Oh lordie!!! They don't make 'em like they used to. That is one of my all time favorite shows.

Seriously, has our view of what's funny changed so much that we don't have anything like WKRP anymore? "Pushing up Daisies" is the nearest thing lately for off the wall humor.

No, they don't make them like they used to. I'm sure what is funny goes in and out of style, but it's hard to laugh when the material presented crosses over into offensive (and I don't necessarily mean in the prudish sense). There are just so many topics I don't think necessary to expose children to but would be perfectly suitable to adults and I don't find the networks are paying that issue much attention lately.

More than that, however, is that much of what passes as new comedy is so tired and overused. They get the same reaction from me as a joke I've heard over and over again. The best comedy now seems to be imported.

Funny Tisha! I enjoyed it. So did hubby. Hubby and I both would've sworn they were frozen turkeys. Wonder what that says about us?

The wonderful thing about WKRP was that it didn't rely on "jokes" - it was character driven and out of that came wonderfully funny situations. My late partner was the Art Director on that show and came home with some very funny stories.

Sheila, it would be so awesome to hear some of those stories. You're very lucky!

Well,

Iffin we're getting all traditional now...

Alice's Restaurant.

Sit back, relax, make yourself all comfortable. It's 18 minutes long.

P.S. After all these years I still have a mad crush on Bailey. The Lonnie Anderson character paled in comparison.
*Sigh*
Bailey defined the word "sexy."

Where's the Group W crowd these days?

Omg, I forgot how funny that was.. I was busting up. I loved WKRP...

One of my favorite episodes was the phone cop episode.. I still laugh thinking about it...

I swear I thought turkeys could fly.

Karen

Wild ones can, a little bit. I've seen them roost in the lower branches of trees but I don't think they can do anything very sustained in the way of flying.

Turkey's bred now for consumption are a far cry from the turkeys running around in the wild. The factory farm turkey is engineered to produce breast meat to the point it can barely walk, let alone fly. I read one article stating they can't even reproduce by themselves anymore, they have to use AI.

I've eaten wild turkey too. I'll trade in the extra meat for the extra taste anytime.

Y'all DO know that I was quoting Mr. Carlson. RIIIIIGHT?

:o)

Karen

LOL. Nooooooooo, but I do now.

Many thanks for posting this. I loved that show and I've never forgotton the one with the turkeys.

Another fan here!
Such a funny show!

Thanks for the memory.

:) I just thought it was an animal lover who hadn't given a lot of thought to our fat feathered friends,Karen LOL

Bur I guess that described Mr. C too:)

I loved that show (along with the other great ensemble group sitcoms that were on the air in the late 1970's & 1980's like Taxi & Cheers). Les Nessman always cracked me up & living out here in the sticks now, DH & I find more than a few similarities with that fictional radio station & out local TV news. The visitors gift shop at the rose garden here sells a t-shirt that reads, "London! Paris! Rome! Tyler, TX!" - a dierect rip-off from WKRP.

This episode reminds me of the time some "genius" decided to drop softballs from atop the Terminal Tower here in Cleveland .... :)

I loved Taxi and WKRP, sitcoms are good for a belly laugh !

Does anyone remember Barney Miller? That's one of my favorites too.

I loved Barney Miller - along with Taxi and WKRP = and later Northern Exposure

Night Court and Welcome Back Kotter. Yep, they don't make 'em like they used to.

I just checked the Jump the Shark website. KRP is STILL considered one of the few shows that, by a majority of voters, never did jump the shark during first-run episodes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Because I know someone will ask.

I'd forgotten about Night Court - and I worked on the first season. I still smoked in those days and the air was always thick...mostly thickest around Selma Diamond. She was truly a wonderful broad in the best sense of that word.

I am not familiar with the expression of jumping the shark. Whazzit mean?

I wasn't either. I had to ask my teenage son, and he gave me a one word answer. Wikipedia. Thus goes the modern age...

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia - Jump the Shark

The most famous jump the shark incident I can recall was in the TV series Dallas when, after Bobby Ewing had died, was brought back either at the end of the season or at the beginning of the following season because "it had all been a dream." Yeah, right - it was all a dream that the series could survive writing that bad.

OTOH, DH, who was a trial attorney always said that Night Court was the most realistic show about attorney's& courtroom procedure he'd ever seen. I'm not sure what that says about the American criminal justice system, but somehow it always made me feel good.

OK, as proof that I watch entirely too much television, I'm going to respond to your "Dallas" observation, Andie. lol

I think Patrick Duffy actually left the series. So they killed off his character. Then Duffy wanted to come back. So this is how they did it.

Karen

Karen, imdb says: "When Patrick Duffy was asked to return to the show in 1986, his wife told him that the only way it could happen is if his character had actually died in a dream. This led the producers to decide that Bobby Ewing's death (in addition to the entire 1985-86 season) was just a figment of Pam Ewing's imagination."

But that explains the poor writing! Why did they listen to his wife?!

Never watched Dallas more than a couple of times. I forget why, maybe I didn't care for the characters. But I remember the utter disbelief of people when it was declared all a dream. I think it sort of spoiled the rest of the show for a lot of people. No one likes to have illusions spoiled.

Any of you old enough to remember "Car 54, where are you?" Toody and Muldoon were perfect for their parts.

LOL, Agnes, I not only remember that show, but I remember the opening theme music, which, of course is going to be playing in my head ALL DAY!!

WKRP is the first thing I thought of when readingthe title!!
I think that show and Taxi and Wings just seemed to have perfect casts.

I once heard sitcoms like these described as having "workhorse" casts. Meaning: the actors/characters had such chemistry that the shows came together seamlessly. I definitely agree that KRP, Cheers, Taxi and Wings fit this description.

I also think Two and a Half Men is a workhorse sitcom. Very few TV shows can make me laugh out loud. "...Men" sometimes leaves me in a helpless puddle of giggles on my living room couch. The writing, the acting, the casting of these particular actors...to me, it's comedy perfection.

Holland Taylor (Charlie & Alan's mom) and Conchata Ferrell (Berta) make me absolutely weak from too much laughter in the same way that Johnny Fever and Les Nessman did on KRP. Like the way I brought that back around to the topic? :o)

Karen

Sheila, I used to have a huge crush on Harry Anderson... You know, blonde, skinny, quirky... Just the way I like them... Tell me he was crush worthy!! :)

"My Name Is Earl" is a current one that I like. I am not fond of all the characters on the show, but the interaction between Earl and his brother, Randy, is great! The guy that plays Randy is perfect for the role. No one else could do the job as well.

That's what makes a great show. Not the script, but the actors portrayal of the characters in the script. IMHO

Agnes, I love MNIE too. It's one of my favorite shows on TV right now.