diff --git a/pkg/client/record/event.go b/pkg/client/record/event.go
index 21747c7d621..d85306b8b71 100644
--- a/pkg/client/record/event.go
+++ b/pkg/client/record/event.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package record
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/api"
@@ -30,8 +31,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/golang/glog"
 )
 
-// retryEventSleep is the time between record failures to retry.  Available for test alteration.
-var retryEventSleep = 1 * time.Second
+const maxTriesPerEvent = 12
+
+var sleepDuration = 10 * time.Second
 
 // EventRecorder knows how to store events (client.Client implements it.)
 // EventRecorder must respect the namespace that will be embedded in 'event'.
@@ -46,49 +48,68 @@ type EventRecorder interface {
 // or used to stop recording, if desired.
 // TODO: make me an object with parameterizable queue length and retry interval
 func StartRecording(recorder EventRecorder, source api.EventSource) watch.Interface {
+	// The default math/rand package functions aren't thread safe, so create a
+	// new Rand object for each StartRecording call.
+	randGen := rand.New(rand.NewSource(time.Now().UnixNano()))
 	return GetEvents(func(event *api.Event) {
 		// Make a copy before modification, because there could be multiple listeners.
 		// Events are safe to copy like this.
 		eventCopy := *event
 		event = &eventCopy
 		event.Source = source
-		try := 0
+
+		tries := 0
 		for {
-			try++
-			_, err := recorder.Create(event)
-			if err == nil {
+			if recordEvent(recorder, event) {
 				break
 			}
-			// If we can't contact the server, then hold everything while we keep trying.
-			// Otherwise, something about the event is malformed and we should abandon it.
-			giveUp := false
-			switch err.(type) {
-			case *client.RequestConstructionError:
-				// We will construct the request the same next time, so don't keep trying.
-				giveUp = true
-			case *errors.StatusError:
-				// This indicates that the server understood and rejected our request.
-				giveUp = true
-			case *errors.UnexpectedObjectError:
-				// We don't expect this; it implies the server's response didn't match a
-				// known pattern. Go ahead and retry.
-			default:
-				// This case includes actual http transport errors. Go ahead and retry.
-			}
-			if giveUp {
-				glog.Errorf("Unable to write event '%#v': '%v' (will not retry!)", event, err)
+			tries++
+			if tries >= maxTriesPerEvent {
+				glog.Errorf("Unable to write event '%#v' (retry limit exceeded!)", event)
 				break
 			}
-			if try >= 3 {
-				glog.Errorf("Unable to write event '%#v': '%v' (retry limit exceeded!)", event, err)
-				break
+			// Randomize the first sleep so that various clients won't all be
+			// synced up if the master goes down.
+			if tries == 1 {
+				time.Sleep(time.Duration(float64(sleepDuration) * randGen.Float64()))
+			} else {
+				time.Sleep(sleepDuration)
 			}
-			glog.Errorf("Unable to write event: '%v' (will retry in 1 second)", err)
-			time.Sleep(retryEventSleep)
 		}
 	})
 }
 
+// recordEvent attempts to write event to recorder. It returns true if the event
+// was successfully recorded or discarded, false if it should be retried.
+func recordEvent(recorder EventRecorder, event *api.Event) bool {
+	_, err := recorder.Create(event)
+	if err == nil {
+		return true
+	}
+	// If we can't contact the server, then hold everything while we keep trying.
+	// Otherwise, something about the event is malformed and we should abandon it.
+	giveUp := false
+	switch err.(type) {
+	case *client.RequestConstructionError:
+		// We will construct the request the same next time, so don't keep trying.
+		giveUp = true
+	case *errors.StatusError:
+		// This indicates that the server understood and rejected our request.
+		giveUp = true
+	case *errors.UnexpectedObjectError:
+		// We don't expect this; it implies the server's response didn't match a
+		// known pattern. Go ahead and retry.
+	default:
+		// This case includes actual http transport errors. Go ahead and retry.
+	}
+	if giveUp {
+		glog.Errorf("Unable to write event '%#v': '%v' (will not retry!)", event, err)
+		return true
+	}
+	glog.Errorf("Unable to write event: '%v' (may retry after sleeping)", err)
+	return false
+}
+
 // StartLogging just logs local events, using the given logging function. The
 // return value can be ignored or used to stop logging, if desired.
 func StartLogging(logf func(format string, args ...interface{})) watch.Interface {
@@ -120,9 +141,9 @@ func GetEvents(f func(*api.Event)) watch.Interface {
 	return w
 }
 
-const queueLen = 1000
+const maxQueuedEvents = 1000
 
-var events = watch.NewBroadcaster(queueLen)
+var events = watch.NewBroadcaster(maxQueuedEvents, watch.DropIfChannelFull)
 
 // Event constructs an event from the given information and puts it in the queue for sending.
 // 'object' is the object this event is about. Event will make a reference-- or you may also
diff --git a/pkg/client/record/event_test.go b/pkg/client/record/event_test.go
index b372cffe374..6cf1f74454c 100644
--- a/pkg/client/record/event_test.go
+++ b/pkg/client/record/event_test.go
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ package record
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"reflect"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
-	"time"
 
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/api"
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/api/errors"
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@ import (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	retryEventSleep = 1 * time.Microsecond
+	// Don't bother sleeping between retries.
+	sleepDuration = 0
 }
 
 type testEventRecorder struct {
@@ -188,12 +189,12 @@ func TestWriteEventError(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 		"retry1": {
 			timesToSendError: 1000,
-			attemptsWanted:   3,
+			attemptsWanted:   12,
 			err:              &errors.UnexpectedObjectError{},
 		},
 		"retry2": {
 			timesToSendError: 1000,
-			attemptsWanted:   3,
+			attemptsWanted:   12,
 			err:              fmt.Errorf("A weird error"),
 		},
 		"succeedEventually": {
@@ -238,3 +239,54 @@ func TestWriteEventError(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestLotsOfEvents(t *testing.T) {
+	recorderCalled := make(chan struct{})
+	loggerCalled := make(chan struct{})
+
+	// Fail each event a few times to ensure there's some load on the tested code.
+	var counts [1000]int
+	testEvents := testEventRecorder{
+		OnEvent: func(event *api.Event) (*api.Event, error) {
+			num, err := strconv.Atoi(event.Message)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Error(err)
+				return event, nil
+			}
+			counts[num]++
+			if counts[num] < 5 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("fake error")
+			}
+			recorderCalled <- struct{}{}
+			return event, nil
+		},
+	}
+	recorder := StartRecording(&testEvents, api.EventSource{Component: "eventTest"})
+	logger := StartLogging(func(formatter string, args ...interface{}) {
+		loggerCalled <- struct{}{}
+	})
+
+	ref := &api.ObjectReference{
+		Kind:       "Pod",
+		Name:       "foo",
+		Namespace:  "baz",
+		UID:        "bar",
+		APIVersion: "v1beta1",
+	}
+	for i := 0; i < maxQueuedEvents; i++ {
+		go Event(ref, "Status", "Reason", strconv.Itoa(i))
+	}
+	// Make sure no events were dropped by either of the listeners.
+	for i := 0; i < maxQueuedEvents; i++ {
+		<-recorderCalled
+		<-loggerCalled
+	}
+	// Make sure that every event was attempted 5 times
+	for i := 0; i < maxQueuedEvents; i++ {
+		if counts[i] < 5 {
+			t.Errorf("Only attempted to record event '%d' %d times.", i, counts[i])
+		}
+	}
+	recorder.Stop()
+	logger.Stop()
+}
diff --git a/pkg/registry/registrytest/generic.go b/pkg/registry/registrytest/generic.go
index 28a0d66b5eb..46776a786ec 100644
--- a/pkg/registry/registrytest/generic.go
+++ b/pkg/registry/registrytest/generic.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ type GenericRegistry struct {
 func NewGeneric(list runtime.Object) *GenericRegistry {
 	return &GenericRegistry{
 		ObjectList:  list,
-		Broadcaster: watch.NewBroadcaster(0),
+		Broadcaster: watch.NewBroadcaster(0, watch.WaitIfChannelFull),
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/registry/registrytest/pod.go b/pkg/registry/registrytest/pod.go
index 6d60d30f62b..571b61074b2 100644
--- a/pkg/registry/registrytest/pod.go
+++ b/pkg/registry/registrytest/pod.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ type PodRegistry struct {
 func NewPodRegistry(pods *api.PodList) *PodRegistry {
 	return &PodRegistry{
 		Pods:        pods,
-		broadcaster: watch.NewBroadcaster(0),
+		broadcaster: watch.NewBroadcaster(0, watch.WaitIfChannelFull),
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/watch/mux.go b/pkg/watch/mux.go
index e4d8bef1605..ed5c09e5129 100644
--- a/pkg/watch/mux.go
+++ b/pkg/watch/mux.go
@@ -22,6 +22,20 @@ import (
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/runtime"
 )
 
+// FullChannelBehavior controls how the Broadcaster reacts if a watcher's watch
+// channel is full.
+type FullChannelBehavior int
+
+const (
+	WaitIfChannelFull FullChannelBehavior = iota
+	DropIfChannelFull
+)
+
+// Buffer the incoming queue a little bit even though it should rarely ever accumulate
+// anything, just in case a few events are received in such a short window that
+// Broadcaster can't move them onto the watchers' queues fast enough.
+const incomingQueueLength = 25
+
 // Broadcaster distributes event notifications among any number of watchers. Every event
 // is delivered to every watcher.
 type Broadcaster struct {
@@ -31,17 +45,27 @@ type Broadcaster struct {
 	nextWatcher int64
 
 	incoming chan Event
+
+	// How large to make watcher's channel.
+	watchQueueLength int
+	// If one of the watch channels is full, don't wait for it to become empty.
+	// Instead just deliver it to the watchers that do have space in their
+	// channels and move on to the next event.
+	// It's more fair to do this on a per-watcher basis than to do it on the
+	// "incoming" channel, which would allow one slow watcher to prevent all
+	// other watchers from getting new events.
+	fullChannelBehavior FullChannelBehavior
 }
 
-// NewBroadcaster creates a new Broadcaster. queueLength is the maximum number of events to queue.
-// When queueLength is 0, Action will block until any prior event has been
-// completely distributed. It is guaranteed that events will be distibuted in the
-// order in which they ocurr, but the order in which a single event is distributed
-// among all of the watchers is unspecified.
-func NewBroadcaster(queueLength int) *Broadcaster {
+// NewBroadcaster creates a new Broadcaster. queueLength is the maximum number of events to queue per watcher.
+// It is guaranteed that events will be distibuted in the order in which they ocur,
+// but the order in which a single event is distributed among all of the watchers is unspecified.
+func NewBroadcaster(queueLength int, fullChannelBehavior FullChannelBehavior) *Broadcaster {
 	m := &Broadcaster{
-		watchers: map[int64]*broadcasterWatcher{},
-		incoming: make(chan Event, queueLength),
+		watchers:            map[int64]*broadcasterWatcher{},
+		incoming:            make(chan Event, incomingQueueLength),
+		watchQueueLength:    queueLength,
+		fullChannelBehavior: fullChannelBehavior,
 	}
 	go m.loop()
 	return m
@@ -56,7 +80,7 @@ func (m *Broadcaster) Watch() Interface {
 	id := m.nextWatcher
 	m.nextWatcher++
 	w := &broadcasterWatcher{
-		result:  make(chan Event),
+		result:  make(chan Event, m.watchQueueLength),
 		stopped: make(chan struct{}),
 		id:      id,
 		m:       m,
@@ -119,10 +143,20 @@ func (m *Broadcaster) loop() {
 func (m *Broadcaster) distribute(event Event) {
 	m.lock.Lock()
 	defer m.lock.Unlock()
-	for _, w := range m.watchers {
-		select {
-		case w.result <- event:
-		case <-w.stopped:
+	if m.fullChannelBehavior == DropIfChannelFull {
+		for _, w := range m.watchers {
+			select {
+			case w.result <- event:
+			case <-w.stopped:
+			default: // Don't block if the event can't be queued.
+			}
+		}
+	} else {
+		for _, w := range m.watchers {
+			select {
+			case w.result <- event:
+			case <-w.stopped:
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/watch/mux_test.go b/pkg/watch/mux_test.go
index 89584618717..a662605efbe 100644
--- a/pkg/watch/mux_test.go
+++ b/pkg/watch/mux_test.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func TestBroadcaster(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// The broadcaster we're testing
-	m := NewBroadcaster(0)
+	m := NewBroadcaster(0, WaitIfChannelFull)
 
 	// Add a bunch of watchers
 	const testWatchers = 2
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func TestBroadcaster(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestBroadcasterWatcherClose(t *testing.T) {
-	m := NewBroadcaster(0)
+	m := NewBroadcaster(0, WaitIfChannelFull)
 	w := m.Watch()
 	w2 := m.Watch()
 	w.Stop()
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ func TestBroadcasterWatcherClose(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestBroadcasterWatcherStopDeadlock(t *testing.T) {
 	done := make(chan bool)
-	m := NewBroadcaster(0)
+	m := NewBroadcaster(0, WaitIfChannelFull)
 	go func(w0, w1 Interface) {
 		// We know Broadcaster is in the distribute loop once one watcher receives
 		// an event. Stop the other watcher while distribute is trying to
@@ -116,3 +116,52 @@ func TestBroadcasterWatcherStopDeadlock(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	m.Shutdown()
 }
+
+func TestBroadcasterDropIfChannelFull(t *testing.T) {
+	m := NewBroadcaster(1, DropIfChannelFull)
+
+	event1 := Event{Added, &myType{"foo", "hello world 1"}}
+	event2 := Event{Added, &myType{"bar", "hello world 2"}}
+
+	// Add a couple watchers
+	const testWatchers = 2
+	watches := make([]Interface, testWatchers)
+	for i := 0; i < testWatchers; i++ {
+		watches[i] = m.Watch()
+	}
+
+	// Send a couple events before closing the broadcast channel.
+	t.Log("Sending event 1")
+	m.Action(event1.Type, event1.Object)
+	t.Log("Sending event 2")
+	m.Action(event2.Type, event2.Object)
+	m.Shutdown()
+
+	// Pull events from the queue.
+	wg := sync.WaitGroup{}
+	wg.Add(testWatchers)
+	for i := 0; i < testWatchers; i++ {
+		// Verify that each watcher only gets the first event because its watch
+		// queue of length one was full from the first one.
+		go func(watcher int, w Interface) {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			e1, ok := <-w.ResultChan()
+			if !ok {
+				t.Error("Watcher %v failed to retrieve first event.")
+				return
+			}
+			if e, a := event1, e1; !reflect.DeepEqual(e, a) {
+				t.Errorf("Watcher %v: Expected (%v, %#v), got (%v, %#v)",
+					watcher, e.Type, e.Object, a.Type, a.Object)
+			} else {
+				t.Logf("Got (%v, %#v)", e1.Type, e1.Object)
+			}
+			e2, ok := <-w.ResultChan()
+			if ok {
+				t.Error("Watcher %v received second event (%v, %#v) even though it shouldn't have.",
+					watcher, e2.Type, e2.Object)
+			}
+		}(i, watches[i])
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+}