30 years ago, New York City went dark and NBC’s Must See TV shined brightly

NBC

“Crossover” is simply a connection that has someway mislaid its powerfulness successful caller years. The dawn of nan Marvel Cinematic Universe arsenic an intermezo instrumentality and moreover worldly for illustration the Super Smash Bros. Brothers franchise have benignant of deprived this eager connection of nan effect it erstwhile had. Seeing aggregate characters from different origins coming together isn’t needfully arsenic breathtaking arsenic it erstwhile was — moreover if an Avengers: Endgame still has nan powerfulness to occurrence america up. Crossovers weren’t precisely caller successful ’90s tv either, particularly wrong shows of nan aforesaid network. Back successful 1994, though, a peculiarly awesome stunt aired connected prime-time television, arsenic NBC sought to usage each sitcom successful its “Must See TV” Thursday lineup to create thing that was moreover much elusive backmost then, moreover among nan aforesaid network’s titles: synergy.

The thought was to framework nan 4 Thursday sitcoms — Mad About You, Friends, Seinfeld, and nan now-forgotten Madman of nan People — nether 1 communal event, a citywide blackout successful New York City. The consequence is an arena that was decidedly successful backmost past and which has go outright iconic today. Known arsenic nan “Blackout Thursday” of 1994, it solidified nan network’s “Must See TV” lineup arsenic conscionable that: assignment tv that dominated nan taste scenery and very overmuch defined nan precocious ’90s connected nan mini screen. On its 30th anniversary, it’s clip to look backmost astatine this innovative strategy, which, contempt its age, seems much topical and refreshing now than ever before.

Turn disconnected nan lights

In Front Productions/TriStar Television/Nuance Productions

In a floor plan portion astir nan event’s 20th day successful 2014, Esquire includes a quote from then-senior NBC executive Dan Holm, who claimed he didn’t “recall precisely who came up pinch nan blackout theme, whether it came from nan promotions section aliases programming.” The truth down nan event’s inception mightiness beryllium mislaid to time, aliases astatine slightest well-buried nether a heap of he said, she saids. The truth is, a stunt for illustration this was astir apt not nan consequence of a azygous head, but alternatively a group of group collaborating — nan thought might’ve moreover gone done respective stages, for each we know. Deciding connected nan time of nan week wasn’t hard, however.

Back successful 1994, Thursday nights connected NBC were golden. Mad About You, past successful its 3rd season, was already an Emmy nominee and among nan top 30 programs of nan 1993-1994 season. Seinfeld was really nan third-most-watched show of that season, averaging 19 cardinal viewers, backmost erstwhile nan mean sitcom was hitting nan 20 cardinal people connected a regular ground (for comparison, Abbott Elementary, arguably nan astir successful sitcom presently airing connected prime-time TV, usually comes successful nether 5 million).

TV Guide

And 1994 was besides a seminal twelvemonth for television pinch nan debut of Friends, a generation-defining sitcom that would span nan ’90 pinch nan early 2000s successful ways fewer different shows could. Then connected its first season, nan show was already a hit, slow asserting nan power it would person for nan adjacent decade. The outlier present was Madman of nan People, a Dabney Coleman conveyance that premiered connected September 22 successful nan 9:30 p.m. slot. At nan time, it was really averaging precocious ratings — it moreover ended its one-season tally within nan Top 15, though history doesn’t moreover fuss to retrieve it now.

The existent brilliance present was coming up pinch a blackout arsenic nan connective insubstantial betwixt nan shows. These were sitcoms we’re talking about, meaning thing excessively tragic could necktie them together. However, nan arena needed to beryllium salient capable that it could consciousness major, astatine slightest wrong nan highly low-stakes situation of nan sitcom world. One characteristic could person crossed complete to each show, but that would person required uncovering (and paying) personification celebrated capable to guidelines retired successful each show. Death is excessively grim, and location are only truthful galore visits Jamie Buchman could make to nan world of Friends without depriving it of its identity.

Thus, a blackout! Simple to execute, low-stakes capable to forestall anyone from suffering, yet important capable to extremity nan characters’ lives and let for immoderate wacky hijinks. It really was a point of beauty, elegantly simple, yet inspired and profoundly relatable to an assemblage rooted profoundly successful its physics devices. Blackouts consciousness world-shaking erstwhile they happen, particularly if you person a occupation aliases a committedness or, successful my case, a deadline. Minutes move into hours, and life itself seems to stop. In existent life, blackouts are dull and frustrating; successful sitcom world, it turns retired they are nan cleanable chance to bring retired your guitar and singing Top of nan World.

How NBC started its ain citywide blackout

Warner Bros. Television

The arena starts pinch Mad About You, wherever lead mates Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jaime Buchman (Helen Hunt) inadvertently origin nan blackout erstwhile trying to hook up their cablegram illegally. The section sees their building huffy astatine them for messing up nan cablegram web for everyone and ends pinch nan blackout still going connected — nan credits series moreover features a cameo from Al Roker, who claims nan nonaccomplishment is owed to either a analyzable powerfulness nonaccomplishment “or immoderate yutz trying to bargain cable.” Reiser and Hunt were peculiarly game, intelligibly excited astir nan domiciled they played successful nan overarching crossover.

Hunt was peculiarly proud of causing nan blackout, while Reiser, alternatively tongue-in-cheekly, claims their yank was truthful beardown it went “all nan measurement to Dabney Coleman’s house.” The goodie-two-shoes duo of Paul and Jaime were nan cleanable choices to kick-start nan event: moreover today, nan 2 stay loveable, saccharine to nan constituent of being cavity-inducing. Who could enactment huffy astatine them? Mad astir them, though? Sure.

The event’s pièce de résistance came successful nan now-iconic Friends section The One pinch nan Blackout. Gathered successful Monica’s (Courteney Cox) flat for nan blackout, Ross (David Schwimmer) tries to confess his feelings to Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), but nan improbable presence of a definite Italian hunk complicates things for him. Meanwhile, Chandler (Matthew Perry) becomes trapped successful an ATM pinch Victoria’s Secret exemplary Jill Goodacre.

The One pinch nan Blackout does what each the champion episodes of Friends do: it finds nan joke successful nan astir mundane situations, capturing nan wacky hijinks that tin and do hap successful existent life. Sure, not everyone becomes trapped successful a confined abstraction pinch a supermodel, but what this section is really astir is nan impactful and once-in-a-lifetime relationship you tin shape successful nan span of specified hours. Even if it’s pinch personification you’ll ne'er spot again, immoderate moments are genuinely game-changing. That’s nan full premise of nan sitcom, aft all: it’s plausible and average, but still feels important. It mightiness not look that way, but mundane life contains multitudes.

Warner Bros. Television

Friends ends pinch nan blackout ending, which, successful theory, should’ve been nan cleanable setup for a classical Seinfeld episode. Yet, a definite personification flat-out refused to participate successful nan crossover. Why? Because he could. In an question and reply pinch Uproxx in 2015, erstwhile Seinfeld writer Peter Mehlman discussed nan attempts NBC made to person Larry David to do a crossover with Friends. The comedian consistently refused nan idea, pinch Mehlman explaining that Seinfeld‘s sizeable occurrence allowed them to get distant pinch things nary different show could.

It would’ve been absorbing to spot Jerry and institution woody pinch a blackout, but specified a gimmicky stunt proved excessively overmuch for nan notoriously cynical show. Alas, nan section that really aired, The Gymnast, is champion remembered for not centering astir nan blackout, which successful galore ways is nan astir Seinfeld thing Seinfeld could do.

The arena really continued pinch nan 9:30 show, Madman of nan People, but nan continuity had been surgery by Seinfeld. Moreover, nan existent blackout was complete by that point, and nan section itself revolved astir nan main character, Coleman’s Jack, spending his day successful jailhouse aft looting during nan blackout. The premise suits nan show’s reside conscionable good — indeed, Madman of nan People feels oddly mean and aimless, for illustration a neutered, acold little witty type of Network.

TV Guide

Having nan main characteristic arrested for looting erstwhile again forced a confined situation, but without nan blackout, truthful it conscionable seemed bizarre, particularly because its lead-in show wasn’t a portion of nan event. Thus, Birthday successful nan Big House seems retired of place, a “very typical episode” that turns retired to beryllium not typical astatine all.

Let location beryllium light

Spelling Television

“Blackout Thursday” is simply a funny arena successful ’90s television, noteworthy capable to beryllium remembered fondly, yet not rather seminal capable to beryllium decade-defining. It is iconic, though, mostly because of nan shows involved. Arguably, Friends was nan large victor here, delivering nan astir celebrated section and becoming nan unofficial poster kid for nan crossover. That has much to do pinch nan show’s wide bequest than pinch nan section itself, though, but it’s still undeniable that erstwhile reasoning of “Blackout Thursday,” our corporate minds instantly image Ross Geller fighting for his life while a yellowish feline claws his neck. Still, nan arena was a occurrence for NBC, cementing its “Must See TV” lineup arsenic 1 of nan astir successful blocks successful tv history. “That’s erstwhile “Must See TV” started to deed its stride,” said Holm successful nan Esquire interview.

In hindsight, it’s easy to disregard “Blackout Thursday” arsenic a silly ratings gimmick; while it was a gimmick, it wasn’t silly. There is genuine productivity down this stunt, and nan episodes it produced are coagulated entries into their respective shows. Yet, fewer who weren’t live backmost past mightiness moreover beryllium alert of it today. On nan different hand, saomeone rewatching Friends could spot The One pinch nan Blackout and not deliberation doubly astir it.

“Blackout Thursday” is nan merchandise of its clip and place, profoundly rooted successful ’90s sensibilities astatine an almost unrecognizable clip erstwhile families spent full evenings glued to their TV watching 1 show aft nan other. What makes it moreover much of an arena is nan truth you cannot replicate it. Sure, you tin watercourse nan Mad About You section connected Sling TV and past watch The One pinch nan Blackout connected Max, but that’s arsenic acold arsenic you’ll get — Madman of nan People is harder to find, pinch only grainy YouTube clips and nan overseas section aliases 2 disposable to watch.

Perhaps that was nan existent accomplishment of this peculiar stunt: it wasn’t truthful overmuch that it brought celebrated shows nether nan aforesaid banner (it did, though), but alternatively that it provided a different acquisition for nan viewers. Like each nan champion stunts, “Blackout Thursday” made viewers judge nan improbable without challenging their enjoyment; it introduced chaos into a highly controlled setting, and connected a Thursday night, fewer things might’ve seemed much original. At nan extremity of nan day, that’s what intermezo is each about.

Mad About You is disposable to stream connected Sling TV. Friends is disposable to stream connected Max.