1977 NYC Blackout Network Disruptions

[Stanislav]

Anyone recall the 1977 New York City Blackout and, specifically, any memories of disruptions in network programming?I recall two odd incidents that evening, and would like anyone to confirm/amplify/deny my memories (a lot of brain cells have gone south in the last 29 years) or add examples of their own.(1) I was watching "Soap" on ABC. Unaware of the blackout, I had left the room briefly to take a.....er...."comfort break." When I returned, I had a strange sense of deja vu as I found myself watching the exact same scene (in which Benson kills a mouse, muttering, "Got that muther....") that I had just witnessed a few minutes previous. Odd as it sounds, I distinctly recall shortly thereafter a bizarre live audio voiceover advising something to the effect that the scene was being repeated due to "poor audio quality." However, I noted no audio problems on either the original scene, nor the repeat.I did read in an article about the blackout in Broadcasting Magazine that NBC, after losing power at their NYC facilities, switched to a West Coast originated feed for their 10 pm ET showing of "Kingston: Confidential." So, my suspicions are that ABC did a similar thing, switching feeds in the middle of "Soap," and not perfectly synching it so that part of the scene was repeated. (I imagine it was a case of someone somewhere scrambling to put up a tape of the proper episode and FFing to the approximate point where the NY feed dropped out.) Does this sound even remotely plausible?(2) The local 11 pm news of my NBC affiliate ended their newscast that night by advising viewers to "stay tuned for an NBC Special Report about the blackout." This was followed by an extended period (maybe 2-3 minutes) of dead air, then a static slide that read "The Tonight Show." Shortly thereafter, a live audio voiceover came on (you could even hear the mike "clunking" on and being moved around), apparently from a technician who believed he was still on a closed circuit and advising affiliates that "The Tonight Show will begin at........" giving the late start time in (unstated) Pacific Time (again confirming the West Coast origin of the feed). A few moments later, he cut in again, actually chuckling, and correcting the time to Eastern. After a few more moments of dead air, "The Tonight Show" started, probably about 5 minutes late, and there was no sign of any news special as announced on the local news. (Makes me wonder -- were the affiliates advised that a special would air, but for some reason it was not ready in time?) Did anyone else witness this very weird sequence that night?Any other memories?

 

[rwells2265]

I was 12 years old, and we all were "out west" on a family vacation. The night of the blackout, we were at a motel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We'd turned on the TV in the room -- I was engaged in a book and wasn't paying much attention; amazingly I have no recollection which network was on, nor the program Mom & Dad were looking forward to watching. Completely out of character..... ;-)The TV station had a voiceover with its logo, saying due to the NYC blackout they were unable to receive programming ... and "we hope you enjoy the following special program." .... they filled with a rebroadcast of the syndie game show "Break the Bank", one of my favorites at the time. Down went the book.

 

[KML0224]

??? Anything come out of the Northeast blackout of 2003? I live in central Connecticut and had our lights dip big time for about 20-30 seconds and then everything came back up. Apparently, those in lower Fairfield County (i.e. Stamford, Norwalk) weren't so lucky.

 

[Milwaukee12]

As for the Blackout of 2003, here in Milwaukee there was no interuption in programs becuase all of the network stations were in syndication programming. At about ten after 3, networks started breaking into programming with special reports.

 

[davect]

I was watching "Soap" also. I seem to recall the local station's feed went to black and/or static in the middle of a commcerical break (I think in the middle of ABC's "We're still the one" promo). Then the local station aired their "technical difficulties" slide. I don't recall what happened after that. Can't comment on the power outage of 2003 because I was affected by it. No power, no TV!

 

[FreddyE1977]

On KDKA in Pittsburgh, they cut to the local news anchor, Bill Burns, who seemed slightly disoriented andunprepared. He read from a press release, saying that CBS and NBC network programming wouldcontain a number of technical difficulties, as both networks were running on battery power, but thatABC had switched operations to the west coast. I then flipped over to NBC, which had a promo slidefeaturing Raymond Burr (I forget which series he was in at the time) that was up for a number ofminutes, before the program resumed with distorted sound. The next morning I recall the Today show, not on it's usual set, but from a table in a closet, beinglit by a battery powered klieg light.

 

[Stanislav]

I then flipped over to NBC, which had a promo slidefeaturing Raymond Burr (I forget which series he was in at the time)...

That was "Kingston: Confidential," as mentioned in my original post. Probably Burr's least memorable series -- I believe it was a one-season wonder.

The next morning I recall the Today show, not on it's usual set, but from a table in a closet, being lit by a battery powered klieg light.

In a closet, huh? You'd think there wouldn't be enough room in there, what with Gene Shalit's mustache....

 

[Stanislav]

I was watching "Soap" also. I seem to recall the local station's feed went to black and/or static in the middle of a commcerical break (I think in the middle of ABC's "We're still the one" promo). Then the local station aired their "technical difficulties" slide. I don't recall what happened after that.

That break must have been when I was in the little boy's room (see original post). It really was disorienting to leave the room for a few minutes, and come back to the exact same scene I was watching when I left.

 

[tvradiofan]

Not to nitpick, but.....since the blackout was in July of '77, and 'Soap' didn't air until September('77-'78 was its first season)...what were those of you who remember watching it that night really watching?

 

[MarcB]

2003 Blackout

Kevin,With regards to the 2003 Blackout WNBC and WPIX in NYC went off the air for several hours during the overnight hours to conserve generator power. At that time COX Cable of Meriden, Conneticut carried both WNBC and WPIX. Meanwhile WSAH Channel 43 with it's office and tower in Seymour Connecticut was off the air from 4PM (or so) until power was restored in Seymour at 5:45AM the next morning. I'm not sure of the exact time of the blackout cuz I was working at the Shaws Supermarket in Bristol. I rememeber we had 2 or 3 Power Surges. I had to reset the bottle return machines and I think the head cashier had to reset all the cash registers too. I thought the power surge was because it was a hot and humid day and a lot of people had their air conditioners on, but then I heard from a couple customers that their was no power in NYC. I missed 1 1/2 days of an event I was anttending because the trains weren't running.

 

[Stanislav]

Not to nitpick, but.....since the blackout was in July of '77, and 'Soap' didn't air until September('77-'78 was its first season)...what were those of you who remember watching it that night really watching?

Way to mess with my addled middle-age mind, fella!! No offense, but I had to quickly wikipedia and google these assertions, and I found that....you're right. (I hate when that happens...) :-Just goes to show how memories can be altered, combined, and edited after so many years! Yes, as you pointed out, "Soap" didn't air until September 1977, and the blackout was back in July. Actually, on a Wednesday night in the summer of '77, it would have been "Baretta" from 9-10 Eastern, followed by "Charlie's Angels." And yet, I have a VIVID memory of the "repeating scene" on "Soap" with the weird announcement about the audio -- even to recalling the exact scene and dialogue that prompted the deja vu.Maybe there was such a "glitch" on ABC on some subsequent year and evening, and my mind has connected it in retrospect with the blackout? Anyway, barring using hypnosis or truth serum to tease out the details, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! (Don't know what the OTHER guy's excuse is.....)

 

[ixnay]

Anyone recall the 1977 New York City Blackout

Yes. I was coming home to Boothwyn, PA from a day trip to New Hope when I heard about it on the radio. As for network disruptions, I don't recall one way or another.ixnay

 

[Studio20]

Re: 1977 NYC Blackout Network Disruptions...Soap???

Dude probably wasnt even alive at the time, lol...."Soap" didnt debut till months later on ABC. Now, there were some press reports that summer touting the controversial series, and the reaction of such religious leaders as Dr Fallwell, Pat Robertson, etc.....What he might have been "watching" was "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" or even "Fernwood 2Night", the only two shows airing that would have even remotely resembled "Soap"...

 

[KML0224]

Re: 2003 Blackout

At that moment (August 2003), I was at A&P Super Foodmart in Berlin, CT near CT Routes 9 and 372. There was a major lightshow inside and some people started going "W.T.F.?". ???My home in New Britain only had a momentary dip but stayed on after that. It was scary to watch an unlit Times Square that first evening! As for THE blackout of 1977, I was only 6 then and was living in Wells, ME (between Portland and Portsmouth, NH).

 

[Stanislav]

Re: 1977 NYC Blackout Network Disruptions...Soap???

What he might have been "watching" was "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" or even "Fernwood 2Night", the only two shows airing that would have even remotely resembled "Soap"...

Well, in my case, I'm now convinced that it was "right show -- wrong era." I know that the weird disruption I saw happened during "Soap," but now I realize that I somehow in my memories connected that incident with the '77 blackout, whereas it must have been a later incident.I'm still firm on the weird NBC sequence with the special that did not air, the unintentional live voice-over, and the late "Tonight Show" start. I'd really like to hear from anyone else who witnessed that sequence the night of the blackout.

 

[oldschooler1]

This is off topic -- kind of - maybe I should start a new thread -- but when it comes to "weird" network technical interruptions like the "Soap" episode that's been described -- I remember watching the "Tonight" show -- maybe 1976, '77? -- When it was still 1.5 hours long -- They came back from a break, and a different episode was running! No explanation until the next night -- when Johnny said they'd had major technical problems with the studio, and had to bag the show about one-third of the way in. They even showed the clip where things went wrong -- I don't remember it well, but I remember it. Anyone else?

 

[Stanislav]

I remember watching the "Tonight" show -- maybe 1976, '77? -- When it was still 1.5 hours long -- They came back from a break, and a different episode was running! No explanation until the next night -- when Johnny said they'd had major technical problems with the studio, and had to bag the show about one-third of the way in. They even showed the clip where things went wrong -- I don't remember it well, but I remember it. Anyone else?

That seems odd, simply because "The Tonight Show" is taped several hours before it airs. If they had problems "in the studio" as Johnny claimed, one would think they would have scrapped the entire show and just shown a repeat from the start. (Unless there was a particularly noteworthy first guest that it would have been impossible to reschedule.) Any problems during the broadcast wouldn't have involved the studio at all -- by the time the show aired, everyone there would have long since gone home. I can imagine the tape going sour during the broadcast and having them substitute another show midstream, but that would involve a lot of quick-on-the-draw maneuvering (spooling up another episode and starting it reasonably close to a point where it would fit into the remaininder of the time slot). So, assuming it was a seamless transition (no dead air, delays, or trouble slides), it sounds like the problem was indeed during taping, they didn't want to scrap what they had already shot, and they put together this "hybrid" show between taping and broadcast.All in all, very unusual. I'd like to hear any clarifications from others who may have seen this.

 

[Jul]

I would like to know what the Philly TV stations did KYW-TV 3, WPVI-TV 6 and WCAU-TV 10 during the July 13th NYC 1977 blackout. Did the 3 stations run any of their programs they had or stayed with the network feed when the blackout happened ?