WKRP in Cincinnati S1 Ep. 7-Turkeys Away

• Directed by Michael Zinberg
• Written by Bill Dial
• Created by Hugh Wilson
• October 30, 1978
• CBS

Episode Cast

• Andy Travis-Gary Sandy
• Arthur Carlson-Gordon Jump
• Jennifer Marlowe-Loni Anderson
• Les Nessman-Richard Sanders
• Venus Flytrap-Tim Reid
• Herb Tarlek-Frank Bonner
• Bailey Quarters-Jan Smithers
• Dr. Johnny Fever-Howard Hesseman
• The Shoe Store Owner-Michael Fairman

Mr. Carlson tries to pull off the greatest Thanksgiving promotion in radio history but keeps it a secret.

Many shows back in the day had special holiday episodes. Christmas was practically a given with Thanksgiving and Halloween being close seconds. Few of the comedies ever really knocked it out of the park with any of those particular holidays. Sure they were entertaining and things got a little crazier on a particular sitcom than normal, but it was rare that they were above average for whatever show. 

WKRP in Cincinnati S1 Ep. 7-Turkeys Away is a rare exception. WKRP was a hilarious show about the off-kilter staff at a struggling radio station. Things often took a weird turn in that show and their Thanksgiving episode was no exception, but it was quite possibly one of the funniest episodes of the entire series and I dare say a certified television classic. 

It begins simply enough with the station manager Mr. Carlson (Gordon Jump) feeling left out of the goings on at the very radio station that his family owns. His secretive nature over whatever his idea has the audience as well as the characters know something is up, but nobody quite realizes just what exactly is going on. He comes up with what he feels is a great Thanksgiving promotion. Something that is unlike anything else and will make radio history. 

What it turns out to be is an effort guided by a lack of important scientific facts driven by a need to feel useful. Human stupidity-understandable human stupidity-mixed with understandable human motivations. All with comedic results. You see, Mr. Carlson was unaware that turkeys could not fly and thought it would be appropriate and memorable to release them from a helicopter. It’s one long joke that leads up to a satisfying payoff as all the characters are just stunned by events. 

The coup de grace is the drop itself as narrated by WKRP reporter Les Nessman (Richard Sanders) in only the way that Les Nessman could report. How it devolves into a narration similar to that of the Hindenburg disaster is uproarious!

It’s just an absurd and insane bit of television comedy that pushed the idea as far as it could go. Nobody was portrayed out of character. Nothing illogical for a given individual occurred in order to move things on. Everybody played within their character. Station manager Andy Travis (Gary Sandy) understood that whatever Mr. Carlson was up to was because he just wanted to feel useful. Herb (Frank Bonner) and Les did as expected. Elements built in a comedic yet logical way with it all being one big tease.

This is just a great bit of comedy that works as well today as it did back then. It plays on characterizations and understandable motivations. It’s dumb as all get out and ultimately seeks to entertain without pushing any kind of moral agenda. It’s an effective bit of silliness that leaves you laughing. 

I know this is available on DVD, but as for streaming, I’m not so sure. Clips can be found around the Internet but if you have the chance to view it even if you’ve never seen the show or even heard of it before it’s worth a look. The characters are set up pretty quickly and you don’t need to know a lot about them to get any of the jokes. Sitcoms of old were structured in such a way that even the pilot episode was not necessary viewing to understand later episodes.

Point is take in WKRP in Cincinnati S1 Ep. 7-Turkeys Away for a Thanksgiving themed laugh. You will not regret it!