TVSquad

Yes, it's that time of year once again. It's Thanksgiving -- yay, food! With the times such as they are, I'll admit to being more thankful on a regular basis during this year than many years gone by. I have a job (a few jobs actually), a roof over my head, money for food and bills, good friends, family, a bionic knee so I can be a bit like The Six Million Dollar Man, and so much more.

But, since this is about television, I'm going to focus on what I'm thankful for in television and TV-related kind of things. We might share some items on the list, we might not. While the times might not be great for financial dealings, it's a wondrous time for television geeks like you and me. Or, maybe it's just me. So, exactly what am I thankful for? Read on.

There aren't as many classic Thanksgiving episodes of TV shows as there are classic Christmas episodes. But there are several we remember fondly, including this one. It's the "Turkeys Away" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati that originally aired on October 30, 1978. Carlson tries to come up with a special promotion for the station and, well, you'll see what happens.

[Watch episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati and other shows at SlashControl.]

Baby, if you've ever wondered, wondered whatever became of WKRP...well, it didn't really exist. It was a TV show. But now it's back, and it's even in Cincinnati.

However, there's a twist: this time it's the call letters of a small TV station. WBQC-TV has changed it's call letters to WKRP-TV. I can already sense the backlash that this move will inspire, fans of the show calling it "lame" and rival TV stations saying that they must have been "desperate" to make such a move. Personally, I think it's a great idea. I'm not saying that they have to start recreating episodes of the show at their station - especially not the turkey flying one - but this could give the station some buzz and identity.

Now, if they're smart, they'll try to run reruns of WKRP in Cincinnati on the station. Has that ever been done before, a TV station running a show that has the same name as the TV station itself?

Here's what on the other blogs via the internets.

• Is this a sign that the writers strike is about to end?
• Jaime Weinman has episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati at his site, including this one.
• Chris Matthews tries to explain his comments about Hillary Clinton.
• Here's video of Howard Stern's appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman the other night (here's part 2).
• OMG, there are two Hannah Montanas!
• Another celebrity feud in the making: Roseanne Barr goes after Oprah.
• Some gravestones of the stars. I like Merv Griffin's. [via PopWatch]

I'm talking about the famous "Turkey Drop" scene from WKRP in Cincinnati, of course. The reason why it is the best is not what we actually saw, but what was implied by reporter Les Nessman. If anything, the way the scene played out hearkened back to the golden days of radio and the "theater of the mind".

In this episode, entitled "Turkeys Away" and originally broadcast back in October of 1978, Mr. Carlson believes that the station needs a Thanksgiving promotion. So, he decides to have turkeys dropped from a helicopter flying above a shopping mall. What he doesn't realize is that turkeys aren't the greatest fliers, especially while being dropped from 2000 feet in the air. What results is a disaster. Nothing worse to ruin your holiday than a 20 or 30 pound turkey crashing into your car windshield from several thousand feet up.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Carol Bruce: She was well-known to TV audiences from a number of roles, including the mother of WKRP in Cincinnati's Mr. Carlson, as well as several appearances on Knot's Landing. She also appeared on The Twilight Zone (80s version), Studio One, Party of Five, Profiler, Diagnosis Murder, The Golden Girls, Jake and the Fatman, Doogie Howser, M.D., Diff'rent Strokes, Perfect Strangers, General Hospital, as well as the movies Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, American Gigolo, and the Abbott and Costello film Keep 'Em Flying. She died of pulmonary disease at age 87 in Woodland Hills, CA.

• At 7, USA has coverage of the U.S. Open (CNBC takes over at 9 except on the west coast).
• At 8, ABC Family has a new Kyle XY, then new episodes of Greek and Slacker Cats.
• Lots of classic shows on American Life starting at 8: 77 Sunset Strip, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Newhart, WKRP, and The Bob Newhart Show.
• Also at 8: Nickelodeon has a new SpongeBob SquarePants.
• At 9, ABC has a new Fat March.
• There's a new episode of The Closer on TNT at 9, followed by a new Saving Grace.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, NBC has a new Dateline.
• TBS has a new My Boys at 10.
• MTV has a new ep of The Hills at 10.
• VH-1 has a new Pick Up Artist at 10.
• The Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations at 10.
• There's a new Weeds on Showtime at 10, then a new Californication.

Check your local TV listings for more.

As Rich reported this morning, there's already a petition online to save HBO's John From Cincinnati from the canceled show graveyard. I doubt this is going to work, because of the reaction from viewers and the fact that David Milch probably wants to go on and do something else. But the gang at Best Week Ever has a great idea if it were to come back: change it to John From WKRP In Cincinnati!

OK, the joke doesn't go beyond changing the opening of the show, adding Loni Anderson, "Al Bundy" and (in a funny moment) Brian Austin Greene (?), but it's still a clever idea. I would have loved to have seen what this John guy could have done to those turkeys in the WKRP Thanksgiving episode.

"As God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly." That sounds like one of John's weird quotes.

No, this is not a joke. WKRP In Cincinnati is really coming out on DVD. There are flyers in the new DVD release of the Pamela Anderson sitcom Stacked (I knew that sitcom was good for something).

The show has been held up for a very long time because of rights issues concerning the music. There was a lot of music used on the show, and getting the rights to use the songs again on DVDs is very hard for a TV show. Or even in syndication. Fans of WKRP will remember that when the show was shown in syndication, almost all of the rock songs were replaced by other tunes, and many of them didn't even fit the scene they were used in. It was very irritating.

So how have they solved that problem? Well...in some cases, they haven't. The people putting together the DVDs have used the original music when they can, and when they can't, they've spent time trying to find music that is different but fits the scene anyway. Sure, I'd love to see all the music stay intact, but this is better than nothing.