Johnny is enjoying the fame and notoriety of being Rip Tide, his sequin-attired, boorish Gotta Dance disco persona. Beyond the money and the official perks given to him by the television station such as the fully stocked liquor cabinet, he enjoys the unofficial perks, most specifically the behind-closed-doors relationship he has with his producer, Avis. While some of his friends at WKRP are worried about him, believing that Johnny would never sell himself out to disco, others such as Andy and Herb believe that they can capitalize on Rip Tide's fame by getting Johnny to be his Rip Tide persona on the air at WKRP, especially if Johnny himself is already indirectly advertising Rip on his morning show albeit by tearing Rip apart. Andy does not share the concerns of people like Venus, Bailey, Jennifer, Les and even Herb as Johnny has taken on many different personae over the course of his career without issue. However, Dr. Johnny Fever and Rip Tide each talk about the other in the third person and not in flattering ways which may underlie the conundrum that Johnny Caravella currently faces without really knowing it.
—Huggo