# Worst technical screwup you've seen on TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674 "2012-01-16T07:00:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/1 "2012-01-16T07:00:18Z")
While scouring YouTube, I found [this oddity.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktmt9UrPPsE&feature=related) It’s from 1978, and shows NBC breaking into a miniseries to admit it’s airing the wrong episode of the miniseries–17 minutes into the show! Have you ever seen a technical screwup, either on local stations or a full network, that matches or exceeds this doozy? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/2 "2012-01-16T07:20:51Z")
Technical difficulties are the sad, despoiled, places where I find a little joy in my bleak, forlorn, life. Got any more? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/3 "2012-01-16T12:39:30Z")
In Germany the ARD, one of our big TV stations, traditionally broadcasts the chancellor’s New Year’s address on New Year’s Eve. In 1986, someone grabbed the wrong tape (if intentionally or not was much debated afterwards), and the speech by then chancellor Helmut Kohl from the previous year was aired. The funny thing was that nobody noticed until he wished everybody a happy New Year _1986_ at the end. It soon developed into a minor scandal, with some politicians from Kohl’s camp assuming “intentional sabotage”. But most people just laughed about the fact that the speech’s content was so generic that nobody spotted the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/4 "2012-01-16T12:55:55Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > While scouring YouTube, I found [this oddity.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktmt9UrPPsE&feature=related) It’s from 1978, and shows NBC breaking into a miniseries to admit it’s airing the wrong episode of the miniseries–17 minutes into the show! Have you ever seen a technical screwup, either on local stations or a full network, that matches or exceeds this doozy? Too funny! I grew up during that era and don’t remember the mini series or the error, but wow, someone lost a job that night, eh? ---
**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:** [January 16, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/5 "2012-01-16T13:02:40Z")
Which network incorrectly scrolled that Ted Williams had died? It might have been another hall-of-famer, but I do remember watching TV when a famous baseball player’s death was announced. They were not dead, yet. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/6 "2012-01-16T13:05:21Z")
[Oh, and all the networks calling Florida too early in 2000, then pulling it back later. The beginning of a long night of tension and flubs on network TV.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xIDdsYVjtk#t=1m08s) ---
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/7 "2012-01-16T13:26:20Z")
1. In the 80’s there was a live boxing match on Wide World of Sports that broadcast part of a trainer’s pre-fight pep talk to his fighter. It went on for at least a half dozen profanities before they cut away. Most of them were on George Carlin’s list of words you can’t say on TV. All the announcer could say was something like “Of course, ABC does not endorse that kind of language.” 1. My family were all watching when the weather man was caught picking his nose on the local news. He just smiled, shruged his shoulders and started his report. When he visited our church I was amazed that my dad didn’t bring it up. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/8 "2012-01-16T13:41:31Z")
> [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > 1. My family were all watching when the weather man was caught picking his nose on the local news. He just smiled, shruged his shoulders and started his report. When he visited our church I was amazed that my dad didn’t bring it up. In that case, it _would_ be appropriate to congratulate him with “keep pluckin’ that chicken!” (YouTube this phrase if you haven’t seen it) ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/9 "2012-01-16T14:23:43Z")
Does the **Heidi Game** count as a technical screw up? [Text](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game) [Video](http://youtu.be/zJAn3cTMXW8) Back in the 60s, the Jets and Raiders were playing on national TV. The Jets were ahead with only a minute left. The network made the decision to cut from the game and show the movie Heidi (keep in mind that in those days, before cable, VCRs and such, millions of kids were waiting to watch on a Sunday night). The problem was that the Raiders managed to score 2 touchdowns with seconds remaining, but the TV audience missed it. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/10 "2012-01-16T15:19:23Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > While scouring YouTube, I found [this oddity.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktmt9UrPPsE&feature=related) It’s from 1978, and shows NBC breaking into a miniseries to admit it’s airing the wrong episode of the miniseries–17 minutes into the show! Have you ever seen a technical screwup, either on local stations or a full network, that matches or exceeds this doozy? There was the SNL episode a few years ago where the singer was lip-syncing but the wrong audio track was played. But regarding the link in the OP, how does anyone find a 34 year old video tape of something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/11 "2012-01-16T15:32:59Z")
There’s the famous incident in which CNN almost reported that George Bush (Sr) had died. Couldn’t find a video clip, but what happened was that Bush had had an embarrassing (though nowhere near fatal) stomach flu incident in Japan (he upchucked on the Emperor), but somehow or other CNN got a report that he’d dropped dead. They were literally seconds away from reporting that “fact” on air when they found out the truth. Viewers saw something like this: Desk Reporter: We’re saddened to report tonight that President George Bush has di- Offscreen voice: NO! NO! STOP!!! Then the screen went blank. I guess it’s debatable whether that’s a “technical” error, but it certainly is a blunder of epic proportions. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/12 "2012-01-16T15:39:26Z")
Not that bad as such (although it is hard to explain exactly how huge they were about to become), but The Stone Roses’s power cut on BBC’s The Late Show is reasonably well known in the UK: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NpMzUa4YXR8/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGH8gEygeMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAryLYXdnFow7P_UOMsvGhtmAXWSQ "The Stone Roses Made Of Stone Live The Late Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpMzUa4YXR8) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/13 "2012-01-16T15:40:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There was the SNL episode a few years ago where the singer was lip-syncing but the wrong audio track was played. > > But regarding the link in the OP, how does anyone find a 34 year old video tape of something like that? Ashlee Simpson https://www.youtube.com/embed/5RrLAgi_mBY?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/14 "2012-01-16T15:56:08Z")
How about the infamous cock-up on[_Australia’s Next Top Model_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEp60fZqqv0), when they announced the wrong winner? I think I actually heard about that one on the SDMB. I find it almost painful to watch. 2:31 is the pivotal moment when you can see that the presenter is told in her earpiece about the mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/15 "2012-01-16T15:58:38Z")
This might interest you. It’s a round-up of the many, many, many technical glitches that occurred on the original “Dark Shadows.” It’s pretty funny. [part one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UeZtYriyFk) [part two](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEClni8J2z4&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/16 "2012-01-16T16:02:34Z")
CBC Television in Toronto started out with this little gem. > [@](#): > > Two days later, (Sept. 8, 1952) CBC TV debuted in Toronto. Seconds before the cameras went live, a technician removed and cleaned the CBC logo slide. Producer Murray Chercover shouted at the technician, “Don’t do that!” and the rattled crew member placed the slide back in upside down as the network took to the airwaves. “I can’t remember what we did, or if we shot the poor guy responsible,” Norman Jewison, then a 25-year-old floor director, later recalled. (Here’s Looking At Us, 2002). From the [CBC archives site](http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/media/clips/11983/). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/17 "2012-01-16T16:16:47Z")
I don’t know if it counts as a technical screwup, but I remember the Dan Rather empty-chair incident. He took offense at the news being delayed by a tennis tournament in 1987, so he stalked off to pout. When the tennis was finished and the news about to start, he couldn’t be found. For five or ten minutes, the network broadcast a test pattern until he could be found. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/18 "2012-01-16T17:00:17Z")
Just a couple months ago one of our local stations got ready to start the 6:00 news, but nothing happened. After a short period of silence, the station ran 10 solid minutes of commercials, then cut to the weatherperson speaking to a single, locked-down camera. After a couple of minutes, she announced they were ready to go back to the regular newscast. They showed a commercial or two, followed by nothing, then went back to the weatherperson, who then had other reporters give their stories using her microphone. Unfortunately her microphone was still clipped to her bluse, which meant the reporters HAD TO TALK RIGHT INTO HER BOOBS. After a couple more minutes like that, the station finally got its act together and broadcast an extrmely short, but technically adequate, newscast. They blamed the fiasco on a blown relay, which probably cost about $6 to replace. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/19 "2012-01-16T17:49:56Z")
I used to know a guy who had the overnight shift at local station. All he had to do was press a couple buttons once in a while to play commercials and whatever movie they were broadcasting. One night he fell asleep for a few hours and was fired next day. Would loved to have seen that dead air. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674/20 "2012-01-16T18:29:10Z")
I seem to remember a report that the overnight guy at KXAN in Austin was watching the Playboy Channel in the studio. He hit the wrong button and Playboy went out over the air. Oops. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-technical-screwup-youve-seen-on-tv/609674.md?page=2)