# Mr. Robot episode postponed due to today's shooting - has this happened before? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019 "2015-08-27T03:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/1 "2015-08-27T03:32:59Z")
Today _Mr. Robot_ on the USA Network was set to air its final episode of the season. But at the beginning of the episode a title card came on stating that due to a scene in the episode that’s similar to today’s shooting (of a TV reporter in Virginia), they would show the episode at another time, next Wednesday. I recall something similar with the Reagan shooting, but can’t remember details. Was it _Last American Hero_ changing the hero’s name from Hinkly? Have there been other shows impacted by a news story, beyond the obvious huge news stories like 9/11? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/2 "2015-08-27T03:38:09Z")
> **[USA Network postpones Mr. Robot finale due to Virgina TV shooting](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3212157/USA-Network-postpones-Mr-Robot-finale-contains-graphic-scene-similar-nature-live-air-killings-Virginia.html)** > > The network said it made the move ''out of respect to the victims, their families and colleagues, and our viewers.... Our thoughts go out to all those affected during this difficult time.' > [@](#): > > In 2013, following the Boston Marathon bombings, NBC yanked an episode of serial killer Hannibal that had a character who brainwashes children into killing other children. The network said at the time it was done ‘in sensitivity to recent violence.’ > > Back in 2001 the sitcom Friends cut a scene in the wake of the 9/11 attack. It had shown Chandler and Rachel Bing causing a security scare at an airport as they headed off on their honeymoon. > > In 1999, following the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, the WB canceled an episode of its hit series Buffy The Vampire Slayer that had a plot revolving around a would-be killer and a school yard massacre. > > CBS also decided not to air an episode of its series Promised Land that featured a school-related drive-by shooting The article cites a few more instances. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/3 "2015-08-27T03:51:17Z")
They delayed a MASH episode because of Regan’s shooting. Buffy delayed its season 3 finale because of Columbine. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/4 "2015-08-27T03:55:08Z")
Not quite the same thing, but similar: Kennedy’s assassination prompted a change in a line of dialogue in _Dr. Strangelove_, from “A guy could have a good time in Dallas with this stuff!” to “A guy could have a good time in Vegas with this stuff!” (Paraphrasing the line from memory, here.) The ending of the original _Spider-Man_ movie was also reshot in the wake of 9/11. The original ending had Spider-Man spinning a giant web between the two towers to catch the villain’s helicopter. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/5 "2015-08-27T03:56:24Z")
I vaguely remember that one of the big crime dramas (e.g., Law & Order, CSI) planned a big crossover event that was cancelled because of the 9/11 attacks. Also, a TV broadcast of the Chevy Chase movie Foul Play in 1981 was postponed or canceled because of an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/6 "2015-08-27T03:57:02Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The ending of the original _Spider-Man_ movie was also reshot in the wake of 9/11. The original ending had Spider-Man spinning a giant web between the two towers to catch the villain’s helicopter. Huh, I thought they filmed that just for the trailer or that if it was going to be in the movie, it would have been early on. The ending to Men in Black 2, though, was re-planned because it took place in the WTC. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/7 "2015-08-27T04:08:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Huh, I thought they filmed that just for the trailer or that if it was going to be in the movie, it would have been early on. [Lokos like you’re correct:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_entertainment_affected_by_the_September_11_attacks) > [@](#): > > Trailers for the film Spider-Man were edited so a scene (not in the film) showing Spider-Man capturing a helicopter between the towers was deleted. In the actual film, a shot of the World Trade Center was deleted. The scene of Spider-Man hanging onto a flagpole with a large American flag, seen in later trailers and at the end of the film, was added in response to the attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/8 "2015-08-27T05:19:40Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > The article cites a few more instances. > [@](#): > > Chandler and Rachel Bing Boy, they DID change that plotline. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/9 "2015-08-27T05:44:49Z")
Not a movie or TV episode, but Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2002 was scheduled to released in October 2001. But one of the things it allowed players to do was to try to fly a plane between the WTC towers. And it was a difficult stunt, so many times players would end up crashing their plane into one of the towers. Somebody wisely decided to postpone the release and remove this aspect of the program. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/10 "2015-08-27T08:38:53Z")
It was The Greatest American Hero, they briefly changed the characters last name from Hinkley to Hanley but they avoided using any last name. like having the students call him Mister H. whenever they could get away with it. I hated that they changed his name, did we think we couldn’t tell the difference between a fictional character and the guy who shot the president? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/11 "2015-08-27T08:57:10Z")
The movie _Foul Play_, with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase, was scheduled to run on network tv the evening of the day John Paul II was nearly killed by an assassin. It’s plot involves a plan to kill the Pope. I think that a movie version of Les Miserables was shown in it’s place. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/12 "2015-08-27T11:47:36Z")
The Schwartzenegger movie _Collateral Damage_ was supposed to be released soon after 911 but got pushed back. The trailer was pulled because it showed a bomb attack and a scene with a plane hijacking was cut out completely. And the movie was awful but that had nothing to do with world events. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/13 "2015-08-27T12:49:17Z")
The very first episode of Doctor Who was delayed when JFK was assassinated. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/14 "2015-08-27T13:08:02Z")
The release of the movie **Big Trouble** (based on the Dave Barry book), originally scheduled for the end of 2001, got pushed back because of the World Trade Center attack: > [@](#): > > Big Trouble was originally scheduled for release on September 21, 2001 and had a strong advertising push. The events of September 11 of that year cast an unshakable pall over the movie’s comedic smuggling of a nuclear device onto an airplane. (A gun also makes its way onto the plane, but this was easily overshadowed by the specter of the WMD.) Consequently, the film was pushed back until April 2002, and the promotion campaign was toned down almost to the point of abandonment. Big Trouble came quietly to American theaters and left quickly afterwards, receiving mixed reviews and being generally ignored by audiences, becoming a box office bomb. It currently holds a 48% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 112 reviews. > **[Big Trouble (2002 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trouble_(2002_film))** > > Big Trouble is a 2002 American black comedy film based on the novel Big Trouble by Dave Barry. It was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and featured a large cast including Tim Allen and Rene Russo with Dennis Farina, Zooey Deschanel, Sofia Vergara and Jason Lee in supporting roles. Like much of Dave Barry's fiction, it follows a diverse group of people through a series of extremely strange and humorous situations against the backdrop of Miami. The film was a box-office bomb, and received mixed critica... (I wonder about another Dave Barry thing that ties into the WTC bombing. In his 1995 book **Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys** he remarks about an acquaintance who is heavily into fireworks that “If he had been involved with those people who tried to bomb the World Trade Center, we’d now have the World Trade Hole.” He was referring to the Feb. 26 1993 attempt to bring down the WTC using a bomb in a truck left in the underground parking garage of the WTC. I haven’t seen the book reprinted since 2001. Does anyone know if it has been? If so, were those words removed? The work has appeared as an audiobook since, and I’ll bet that has been excised, but I haven’t heard it. He also released a movie based on the book, but that wouldn’t have had to include that line, regardless of circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/15 "2015-08-27T13:26:46Z")
I seem to recall that the very first episode of “24”, which involved a terrorist blowing up an airliner, was toned down due to 9/11. I don’t think they changed the plot but I think they avoided actually showing the plane exploding. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/16 "2015-08-27T14:03:47Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > The very first episode of Doctor Who was delayed when JFK was assassinated. Was it? Wikipedia says it was launched 80 seconds late due to extended news coverage. It aired the day after his assassination, but that was its original air-date. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/17 "2015-08-27T16:02:37Z")
The release of _Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb_ was delayed over a month after JFK’s assassination, as the movie studio decided the country wasn’t in the mood for a dark comedy about nuclear war. Also, when Maj. Kong reads through the survival kit’s contents, his original line of dialogue was: _“Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff!”_ “Dallas” was changed to “Vegas” before the film’s release. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/18 "2015-08-27T16:14:48Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The release of _Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb_ was delayed over a month after JFK’s assassination, as the movie studio decided the country wasn’t in the mood for a dark comedy about nuclear war. Also, when Maj. Kong reads through the survival kit’s contents, his original line of dialogue was: _“Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff!”_ “Dallas” was changed to “Vegas” before the film’s release. They also changed the ending in the War Room. Originally President Muffley was supposed to fall during the Pie Fight, and Turgidson says “Gentlemen, our President has Fallen!” That had to go. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/19 "2015-08-27T17:59:22Z")
Cowboy Bebop got preempted on Cartoon Network TWICE, once for 9/11 and once for the space shuttle disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019/20 "2015-08-27T20:31:35Z")
It has happened again. [IFC](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/27/documentary-now-postpone-wbdj-shooting) is postponing showing a new episode of _Documentary Now_ because there is a scene in which journalists are murdered. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-robot-episode-postponed-due-to-todays-shooting-has-this-happened-before/729019.md?page=2)