Turkey Television facts for kids

Turkey Television was a fun Canadian TV show made for teens. It was a sketch comedy series, which means it was made up of many short, funny scenes or skits. The show first appeared on the Nickelodeon channel. It was created by Roger Price and Geraldine Laybourne. They made it because another Canadian comedy show, You Can't Do That on Television, was very popular on Nickelodeon. Turkey Television first aired in 1985 and ran for one season.

About Turkey Television

This show was all about an animated turkey named Thurman T. Turkey. He was voiced by Jim Thurman. Thurman's job was to travel the world. He would film TV shows from different countries. Then, he would "bring it home to Hollywood" and put it on the air for everyone to watch.

Meet the Cast

Many actors from You Can't Do That on Television joined Turkey Television. These included Les Lye, Christine McGlade, Kevin Kubusheskie, and Adam Reid. They were already well-known for their comedy. The show also brought in new talented actors from Toronto. These newcomers were Steven Aiken, T.J. Criscione, and Craig Warnock.

Christine McGlade also had a special role behind the scenes. She was a producer and a director for the show. Another cast member was John Koensgen. He played "Ivan Telaly," a funny Russian news announcer. John also co-hosted some episodes as himself.

Funny Skits and Segments

Turkey Television had many memorable and funny skits. Some of the most popular ones included parodies of famous people. For example, they made fun of Dr. Joyce Brothers, who was a well-known psychologist.

There was also a funny parody of "Hands Across America." This was a real event where people held hands across the country. In the show's version, called "Hams Across America," children sang while waving meat!

A frequent segment was "The Uncle Hogram Program." This part of the show was a parody of "Mr. Bill," a popular clay animation character. Actor Tom Riis Farrell appeared in these segments.

What Else Was on the Show?

The series also showed clips from other places. Sometimes they used old videos that were free to use. They would often change these clips by adding new sounds. This was similar to how Jay Ward's Fractured Flickers worked.

They also showed clips that were not very old. For example, scenes from Jacques Tati's movie Monsieur Hulot's Holiday were featured. There were also skits from the Uncle Floyd Show. The show even played unique music videos, like the song "Fish Heads".

Animation was a big part of the show too. Besides the opening and short breaks, Thurman the turkey had his own cartoon adventures. These were often like classic Looney Tunes cartoons. The show also featured international cartoons. This included the works of Mordillo. The Australian comedy character Norman Gunston also appeared often. Plus, many music videos by Weird Al Yankovic were shown from time to time.