1x07 Turkeys Away - WKRP in Cincinnati Episode Guide

WKRP in Cincinnati

- Episode 01x07

Episode: 01x07
Title: Turkeys Away
Type: Regular Episode
Production Code: 008
First Aired: Oct. 30, 1978

Season 1 » Episode #07 - Turkeys Away

Summary: Mr. Carlson proves that he is running things at WKRP by coming up with a promotion of his own, dropping live turkeys from an airplane for the people of Cincinnati for Thanksgiving.

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01x07 Turkeys Away (24:18) (Full Episode)

Who appeared in this episode?

Guest Stars:

Shoe Store Owner	played by Michael Fairman
Customer in store	played by Tim Womack (II)

Episode Quotes

Season 1 / Episode 7: - Turkeys Away

Jennifer Elizabeth Marlowe: You want me, Mr. Carlson?
Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson: Oh, yeah. Come in, Jennifer. Have a seat.
Jennifer Elizabeth Marlowe: No, thank you.
Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson: Well all right. At this particular point in time, I would like to dictate a press release.
Jennifer Elizabeth Marlowe: I don't take dictation.
Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson: What? Alright, I guess I can do this thing myself. It's probably going to be a long meeting though; so why don't you get coffee for all the guys here?
Jennifer Elizabeth Marlowe: I don't get coffee, Mr. Carlson. We agreed.
Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson: Oh, yeah.
Jennifer Elizabeth Marlowe: You have to draw the line somewhere.
Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson: You got that right.
Jennifer Elizabeth Marlowe: Will there be anything else I can do?
Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson: No. I think that about does it.
Jennifer Elizabeth Marlowe: Thank you.
Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson: Oh, no. Thank you.
Les Nessman: How does she get away with that?
Herbert 'Herb' Tarlek: Are you kidding?

Season 1 / Episode 7: - Turkeys Away

Les Nessman: I'm here with hundreds of people who have gathered to witness what has been described as perhaps the greatest turkey event in Thanksgiving Day history. All we know for sure is that in a very few moments there are going to be a lot of happy out here. Now the crowd is...

Les Nessman: the... the crowd is uh... curious but well behaved. And I think I hear something now. Uh... The crowd is moving out into the parking area. And... oh yes! I can see it now. It's a... it's a... helicopter and it's coming this way!
Andy Travis: A helicopter?
Les Nessman: It's flying something behind it and I can't quite make it out. It's a large banner and it says H A P P Y... T H A N K S... giving... from W... K... R... P! What a sight, ladies and gentlemen. What a sight. The 'copter seems to circling the parking area now. I guess it's looking for a place to land. No! Something just came out of the back of a helicopter. It's a dark object, perhaps a skydiver plummeting to earth from only two thousand feet in the air... There's a third... No parachutes yet... They 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? Oh, they're crashing to the earth right in front of our eyes! One just went through the windshield of a parked car! This is terrible! Everyone's running around pushing each other. Oh my goodness! Oh, the humanity! People are running about. The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement! Folks, I don't know how much longer... The crowd is running for their lives. I think I'm going to step inside. I can't stand here and watch this anymore. No, I can't go in there. Children are searching for their mothers and oh, not since the Hindenberg tragedy has there been anything like this. I don't know how much longer I can hold my position here, Johnny. The crowd...
Dr. Johnny Fever: Les? Les? Les, are you there? Les isn't there. Thanks for that on-the-spot report, Les. For those of you who've just tuned in, the Pinedale Shopping Mall has just been bombed with live turkeys. Film at eleven.

[More Quotes]

MISTAKES/GOOFS

CONT: While Johnny and Venus are discussing the blonde wig giveaway and the Guatemalan earthquake, the record label switches back and forth between a black label (probably Columbia) and a rainbow label.

TRIVIA

This is based on a real event that occurred while series creator Hugh Wilson (I) was working at radio station WQXI in Atlanta, Georgia.
This was ranked by TV Guide as one of the greatest episodes in TV history.
When this episode was rerun on CBS during the fourth season, Gary Sandy taped an introduction sitting in the broadcast booth set as he said the following. "Hi! I'm Gary Sandy. You know, of all the shows we've done on WKRP in the first three seasons, not one show ever generated the amount of mail, the amount of interest, as a show we did our very first season. It was called "Turkeys Away". So we kinda thought you might like to see it again. It's about Thanksgiving... so naturally we've chosen the Christmas season to show it. Happy Holidays. Drums, please. (Leading into the current season's credit sequence beginning) This is usually snipped from syndication prints, although it has been seen on some station's prints.
After this show aired, many radio stations across the country started the same Thanksgiving promotion, but dropping certificates redeemable for turkeys at their local supermarket, as opposed to live ones. Richard Sanders (I) was often paid by stations to appear in his Les Nessman character and broadcast the event live.
This was the most popular episode of the show, in terms of viewer reaction and fan mail. The episode, about a Thankgiving promotion that went wrong, was based on an actual radio station incident. Richard Sanders (I) (Les Nessman) prepared for the episode by studying a recording of Herbert Morrison (I)'s live broadcast of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster.

Episode Screenshots (From Season 1)

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