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...")
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.
