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One of the all-time great network screw-ups...

S

Stanislav

Sorry I missed this a few weeks ago for TDITVH, but.....February 27, 1978: NBC is scheduled to air Part 2 of the 3-part mini-series Loose Change, but screws up and airs Part 3 for a full 17 minutes before the error is caught. Here is a clip of the "oops" announcement on YouTube. I'm not as well-versed as some of you on these classic network staff announcers, so someone else can supply the name (I recognize the voice, though), but I like how there is that long, slow intake of breath as the slide comes up -- that pause is just screaming "Crap, this is embarrassing, I wish I didn't have to be the one to read this...") :D I also like how it was described as a "technical problem" as if it were some piece of equipment's fault; "human error" would have been more honest.

Of course, it was just the eastern half of the country that got to witness this debacle -- they managed to get Part 2 off properly on time for the West Coast feed.

BTW, does anyone know, since they showed Part 2 in its entirety after the foul-up, was the whole NBC schedule in the East equally delayed, or did they just cut time out of the 11E/10C local news slot so that Carson would start on time? (If they did, that's one sure way to piss off your affiliates...)

God, NBC really hit the pits in that era, didn't they? It was around that same period that they had another big screw-up (that I've mentioned before here) when they replaced some canceled shows with a movie at the last minute, the movie ran short, and they were forced to fill out the time slot with several local WNBC-branded PSAs that went out over the network feed. Me, I think everything started to go sour for them when they dumped the Peacock and other classic icons in favor of that stupid 'N.'" It not only got them sued, it was bad karma as well. Serves 'em right. ;)
 
I worked briefly at an NBC affiliate in 1996 during baseball playoffs. Around 4pm we got the word that the game for that evening was rained out and all affiliates would have to fill prime time locally. After considerable scrambling NBC finally said theyd show a movie
 
Stanislav said:
Sorry I missed this a few weeks ago for TDITVH, but.....February 27, 1978: NBC is scheduled to air Part 2 of the 3-part mini-series Loose Change, but screws up and airs Part 3 for a full 17 minutes before the error is caught. Here is a clip of the "oops" announcement on YouTube. I'm not as well-versed as some of you on these classic network staff announcers, so someone else can supply the name (I recognize the voice, though), but I like how there is that long, slow intake of breath as the slide comes up -- that pause is just screaming "Crap, this is embarrassing, I wish I didn't have to be the one to read this...") :D I also like how it was described as a "technical problem" as if it were some piece of equipment's fault; "human error" would have been more honest. . . .

God, NBC really hit the pits in that era, didn't they? It was around that same period that they had another big screw-up (that I've mentioned before here) when they replaced some canceled shows with a movie at the last minute, the movie ran short, and they were forced to fill out the time slot with several local WNBC-branded PSAs that went out over the network feed. Me, I think everything started to go sour for them when they dumped the Peacock and other classic icons in favor of that stupid 'N.'" It not only got them sued, it was bad karma as well. Serves 'em right. ;)
Click to expand...

The announcer was the late Howard Reig. He and the other New York announcers - including Bill Wendell, Vic Roby, Bill Hanrahan, Bill McCord, Mel Brandt, Wayne Howell, and of course Don Pardo - were probably the only good things going for NBC in those years. Them and their West Coast counterparts Don Stanley, Donald Rickles, Peggy Taylor and Victor Bozeman (who were heard on the bumpers for the movie shows).

As for their "technical problems" . . . one could argue that during that era, NBC was a technical problem, in and of itself . . .
 
I remember in the early 2000s or so, Fox would actually run promos for 'America's Most Wanted' in which they spelled it 'America's Mosted Wanted'.

It went on like this for weeks, believe it or not.
 
How can we forget that night in April 1978, when NBC ran part THREE of The Holocaust, instead of Part TWO, as was scheduled? I was watching that night -- our family knew -- "hey, something's wrong! Are they showing part three? " Sure enough. The wrong episode ran for a good twenty minutes. I don't remember how it was resolved.

Apparently they had not learned their lesson from "Loose Change".

How can a NETWORK cue up the wrong tape of a highly-hyped primetime miniseries? And let it run for twenty minutes?!
 
Rob Jason said:
How can we forget that night in April 1978, when NBC ran part THREE of The Holocaust, instead of Part TWO, as was scheduled? I was watching that night -- our family knew -- "hey, something's wrong! Are they showing part three? " Sure enough. The wrong episode ran for a good twenty minutes. I don't remember how it was resolved.

Apparently they had not learned their lesson from "Loose Change".

How can a NETWORK cue up the wrong tape of a highly-hyped primetime miniseries? And let it run for twenty minutes?!
Click to expand...

Sure you're not confusing the two? Everything is so parallel or nearly so (Part 3 vs. Part 2; 17 minutes in one case, 20 in the other; same time frame in 1978 within a few weeks, etc.). I've seen many references to the Loose Change goof, but don't recall anything similar happening with The Holocaust. Thing is, I watched that one, primarily because it was assigned viewing for one of my college classes at the time, and I don't remember either seeing such an error, nor anybody at school mentioning this happening. If I'm wrong, though, I will wear sackcloth and ashes tomorrow...
 
...Michael Nesmith claims that NBC ran the segments for the special 33-1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee in the wrong order; however, since the show was running against the Academy Awards on ABC, and the Monkees special was their most psychedelic television work of all, nobody particularly noticed except the band members...
 
I swear I remember watching it as it happened...And that it's been confirmed elsewhere on this board (though a search of the boards does not bring up the thread).

I know, I know, unbelievable that it could happen so soon after the "Loose Change" miniseries screw-up. But I'd bet a dollar it did.
 
Rob Jason said:
I swear I remember watching it as it happened...And that it's been confirmed elsewhere on this board (though a search of the boards does not bring up the thread).

I know, I know, unbelievable that it could happen so soon after the "Loose Change" miniseries screw-up. But I'd bet a dollar it did.
Click to expand...

I'll have to pass on that bet. Given my current financial status, I couldn't afford to lose... ;D
 
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