When Live TV Goes Bad

Christopher Walken looks like he's already two sheets to the wind in rehearsal.

I don't know if anything is going to go wrong during tonight's live broadcast of "Peter Pan" on NBC. But it could. And for sure, that's why I will be tuning in.

The prospect of a flub-up or other faux pas like a blown line, microphone malfunctions, some off-key singing, etc., is why I love live television. The big awards shows are live. But networks typically  put them on a delay for censorship purposes. I haven't heard if that's the case for this show, but regardless, slip-ups are possible.

Last year, NBC’s live performance of “The Sound of Music” attracted 22 million viewers. I was watching on my way back from a training camp in Salt Lake City – on a Frontier flight out of Denver. (I wish more airlines would offer live TV, but that's another post.) “Peter Pan Live!” has been promised to be "a glitzier and more expensive show." Peter will be played by Allison Williams (better known as the daughter of NBC News anchor Brian Williams) and Oscar winner Christopher Walken will play Captain Hook.

The original "Peter Pan" TV broadcast was also on NBC – way back in 1955. It starred Tony Award winners Mary Martin (Peter Pan) and Cyril Ritchard (Captain Hook). The production was so popular that NBC followed it up with a second live telecast (watch a clip on YouTube here) the following year.

Most memorable for me in "The Sound of Music" broadcast on NBC last year was Audra McDonald belting out "Climb Every Mountain."