Character Arc
Dr. Johnny Fever, born Johnny Caravella, is WKRP's veteran morning disc jockey and one of the show's most popular characters. A burned-out radio survivor with a counterculture past, he was once a successful big-market DJ before being fired, by his own account, for saying a forbidden word on the air. By the time he lands at WKRP, he is cynical, rumpled, and wary of authority, yet he remains a gifted broadcaster who clearly loves the music and the medium.
When new program director Andy Travis arrives and flips the station to a rock format, Johnny is reenergized, rediscovering the on-air freedom that first drew him to radio. Over the course of the series he becomes a kind of weary mentor figure within the station, especially to overnight DJ Venus Flytrap, and his loyalty to his coworkers repeatedly wins out over his anti-establishment instincts.
Many episodes mine humor from Johnny's history of excess and his deadpan, anti-corporate attitude, but the writing also gives him moments of genuine principle, such as his discomfort with payola and commercial compromise. Howard Hesseman, who had real-life experience in radio, brought an easygoing authenticity to the role that made Johnny Fever a fan favorite and one of television's most memorable fictional broadcasters.