Content deleted Content added
m Bot: link syntax |
|||
| (25 intermediate revisions by 18 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{short description|Trial episode made to sell a television series}}
{{Globalize|article|United States|date=September 2022}}▼
{{For|a list|List of television episodes titled Pilot}}
▲{{Globalize|article|United States|date=September 2022}}
A '''television pilot''' (also known as a '''pilot''' or a '''pilot episode''' and sometimes marketed as a '''tele-movie''')
A successful pilot may be used as the [[series premiere]], the first aired episode of a new show, but sometimes a series' pilot may be aired as a later episode or never aired at all. Some series are commissioned straight-to-series without a pilot (although an increasing number of such series have their first episodes [[List of television episodes titled Pilot|titled "Pilot"]]). On some occasions, pilots that were not ordered to series may also be broadcast as a standalone television film or special.
A "[[#Backdoor pilot|backdoor pilot]]" is an episode of an existing series that heavily features supporting characters or guest stars in previously unseen roles. Its purpose is to introduce the characters to an audience before the creators decide on whether or not they intend to pursue a [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] series with those characters.
Line 25:
Another example is [[Star Trek: The Original Series|''Star Trek'']], where footage from the unaired original pilot, "[[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Cage]]", was incorporated into the two-part episode, "[[The Menagerie (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Menagerie]]", with the story justification that it depicts events that happened several years earlier. Conversely, the second pilot for ''Star Trek'', "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]]", aired as the third episode of the show's first season, even though it included some casting and costuming differences that set it apart from the preceding episodes.
If a network orders a two-hour pilot, it will usually broadcast it as a [[television film]] to recoup some of its costs even if the network chooses to not order the show.<ref name="lowry20000508">{{cite news | url=https://
===Proof of concept===
Line 33:
A backdoor pilot is a film or miniseries that serves as a [[proof of concept]] for a full series,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://complicationsensue.blogspot.com/2005/02/backdoor-pilots.html |title=Alex Epstein on Backdoor Pilots |publisher=Complicationsensue.blogspot.com |date=2005-02-04 |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> but may be broadcast on its own even if the full series is not picked up.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=slanguage_result&slang=backdoor+pilot&x=0&y=0 |title=Slanguage Dictionary |publisher=Variety |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> The term may also be used for an episode of an existing television show that serves to introduce a [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]]. Such backdoor pilots commonly focus on an existing character or characters from the parent series who are to be given their own show.
For example, to introduce ''[[A Different World]]'', built around ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' character Denise Huxtable ([[Lisa Bonet]]), the ''Cosby Show'' episode "[[Hillman (The Cosby Show episode)|Hillman]]" was devoted to
In other cases
Similarly, the backdoor pilot for the television sitcom ''[[Empty Nest]]'' was an episode of ''[[The Golden Girls]]'', which relegated that show's regular stars to supporting characters in an episode devoted to new characters who were introduced as their neighbors. Feedback on the episode resulted in ''Empty Nest'' being extensively reworked before its debut; while the concept and the "living next to the Golden Girls" setting was retained, the series ended up featuring different characters from those in the original ''Golden Girls'' episode.
A 1972 episode of [[All In The Family]], [[Maude (All in the Family episode)|Maude]], centered on the Bunkers visiting their cousin Maude Findlay at Maude's house in Tuckahoe. [[Norman Lear]] was so impressed he wanted to make Maude as a separate show. [[Maude (TV series)|Maude]] would debut 5 months after the episode aired, in September of 1972.
A 2011 episode of the [[TV Land]] original sitcom ''[[Hot in Cleveland]]'' focused on the wedding of the A historically important venue for backdoor pilots has been the [[anthology series]]. They have variously been used as a place to show work still being actively considered for pickup, and as a venue for completed work already rejected by the network. With the decline of anthology series, backdoor pilots have increasingly been seen as episodes of existing series,<ref>[https://www.avclub.com/articles/tonights-special-guests-the-cast-of-a-whole-new-sh,40445/ "Tonight's special guests? The cast of a whole new show!: 21 TV episodes that tried and failed to spawn spin-offs"], from The AV Club</ref> one-off [[television film]]s, and [[miniseries]]. As backdoor pilots have either failed to sell or are awaiting audience reception from its one-time broadcast, networks will not advertise them as pilots, only promoting them as a "special" or "movie". It is thus often unclear to initial viewers of backdoor pilots that they are seeing a pilot of any kind, unless they have been privy to knowledgeable media coverage of the piece.▼
Not all backdoor pilots lead to a series. The ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' episode "[[Assignment: Earth]]" was a backdoor pilot for a spin-off of the same name, featuring a human named [[Gary Seven]] (played by [[Robert Lansing (actor)|Robert Lansing]]), taken from Earth's far past and raised by aliens to be sent to watch over Earth in the 1960s; while the series was not picked up, its characters have appeared in numerous non-canon ''Trek'' productions set in the 20th century.<ref name="Dutton">{{cite web|last1=Dutton|first1=Scott|title=Assignment: Earth|url=http://www.assignmentearth.ca/|website=assignmentearth.ca|access-date=28 February 2016}}</ref> The third season two-part episode "Terra Firma" of ''[[Star Trek: Discovery]]'' is generally regarded as a backdoor pilot for a series featuring the character Philippa Georgiou.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://meaww.com/amp/star-trek-discovery-season-3-episode-10-philippa-georgiou-guardian-of-forever-cbs-all-access |title='Star Trek: Discovery' Season 3 Episode 10: Where was Philippa Georgiou sent by the Guardian of Forever? | date=2020-12-17 | website=meaww.com}}</ref> The final two episodes of the CBS sitcom ''[[Green Acres]]'' (1965–71) were both backdoor pilots. With CBS being pressured by advertisers to develop more urban-themed shows (ultimately at the expense of the network's [[Rural purge|rural-themed programs]]), ''Green Acres'' creator [[Jay Sommers]] was given an opportunity to develop two series ideas, both of which were rejected.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.metv.com/stories/the-last-two-episodes-of-green-acres-weren-t-really-episodes-of-green-acres | title=The last two episodes of Green Acres aren't really episodes of Green Acres | date=2020-09-09 | website=metv.com |access-date=2020-12-16}}</ref>
ABC attempted to create a spin-off of ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'' in 1980 called ''Toni's Boys''.<ref>Condon, Jack and David Hofstede, ''Charlie's Angels Casebook,'' Pomegranate Press, Ltd., 2000 pgs. 254=256</ref> The backdoor pilot that aired near the end of season four was simply titled "Toni's Boys" and guest starred [[Barbara Stanwyck]] as Antonia "Toni" Blake, a wealthy widow and friend of Charlie Townsend's who ran a detective agency she inherited from her late husband. The agency was staffed by three handsome male
The series finale of ''[[One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'' in May 1984 served as a backdoor pilot to a spin-off featuring [[Pat Harrington
A pair of ''[[Married... with Children]]'' episodes aired as backdoor pilots that would not be picked up. The first, ''Radio Free Trumaine'', featured [[Keri Russell]] as a college student who winds up working at the campus radio station, with [[David Garrison]] set to reprise his role as Steve Rhoades. The other was ''Enemies'', which was intended as an antithesis to ''[[Friends]]'' in the same way the flagship ''Married... with Children'' was for ''[[The Cosby Show]]''. The pilot featured a guest appearance by [[Alan Thicke]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://splitsider.com/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-married%E2%80%A6-with-children|title=The Lost Roles of Married… with Children - Splitsider|work=Splitsider|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214102028/http://splitsider.com/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-married%E2%80%A6-with-children/|archive-date=2014-12-14}}</ref>
In
In 2013, [[The CW]] announced there was a spin-off of their genre hit ''[[Supernatural (American TV series)|Supernatural]]'' in the works. The 20th episode of [[Supernatural (season 9)|season nine]] titled "Bloodlines", served as a back-door pilot, revealed in January 2014 to have been titled ''[[Supernatural: Bloodlines]]''. The series was set to explore the "clashing hunter and monster cultures in Chicago". The show was not picked up by the CW for the 2014–2015 season due to dismal overall reception by viewers. The ''[[Gossip Girl]]'' episode "[[Valley Girls]]" was supposed to be a backdoor pilot for a [[prequel]] spin-off series starring [[Brittany Snow]] as a young [[Lily van der Woodsen]], however the show was not picked up. "[[The Farm (The Office)|The Farm]]" was an episode of [[NBC]]'s ''[[The Office (American TV series)|The Office]]'' that was supposed to act as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series starring [[Rainn Wilson]] and focusing on his character, [[Dwight Schrute]].<ref name="variety">{{cite web |url=http://weblogs.variety.com/thevote/2012/07/greg-daniels.html |title=Greg Daniels and the Future of 'The Office' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=[[Penske Business Media]] |first=Jon |last=Weisman |date=July 5, 2012 |access-date=July 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709092927/http://weblogs.variety.com/thevote/2012/07/greg-daniels.html |archive-date=July 9, 2012 }}</ref> Upon review, the spin-off was not picked up by NBC<ref name="eonline">{{cite web |last=Bricker |first=Tierney |title=Rainn Wilson's Office Spinoff, The Farm, Not Picked Up by NBC |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/358277/rainn-wilson-s-office-spinoff-the-farm-not-picked-up-by-nbc |publisher=[[E! News|E! Online]] |access-date=October 30, 2012 |date=October 30, 2012 }}</ref> and the original version was never aired; instead it was reworked with additional material shot later, as the original version contained "certain aspects that were appropriate for a pilot of a new show".<ref>{{cite web |last=Roots |first=Kimberly |title=''The Office'' Boss: Retooled Spin-Off Episode Will Still Air – and Change Up the Dwangela Plan |url=http://tvline.com/2012/12/26/the-office-season-9-the-farm-episode-dwight-angela/ |publisher=TVLine |access-date=December 26, 2012 |date=December 26, 2012 }}</ref>
The [[Arrow (TV series)|''Arrow'']] episode [[The Scientist (Arrow)|"The Scientist]]" served as a backdoor pilot for the spinoff series [[The Flash (2014 TV series)|''The Flash'']], introducing Barry Allen as a CSI searching for super-powered people in an attempt to find his mother's murderer.<ref>{{Cite web |
▲A historically important venue for backdoor pilots has been the [[anthology series]]. They have variously been used as a place to show work still being actively considered for pickup, and as a venue for completed work already rejected by the network. With the decline of anthology series, backdoor pilots have increasingly been seen as episodes of existing series,<ref>[https://www.avclub.com/articles/tonights-special-guests-the-cast-of-a-whole-new-sh,40445/ "Tonight's special guests? The cast of a whole new show!: 21 TV episodes that tried and failed to spawn spin-offs"], from The AV Club</ref> one-off [[television film]]s, and [[miniseries]]. As backdoor pilots have either failed to sell or are awaiting audience reception from its one-time broadcast, networks will not advertise them as pilots, only promoting them as a "special" or "movie". It is thus often unclear to initial viewers of backdoor pilots that they are seeing a pilot of any kind, unless they have been privy to knowledgeable media coverage of the piece.
===Put pilot===
Line 83 ⟶ 85:
Sometimes, too, viewers will assign the word "pilot" to a work that represented the first appearances of characters and situations later employed by a series – even if the work was not initially intended as a pilot for the series. A good example of this is "Love and the Television Set" (later retitled "Love and the Happy Days" for syndication), an episode of ''[[Love, American Style]]'' that featured a version of the Cunningham family. It was in fact a failed pilot for the proposed 1972 series ''New Family in Town'', but was recycled as a successful pilot for 1974's ''[[Happy Days]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/loveamstyle.html |title="Love and the Happy Days" at |publisher=Sitcomsonline.com |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> So firmly embedded is the notion of it as a ''Happy Days'' pilot, that even series actress [[Erin Moran]] (who did not appear in the episode) viewed it as such, as well as its creator, [[Garry Marshall]], since ''Happy Days'' itself did not have a separate pilot of its own.<ref>[http://www.popcultureaddict.com/close/erinmoran.htm Pop Culture Addict interview with Erin Moran.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928082910/http://www.popcultureaddict.com/close/erinmoran.htm |date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> In a similar situation, the 1962 pilot ''Howie'' was resurrected 13 years later to form the basis of ''[[The Paul Lynde Show]]''.<ref name=filmthreat>[http://www.filmthreat.com/features/1477/ Film Threat: "The Bootleg Files: The Paul Lynde Show"]</ref>
The original ''[[Star Trek]]'' TV series had two pilots, neither of which became the premiere episode when the series was picked up. The first, titled ''[[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Cage]],'' didn't sell, but [[Desilu]] head [[Lucille Ball]] convinced [[NBC]] executives to allow shooting of a second pilot, ''[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]],'' which was accepted by the network. ''The Cage'' was edited and expanded into a two-part story, shown as ''[[The Menagerie (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Menagerie]].'' This turned out to be an auspicious decision, because of various challenges which bogged down series production during the first season. The second pilot was also shown during that first season, as the third episode. The only major character to appear in both pilots was [[Spock]].
On other occasions, the pilot is never broadcast on television at all. Viewers of ''[[Temple Houston (TV series)|Temple Houston]]'', for example, would likely have considered "The Twisted Rope" its pilot because "The Man from Galveston" was only publicly exhibited in cinemas four months later. Even then, "The Man from Galveston" had an almost entirely different cast, and its main character was renamed to avoid confusion with the then-ongoing series.
Some television series are commissioned "straight-to-series" where a network orders a season without viewing any produced episodes, hence no episode is considered a pilot. For instance, "[[Invasion of the Bane]]", the first episode of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', is not a pilot because the [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] had committed to the first season before seeing any filmed content<ref>Cook, Benjamin. "Doing it for the Kids". ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (378) p. 37.</ref> – yet it is routinely referred to as a pilot.<ref>[http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/01/08/180012.php Criswell, Casey. "TV Review: ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''". ''Blog Critics Magazine''. 8 January 2007.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013034250/http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/01/08/180012.php|date=October 13, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Various reviews of ''Invasion of the Bane'' at Behind the Sofa |url=http://www.behindthesofa.org.uk/sarah_jane_adventures/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061531/http://www.behindthesofa.org.uk/sarah_jane_adventures/ |archive-date=2016-03-04 |access-date=2016-03-05 |publisher=Behindthesofa.org.uk}}</ref> The straight-to-series model is usually used when established talent is attached to a series, or it is based on an established property or franchise. [[Amazing Stories (1985 TV series)|''Amazing Stories'' (1985)]] is credited as being one of the first series commissioned without a pilot. The model has seen a rise since [[Netflix]] popularized it.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Adalian|first=Josef|title=Straight to Series: The Networks' Big-Money Bet to Skip Pilots|url=https://www.vulture.com/2013/11/tv-pilots-endangered-species.html|access-date=2022-02-07|website=Vulture|date=27 November 2013 |language=en-us}}</ref>
==Theatrical release==
A number of unsold pilots have been reworked into theatrically-released feature films, including ''[[Lum and Abner Abroad]]'' (1956), which wove together three pilot episodes for a 1956 series that would have starred the comedy duo of [[Lum and Abner]]; ''[[Agent for H.A.R.M.]]'' (1966); and ''[[Mulholland Drive (film)|Mulholland Drive]]'' (2001), which was composed of an unsold pilot episode appended with an ending shot specifically for the film. The 1966 film release, ''[[Tarzan and the Trappers]]'' was edited from the unbroadcast pilot of a proposed 1958 ''Tarzan'' series.
In addition, a number of unsuccessful pilot episodes have been released as [[direct-to-video]] films, including ''[[Belle's Magical World]]'' (1998), ''[[Cruel Intentions 2]]'' (2001) and ''[[Atlantis: Milo's Return]]'' (2003).
On a few occasions, pilots have been released as a theatrical films prior to the debuts of their respective series. Examples include ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', whose pilot was theatrically released during the summer of 1978, prior to its broadcast as the opening episodes of the TV series that fall, and 1979's ''[[Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (film)|Buck Rogers in the 25th Century]]'', released in early 1979, with the series launching in the fall. In both cases there are substantial differences between theatrical and televised version: both BSG and Buck Rogers' theatrical pilots had recurring characters (Baltar and Tiger Man, respectively) killed off, the BSG pilot was extended for television, and the televised version of the ''Buck Rogers'' pilot utilized a different opening credits sequence and featured a newly added epilogue scene intended to lead into the weekly series.
==Use in anthology series==
By the mid-1950s, the practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year — far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series — had created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired.<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/unsold_pilots_on_television_56_66/ |title=UNSOLD PILOTS ON TELEVISION, 1956-1966 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=15 August 2019 |website=tvobscurities.com |publisher=Television Obscurities |access-date= 3 June 2024}}</ref> By 1954, the American [[television industry]] had begun to consider the idea of packaging these unsold pilots in [[anthology series]] and airing them during the summer, providing television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them.<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967/>
On June 8, 1956, the ''[[New York Times]]'' reported that the [[American Broadcasting Company]] (ABC) would begin airing a package of unsold pilots that summer under the title ''[[G.E. Summer Originals]]'', adding that "the problem of what to do with 'pilot' or sample films of projected television series that previously have failed to sell has been solved."<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/06/08/archives/ge-will-sponsor-tv-series-in-summer-using-previously-unsold-sample.html |title=G.E. Will Sponsor TV Series in Summer Using Previously Unsold 'Sample' Films |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=8 June 1956 |website=[[The New York Times]] |page=37 |access-date= 3 June 2024}}</ref> ''G.E. Summer Originals'' premiered on the evening of July 3, 1956, at exactly the same time as another anthology series of unsold pilots, ''[[Sneak Preview (TV series)|Sneak Preview]]'' on [[NBC]], and these thus became the first two series of unsold pilots to air in the [[United States]].<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967/>
A number of summer anthology series consisting entirely or partly of unsold pilots were broadcast in the United States between 1956 and 1989. These series were:<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967/><ref name=tvobsecurities19671989>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/unsold_pilots_on_television_67_89/ |title=UNSOLD PILOTS ON TELEVISION, 1967-1989 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=5 May 2018 |website=tvobscurities.com |publisher=Television Obscurities |access-date= 18 June 2024}}</ref>
* ''[[G.E. Summer Originals]]'' (ABC, 1956)
* ''[[Sneak Preview (TV series)|Sneak Preview]]'' (NBC, 1956)
* ''[[Colgate Theatre (1958 TV series)|Colgate Theatre]]'' (NBC, 1958)
* ''[[Decision (TV series)|Decision]]'' (NBC, 1958)
* ''[[New Comedy Showcase]]'' ([[CBS]], 1960)
* ''[[The Comedy Spot]]'' (CBS, 1960 and 1962)
* ''[[Westinghouse Preview Theatre]]'' (CBS, 1961)
* ''[[Vacation Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1963–1967)
* ''[[Summer Playhouse (1964 TV series)|Summer Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1964–1965)
* ''[[Preview Tonight]]'' (ABC, 1966)
* ''[[Summer Fun (TV series)|Summer Fun]]'' (ABC, 1966)
* ''[[Premiere (TV series)|Premiere]]'' (CBS, 1968)
* ''[[Comedy Playhouse (American TV series)|Comedy Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1971)
* ''[[Just for Laughs (1974 TV series)|Just for Laughs]]'' (ABC, 1974)
* ''[[Comedy Theatre (TV series)|Comedy Theatre]]'' (NBC, 1976 and 1979)
* ''[[Comedy Time]]'' (NBC, 1977)
* ''[[Comedy Theater]]'' (NBC, 1981)
* ''[[CBS Summer Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1987–1989)
By the mid-1980s, the rise of [[cable television]] outlets had led to an increase of original programming during the summer months and ABC, CBS, and NBC began to experience a decline in summer viewership;<ref name=tvobsecurities19671989/> the launch of [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] as a fourth major network in 1987 only exacerbated the problem for the former "Big Three" networks.<ref name=tvobsecurities19671989/> Although CBS viewed ''CBS Summer Playouse'' — broadcast during the summers of 1987, 1988, and 1989 — as original programming that addressed this issue, it was the last anthology series of unsold pilots.<ref name=tvobsecurities19671989/> Unsold pilots aired as one-offs occasionally during the 1990s, but then the practice of broadcasting them ended almost entirely.<ref name=tvobsecurities19671989/>
==See also==
| |||