Ten Things to Love…
about Herb Tarlek.
I’ll bet you didn’t see that coming, and I know those of you who grew up, watched, or otherwise know of WKRP in Cincinnati are probably rolling your eyes, but hear me out. I have always had a secret soft-spot for Herb, even if he’s considered the sleaziest, most annoying character in the show. Let me tell you why I secretly love this character.
1. His optimism is contagious. Herb Tarlek has failed at just about everything he’s ever done at the station. He’s botched sales, blindly followed Carlson on his ill-thought Thanksgiving Promotion, sold faulty life insurance, even potentially destroyed his marriage; but he still smiles. He still tries his hardest to do his job and be a friend to everyone, and when he does inevitably fail at the former, he lets it roll off his back and continues on. He’s a stupidly optimistic person who always believes ‘I can’, not ‘I think I can’, and that’s something I think we should all admire.
2. He loves his family. Even if he constantly chases after Jennifer, you quickly learn that if she ever said yes to him, he wouldn’t go through with it. He loves his wife and his children, he knows the difference between true love and sexual lust - not easy for someone with as poor a track record as Herb. The few times he talks about his children, it’s always fondly - the only other people on the show with children have all said at least one bad thing about their child (Carlson actually calls his son a ‘mean little devil’), while Herb has only ever mentioned that his son happens to like playing with dolls - he isn’t necessarily enamored of this, but he doesn’t say that he forbids his son to do so.
3. His suits make you laugh. Go on, admit it - you love seeing what crazy jackets this guy has in his wardrobe. Herb’s outlandish suits are a running joke throughout the series, as is his tendency to wear a white belt with white shoes no matter what he’s wearing - even when playing softball. You can’t help but wonder what horrendous sports jacket Herb will wear next, and it never fails to make you groan, roll your eyes, and chuckle a bit that someone in the Costume department even had these godawful things. Herb’s got his own style, and while it isn’t anyone else’s taste, he wears them with gusto.
4. He cares deeply about his friends. While he tends to be dismissive and even downright cold with regards to Bailey, Herb is the one who is always there when someone needs him - including Bailey. This is particularly true in Les’ Nessman’s case - when Les considered suicide, Herb was there, talking him down from the ledge and even blaming himself for not being a better friend. Herb has never been shown to turn his back on anyone who works at the station, not even the people he doesn’t seem to like very much, even attending a ‘Farewell’ dinner for Johnny despite clearly not being fond of the man (Yes, he spent the night complaining that he thought they were supposed to bring their wives, looking exasperated by his own, but he could have easily just not shown up!)
5. He’s the most open character on the show. He wears his heart on his sleeve, you can’t deny that. He always talks about his feelings, his family, the jobs he’s failed - anything that’s ever happened to Herb is up for grabs, if someone takes the time to ask. We even find out he likes Country music when he freaks out about Linda Taylor being in the studio. You could never consider him a secretive person, not even when he was afraid his marriage was falling apart. Herb will tell anyone anything they want to know about him, which you can’t say is true for any other character than Jennifer, who hasn’t had a secret her entire life.
6. He doesn’t let anyone cheat him. While he sometimes does condone cheating in a general sense, Herb knows when he’s being played (with one exception) and won’t stand for it. He admits to blackmailing his clients when they turn out to be deadbeats who won’t pay up - this amounts to most of his client list, as nobody else will advertise on the station. While this isn’t necessarily a good quality, he does use his blackmailing prowess for good on more than one occasion, and is never shown to use it for personal gain.
7. He respects his boss - even though he seldom deserves it. Arthur Carlson’s bit in the show is that he’s the incompetent boss who doesn’t know what’s going on, fills his office with toys and games, and when he does try to take control of the situation, it turns out to be a disaster. Despite this, Herb never treats Carlson with anything but respect and fondness - he may indulge in a few light jabs behind his back, but he accepts that Carlson is the boss and regards him with a kind of adoration, often regarding him as a sort of father-figure.
8. He’s actually kind of cute. At first you don’t see the charm Herb has - you wonder what in the hell his wife sees in him, you find him obnoxious and maybe a little bit of a chauvinist. But he grows on you, slowly but surely (har har). When you look past his awful suits and unpleasant demeanour, you start to see that he is just a little attractive, and before you know it, he’s got a place in your hierarchy. As you learn more and more about Herb, you can’t help but like him just a little bit - he’s likeable, just not someone you want to emulate.
9. Two words: Toupee. No, I don’t mean that Frank Bonner was wearing a toupee while portraying Herb (Trust me -that’s his real hair) - I mean that the show wouldn’t be the same without Herb’s silliness. We all love Johnny’s antics and Les Nessman’s incompetency, but really - you have to admit that a lot of the comedic material in the show actually comes from Herb. Whether it’s Venus joking that Herb’s sports jackets are made from recycled car seats (Which, by the way - one of them is actually made from the seat covers of a Volkswagon) or Herb himself making an embarrassing social snafu, he’s a source of constant comedy. Even if you’re a die-hard hater of Herb Tarlek, you can’t deny the man is funny on a subdued level.
10. He’s the most realistic character ever seen on a sitcom. Herb is a character based entirely on flaws, the stereotypical ‘Desperate Salesman’ who isn’t above taking a bribe or two. But beyond his flaws, Herb is also very real - he has feelings he isn’t afraid to show, he doesn’t fuss when people reprimand him, and he takes pride in his life, even if none of us would want to live it. Vain, materialistic and closed-minded? Maybe, but you have to admit - Herb’s chaotic life is a lot closer to our own than Jennifer’s ‘Everything handed to me because I’m pretty’ life.
Final note: To those of you wondering, I don’t dislike Jennifer. I admire that she’s a strong woman and she’s shown us before that she’s competent in her job. She may be the token Sex-Kitten female, but she’s far from the stereotypical ‘airhead blonde receptionist’. She’s intelligent, pretty, and she’s not afraid to use her claws. The only character I dislike is Andy. He openly criticizes everyone on the staff except Venus, he plays the Rock and Roll Cowboy shtick to an obnoxious extent (He named his dog Pecos Bill, for Chrissakes), and all the ‘personal conflict’ he’s ever had just showed him to be a self-centred jerk.
