desertion episode], Venus describes him to Andy as a friend. However, Andy sees right through it and knows that Venus is talking about himself. In a future episode "The Creation of Venus", Venus and Andy reminisce with Mama Carlson about when Venus first came to WKRP and when we see them meet, Andy knows that Gordon Sims is Venus' real name.

The problem here is much worse than indicated. This episode contradicts the pilot's events that Andy hired Venus before he (Travis) ever arrived at WKRP in person, and states that Mama did her homework and knew then that Venus had been a teacher DJing part time in New Orleans (i.e., that Andy was lying to her) and what his real name was. The truth is that once that early episode established Venus' real name, Vietnam service and desertion, the last was completely forgotten and contradicted, while the second was only occasionally acknowledged. A deserter who, by his own admission in that episode, was living under a succesion of false names and fake IDs could not possibly get a job teaching in a public school.

One other problem: In another early (two-part) episode, WKRP morning-drive DJ Dr. Johnny Fever's success in Cincinnati nets him a job offer from a competitor of the West Coast station that had fired him years earlier (for saying "booger" on the air, of course). During the attempts to get Johnny to turn it down, Venus says to Andy, "You know I came here just to work with the Doctor." (I think that's the exact quote, but in any event it's damned close) However, as seen in the pilot when Andy hired Venus, even he didn't know John Caravella (Fever's real name) was working at WKRP, so Venus couldn't have.

So you see, this character is the victim of a great many continuity problems, beyond what that one paragraph indicates. Thoughts, anybody? --Tbrittreid (talk) 21:52, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Continuity errors are common in most TV series, particularly sitcoms. I noticed something else in this article that was questionable. How did Venus get to be a schoolteacher if he was a deserter from the war?71.48.148.40 (talk) 14:01, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

I watched the entire series last year, 2 episodes a night... You're correct, there are a lot of Continuity problems... Some are frustrating and some are fairly minor - I wish I had taken notes. As much as I would love the series to make linear event-sense, I've learned to accept that it's pretty futile.

Just a thought: I've always wondered if "Venus" actually created "Lite Jazz" Programming, the "Soft and Warm" Channels that frequented the Airwaves in the 80s. albabe - The Writer/Artist Formally Known as Al Gordon 20:02, 17 October 2024 (UTC)