Turkeys Away

"Turkeys Away" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American sitcom television series WKRP in Cincinnati . It aired on October 30, 1978 and was co-written by story editor Bill Dial and series creator Hugh Wilson. ^[1] In the episode, station manager Arthur Carlson attempts to pull off the greatest Thanksgiving promotion in radio history: dropping live turkeys from a helicopter.

Contents

• Synopsis
• Cast
• Background
• Reception
• References
• External links

Based on an actual promotion for a radio station that tossed live turkeys off the back of a truck, ^{[2] [3]} Turkeys Away has been praised by fans and critics and is widely considered to be the most famous episode of the series (frequently replayed during the Thanksgiving season). ^[3] The episode was included in TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. ^[4]

Synopsis

Station manager Arthur Carlson attempts to get more involved in the day-to-day operations of WKRP by coming up with a Thanksgiving publicity stunt that he keeps secret from the entire staff, save for sales manager Herb Tarlek: a special turkey giveaway, dropping the live birds from a helicopter outside a busy shopping center with a banner that reads "Happy Thanksgiving from WKRP."

On-the-scene reporter Les Nessman delivers a dramatic play-by-play of the ill-conceived event at the Pinedale shopping mall, live on the air, as Carlson and Tarlek plunge the turkeys to their deaths off the helicopter "like sacks of wet cement." The crowd begins to run for their lives as the turkeys violently crash into the ground. At one point, Nessman evokes Herbert Morrison's emotional description of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, "One just went through the windshield of a parked car. This is terrible, Oh, the humanity!"

Disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever, Andy Travis, Venus Flytrap and Bailey Quarters recoil in horror as Nessman recounts the gory details until his transmission is cut.

Fever concludes the segment by quipping, "For those of you who just tuned in, the Pinedale shopping mall has just been bombed with live turkeys...Film at 11!"

Following the incident, the station is bombarded with phone calls from the Humane Society and the Cincinnati mayor. Travis attempts to assuage the mayor's concerns by saying no humans were hurt during the incident.

Both Carlson and Tarlek return to the station in a disheveled state from the disastrous promotion. Carlson is incredulous that his idea went so awry. A distressed Nessman also returns, recounting how he jammed himself into a phone booth after some members of the crowd began to descend on him. He also revealed that the surviving turkeys mounted a counter-attack.

The episode ends with Carlson telling the staff, "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

Cast

• Gary Sandy as Andy Travis
• Gordon Jump as Arthur Carlson
• Loni Anderson as Jennifer Marlowe
• Richard Sanders as Les Nessman
• Tim Reid as Venus Flytrap
• Frank Bonner as Herb Tarlek
• Jan Smithers as Bailey Quarters
• Howard Hesseman as Dr. Johnny Fever
• Michael Fairman as the shoe store owner

Background

The plot of "Turkeys Away" is based on a true story. WKRP in Cincinnati creator Hugh Wilson — who adapted Carlson's character from Jerry Blum, a general manager of radio station WQXI in Atlanta from 1960 to 1989 — recounted that the episode was inspired by a similar live turkey giveaway promotion by Blum, who tossed turkeys out of a pick-up truck at a Dallas shopping center parking lot. ^[5]

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , Blum said in 1996 that following the disastrous promotion, he quipped, "I didn’t know turkeys couldn't fly," almost word-for-word what Carlson says at the end of the episode. ^[6]

"The public went nuts fighting over the turkeys and it was a mess," Blum said. "That was about the whole story... To my knowledge, the turkey drop was never repeated." ^[6]

Other aerial turkey drops have also been documented in Yellville, Arkansas, where the local Chamber of Commerce has over the years sponsored the Turkey Trot Festival and featured turkeys being dropped from a low-flying airplane. ^{[7] [8]}

Reception

"Turkeys Away" is widely considered the most famous, and revered episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, appearing on many lists of the greatest television episodes of all-time.

The A.V. Club's Brandon Nowalk called Richard Sanders's description of the turkey drop "creative and gruesome and downright hilarious," adding, "The whole gag happens offscreen, including the turkeys apparently organizing a counterattack, but vivid lines like that and Sanders' shell-shocked delivery, not to mention the way he's hugging the wall, make it come alive." ^[9]

In 1997 TV Guide ranked "Turkeys Away" episode at number 40 on its '100 Greatest Episodes of All Time' list. ^[4] In 2009, it moved to #65.

Related Research Articles

WKRP in Cincinnati is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta, including many of the characters. Wilson once told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he selected WKRP as the call sign to stand for C-R-A-P.

Dr. Johnny Fever is a fictional character on the American television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. He was inspired by Skinny Bobby Harper, who previously had been a DJ in Atlanta and on Cincinnati's Top 40 station WSAI. The character was portrayed by Howard Hesseman.

Alexander Gordon Jump was an American actor best known for playing Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the series WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982); he reprised the role in its spinoff The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1991–1993). He also played Chief Tinkler in the sitcom Soap (1977–1978) and Mr. Horton on a two-part episode of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1983). He appeared in Maytag commercials as the "Maytag repairman" from 1989 until he retired in 2003.

Timothy Lee Reid Sr. is an American actor, comedian and film director best known for his roles in prime time American television programs, such as Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82), Marcel "Downtown" Brown on Simon & Simon (1983–87), Ray Campbell on Sister, Sister (1994–99) and William Barnett on That '70s Show (2004–06).

Howard Hesseman was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class. He appeared regularly on television and in film from the 1970s to 2010s, with his other noteworthy roles including Sam Royer in the last two seasons of One Day at a Time and a supporting role as Captain Pete Lassard in the film Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment.

Gary Sandy is an American actor. He is best known for playing program director Andy Travis on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982).

WQXI is an AM radio station licensed to Atlanta, Georgia. The station has a power of 28,000 watts in the daytime, and 1,000 watts at night. WQXI's signal is non-directional during the daytime, and directional at night. As of 2009, the station broadcast in the IBiquity HD Radio AM hybrid digital mode during daytime hours.

Bailey Quarters is a character on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. She was played by actress Jan Smithers, and was based on creator Hugh Wilson's wife.

The New WKRP in Cincinnati is an American sitcom television series that aired in first-run syndication from September 7, 1991, to May 22, 1993, as a sequel to the original CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982). As with the original WKRP, MTM Enterprises produced the show.

Bert Parks was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979.

Linda Carlson was an American actress.

Herbert Ruggles Tarlek, Jr. is a character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982). He was played by actor Frank Bonner, who reprised the role for the sequel series The New WKRP in Cincinnati.

Jennifer Elizabeth Marlowe is a character on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82). She was played by actress Loni Anderson, who received three Golden Globe Award and two Emmy Award nominations for playing the character.

"Never Too Much" is the debut song written, composed, produced, and performed by Luther Vandross. The R&B song was released in 1981, as the lead single from Vandross's debut album of the same name. The title track hit number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, reached number four on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Lester "Les" Nessman Jr. is a fictional character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82) played by Richard Sanders. He reprised his role in the sequel series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati.

Andy Travis is a fictional character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82). He was played by Gary Sandy.

Venus Flytrap is a character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82), played by Tim Reid. He is the evening and early night-time disc jockey at WKRP, and during the course of the series he also becomes the assistant program director.

Arthur Carlson, aka "The Big Guy" is a fictional character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82), the general manager of the low-rated Cincinnati radio station WKRP. The character was also a regular on the "revival" series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1991–93), still working as general manager of WKRP. He was played by Gordon Jump in both shows.

"The Road to Cincinnati" is the eighth episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 692nd episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on November 29, 2020. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk, and written by Jeff Westbrook.

References

External links

• "Turkeys Away" at IMDb