I’ve been in the US for three years now and, unfortunately, for me at least, this paragraph describes the upper limits of David Letterman’s humour.
I remember the strangest thing I ever saw on TV & nobody ever talks about it - my parents were watching, too, so I know it’s not a hallucination. Anybody else remember this?
It was when some guy with a small truck full of explosives threatened to blow up the Washington Monument. He was parked right outside the thing, with what looked like an ice-cream truck or a U-Haul. There was a standoff lasting several hours, and then snipers shot him dead.
What was bizarre was the press conference that followed. I remember a whole raft of local dignitaries standing outside, and I’m just betting Marion Barry was the one in the middle doing all the talking & I think this must’ve been back in his coke-fueled days. Because no matter what the press asked about this frightening lapse of national security, this threat to a great American monument, this moment of fear we’d all been watching on TV - no matter what the reporters said, his reply was “What’s important is, we got a man here, he dead.” He just kept saying it over and over. “We got a man here. He dead.” And slowly all the other suits who’d been standing behind him drifted away, until he was basically alone in front of the camera.
Man, I remember so many of these things.
Armstrong on the moon is my first really significant cultural memory.
I remember an episode of Mork and Mindy (I loved that show the first couple of seasons) in which all the characters were telling each other a secret and Mindy’s father (Conrad Janis) told them all how he’d killed a korean soldier during the war when the guy surprised him in a foxhole. It was actually pretty moving the way he just said “Mindy, I killed a man.”
On MASH, in the first of the “newsreel” episodes, when Father Mulcahey told the interviewer how the surgeons would warm their hands over the open cavities of the patients on the operating tables. That was a powerful one.
On 9/11 I’d heard about the first plane, and they didn’t have too much info yet, so, thinking it was an accident I showered to get ready for work. Then just as I was walking past the TV I heard “Oh my god, another plane’s hit the second tower.” I bolted back to watch what was going on. No question then that it wasn’t an accident.
I was really moved by an episode of the ABC show “Fridays,” in 1980 when they did a tribute to John Lennon by simply scrolling the words of “Imagine” up the screen in silence. I hadn’t cared for the show but that was a really nice way to remember him.
9-11 of course.
I would say the Challenger disaster but I didn’t see much of it on TV…I saw it basically live. I live (and lived) in central Florida.
The wall coming down in Berlin. Every time I hear the Jesus Jones song “Right Here, Right Now” I think how a dividing line runs through modern history right in the prime of my life…on one side a time, barely remembered now, when the world was drawn up into two camps and nuclear war seemed inevitable, and on the other a much more complicated, messier yet somehow more hopeful time.
The 1980 US Olympic hockey team beating the Soviets. Will NEVER forget that game.
The end of the two part Ivan episode on Magnum PI when Magnum shot him and they froze on the muzzle blast.
The time Johnny Carson explained the origin of the “Fugawi” Indians on his show.
When Jack Bauer shot the pedophile/child killer turned informant in Mason’s office then told Mason to get him a hacksaw on the first episode of season two of 24.
Mhendo: Yeah he’s not everybody’s cup of tea. I think he’s not as funny today as he was in the first 5 or 10 years of his show.
The Cher episode was pretty outrageous for the time though - it was about 20 years ago (dang, I’m gettin’ old), and you just didn’t go around saying “asshole” on television back then, especially not over and over.
Aside from the obvious examples already mentioned (9/11, Challenger, etc.) there is one recent event that sticks in my mind, and that is the Rhode Island nightclub fire of 2/20/03.
When I first heard about it, all I heard it was a “local heavy metal band” and since I’m in touch with the underground scene (but not exactly a fan of most of those bands, since many tend to be clones of one another), the morbid part of me thought, “I wonder which local band it was?”
Then I found out it was Great White, who I had been a fan of since their very beginnings in 1982/3. While I hadn’t followed them lately (aside from their Led Zep tribute CD) and they were never one of my favorites, they were at least one of the more talented “hair metal” bands of the 80’s. And I had seen them live, twice. And all I could think, when I learned the news, was…Holy Fucking SHIT.
And then I saw the footage shot by the news cameraman at the show, who ironically was doing a story on the safety of nightclubs. I got to see the fireworks shoot off, then the foam rubber behind the stage catch fire (and nobody seemed to notice, but I did take note of the bass player who was looking over his shoulder at the fire as if he were thinking, “That just ain’t right…”) And, of course, the cameraman backing away VERY quickly, just before the conflagration shot up BIG time and mass panic ensued.
The most chilling part, of course, was all the faces in the crowd. To think that this was the last time anyone would see them alive…
I’m trying to think of a more light-hearted one, but I can’t, after typing that. I’m in dire need of a beer right now…
On ER, Dr. Romano and the tailrotor.
When I first got into watching the Daily Show, there was an episode where Al Sharpton was supposed to be the guest. He didn’t show, and he didn’t show, and he didn’t show. So Stephen Colbert came on as Al Sharpton. No funny voice, no makeup, just Stephen Colbert pretending to be Al Sharpton. I died.
Another one just occured to me. The funniest bit ever on Conan O’Brian: Dudez of Plenty. Conan invented a boy bandcomplete with some song like “Girl, I want you to have my baby” or something like that. Funniest thing ever.
The first Star Trek episode I ever saw, a rerun of “Who Mourns for Adonis.”
When I was about 8, the Mummenschanz appeared on the Muppet Show. I had nightmares for weeks.
Another vote for the 1980 US Olympic hockey team. “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
Walter Cronkite’s final broadcast as CBS news anchor.
The Branch Davidian compound in flames in Waco, Texas.
Florida called for Gore, then Bush, on Election Night 2000.
Lucy selling Vitameatavegamin:
"Hello, everbody, I’m yer Vegamedgameatamin girl. Do you pop out at parties? Are you un-poopular? Friendz, the answer t’all yer problemz iz in this bittle itty bottle . . .
". . . 'n it’s tasty, too! Juss like candy! Honest! (Dissolves in helpless laughter) . . .
. . . (To cameraman:) “Is it hot in here?”
“. . . So ever’one go out and get a grea’ big bottle of Myta . . . Veeta . . . (very long pause) . . . THIS stuff!” (Throws the spoon away and chugs the tonic straight from the bottle)
Priceless.
“SPACE SHUTTLE ‘COLUMBIA’ MISSING” Jesus, what a headline…
For some less “serious” moments, though…
•Dax’s death on Deep Space Nine, followed by Worf’s “death howl.” I have rarely been more angry at a TV series than in that moment.
•Except for the Death of the “Lone Gunmen” on X-Files.
•Name the scene and the series by this quote: “I was wondering…if you might be free for a date!”
:sniff: I always liked that one.
•The “Simpsons” episode where Homer’s mother came back…specifically, the end credits. Double :sniff:
Just remembered another one:
The end of Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, Atlanta Braves vs. Minnesota Twins.
“…and we’ll see you tomorrow night!”
Frank Pembleton’s stroke mid-interrogation on HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS.
There are easily a couple dozen other things that happened on that show – but this is the one that, for me, stands out the most.
One day when I was pretty young dad got the ladder out and installed this thing on the roof and ran some wires down to the living room. A day or so later he brought this box with a window in and hooked those wires up to it. Turned it on and it lit up, after turning some knobs around it got a picture of sorts, just pretty hard to make out what it was.
All the serious ones have been mentioned already.
My Picks:
St. Elsewhere - Final Episode, when it was discovered that the whole show was the figment of an autistic kid’s imagination. Sheer Genius!!
All in the Family - When Archie went on TV in defense of the right to bear arms.
Archie answering Gloria when she says that guns kill people: “Would you prefer that they were pushed outta windows?”
Dana Carvey Show - I have to mention the funniest skit that I’ve ever seen. It involved waiters who would get nauseous at the mention of food. I laughed so hard that my back hurt the rest of the night.
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I was a kid watching tv around 8-9pm at night when national news broke in to programming to report that that John Lennon had been shot and killed. Upset, I ran to tell my mother who couldn’t have cared less. (The woman has no soul, I swear.)
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the 1983 Tony Awards when one of the producers of Torch Song Trilogy thanked his lover. It was the first time anyone had acknowledged their homosexuality openly on a national awards telecast.
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another Tony Award memory… Jennifer Holliday singing “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”. I was moved to tears, and my ignorant, racist stepfather was laughing at the performance. I won’t even repeat what he called her. So then I continued crying because I had to live with such an ass.
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I got the phone call that I had gotten a job for which I had been interviewing as I was watching Columbine happen. I was getting ready for another job interview as the second WTC tower came down. I think I’ll just stay at this job for a while.
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There was an early episode of MASH where the camp is pinned down by a sniper. Radar and Col. Blake are trapped in the showers, and somehow or another Radar decides to try to run across the compound wearing a towel around his waist to try to get to the office. He runs about ten feet out as the shots ping around him and runs back into the shower door. Right as he runs in the door, his towel falls and you see a glimpse of bare ass. I was a kid when this showed, and I remember being shocked because it was the first time I’d ever seen a butt on broadcast TV.
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Another episode of MASH showed a power struggle between Hawkeye and a South Korean army officer. The officer wanted him to patch up this North Korean POW quickly so he could interrogate her. Hawkeye took umbrage to this guy’s coldness and the fact that he knew they were going to beat the prisoner. He called the officer a “son of a bitch”. It was the first time I had ever heard profanity used on broadcast TV.
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I saw Crispin Glover on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson when he was absolutely coked out of his mind. He was sweating buckets, giggling maniacally, and obviously out of touch with any semblance of reality. I think this may have been prior to his more well-known meltdown on the Letterman show, where he kicked Dave in the head. I remember it because it was the first time I had ever been certain that a celeb was on drugs. (I was quite young and sheltered at the time.)
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People have mentioned Good Times… there was also an episode where JJ wanted to marry his girlfriend, and the families started fighting. The girlfriend locks herself in Thelma’s room and pulls out her kit to start shooting up. Very shocking. I will also always remember the episode where they find the evidence that Penny’s mother had been physically abusing her… a burn in the shape of a iron on her back. I remember thinking that as bad as my home life was, at least it wasn’t that bad.
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Saturday Night Live showed a short film not long after Anwar Sadat was assasinated, which ended with the film’s character finding a white dove which had been shot through the heart. It was an incredibly moving image of the loss of the chance for peace in the Middle East. I’m tearing up just thinking about it.
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The episode of All in the Family after Edith died. The kid who was their niece or whatever was upset and kept trying to get comfort from Archie, or even get him to acknowledge that he had some emotions about Edith’s death, but he couldn’t respond to her. Then there is a scene in his bedroom where he’s looking for something under the bed and pulls out one of Edith’s house slippers. He looks at it for a second, then just begins sobbing.
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I also remember the episode where Edith’s cousin had died and at the funeral reception, it becomes apparent that her cousin had been a lesbian. That episode was very prominently labeled “parental discretion is advised”.
OK I’ve got three sad ones and 2 funny/ ridiculous ones.
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September 11th (like so many others) - I was at work at the time and everything just stopped. It was like a film except you realised at the same time (with horror) that it was real. The guy waving his shirt out one of the windows just before the second tower collapsed is the most tragic image I think and I’ll always wonder who that guy was.
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The Challenger disaster. I was quite young at the time and it made me slightly afraid of the idea of space exploration. I think it was the first time I really realised it was actually very dangerous.
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The state-funeral of a Soviet President. I think it was the one before Mikhail Gorbachov though I was, again, very young at the time so I’m not sure. Anyway the image made a huge impression on me. It was so sombre. There were loads of people in black and a choir singing in that gloriously rich russian-choir tone. The most striking thing of all was the open coffin though. When I was a kid that freaked me out. Ditto the first scene in the film Dr. Zhivago (which is now my favourite film of all time).
Now on to the less bleak stuff. 
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I was at home from college one day watching a trashy daytime TV talk show called Kilroy (a British show) and this guy pulled down his pants and waved his bits at the camera. It was hilarious and the consternation caused was very funny too. Because it was live they turned the camera away a few seconds too late but it was nice to see that smug pain in the neck Kilroy get embarrassed.
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Lastly, WHO WILL EVER FORGET the moment when Pam wakes up, sees Bobby Ewing in the shower and realises it was all a dream. What a gyp!
Apologies if that one’s been mentioned before but I haven’t read the whole thread as it’s nearly home-time for me and god forbid I stay in this place a second longer than I have to…
Real-life: Kennedy’s funeral–one of those days (fortunately, rare) where you spend all day in front of the TV. I always think of muffled drums, and the riderless horse with the boots in backwards. And I remember that the horse’s name was Blackjack, for some odd reason.
I remember staying up to watch the returns come in on the night of the 1968 California primary…Kennedy and Humphrey neck & neck…then saying screw it, I’m going to bed. When my mom woke me for school the next day, she let me know that Bobby had won, but somebody had shot him.
The moon landing. Staying up late (on the West Coast) for the interminable wait between the landing and the space walk, and being dazzled by the grainy b&w, but miraculous, live images from the moon.
9/11 I woke up in a hotel room, and turned on the TV after the towers had collapsed. The most surreal experience – seeing images of the cloud over Manhattan, and trying to piece together what exactly had transpired, picking it up in progress.
Sports: game 6 of the 1975 World Series (Carlton Fisk’s walkoff homerun). Up to that point, it had merely been one of the best WS games ever.
Network TV –
I remember being completely freaked out by an episode of The Outer Limits–it had something to do with an alien invasion, where the aliens looked like jumbo-sized ants (the size of a small dog) but with humanoid eyes. Ick.
the final episode of Newhart.
Not so much a moment, as a series of moments – The Daily Show’s coverage of the 2000 post-election turmoil (“Indecision 2000”) was some of the funniest (and most incisive) stuff that’s ever been done on TV, IMHO.
Do you mean moon walk? Neil Armstrong stepped down onto the lunar surface at 7:56 p.m. PDT (10:56 p.m. EDT).