Andy Travis is Jeff Flake

And I can't unsee it.

Friend of the site and former colleague Matt Labash writes in the comments:

If you're taking requests, would like to see some serious WKRP coverage in these pages.

I do take requests.

Before last night, I have seen precisely one episode of WKRP in Cincinnati. The turkey drop episode. I don’t remember even why, and this was years ago, but I found it on one of those sites where they reverse the image so the algorithms can’t detect it to take it down for copyright infringement.

I’d be shocked if that really were still a way around the algorithms, as AI can do so much at this point, but one does get better at reading backwards even if the price to watch isn’t just ads, but people shaking hands with their left hands.

As friends know, I am a Proud Library Person™ (and already a member at the Merc!), so I put in a request for Season 1 of WKRP in Cincinnati. I figure I should watch the most famous show about the town, right? It’s only available for streaming on AppleTV, and not for free. So library it is.

Last night I watched the first part of the pilot. It was funny! One of my daughters would love the booger bit. But what immediately hit me after meeting Andy Travis was: holy shit this guy is a dead ringer for Senator Jeff Flake.

Yes, he’s ambassador to Turkey now, but in my mind, he’ll always be Senator Flake because he replaced my boss in the Senate.

Gary Sandy, the actor who portrays him, is an Ohio guy, coincidentally, but the western cadance, the height, and even with the hair and face. It’s Jeff Flake. I can’t unsee it.

The catchy theme song, in a way, is fitting for this little enterprise.

Baby, if you've ever wondered
Wondered whatever became of me
I'm living on the air in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, WKRP