Some tv episodes are classic and will live on. When you tell someone you like a certain show, there is always that certain episode that many people will bring up that represents that show. I’ll go through a few random shows in the next few weeks and pick the one that I remember the most. They will be in no particular order.
” Those can’t be skydivers. I can’t tell just yet what they are but… Oh my God! They’re turkeys! Oh no! Johnny, can you get this?”
” The Pinedale Shopping Mall has just been bombed with live turkeys. Film at eleven”
“I really don’t know how to describe it. It was like the turkeys mounted a counter-attack. It was almost as if they were… organized!”
“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”
WKRP IN CINCINNATI – Turkeys Away
When I talk to people about this show. This episode always comes to mind. The Characters are Bailey Quarters, Les Nessman, Mr. Carlson, Venus Flytrap, Dr. Johnny Fever, Herb Tarlek, Jennifer Marlowe and Andy Travis
Les’s play by play of the promotion is great. The complete episode is great but when Mr. Carlson says the closing line it turns into a classic episode.
It starts off with the big guy Mr. Carlson trying to act busy driving everyone crazy trying to be useful and probing the office to see what everyone was up to. He decided he would plan a promotion. He told the salesman Herb to get 20 turkeys ready for a Thanksgiving radio promotion.
Les is at the shopping center and Mr Carlson and Herb are up in a helicopter. He then notices a dark object being dropped from the helicopter, then a second one. Believing them to be skydivers, his tone becomes increasingly cautious when he sees no parachutes are opening. After a few more moments he realizes in horror that the objects are live turkeys. Continuing his broadcast (which bears a strong resemblance to the Hindenberg disaster) he says that the turkeys are hitting the ground and that the crowd has begun running away in panic. One turkey hits a parked car. Les continues, saying the turkeys are hitting the ground like “sacks of wet cement”. He tries to retreat to the store behind him but realizes he can’t after annoying the owner.
At the studio, the gang are listening, horrified themselves, when the broadcast is suddenly cut off. Johnny calmly tries to re-establish contact with Les, but hears only silence. Johnny thanks Les, telling his listeners that the shopping mall was just “bombed by live turkeys” and ends the broadcast.
At the end, Mr. Carlson says the phrase that elevates the episode to a classic. “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”
The play-by-play by Les.
As God As My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly
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It’s hard to find WKRP on TV now! I’ve heard the reason for this is it’s too expensive to keep licensing the music…and many of the scenes don’t make sense without it. Like one where they were actually playing Pink Floyd’s “Dogs” in the background:
Carlson: do I hear dogs?
Fever: (slumped over desk, hungover) I do
But yeah a classic and underrated show. Including this infamous turkey episode.
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LOL…I lucked out…a friend of mine had taped the old versions so I have all of them with the original music. Not the best quality but good enough.
They have released a DVD set of them but they had to replace the music in some episodes.
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one of my favs ever
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The interaction of Les w/ the store owner is hilarious!
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The poor turkeys.
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Like wet bags of cement.
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a classic episode off a classic show. That one, the tornado and the Who concert are the ones that most stick out in my mind after all these years. Jim’s right though – poor turkeys. As God as their witness they probably thought they could fly too!
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Like wet bags of cement.
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Not the same with dubbed in generic music, but I’ll still watch it when I come across it. Now, if they removed the original Bailey & dubbed in a fake, that would be another story!
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No Bailey in this…No Max watching.
I have all of them with the original music…a VHS copy but it’s good enough with the music.
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One of the greatest comedy episodes ever. I loved this show, so many iconic lines.
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That episode will go down in the annals of television history as being the funniest half-hour ever.
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I agree…and there are only a very few I agree with….but this one and the Hash episode of Barney Miller I really like.
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Barney, Barney, Barney… is your morther from Killarney?
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YES! He brought Yemana to life.
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‘WKRP, the station with all the big hits.’ If you’re a turkey you know Thanksgiving leaves you with not much of a future, but for twenty who made the ultimate sacrifice thats a hard way to fall.
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Absolute classic!
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