WCAE Channel 50 - 3-2-1 Contact (Technical Difficulties Moment, 1980)

[@wmbrown6]

The opening was deliberately sped-up (as part of a week's worth of shows whose theme was "Fast/Slow"), and apparently WCAE tape ops were fooled.

[@stevemandl5140]

think I remember that

[@lowstaar]

They had the attention to put in filler programing though, interesting

[@firesauce9016]

The timing on this was honestly amazing.

[@wx4newengland]

I mean it looks like a capstan error, which might have been caused by trying to slow down a tape, which was already playing at normal speed

[@tggc1983]

Pay attention! *TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES* Abracadabra!

[@WildDiamond07]

Her a moment later: AWW, BUM! I MESSED UP THE MAGIC TRICK AGAIN!

[@NickyTeam]

Oh it's you​@@WildDiamond07

[@WildDiamond07]

It is indeed me.

[@gemastarlogos]

0:27 Now pay attention! TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES ____________________________________ please stand by Abracadabra!

[@WildDiamond07]

Her just a moment afterwards: Oops, did I mess up the magic trick?

[@cellytron]

Every frame of this is amazing. I do particularly like the ending with the tape flapping around. I grew up with cassette tapes but even I know that if it’s flapping around like that, there’s trouble 🤣

[@squidiskool]

0:04 Rest In Peace... he/she is in a better place now. Edit: I meant the cat

[@yaboiblock]

I luv ye kitty cat cat 🐈‍⬛

[@squidiskool]

I mean no offense to the cat and me from 3 years ago but it’s just a random cat from 70s/80s stock footage

[@squidiskool]

still rip to the cat

[@rareblues78daddy]

He gets the tape threaded correctly, he just leaves a hell of a long leader! ...messes with my OCD, frankly!

[@TheDanielRodriguez]

Can you imagine watching this high when all this went down....

[@protamine4]

Interracial kiss at 3:50: Lisa and Trini kiss Mark on the cheek. Not notable today but this was 1979--80 and I grew up in a conservative red state where this would have been unacceptable to many I knew. This show was truly ahead of its time on many levels.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Whatever the case, nice serendipity.

[@kevinszaflik]

By 1980, what playback devices would WCAE be running? I don't think there are any speed adjustments for 3/4" U-Matic, like a home VHS player could swap SP-LP-SLP/EP. Perhaps they did the video equivalent of playing a 33 1/3 RPM record at 45 RPM.

[@wmbrown6]

Methinks it could've been a 2" Quad. 1" Type C had not yet become the standard in American broadcasting at that point.

[@kevinszaflik]

2" Quad tape runs at a speed of either 7.5 or 15 in (190.5 or 381.0 mm) per second for NTSC 525/30 video recording. So maybe they thought they had a slow show on fast speed, and flipped a switch?

[@ranboobeloved3777]

0:27 Now Pay Attention Kakarot! *stops meaning by the Technical Difficulties part* Um... what was I gonna say again...

[@protamine4]

I had a crush on Lisa and Trini big time. Lisa (Lizi Moses) later showed up in a Massingale douche and Excedrin commercial and I was like "That's Lisa!!!!" I was happy to find a Facebook page dedicated to Season 1 of 3-2-1 with the original hosts, the only ones many liked, Mark, Lisa, and Trini. The page creator linked up with the FB pages of the three, Leon Grant, Lizi Moses, and Genevieve Ortiz, and they all seem to be doing well today. Most importantly, Lizi and Ginny have their own families and look wonderful for their age and all three are friends to this day (at least on Facebook)! I get the impression the two young women were as wholesome in real life as their characters.

[@Userbrandonlooneytunesfan2000]

early 80s Technical Difficulties Moments

[@stormcooper]

Now pay attention! *Technical difficulties pops up* Abracadabra!

[@JasonDelarosa2000]

Would this have had the 1971 "P-Head 1.0" PBS ident at the end? This was WAY before my time...

[@reydelacruzplaylistscartoo2935]

Wow it said the bloodhood gang in fast motion

[@kevinh8736]

Wow!!!!! I used to watch this!

[@Legend813a]

Lisa, but the terrifying NE accents...

[@reydelacruzplaylistscartoo2935]

I like the intro

[@LunarFlareStudios]

Which episode was this? I know it's one of the "fast/slow" episodes but I can't find it on KZbin.

[@leanderlacaj]

What episode of 3 2 1 contact is this?

[@samanthataylor8606]

I rember this vid this scary and cool

[@stormcooper]

LISA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

[@slush.545]

Why technical difficulties is scary and creepy and spooky

[@itz2komplikayted207]

I MISS OLD PBS, AND I ❤❤❤ YOUR CHANNEL - GREAT WORK!!! Where I lived as a kid, there was a channel that, when there were technical difficulties, the voice-over guy would announce the stats in an almost THREATENING way, like - "THIS is DOUBLE-U xxx TV ** !!! DOUBLE-U xxx (blah,blah,blah) OPERATES on a FREQUENCY of (NUMBER AMOUNT) KILOWATTS!!! DOUBLE-U xxx is LOCATED AT ..." THE SCREEN was FILLED UP with a HUGE graphic of their station logo in a BLISTERING shade of red, and it seemed to take FOREVER for SOMEONE to take care of the problem/s - AND, QUITE OFTEN, MY PROGRAM WAS OVER BEFORE ANYONE DEALT WITH IT ... I THOUGHT that it would JUMP OUT of the TV and HURT me - I was BARELY above TODDLER age, and when it happened, I DOVE BEHIND THE SOFA! And I was TEASED AND MOCKED by WHOEVER saw me hiding!!! THE THINGS that TRAUMATIZED us as KIDS ... 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

[@r66fplaysgames]

That sounds more like a TV station signoff than a technical difficulty.

[@itz2komplikayted207]

@@r66fplaysgames YOU are CORRECT, it DOES sound like a SIGN-OFF, THAT'S what I THOUGHT it WAS, AND YET, WHILE I KNOW that it sounds SILLY to WONDER if the STATION was so HARD UP for FUNDING, that they HAD to use a SIGN-OFF as a TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY interstitial, it's POSSIBLE, RIGHT? THIS channel was a PBS-INDEPENDENT-SCHOOL BOARD channel - AND, they CONSTANTLY had TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, SOMETIMES they USED a Mr. Bubble "ADVERTISING-GRAPHIC", which ALSO FREAKED ME OUT, BUT, my NOW-DECEASED (😭😭😭) Mom's THANKFULLY NOW-DECEASED EX-husband was EXTREMELY ABUSIVE to US, SO, I'M SURE that AT LEAST PART of my FEAR of the TV ISSUES was the FEAR AND LONELINESS that MAYBE the TV would "LEAVE ME ALL ALONE AND NEVER COME BACK" ... WHICH, I LATER found out, is a REACTION even from SOME ADULTS out there ... PLUS, I'M AUTISTIC, SO, the WORLD was a WAR-ZONE, ANYWAY ... THAT'S a LONG answer to YOUR QUESTION, SORRY - DOES IT MAKE a LITTLE BIT of SENSE, THOUGH? 🤔🤔🤔📺📺📺🫣🫣🫣🤔🤔🤔😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😱😱😱 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

[@pinklavenderpltave7198]

Is the 1989?

[@christopherfernandez4266]

No the 1980

[@douglasdesouzavieira8548]

What day did you record.

[@baronbrrrrett]

Considering this was aired during fast/slow week, anywhere between 1/28/1980 and 2/1/1980.

[@douglasdesouzavieira8548]

January 28th and February 1st, 1980.

[@mirjanadukic6984]

Ending of Little Einsteins and the words 'PLEASE STAND BY' with the Disney Junior logo. The programming is not continued till the next day.

[@Undead_Shep]

It was probably a test of broadcast for a while. either that or a very serious problem (like a fire or a very dead computer)

[@minerbloxer6471]

Ah yes… the CtW

[@douglasdesouzavieira8548]

What day did it air?

[@christopherfernandez4266]

I don't know

[@squidiskool]

NOW PAY ATTENTION

[@vinniemorciglio4632]

The tape should have been Synchronicity..... or The Bloodhound Gang.........

[@themysteryquadrio339]

Abbra cadabra technical difficulties

[@douglasdesouzavieira8548]

When was that.

[@Duolingothe]

Why is that sound is from outfit7 films