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It's kinda sad that there are only two real memorable Thanksgiving-ish quotes in the American consciousness -- Malcolm X once noted "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us." And I'm not sure that counts as a Thanksgiving quote, but close enough for flag football.
The second, and my favorite, belongs to grizzled station manager Arthur Carlson of fictional radio station WKRP in Cincinnati. After essentially bombing a shopping mall with turkeys from a flying helicopter and facing the redirected wrath of the surviving poultry, he delivers one of the great lines (and perfect delivery and timing) in American sit-com history: "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
Edit: Someone YouTubed the episode, in chunks. Glorious. Here's the dramatic crescendo.
Playing Carlson was Gordon Jump, later known as the perpetually-lonely Maytag repairman, but also significantly an alumnus of Kansas State University's journalism program, who worked in radio in both Manhattan and Topeka. He was never less than a generous patron of both journalism and theatre (once it began at K-State), and visited several times before dying in 2003.
It's a pity that music rights have kept DVD releases off the shelves and reruns wretchedly edited -- the show wasn't perfect, but when it was good, it was very, very good. (The revival series? Not so much.)
The second, and my favorite, belongs to grizzled station manager Arthur Carlson of fictional radio station WKRP in Cincinnati. After essentially bombing a shopping mall with turkeys from a flying helicopter and facing the redirected wrath of the surviving poultry, he delivers one of the great lines (and perfect delivery and timing) in American sit-com history: "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
Edit: Someone YouTubed the episode, in chunks. Glorious. Here's the dramatic crescendo.
Playing Carlson was Gordon Jump, later known as the perpetually-lonely Maytag repairman, but also significantly an alumnus of Kansas State University's journalism program, who worked in radio in both Manhattan and Topeka. He was never less than a generous patron of both journalism and theatre (once it began at K-State), and visited several times before dying in 2003.
It's a pity that music rights have kept DVD releases off the shelves and reruns wretchedly edited -- the show wasn't perfect, but when it was good, it was very, very good. (The revival series? Not so much.)
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My favorite moment from that episode: Right after the afforementioned Les Nesman line, he continues, "I don't know how much longer I can hold out here Johnny. The crowd is--"
Johnny Fever: "Les? Les? Les are you there? Les isn't there." *turns pots up* Thanks for that on-the-spot report Les. For those of you who just tuned in the Pinedale shopping mall has just been bombed with live turkeys. Film at eleven."
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