I was listening to a radio program that goes from 7:30 to 8:00, but made it a point to turn the radio off a few minutes before 8:00 so I wouldn't miss the start of the Simpsons. I turn on the TV to the local Fox channel, and see a *bunch* of commercials -- there must have been five or six, and by the time the commercials were done, my clock showed 8:02 and I had apparently missed the opening intro. (The *entire* opening intro, since there were commercials on at the time I tuned in.)
Did anybody who taped the episode notice whether the episode began early?
In Canada, Global takes over FOX's broadcast whenever they show the same show (which, unless showing an NBC show, is pretty much all the time) because apparently we're not allowed to watch US commercials. Global takes control right at the begining of the opening sequence, but if you watch FOX, you can watch the entire opening sequence, and part of the first commercial before the Global signal takes over. So, I suppose that's evidence that either FOX starts early or Global starts late.
East or west coast, if it makes a difference? In the east, Fox has started the show at around 7:59 PM for the past few seasons -- last night, about 7:59:30, judging from my VCR timer and the amount of commercials recorded before the show started. The open runs about 1:15, then 2:00 of commercials, then the episode begins.
If the station was showing local programming before 8 PM (if football was blacked out or whatever), it's possible that ran long and the station covered the show open with commercials. If it really bugs you, call the station and ask -- then they'll know someone noticed. (That's how the networks and syndicators learned some stations were using a device called the "Time Machine" to compress their programming and insert extra local commercials. A Pittsburgh station got caught using it to squeeze a network football game, when a listener noticed the radio coverage was ahead of the TV coverage by 30 seconds.)
In alt.tv.simpsons, on the "Simpsons starting early?" thread, Ted S. wrote:
It would not surprise me if it did. In the newspapers, I've read reports of networks starting shows thirty seconds off their nominal time. Apparently, its designed to foil channel switchers or something.
Another possiblity is that your clock and Fox's clock are syncrhonized to two different things, and that they drifted far enough apart for you to miss the opening.
On Mon, 17 Dec 2001 07:03:41 GMT, [email] (Benjamin Robinson) wrote:
It ran a few minutes late for me here. . .that happened last week too. I thought there must have been some sporting event on before King of the Hill to screw the time up...
~Kwyjibo ---- "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand..." -- Homer Simpson
Well, the late game did run long this week, but they joined KOTH "in progress", so it wouldn't make a difference. I just wanna know why Mr. Srtickland bought Hank an Xmas tree.