i was told that the wkrp flying turkey episode was inspired by a real turkey drop. is that true? i cant find any info about that. can someone help me out . thanks
I was in radio when WKRP was on the air (the first time). It was widely reported in the trade publications at the time that the turkey episode was inspired by a radio station somewhere in the South (I think it was Georgia). They knew wild turkeys could fly, but didn’t realize that domesticated turkeys weren’t able to. I don’t know how many turkeys were lost in the (real) promotion, but obviously the TV show exaggerated for effect.
Oh, the humanity!
I haven’t found what your looking for, but here’s a turkey story that’s bad news.
I found the exploding whale avi again and I am now downloading it. Blubber raining down in large chunks on the spectators.
I give up. Searching for “turkey and plane” together on the web is exasperating. At least 25% of the pages are sex sites. Good God! I want to know what these sites have that include an actual turkey and a plane.
pluto - god I’m still laughing. That’s my favorite episode and I can still hear Les…
hey guys thanks for all the help…yup… my favorite episode also… les sure was surprised when the turkeys hit the ground… i am from cincinnati, and as i travel across the country, the first question i am asked, is… is there really a wkrp in cincinnati? no
Oddly enough, there is not a WKRP anywhere in the country according to a book I have that lists every station that exists.
But there is, however, a KKKK! Based out of Odessa, TX, it is a religious station. Let me clean my screen from the irony dripping all over it now…
I resist the urge every day to call their main number and ask them why they took my baby away!
Yer pal,
Satan
Hey Satan, why don’t you look up KBBL in that book of yours; then maybe we can settle the “Simpsons Springfield” controversy once and for all.
TT
“Believe those who seek the truth.
Doubt those who find it.” --Andre Gide
"
What up with that?
Not impressed.
[[Oh, the humanity!]] Pluto
“With God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”
[[But there is, however, a KKKK! Based out of Odessa, TX, it is a religious station. ]] Satan
“Live, from the Apollo Theater, it’s the Krusty Komedy Klassic …!”
Speaking of Les’ exclamation “Oh, the humanity!” (which was borrowed from the famous recording of the Hindenberg barbeque), has it ever occured to anybody that the expression is wrong?
Surely it would be more correct to say, “Oh, the inhumanity!”
Am I the only person who thinks this?
Timothy-
It’s become a cliche’ , sadly. I always took it to mean, " Oh, the LOSS of humanity ". The reporter had no way of knowing that there would indeed be survivors when he cried that famous line.
If you watch that clip, with audio, and try to strip away all memory of ever having seen it before… it is a horrifying moment to witness.
Cartooniverse
" If you want to kiss the sky you’d better learn how to kneel. "
Satan, I believe that WKRP was supposed to be close to WKRC, an actual station in Cincinnati.
SanibelMan – The Man From Sanibel
“I like Florida; everything is in the eighties. The temperatures, the ages, and the IQs.”
– George Carlin
No, many people have thought the utterance (understandably under the circumstances but still) poorly worded (sort of like this sentence.) Inhumanity however would imply that the passengers were intentionally killed.
WKRP was a crappy radio station. That is where the calls come from. Of course times being what they were, they called themselves WKRP -KARP. (like the fish). Which brings up the funniest episode when Herb the Karp gets in a fight with a Pig (from rival station WPIG)
IIRC, I believe WKRC also at one time had a station manager named Art Carlson.
“I’m not conceited. Conceit is a fault, and I don’t have any faults.”
thanks for all of the interesting replies, however i feel like diogenes, lost in my search for the truth. many of you appear to have great knowledge yet no one offers the answer that will end my lenghty quest.
posted 10-12-1999 06:25 AM
i was told that the wkrp flying turkey episode was inspired by a real turkey drop. is that true? i cant find any info about that. can someone help me out . thanks
When WKRP was on the air, there was quite a bit of coverage noting that the station manager Carlson was based on the manager of WQXI here in Atlanta. I forget his name, but he acknowledged it, and everyone agreed that he was the basis for the character.
In all of that coverage, however, I don’t remember anything about the turkey drop being based on a real incident. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t, but it seems like something I would remember.
If I were in charge, I’d drop frozen turkeys on the crowd. Much more humane.
– Greg, Atlanta