Television show which ran briefly on the
Nickelodeon network in the mid-
1980s. It was produced by the company of
Roger Price who had done
You Can't Do That On Television. (An interview on that show's web site mentions that "Turkey Television had flopped (largely because of Nickelodeon's meddling)" by mid-
1986. I can't find any more explanation of the reasons it was on for such a brief time.
It was put together of clips from other sources: bits of stand-up comedians' performances (this is where I first saw Dana Carvey do his Chopping Broccoli song, before Saturday Night Live), classic film comedies (W.C. Fields going out to milk the elk and such), music videos and commercials in foreign languages, anything that was kid-network friendly and funny. Animations of Thurmon Turkey ran over the theme music and before and after commercials.
The theme music words:
Long Intro:
Four score and many years ago, we're talkin' pre-TV
Thurmon Turkey strolled along his shores to see what he could see
He sniffed the flowers, felt the breeze, as thought a thought or two
As he was quoted later, "There was nothin' else to do"
One day ol' Thurmon Turkey showed up missin' from the flock
He had schlepped to Massachusetts where he perched on
Plymouth Rock
A ship he spotted frightenin' that made his blood run cold
It was packed with pudgy pilgrims from the bowsprit to
the hold
"Here comes the neighborhood"
Now he's heard about those pilgrims and was ready for their
flack
Ever since the Magna Carta they ate turkey for a snack
He invented something drastic that brought them to all fours
And it turned them into zombies, when they settle on our
shores
That's how a turkey created TV ... That's right!
That's right, a turkey created TV
It sounds stupid but, oh, take one look and you'll know
That a turkey created TV!
Shorter Version of the intro:
All around the world, from Paris to the Taj Mahal
They're watching TV everywhere, and you can see it all, on
Turkey... Turkey TV, Turkey... Turkey TV
Anywhere they've got TV, Thurman Turkey's there
Bringin' it home to Hollywood, and puttin' it on the air
He won't fail, though the world's on his tail
Turkey... Turkey TV, Turkey... Turkey TV