Comments on: WKRP's Turkey Drop, short attention span theater edition

By: Theodosia

Theodosia — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:22:00 +0000

Too shortened — the real beauty of the episode is how it builds, and the exquisite reaction shots as events off-camera are described, and Les Nessman’s “Oh, the humanity!”

By: Rhodeguy

Rhodeguy — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:12:00 +0000

On a related note, this reminds of me of the Married With Children episode of the “Santa Drop” which had a much more twisted result.

By: skeletoncityrepeater

skeletoncityrepeater — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:33:00 +0000

Short Attention Span Theater? Where’s Jon Stewart?

By: Halloween_Jack

Halloween_Jack — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:15:00 +0000

Saw it when originally broadcast, but thanks for the link. The build-up is really key, I think.

By: Halloween_Jack

Halloween_Jack — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:13:00 +0000

Uh… PETA was founded in 1980. Some other animal rights group, surely–the Humane Society or ASPCA, perhaps?

By: russingram

russingram — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:10:00 +0000

I lived near Yellville at the time – the the year after the PETA flap, the town decided to drop frozen turkeys with parachutes. Several chutes failed to open! If I recall correctly, the only damage was a dent in the hood of a car. For the next several years, an “anonymous” plane with blacked-out tail numbers performed the drop. I moved away around that time, not sure what happened after that.

By: skyhawk1

skyhawk1 — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:46:00 +0000

It just isn’t Thanksgiving without referring to that classic. Thanks.

By: hassenpfeffer

hassenpfeffer — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:45:00 +0000

Best. Thanksgiving. TV. Ever.

By: Wild Rumpus

Wild Rumpus — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 05:46:00 +0000

http://radio.about.com/od/thanksgivingradio/qt/WKRP-Turkey-Drop-Video-Audio.htm

“Oddly enough, this famous WKRP episode was loosely based on a real event! Back in 1946 (some sources say 1945), Yellville, Arkansas inaugurated the “Turkey Trot Festival” which included a wild turkey calling contest, a turkey target shoot, a Miss Drumsticks Pageant and oh yeah: a live turkey release from the roof of the courthouse.

After a few years, someone thought it might be fun to actually toss the poor gobblers out of a low-flying airplane for the event. This repeated for a number of years until 1989 when a national animal-rights protest cast the event in a bad light and the “National Enquirer” splashed a photo of the event across the nation forcing promoters to abandon the turkey drop.”

By: Wild Rumpus

Wild Rumpus — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 05:42:00 +0000

Ha ha! I watched this on it’s first airing too and I think the meme that developed from it is well deserved. That line never gets old.

By: James B

James B — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 04:54:00 +0000

I remember seeing that broadcast. I think Loni Anderson was dating Burt Reynolds about that time.

By: jimh

jimh — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:40:00 +0000

Oh, the HUMANITY!

By: jesse wolfe

jesse wolfe — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 01:37:00 +0000

If you’ve got about 50x the time, you can watch the original here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/322/wkrp-in-cincinnati-turkeys-away

By: spiderking

spiderking — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:30:00 +0000

Yellville, Arkansas was the inspiration for this episode, I guess.

By: solstice2005

solstice2005 — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:25:00 +0000

Thanks for that post! I had forgotten the show but it can never get old

By: EH

EH — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:06:00 +0000

Ah, another Chrome crash.

By: Hubert Cumberdale

Hubert Cumberdale — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 23:26:00 +0000

Thank you! Never gets old.