Pre Internet Viral TV Moments: It's 1984 And Oh My God! You Broke The Internet!

[Cobb Salad]

At least we got to see the castaways get off the island...even if it was a bad TV movie.  

[Constantinople]

Steve Martin's King Tut on SNL

Or at least I'd like to think it would

[Blergh]

Speaking of musical events, I think Live Aid in 1985 would have crashed it. Not just the charity or simultaneous concerts themselves in Philadephia and London but even MORE of the backstage stuff would have overwhelmed the 'Net back then. FWIW, Phil Collins has recently detailed his POV in his autobio of having performed in both cities during this time and how disorganized, frantic and unpleasant everything wound up for him and other performers. I also think had the 'Net been in force back then it wouldn't have taken 30 years for said viewpoint to have come out whether he wanted it or not.

[MissAlmond]

13 hours ago, Cobb Salad said:

Speaking of William Paley, I think he was the one who got Gunsmoke "uncancelled" thus resulting in the decision to cancel Gilligan's Island.   I wonder if there were enough fans of the show to have broken the Internet back then. 

Yeap.  That was William Paley.  Gunsmoke at the time was struggling and the CBS scheduling programmers had replaced (otherwise known as cancelled) it with Gilligan's Island and a new comedy to appeal to younger viewers.  Alas for them, Gunsmoke was Paley's favorite show and - according to Fred Silverman - Paley simply said "Put it back" and <snap> like that Gunsmoke was renewed and Gilligan cancelled.    I do believe Gunsmoke was moved to another day where the ratings approved and the rest is television history.  Don't know if Gilligan would have had enough fans to break the Internet, but it wouldn't have mattered to William Paley because he had spoken.

Edited November 1, 2016 by MissAlmond

[funandfitpt]

From Little House on the Prairie - Sylvia and the mime, the fire and death of Mary's baby, many other stories.

[Bookish Jen]

The cringe-worthy Star Wars Holiday Special.

[ennui]

19 hours ago, Cobb Salad said:

Star Trek was reaching its core demographic according to the market gurus at NBC but overall Nielsen wise it didn't do very well, and that mattered more to the NBC execs.  I wonder what Star Trek would be today if NBC had cared more about it to give it a better time slot for the 3rd season, Roddenberry had not left for Freiberger to take over and NBC renewed it for a few more seasons.

Today, there are a bazillion other cable channels that could pick it up. Syfy would be an obvious choice. Back in the 1960s, we were stuck with three networks.

[ennui]

Last night, there was a repeat of a Merv Griffin show where he interviewed Jimmy Carter. They promo'd another Merv Griffin show airing this week where he interviews Ronald Reagan. Both were circa 1981, I think. Jimmy had just lost the election. 

Edited November 1, 2016 by ennui

[amaranta]

John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosting Mike Douglas for a week.  I've watched on YT - it's so deliciously odd.  And the internet goes: WTF is happening? 

[UYI]

On 10/27/2016 at 10:39 AM, ChromaKelly said:

The Dan's death/lottery fakeout on Roseanne.
 

That was in 1996-1997, so the Internet was around by then.

Then again, social media wasn't what it is now, which adds another wrinkle to this thread.

(Sorry, I'm late. Someone may have already pointed this out.)

The Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan kerfuffle happened in 1994, ONE YEAR before the Internet became widespread.

What a difference a year makes. 

[UYI]

On 10/27/2016 at 3:44 PM, ennui said:

One of those ABC afterschool specials ... I think it was James at 15 and he lost his virginity. Very controversial at the time. (Iirc).

James at 15 was actually an hour long drama series on NBC. And after his birthday/virginity loss, it was renamed James at 16. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

The episode in The Jeffersons that had the KKK--how George saved the man by CPR, and said he wished he'd died instead. But that George saving his father, made the son rethink the "purity" and "rightness" of the KKK.

Damn. Now I'm going to see if I can find it online.

[Enigma X]

The  Up Series, a British documentary that also aired/airs on American PBS channels that started with 7 UP. For those of you not familiar with the series, here is an excerpt on what I am talking about.

The Up series began in 1964 as a sociological experiment. [Michael] Apted, armed with a video camera, set out see if life was pre ordained for children by the class they were born into. To test this concept, 14 children of the same age, but born into varying social strata's were filmed interacting together at a zoo. The Up series is credited with paving the way for other historically important screen documentaries.

Every 7 years since the first documentary, as many participants who are willing to participate are revisited. I really think, at least in 1964, this would have had people speaking on the internet.

[Chaos Theory]

The post apocalyptic nuclear tale The Day After.  One of those 1983 TV movies on ABC everyone and their cat watched. (I believe that stats were about 100 million people).  It so would have done a number on Twitter.

Edited November 1, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[Ceindreadh]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

The post apocalyptic nuclear tale The Day After.  One of those 1983 TV movies on ABC everyone and their cat watched. (I believe that stats were about 100 million people).  It so would have done a number on Twitter.

Or the UK mini series Threads. 

[Shannon L.]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

The post apocalyptic nuclear tale The Day After.  One of those 1983 TV movies on ABC everyone and their cat watched. (I believe that stats were about 100 million people).  It so would have done a number on Twitter.

I was 14 when that came out and was already worried about nuclear war, so I didn't watch it (I think my mom wouldn't let me, but I don't remember).  Just hearing about it scared me to death.  Didn't they have hot lines set up for people who were really disturbed by it? 

[roseha]

6 hours ago, amaranta said:

John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosting Mike Douglas for a week.  I've watched on YT - it's so deliciously odd.  And the internet goes: WTF is happening? 

I was thinking about that one myself,  the memory that stands out for me is when they brought Chuck Berry on and he and John played.  John was so thrilled.

[Sandman87]

On Monday, October 31, 2016 at 3:37 PM, Blergh said:

Considering how GI's post network popularity and Gunsmoke's longevity, I wonder if there might have been a 'Net war between fans of both shows with each side getting rather . .. uncivil with each other?

One wonders what insulting names the two groups would have come up with for each other. I'm sure someone would have tried to hang "coconutjobs" on the Gilligan's Island fans.

8 hours ago, Bookish Jen said:

The cringe-worthy Star Wars Holiday Special.

Bea Arthur sings!

[AgentRXS]

Quote

That was in 1996-1997, so the Internet was around by then.

Then again, social media wasn't what it is now, which adds another wrinkle to this thread.

(Sorry, I'm late. Someone may have already pointed this out.)

The Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan kerfuffle happened in 1994, ONE YEAR before the Internet became widespread.

What a difference a year makes. 

Yeah, from 1995-1998 "social media" consisted of chat rooms/really simplistic message boards. So even if something big happened on TV  it didn't "break the Internet" because its not like you could  look it up and find the clip that everyone's talking about. You still had to wait for a rerun.  So I feel like the late 90s stuff should be included on this thread because we were all still new to the concept of "social media" at the time.

That being said, I think these moments would have broken the Internet:

Angel returning from the Hell dimension on "Buffy"

Felicity cutting her hair

And I think the Alley McBeal "Dancing Baby" gif was the first example of a moment  from a TV show "breaking the internet/going viral" in those early, primitive Internet days

[Sandman87]

19 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

And I think the Alley McBeal "Dancing Baby" gif was the first example of a moment  from a TV show "breaking the internet/going viral" in those early, primitive Internet days

I think that honor would go to "The Spirit of Christmas", which hit the 'net well before "Dancing Baby."

[Blergh]

I think Charles and Diana's interviews in which each of them fessed to fooling around would have broken the 'Net. I mean, their union's meltdown was so BIG and happened over such a long period of time that they couldn't keep the nonstop tabloid coverage on that side of the Pond!

[GHScorpiosRule]

Not only Luke and Laura's wedding  ??? , but when Laura returned two years later after being presumed dead: the reunion of Luke and Laura when Luke saw her walking on the grounds where they married, running to her after yelling her name and her running toward him and that huge sweeping hug? My local affiliate played it two days in a row and the local news talked about it and replayed it during the evening and late news! Going "Awww..." and how romantic it was and how so many Luke and Laura fans were happy! ?

And yes, my 11 year old self was among them, as I never knew that about their history or that he'd raped her.

[Shannon L.]

In regards to Soap Operas:  when Roger raped Holly on GL (tackling spousal rape, which I believe at the time was still not illegal in most states) and when Margo was raped on ATWT, then discovered later that her rapist was HIV positive. 

[Bastet]

Quote

In regards to Soap Operas:  when Roger raped Holly on GL (tackling spousal rape, which I believe at the time was still not illegal in most states)

Correct, and that was part of the storyline -- that the change in the statute allowing for prosecution was new, and part of Ross' defense strategy was to challenge that law.  I believe they based it on a case in Oregon (which was one of the first states to amend its penal code to eliminate the spousal exception from the definition of rape). 

[ennui]

21 hours ago, forumfish said:

"Marlena is possessed by the devil" fiasco on Days of Our Lives.

I remember clicking past and she had glowing red eyes. Who thought that was a good idea?

[Irlandesa]

On 11/1/2016 at 11:21 PM, AgentRXS said:

Yeah, from 1995-1998 "social media" consisted of chat rooms/really simplistic message boards. So even if something big happened on TV  it didn't "break the Internet" because its not like you could  look it up and find the clip that everyone's talking about. You still had to wait for a rerun.  So I feel like the late 90s stuff should be included on this thread because we were all still new to the concept of "social media" at the time.

I think the sophistication of the internet is a consideration.  For instance, many of these soap stories, like Laura coming back from the dead, would have broken long before it was revealed although some moments would obviously live indepdent of knowledge of its occurrence. 

1 hour ago, ennui said:

I remember clicking past and she had glowing red eyes. Who thought that was a good idea?

That was one of those stories that did raise ratings for its show but I also think it kind of broke it for good.  It's hard to say as this was around the time soaps started a pretty deep dive in both quality and ratings largely because of the OJ trial but I do feel the tone forever changed.  Not that it matters, I guess, since DOOL is one of the few suriving soaps.

[satrunrose]

I'm not sure if it would break the whole internet, but I think the end of Star Trek TNG's Best of Both World's cliffhanger would have made a serious dent if it had come a few years later. 

[Guest]

On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 3:05 PM, amaranta said:

John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosting Mike Douglas for a week.  I've watched on YT - it's so deliciously odd.  And the internet goes: WTF is happening? 

In the category of forums dedicated to WTF is happening.  There would be one dedicated to Andy Kauffman.

[Blergh]

On 11/1/2016 at 2:05 PM, amaranta said:

John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosting Mike Douglas for a week.  I've watched on YT - it's so deliciously odd.  And the internet goes: WTF is happening? 

What's especially ironic that it ALMOST entirely slipped from the radar and would have just been something folks would have discussed after the fact with nothing but secondhand observations to go on were it not for some diligent Beatles fan with a proto-VCR who got the tip and RECORDED it!  I'm not sure if the producers themselves didn't bother recording their own shows back then or had erased/lost their only copy . However; the fact is that via this one 'bootleg' we have the show itself preserved. To keep thing ontopic, I think that had the 'Net existed then, that fan would be a MAJOR 'Net celeb for having saved the show for posterity.

[Raja]

On 11/1/2016 at 0:28 PM, UYI said:

James at 15 was actually an hour long drama series on NBC. And after his birthday/virginity loss, it was renamed James at 16. 

Without the media of today I don't think we knew James at 15 was a pilot movie, it was just a TV movie and then a series showed up.

 My nominations. The Miami Vice pilot, from the use of an actual hit song and not generic studio groove in the soundtrack to the ending where the bad guy flies off laughing at our heroes. Also in the cop world Hill St Blues  when Hill and Renko got shot at the end of its pilot.

[danderson400]

Rachel tells Alice on Another World that Rachel is the father of Steve's child at the engagement party!

Dotto is canceled without warning in 1958 over the quiz show scandals.

[Blergh]

Oh, here's one that totally would sunk the Internet: on Moonlighting, the outcome of Maddie's pregnancy with David's child wound up with . .. Bruce Willis depicting said impending offspring while having a 'womb side' convo THEN it being revealed that Maddie had to be hospitalized after the impending child proved to be nonviable . .with Mr. Willis literally dancing away to another reincarnation. UGH!! I've NEVER met anyone who saw it who didn't think that was a total stinker and bummer which wound up sinking what had been a fun, clever show!  

[katie9918]

3 hours ago, danderson400 said:

Rachel tells Alice on Another World that Rachel is the father of Steve's child at the engagement party!

Please tell me audio at least still exists of this!

Not only was Steve Alice’s fiancée, but Rachel was also Alice’s sister-in-law! That had to have been red hot at the time!

[praeceptrix]

6 hours ago, danderson400 said:

Rachel tells Alice on Another World that Rachel is the father of Steve's child at the engagement party!

I'm confused. Who was pregnant? Was Rachel transsexual? 

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, praeceptrix said:

I'm confused. Who was pregnant? Was Rachel transsexual? 

What happened: Rachel announced that Steve was the father of her child at Steve & Alice's engagement party.

[AgentRXS]

Everyone would have been talking about Marvin's version of the national anthem for sure. Its my favorite rendition of all time. I could see the controversy over him basically turning it in to an R&B song.

Edited March 21, 2019 by AgentRXS

[Chaos Theory]

I don’t remember all that much from 90210 but the whole “Donna Martin Graduates” would have sooooo gotten the meme treatment.  

[Enigma X]

6 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I don’t remember all that much from 90210 but the whole “Donna Martin Graduates” would have sooooo gotten the meme treatment.  

I did not watch 90210 but remember in the late 90s when I was an undergrad, a woman who lived across the hall from me was having issues keeping up with her classes. She kept referencing a Donna and her educational/learning struggles as if the other people in the room knew Donna and as if Donna was an actual person. About 15 minutes in, I had to interrupt and ask who was Donna. Incredulously, she said Donna Martin. I asked "Donna who?" She said "90210!" At that moment, I was done with the conversation.

Edited March 28, 2019 by Enigma X

[Oosala]

On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 10:59 AM, amaranta said:

Also already mentioned - ".... the plane spun in.  There were no survivors."

After Radar says this, the camera pans around the operating theatre and all of the medical staff are crying while working.  Anyway, this is the first thing I thought about when I saw this thread.  The second one was The Day After (read all about it in the Scarred For Life thread).

Nowhere near as huge as those two would be the All in the Family episode when a menopausal Edith Bunker turns the tables on Archie and tells him to "Stifle!"  So freaking unexpected.

[Oosala]

On ‎10‎/‎31‎/‎2016 at 4:55 PM, Constantinople said:

Steve Martin's King Tut on SNL

Or at least I'd like to think it would

Also, the Bass-O-Matic.

[Shannon L.]

SNL's Church Lady would have become a meme.

[Chaos Theory]

If the internet existed when soaps were still a big deal a whole lot of storylines would have broken the internet for better and for worse.  I was more an ABC girl so I watched All My Children and One Life To Life (never cared for General Hospital).  With AMC Kendall Hart being revealed as Erica Kane’s daughter and Anything having to do with Victoria Lords split personalities would have broken the internet.   Plus the whole Marty’s rape case would have gotten a lot of traction.  

Edited March 28, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[ganesh]

For sure, there was only like 5 of them to start. I remember watching at my cousin's house. I was a little young fur the 80s, and she was cool because she knew all the bands. 

[Anela]

5 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

SNL's Church Lady would have become a meme.

[SVNBob]

8 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

SNL's Church Lady would have become a meme.

SNL has always had memetic moments.

• "Live from New York; It's Saturday Night!"
• The Bees.
• The Blues Brothers.
• "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not."
• "Two Wild and Crazy Guys!"
• Coneheads.
• "Jane, you ignorant slut."
• Buh-weet.
• Fernando ("You look marvelous!").
• Wayne's World.
• Pat.
• Most of Adam Sandler's characters on Weekend Update.
• A Night at the Roxbury.

Basically, every sketch or character that got a good enough reaction to warrant a follow-up, often in an earlier slot on the show, and/or a movie.

There were a couple of non-regular SNL moments that would have broken the Internet at the time.  The first would have been Lorne Michaels going on the show in 1976 offering The Beatles a chance to reunite on the show, with a certified check from NBC for $3000.

And the followup when George showed up a few weeks later to try to claim the money would also have broken the 'Net of '76.

But an even bigger one would have been in 1977 with Elvis Costello stopping his band The Attractions playing "Less than Zero" and going into "Radio Radio". which got him banned from the show for years.

[ABay]

Other SNL potential memes:

General Francisco Franco is still dead

Sinead O'Connor ripping the photo of the pope.

[GHScorpiosRule]

8 hours ago, Anela said:

Church Lady has to be my FAVORITE character of Carvey's.

And of course, Billy Crystal's 

[ganesh]

2 hours ago, ABay said:

Sinead O'Connor ripping the photo of the pope.

That was all over the place without any internet help. 

I always liked Fernando because he was so positive and encouraging. He even did a song and video. 

[Blergh]

No SNL list of popular characters can be complete without the legendary and all-too-soon taken Gilda Radner's Roseanne Rosanadana who's Weekend Update sayings were always quoted by my grade school class every Monday morning so I'd have no doubt she'd have been  a hot 'Net star! 

[Browncoat]

"Jane, you ignorant slut."