History Main / MissingTheGoodStuff

%%* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', "When There's A Wilt, There's A Way": A basketball game.

* ''Literature/TheFamousFive'': In ''Five have a Wonderful Time'', Julian and Dick see a mysterious face in a castle window through binoculars, but it disappears before the others get to see it. George is especially annoyed at not having seen it, especially as they are ''her'' binoculars. When they look again the following day, she insists on looking herself first, and does see the face.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': This is almost a recurring theme, often involving Quidditch, or the Sorting Ceremony.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has Ron's Quidditch match (which Harry can't play in). He and Hermione get ready to suffer through Ron's utter humiliation when Hagrid shows up to ask them to follow him. They do, discovering that he has a (literal) giant half-brother. When they get back, they hear the crowd chanting a mocking song the Slytherins came up with, and realize the lyrics are now celebrating Ron, and sung by Gryffindors. It turns out Ron started blocking goals like a champ after they left, and while initially put off that they missed the whole thing, Hagrid's problem is enough to make him forgive them.

* Part of the chronic bad luck that dogs the title character in the ''Literature/AdrianMole'' books involves him missing critical moments in live TV broadcasts. For example, during the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in ''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾'', Grandma Mole starts to tear up, so Adrian leaves the room to find a box of tissues; by the time he returns, the royal couple have already been declared man and wife. In ''The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole'', he is eagerly anticipating the first ever broadcast of Creator/TheBBC's ''Breakfast Time'', only to be called out of the room by his parents for just long enough to miss the first few minutes.

*** In that same episode, it shows the gang not paying attention to the half-time show from a past Super Bowl, since it's never exciting; besides, then it was only {{Music/JustinTimberlake}}/{{Music/JanetJackson}} headlining.

* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} tries to watch a hockey game in an issue of ''Wolverine: First Class''. When robots from the Danger Room go rogue, he alters his catchphrase to suit the occasion: "I'm the best there is at what I do. And what I do...is watch hockey! When I want to! For as long as I want to! [[CanadianEqualsHockeyFan It's my moral right as a Canadian.]]" Just as he gets back to the game after taking care of the robots, the TV is destroyed. Needless to say, he is very upset.

* An episode of ''Series/CornerGas'' has everyone attempting to go to the Grey Cup, getting stuck in random [[HilarityEnsues sitcom situations]], and never going. Every single one of them bluffs to the others that they saw the game and it was great.

* ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'' [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on this. [[ComicBook/TheThing Ben Grimm]] has been waiting to see a [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup World Cup]] Final match, but [[ComicBook/HumanTorch Johnny]] tells him that Ben's own bad luck will prevent this. Sure enough, a giant alien invades moments afterwards. And just to cap it all, Ben forgets to tape the game, preventing him from watching it later.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', "Episode 257-494": Some famous person on a talk show is about to reveal the secret to world peace when the Titans interrupt saying that the viewers must stop watching this program, since the TV signal is literally rotting their brains.

* Averted by CBS on February 15, 2019: when president Creator/DonaldTrump held a press conference to announce a "national emergency" declaration to expedite construction of a proposed border wall, CBS cut away near the top of the hour so it could get to ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' on schedule. The event was supposedly only going to take about 8 minutes, but it ended up going on for much longer, with CBS cutting away after about 20 minutes. Cue CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter [[https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1096440123959459840?lang=en live-tweeting the ensuing episode on Twitter]]. ''Price'' host Creator/DrewCarey even chimed in to "fact check" him for [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer mixing up the Showcase and the Showcase Showdown]] (remember, the Showcase ''Showdown'' is the part with the big wheel).

** On November 23, 1975, NBC was airing another Oakland Raiders game, this time against the Washington Redskins. Once again, the network had a movie scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, this time its highly-touted television premiere of ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory''. With the game was still tied at the end of regulation and going into OT, the network – determined to avoid another ''Heidi'' fiasco – stayed with it to its conclusion, which didn't come until 7:45 p.m. Meanwhile, rather than delay the start of ''Willy Wonka'' in the East, they opted to simply join the movie in progress... which led to another avalanche of angry calls, from parents of disappointed youngsters.

** On November 23, 1975, NBC was airing another Oakland Raiders game, this time against the Washington Redskins. Once again, the network had a movie scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, this time its highly-touted television premiere of ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory''. With the game was still tied at the end of regulation and going into OT, the network – determined to avoid another ''Heidi'' fiasco – stayed with it to its conclusion, which didn't come until 7:45 p.m. Meanwhile, rather than delay the start of ''Willy Wonka'' in the Eastern time zone, they opted to simply join the movie in progress... which led to another avalanche of angry calls from parents of disappointed youngsters.

[[folder:Film - Animation]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

** On November 25, 1975, NBC was airing another Oakland Raiders game, this time against the Washington Redskins. Once again, the network had a movie scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, this time its highly-touted television premiere of ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory''. With the game was still tied at the end of regulation and going into OT, the network – determined to avoid another ''Heidi'' fiasco – stayed with it to its conclusion, which didn't come until 7:45 p.m. Meanwhile, rather than delay the start of ''Willy Wonka'' in the Eastern time zone, they opted to simply join the movie in progress... which led to another avalanche of angry calls from parents of disappointed youngsters.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game Heidi Game.]] On Sunday, November 17, 1968, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague New York Jets and Oakland Raiders]] were playing, and the final quarter was running longer than usual. Creator/{{NBC}}, which was televising the game, planned to air a made-for-TV movie adaptation of ''[[Literature/{{Heidi}} Heidi]]'' that evening at 7:00 p.m. ET sharp. After noticing how intense the game had become, NBC executives decided to air the rest of the game and start ''Heidi'' after its conclusion. However, there was just one problem: they couldn't phone network control to tell them the new plans, because NBC's switchboards were flooded with callers asking whether they would be showing ''Heidi'' or the end of the game. As scheduled, NBC's East Coast feed broke away from the game and never came back. Meanwhile, back in Oakland, the Raiders pulled off a MiracleRally with two game-winning touchdowns out of nowhere. NBC only attracted further criticism for [[MoodWhiplash putting a news ticker with the final score up during the scene in which Clara takes her first steps]]. After the negative publicity NBC received from football fans over the incident, it soon became standard practice among all networks airing sports events to always show a game to its conclusion (with the National Football League enshrining this in its current television contracts), although as you'll see, there have still been occasional exceptions.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game Heidi Game.]] On Sunday, November 17, 1968, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague New York Jets and Oakland Raiders]] were playing, and the final quarter was running longer than usual. Creator/{{NBC}}, which was televising the game, planned to air a made-for-TV movie adaptation of ''[[Literature/{{Heidi}} Heidi]]'' that evening at 7:00 p.m. ET sharp. After noticing how intense the game had become, NBC executives decided to air the rest of the game and start ''Heidi'' after its conclusion. However, there was just one problem: they couldn't phone network control to tell them the new plans, because NBC's switchboards were flooded with callers asking whether they would be showing ''Heidi'' or the end of the game. As scheduled, NBC's East Coast feed broke away from the game and never came back. Meanwhile, back in Oakland, the Raiders pulled off a MiracleRally with two game-winning touchdowns out of nowhere. NBC only attracted further criticism for [[MoodWhiplash putting a news ticker with the final score up during the scene where Clara takes her first steps]]. After the bad publicity NBC received from football fans over the incident, it soon became standard practice for sports telecasts to always air a game in its entirety (with the current National Football League enshrining this in its television contracts), although as you'll see, there have still been exceptions.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game Heidi Game.]] The [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague New York Jets and Oakland Raiders]] were playing, and the final quarter was running longer than usual. NBC was contractually obligated by a sponsor, Timex, to air a made-for-TV movie of ''[[Literature/{{Heidi}} Heidi]]'' at 7:00 p.m. ET sharp. After noticing how intense the game had become, NBC Sports' executives decided to air the rest of the game and start ''Heidi'' after the conclusion of the telecast. However, there was just one problem: they couldn't phone network control to tell them the new plans, because NBC's switchboards were flooded with callers asking about whether NBC would be showing ''Heidi'' or the end of the game. As scheduled, NBC's east coast feed broke away from the game and never came back. Meanwhile, back in Oakland, the Raiders pulled off a MiracleRally with two game-winning touchdowns out of nowhere. NBC only attracted further criticism for [[MoodWhiplash putting a news ticker with the final score up during the scene where Clara takes her first steps]]. After the bad publicity NBC received from football fans for the incident, it soon became standard practice for sports telecasts to always air a game in its entirety (with the current National Football League enshrining this in its television contracts), although as you'll see, there have still been exceptions.

* ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam & Max: Night of the Raving Dead]]'' does a version similar to the ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' example below. The first half of the game is {{flashback}} explaining how Sam and Max wound up in the DeathTrap. Just as the flashback gets up to "the most epic battle of our career", Max stops it with "Yeah, Yeah, I remember the rest!". We never see the fight.

** And yet again, in "When Aliens Attack:, when Fry (in present day) accidentally knocks out the Fox network with spilled beer. As a result, the aliens of Omicron Persei 8, who receive the television broadcast a thousand years later (in "present" day), [[AliensStealCable miss the end of an episode of their favorite series]]. They're so upset they declare war on Earth. It's okay, though: at the end of the episode, everything's [[SnapBack right back to normal]].
*** Eerily reminiscent of a [[TruthInTelevision real life]] power outage at the Toledo Fox affiliate. We pray that the people of 3007 don't feel the wrath of the ''Series/AmericanIdol''-loving aliens that pick up UsefulNotes/ToledoOhio's television signal.

* On ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' Brian watches ''Series/{{Nova}}'' where a scientist was about to reveal the secret for longer lives in canines. However, it's interrupted by several episodes of ''Series/{{One Day at a Time|1975}}''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'', while Blu and Jewel are being chased by Nigel the cockatoo through the city of Rio de Janeiro, everyone is watching a soccer game where the Brazilian team is about to win. At the last moment, Blu and Jewel evade Nigel and cause him to crash into an electrical transformer, [[BigBlackout blacking out all of Rio]] just when the final point was about to be scored, much to dismay of everyone in the city.

* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' pulls this on the viewer. The movie ends when the fictional reality show does, as Truman goes into a door that leads beyond the range of The Director's cameras - just before he's reunited with a girl who played a large role in inspiring him to leave.

* A young Amelie (from the [[Film/{{Amelie}} French film of the same name]]) gets her revenge on an unpleasant neighbor by sneaking onto his roof with a portable radio during an important soccer match and pulling the plug on his TV antenna whenever a goal is about to be scored. It drives him crazy.
* In ''Film/{{The Odd Couple|1968}}'', Oscar is watching a Mets/Pirates game from the press box when Felix phones to tell him not to have any hot dogs at the game because he's making franks and beans for dinner. Oscar misses seeing Bill Mazeroski hit into a triple play as a result of this. Another example from the TV adaption appears below.

* In ''Film/AirForceOne'' the President has taped a football game because he is just too busy to see it. Naturally, someone has to spoil the ending.
* Played with in ''Film/GoodWillHunting''. Creator/RobinWilliams' character missed Game 6 of the 1975 World Series because he gave up a ticket to try to pick up a girl at a bar. The game turned out to be one of the greatest in baseball history, but the girl eventually married him, so he didn't regret a thing.

* Part of the chronic bad luck that dogs the title character in the ''Literature/AdrianMole'' books involves him missing critical moments in live TV broadcasts. For example, during the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in ''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾'', Grandma Mole starts to tear up, so Adrian leaves the room to find a box of tissues; by the time he returns, the royal couple have already been declared man and wife. In ''The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole'', he is eagerly anticipating the first ever broadcast of Creator/TheBBC's ''Breakfast Time'', only to be called out of the room by his parents for just long enough to miss the first few minutes.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984'' episode "The Muppet Broadcasting Company", the kids set up a domino set, but get into an argument about who starts it going. During the debate, one of them brushes against the starting domino and starts the chain with only Animal seeing it while the others argue, and don't realize it until they heard the record player set up to turn on by the final domino.

* Tornadoes were forming in the Miami Valley of Ohio on May 27, 2019, prompting Jamie Simpson, meteorologist of Dayton's WRGT/WKEF duopoly, to interrupt Creator/{{ABC}}'s ''The Bachelorette'' for coverage and to alert viewers to take cover. Angry ''Bachelorette'' fans took to social media [[SkewedPriorities to demand the ABC show go back on]]. Simpson dressed the fans down on-air in epic fashion.

* During a visit to Australia by Prince Charles in the late 80's/early 90's, a journalist got bored halfway through one of his speeches and wandered off to find a phonebooth to phone in a report to his TV station. Minutes after he left, an armed man stormed onto the stage and tried to take a shot at the Prince live on tv. This led to a rather bizarre situation where the two newsanchors 3000 miles away had seen the pictures and were asking excitedly for updates on what was going on and the poor none-the-wiser reporter was shrugging and trying to think of euphemisms for 'Sweet FA'.