Poor Brian Williams. His valiant attempts at delivering a report about American Airlines' bankruptcy filing on NBC Nightly News were stymied by a fire alarm that would. Not. End.

First came the "BOOP BOOP." Then a man's recorded voice played over the P.A. system. (It was hard to make out what he was saying, but it sounded an awful lot like, "This is a fire alarm. Do not panic. Single file. Take the stairs. Oh, Briiiiian. Why are you not panicking yet? This might not just be a test, Brian. Bet I can make you mess up! Delta, JetBlue, Qantas, Aer Lingus. Chapter Three, Eight, Forty-Four, Sixteen...") Then a short silence — just long enough to let Williams think he was in the clear — before the main siren started up. Have you ever attempted to read the news to a national audience over the amplified sounds of a tropical bird's mating call? It's not as easy as it might seem.

To his credit, though, Williams made it through the incident (and then an encore, below) without tossing his copy into the air, shouting, "God-fucking-damn-it all to hell — why couldn't this at least have happened during Rock Center, when no one was watching?!" then collapsing into an inconsolable heap on his desk. Guy's a pro through and through.

[NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams]