WKRP in Cincinnati (TV Series) Turkeys Away (1978) User Reviews

After 30 years, this episode still makes me laugh

[raphis · 10/10 · 22 November 2007]

This episode is crafted with sheer genius not only by the brilliant writing but by the actors. It showcases the talents of the various actors in this series, but most notably that of Richard Sanders (Les Nessman). His deadpan news reporting from the shopping center (not knowing what the Thanksgiving giveaway would be) and then his delivery of the Hindenburg "Oh the humanity" speech is absolutely a classic in sitcoms.

Equal praise for the rest of the actors in this episode. From the radio staff handling the angry callers, the subtlety of Jennifer (Loni Anderson) offering to get Mr Carlson his coffee. To the bewildered Mr Carlson (the late Gordon Jump) who discovers his knowledge of turkeys is sorely lacking.

I watched this episode today after having seen it the first time around in 1978 and it still makes me laugh.

A rare 10 out 10 for a sitcom. Bravo!

Dad Laughed for Days

[imchrisandrews · 10/10 · 10 July 2018]

I cannot add much to the narrative beyond what others have said. But my dad's enjoyment of this episode never waned, from the first viewing when he laughed for THREE DAYS, desperate to catch a breath, to the last just a few years ago. He passed in 2016. Les's "they're hitting the pavement like wet bags of cement" and Carlson's "as god as my witness... I thought turkeys could fly" will keep him with me.

Beyond-Excellent Episode, But Let's Examine Its Brilliant Setup

[richard.fuller1 · 10/10 · 6 December 2006]

It cannot be said enough how sensational is this episode, the eighth episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, so let's take a different approach to looking at the episode.

Namely, the setup. Anyone familiar with the show knows that it has eight cast members. Let's look at the placement of those eight people during this episode.

Mr. Carlson had Herb Tarlek with him, Les Nessman was in front of the shoe store, and Andy, Johnny, Venus and Bailey are at the radio station in the dj booth.

We don't even see Jennifer Marlowe during all of this, as obviously she is at her desk.

What else we don't see is a helicopter or any turkeys.

All the action, all the chaos, is from what we don't see. The only thing we are given is Les Nessman's report and the flabbergasted reactions of the the quartet in the sound booth.

Even more driving is the terrified shoppers running by Les as he gives a play-by-play to the turkeys' plummet.

Then we are given the only possible summary by Dr. Fever; The Pinedale Shopping Mall has been bombed by live turkeys.

From there, we receive the final fate of Mr. Carlson and Herb, covered in turkey feathers, and the truly terrified Les (the entire cast was gold, but Richard Sanders as Les shines constantly in this entire show, all the episodes), who described hiding in a phone booth from a deranged mob and that the surviving turkeys seemed to mobilize and attack (apparently Mr. Carlson and Herb).

"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly" No, but this single episode sure has flown; to the top of the list in outstanding, original comedy episodes.

Worth noting: apparently turkeys being flung from a moving vehicle actually did take place, tho it may eventually become lost as to who or what did it. It seems it really was a radio station trying to do a Thanksgiving day promotion tho.

One version I did hear (perhaps the actual event) was that a radio station in Texas, I believe, released live turkeys from the back of a truck, thinking they would fly, which of course they didn't.

According to Tim Reid (Venus Flytrap) when he appeared on a holiday Tvland special, it was frozen turkeys which were thrown from the vehicle, be it a helicopter or a truck, they might as well have hurled cannonballs, if it was frozen turkeys.

No Turkeys Were Actually Harmed

[JasonDanielBaker · 21 August 2011]

Station manager Art Carlson is a kind and generous man who nevertheless couldn't run a lemonade stand properly and had been mismanaging WKRP for years up until he hired new program director Andy Travis. Receptionist Jennifer (This is the episode where we learn she doesn't take dictation or get coffee) redirects important mail to Travis and shields Carlson from phone calls which generally is the way Carlson wants it.

But occasionally the Big Guy gets bored and demands to have some kind of involvement beyond rubber-stamping Travis's decisions. Travis of course is constantly trying to keep Carlson out of the loop. In this episode Travis is challenged again to keep Carlson satisfied with doing nothing significant that might interfere with station affairs. A befuddled Travis tells Carlson "You're the boss! You do boss stuff!" but fails to sufficiently elaborate.

Carlson has caught on and stages a counter rebellion. If the Big Guy isn't handled right when he decides to assert his authority it can result in simply pestering employees which he does here. Travis protests saying that everything is going well. Carlson's response is an ominous "And its going to get even better!".

Carlson then orchestrates what he thinks is a masterstroke of a Thanksgiving promotion i.e. a turkey giveaway at a shopping mall. He doesn't fill Travis in on the details but a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway could hardly be anything complicated. It isn't even original. If the Big Guy wants to handle a promotion once in awhile how bad could it be? Fever fills Venus in on Carlson's disastrous past promotion ideas before they tune in to a live remote broadcast from the mall by Les giving commentary on the event that Carlson says is "going to set the city on its ear".

Les, out there all alone, is the real victim in all of this and we all listen helplessly as he relates the horrific events which follow. His summary of initial events is comically inept as usual but the accuracy becomes almost unbearable for his co-workers listening at the station when he finally diagnoses the fact that Carlson and Tarlek have bombed a shopping mall with live turkeys.

This episode, one of the funniest things ever shown on network TV, gets funnier the second time you see it. Les's blissfully unaware diplomatic conjecture in his narration up until the moment we discover what is going on is more hysterical when you know what is coming.

Travis, who continually tried to manipulate Carlson out of the picture in ways which would have made Machiavelli blush defends his boss as best he can here to the other employees and to an understandably outraged Cincinnati mayor. It is partly his fault but only because he neglected handling Carlson the way we have sometimes seen him do so well.

Mr.Carlson, having emerged from the helicopter covered in turkey feathers exclaims "As God as my witness I thought turkeys could fly". I personally have always had tremendous empathy for Mr.Carlson. Why do turkeys have wings if they can't fly? What we get from the narrative beyond the incredibly funny conclusion is a sense of the family dynamic at work here. The biggest obstacle to Andy's success is Carlson, a guy he likes for an awful lot of reasons none of which have to do with any aspect of radio. But even after an epic fiasco like the turkey bombing which reflects badly on everyone at the station Andy tries to offer his boss heart-warming words of encouragement seeing the man's disappointment.

The best Thanksgiving show ever done for a weekly sitcom

[AlsExGal · 10/10 · 28 November 2019]

Back when there were three networks and no cable almost every weekly sitcom had a holiday show, usually at Christmas, usually ham-fisted, usually outright hammy. You'd change the channel but you'd still be watching a holiday show on another channel.

This episode was different. WKRP was a comedy about a bunch of incompetents and a few competents working at a rock and roll radio station. And yet a Thanksgiving show done the way that this was done fit perfectly with the personalities of the characters involved. The main issue is that Arthur Carleson, titular manager of WKRP, is feeling more and more titular ever since Andy Travis (Gary Sandy) came to work there a few months ago to get the radio station into reasonable shape. Carleson is the son of the actual owner of the station, and as one character mentioned one time "WKRP employs people who would otherwise be out of work." So Carleson gets an idea for a Thanksgiving promotion that he won't share with anybody else, with chaotic and hilarious results.

And it spawned a great final line that anybody over 15 in 1978 will immediately recognize - "As God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly". Highly recommended.

The best single episode of any television show ever

[oklahomasooners · 15 September 2020]

I know that referring to this episode as the best episode ever of any show ever might be a bold statement, but going to stick with it. Over 40 years since this episode came out, and after I personally have watched this particular episode dozens of times, I still laugh until I cry every single time I watch it.

Excellent in every way. If you can watch this episode without being inclined to watch the rest of the series, or at least watch this episode again, I would be very surprised.

Prepare to laugh!