Carmine, the Color Commander just has zero patience when it comes to DTV transitions......
You know, I've seen the 'Redi-Plug' cutout thing on the back of many Zeniths and have yet to figure out what the heck they're there for.....IIRC a lot weren't hooked up to anything electronic inside and were simply imprinted molds on the cabinet backs.
I think an '88 would be a few years before the CRT disasters started happening.