Comments on: What are the best-ever series pilots? http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots musings of a wannabe comedy writer Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:29:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: dani http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-199 dani Tue, 15 May 2007 00:19:13 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-199 I agree with Gilmore Girls. And that Heroes had a weak pilot. I just stuck with it because the premise seemed great. And this is a weird one, but Clarissa Explains It All had a good pilot. Man, I loved that show.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('199','dani'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('199','dani','I agree with Gilmore Girls. And that Heroes had a weak pilot. I just stuck with it because the premise seemed great. And this is a weird one, but Clarissa Explains It All had a good pilot. Man, I loved that show.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> I agree with Gilmore Girls. And that Heroes had a weak pilot. I just stuck with it because the premise seemed great. And this is a weird one, but Clarissa Explains It All had a good pilot. Man, I loved that show.
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]]> By: screenwriterguy http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-117 screenwriterguy Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:28:58 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-117 Aaron- Good ones. I not only did a spec of <i>Scrubs</i>, but modeled my own spec pilot after it. So it's near and dear. <i>Wonder Years</i> definitely is one of my favorite shows, though I always forget that it was. What happens in the pilot? Winnie's brother dies, right? Will have to check it out. ZOZ- You have delivered the goods! I do have both <i>Six Feet Under</i> and <i>All in the Family</i> on my list of contenders. Meanwhile, <i>Little House on the Prairie</i>? Really? I've got more watching to do. Tim- Yes, cartoons count. During its peak, <i>The Simpsons</i> was one of my highest priority appointment shows. Don't love <i>Family Guy</i>. I think <i>South Park</i> was right on the money with their parody of the <i>FG</i> writers. But I will check out the pilot on your say-so. This is turning into a much bigger project than I anticipated!<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('117','screenwriterguy'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('117','screenwriterguy','Aaron-\nGood ones. I not only did a spec of <i>Scrubs<\/i>, but modeled my own spec pilot after it. So it\'s near and dear. <i>Wonder Years<\/i> definitely is one of my favorite shows, though I always forget that it was. What happens in the pilot? Winnie\'s brother dies, right? Will have to check it out.\n\nZOZ-\nYou have delivered the goods! I do have both <i>Six Feet Under<\/i> and <i>All in the Family<\/i> on my list of contenders. Meanwhile, <i>Little House on the Prairie<\/i>? Really? I\'ve got more watching to do.\n\nTim-\nYes, cartoons count. During its peak, <i>The Simpsons<\/i> was one of my highest priority appointment shows. Don\'t love <i>Family Guy<\/i>. I think <i>South Park<\/i> was right on the money with their parody of the <i>FG<\/i> writers. But I will check out the pilot on your say-so.\n\nThis is turning into a much bigger project than I anticipated!'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Aaron-
Good ones. I not only did a spec of Scrubs, but modeled my own spec pilot after it. So it’s near and dear. Wonder Years definitely is one of my favorite shows, though I always forget that it was. What happens in the pilot? Winnie’s brother dies, right? Will have to check it out.

ZOZ-
You have delivered the goods! I do have both Six Feet Under and All in the Family on my list of contenders. Meanwhile, Little House on the Prairie? Really? I’ve got more watching to do.

Tim-
Yes, cartoons count. During its peak, The Simpsons was one of my highest priority appointment shows. Don’t love Family Guy. I think South Park was right on the money with their parody of the FG writers. But I will check out the pilot on your say-so.

This is turning into a much bigger project than I anticipated!

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]]> By: Tim http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-113 Tim Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:06:33 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-113 Don't know if we're considering cartoons, but both Family Guy and Futurama started off quite strong. Family Guy seemed to lose steam after a few episodes, though. Boston Legal started week but was pretty good after a few episodes.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('113','Tim'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('113','Tim','Don\'t know if we\'re considering cartoons, but both Family Guy and Futurama started off quite strong. Family Guy seemed to lose steam after a few episodes, though.\r\n\r\nBoston Legal started week but was pretty good after a few episodes.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Don’t know if we’re considering cartoons, but both Family Guy and Futurama started off quite strong. Family Guy seemed to lose steam after a few episodes, though.

Boston Legal started week but was pretty good after a few episodes.

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]]> By: ZOZ http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-100 ZOZ Sat, 24 Mar 2007 00:17:38 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-100 great topic! OK - recent for me -- 'Deadwood' was freakin' awesome first episode. and Lost, as everyone else already mentioned. I totally understand how you felt about the first few eps of 'Curb' and 'Sex in the City' -- both shows I adore -- but the first few eps (especially Curb) were really not so good. and some of the techniques they use in the first few eps of SITC are just cliche as all hell. Love that show though. I have lived in both NYC and LA -- grew up in LA -- and I personally don't see Curb as a NY show in any way -- it is LA all the way -- and very different from SITC. One of the things I love about Curb is just how it nails a very unique group of folks in LA - the slightly elite -- Larry nails it! Crappy first ep -- how about 'fantasy island' -- loved that show -- tried to watch the two hour premiere -- had to do it in three sittings -- it was that boring! does anyone remember a little show in the 80's called 'Tales of the Gold Monkey'? That had a cool first ep. Also - 'little house on the prairie' had a great first ep (2 hour special). oh - and 'six feet under' had a great first episode! 'The Office' UK version had an awesome first ep -- and the US version had a crappy first ep -- that's actually a good one to compare from a writing point of view. Luckily the US version found itself after a few episodes -- and now it rocks! the first episode of 'all in the family' was pretty great! the first episode of 'fawlty towers' is classic! i really liked the first ep (and season) of 'west wing' and the first episode of the new 'battlestar gallactica' was pretty cool too.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('100','ZOZ'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('100','ZOZ','great topic!\r\nOK - recent for me -- \'Deadwood\' was freakin\' awesome first episode. and Lost, as everyone else already mentioned.\r\n\r\nI totally understand how you felt about the first few eps of \'Curb\' and \'Sex in the City\' -- both shows I adore -- but the first few eps (especially Curb) were really not so good. and some of the techniques they use in the first few eps of SITC are just cliche as all hell. Love that show though.\r\n\r\nI have lived in both NYC and LA -- grew up in LA -- and I personally don\'t see Curb as a NY show in any way -- it is LA all the way -- and very different from SITC. One of the things I love about Curb is just how it nails a very unique group of folks in LA - the slightly elite -- Larry nails it!\r\n\r\nCrappy first ep -- how about \'fantasy island\' -- loved that show -- tried to watch the two hour premiere -- had to do it in three sittings -- it was that boring!\r\n\r\ndoes anyone remember a little show in the 80\'s called \'Tales of the Gold Monkey\'? That had a cool first ep.\r\n\r\nAlso - \'little house on the prairie\' had a great first ep (2 hour special).\r\n\r\noh - and \'six feet under\' had a great first episode!\r\n\r\n\'The Office\' UK version had an awesome first ep -- and the US version had a crappy first ep -- that\'s actually a good one to compare from a writing point of view. Luckily the US version found itself after a few episodes -- and now it rocks!\r\n\r\nthe first episode of \'all in the family\' was pretty great!\r\n\r\nthe first episode of \'fawlty towers\' is classic!\r\n\r\ni really liked the first ep (and season) of \'west wing\'\r\n\r\nand the first episode of the new \'battlestar gallactica\' was pretty cool too.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> great topic!
OK – recent for me — ‘Deadwood’ was freakin’ awesome first episode. and Lost, as everyone else already mentioned.

I totally understand how you felt about the first few eps of ‘Curb’ and ‘Sex in the City’ — both shows I adore — but the first few eps (especially Curb) were really not so good. and some of the techniques they use in the first few eps of SITC are just cliche as all hell. Love that show though.

I have lived in both NYC and LA — grew up in LA — and I personally don’t see Curb as a NY show in any way — it is LA all the way — and very different from SITC. One of the things I love about Curb is just how it nails a very unique group of folks in LA – the slightly elite — Larry nails it!

Crappy first ep — how about ‘fantasy island’ — loved that show — tried to watch the two hour premiere — had to do it in three sittings — it was that boring!

does anyone remember a little show in the 80′s called ‘Tales of the Gold Monkey’? That had a cool first ep.

Also – ‘little house on the prairie’ had a great first ep (2 hour special).

oh – and ‘six feet under’ had a great first episode!

‘The Office’ UK version had an awesome first ep — and the US version had a crappy first ep — that’s actually a good one to compare from a writing point of view. Luckily the US version found itself after a few episodes — and now it rocks!

the first episode of ‘all in the family’ was pretty great!

the first episode of ‘fawlty towers’ is classic!

i really liked the first ep (and season) of ‘west wing’

and the first episode of the new ‘battlestar gallactica’ was pretty cool too.

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]]> By: Aaron http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-97 Aaron Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:27:07 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-97 Hmmm. Excellent topic. I have to say, I resisted the urge to watch "Scrubs" for a long time, but once I finally did catch the pilot on DVD, I thought it was a damn fine set-up. On the other hand... my love for "The Wonder Years" knows no bounds, from the pilot to the finish, so I'd be hard-pressed to pick something besides that. The weakest pilots? "Seinfeld," certainly. I also found the "Heroes" pilot to be lacking, and that show makes me so happy it's silly.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('97','Aaron'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('97','Aaron','Hmmm. Excellent topic. I have to say, I resisted the urge to watch \"Scrubs\" for a long time, but once I finally did catch the pilot on DVD, I thought it was a damn fine set-up.\r\n\r\nOn the other hand... my love for \"The Wonder Years\" knows no bounds, from the pilot to the finish, so I\'d be hard-pressed to pick something besides that.\r\n\r\nThe weakest pilots? \"Seinfeld,\" certainly. I also found the \"Heroes\" pilot to be lacking, and that show makes me so happy it\'s silly.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Hmmm. Excellent topic. I have to say, I resisted the urge to watch “Scrubs” for a long time, but once I finally did catch the pilot on DVD, I thought it was a damn fine set-up.

On the other hand… my love for “The Wonder Years” knows no bounds, from the pilot to the finish, so I’d be hard-pressed to pick something besides that.

The weakest pilots? “Seinfeld,” certainly. I also found the “Heroes” pilot to be lacking, and that show makes me so happy it’s silly.

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]]> By: screenwriterguy http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-95 screenwriterguy Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:16:09 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-95 StudioPicturesSuck I like to get the DVDs of entire series I've missed and watched them all the way through. Currently it's <i>The West Wing</i>. I'll definitely do <i>Curb</i> and <i>Sex and the City</i> at some point. (Especially since <i>SatC</i> has that one distractingly gorgeous brunette. Plus, she marries a bald guy, which is awesome.) As for glorifying New Yorkers, my take is New Yorkers have it covered. Most won't die of low self-esteem if they don't get a little extra glorification from their TVs. Although they may have to double their therapy sessions. TheLorelais-- <i>Gilmore Girls</i> is a good one to consider. Sharp premise. I just wish the actors didn't all have a words-to-breath ratio so much higher than other shows.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('95','screenwriterguy'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('95','screenwriterguy','StudioPicturesSuck\nI like to get the DVDs of entire series I\'ve missed and watched them all the way through. Currently it\'s <i>The West Wing<\/i>. I\'ll definitely do <i>Curb<\/i> and <i>Sex and the City<\/i> at some point. (Especially since <i>SatC<\/i> has that one distractingly gorgeous brunette. Plus, she marries a bald guy, which is awesome.) As for glorifying New Yorkers, my take is New Yorkers have it covered. Most won\'t die of low self-esteem if they don\'t get a little extra glorification from their TVs. Although they may have to double their therapy sessions.\n\nTheLorelais--\n<i>Gilmore Girls<\/i> is a good one to consider. Sharp premise. I just wish the actors didn\'t all have a words-to-breath ratio so much higher than other shows.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> StudioPicturesSuck
I like to get the DVDs of entire series I’ve missed and watched them all the way through. Currently it’s The West Wing. I’ll definitely do Curb and Sex and the City at some point. (Especially since SatC has that one distractingly gorgeous brunette. Plus, she marries a bald guy, which is awesome.) As for glorifying New Yorkers, my take is New Yorkers have it covered. Most won’t die of low self-esteem if they don’t get a little extra glorification from their TVs. Although they may have to double their therapy sessions.

TheLorelais–
Gilmore Girls is a good one to consider. Sharp premise. I just wish the actors didn’t all have a words-to-breath ratio so much higher than other shows.

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]]> By: TheLorelais http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-94 TheLorelais Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:54:02 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-94 Ooh, what about The Gilmore Girls! Excellent pilot. Set up the tone, style and central conflict extremely well. Plus, that was back when the younger girl was so young and cute, she was in her it-didn't-matter-how-she-acted phase.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('94','TheLorelais'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('94','TheLorelais','Ooh, what about The Gilmore Girls! Excellent pilot. Set up the tone, style and central conflict extremely well.\r\n\r\nPlus, that was back when the younger girl was so young and cute, she was in her it-didn\'t-matter-how-she-acted phase.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Ooh, what about The Gilmore Girls! Excellent pilot. Set up the tone, style and central conflict extremely well.

Plus, that was back when the younger girl was so young and cute, she was in her it-didn’t-matter-how-she-acted phase.

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]]> By: StudioPicturesSuck http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-93 StudioPicturesSuck Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:52:32 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-93 Though ScreenwriterGuy is clearly not you're *real* name, we can glean from your ambivalence to Sex and The City and Curb Your Enthusiasm that you are not a New Yorker, and I would venture not a big-city-ite. Perhaps this list should be re-titled "The Best Pilots of All Time That Don't Glorify New Yorkers." (And I know that Curb is *set* in LA, but the humor is very NYC.)<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('93','StudioPicturesSuck'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('93','StudioPicturesSuck','Though ScreenwriterGuy is clearly not you\'re *real* name, we can glean from your ambivalence to Sex and The City and Curb Your Enthusiasm that you are not a New Yorker, and I would venture not a big-city-ite. Perhaps this list should be re-titled \"The Best Pilots of All Time That Don\'t Glorify New Yorkers.\"\r\n\r\n(And I know that Curb is *set* in LA, but the humor is very NYC.)'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Though ScreenwriterGuy is clearly not you’re *real* name, we can glean from your ambivalence to Sex and The City and Curb Your Enthusiasm that you are not a New Yorker, and I would venture not a big-city-ite. Perhaps this list should be re-titled “The Best Pilots of All Time That Don’t Glorify New Yorkers.”

(And I know that Curb is *set* in LA, but the humor is very NYC.)

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]]> By: screenwriterguy http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-92 screenwriterguy Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:49:38 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-92 I also have a few that I know I'm SUPPOSED to like, and yet they just don't excite me. I remember going out of my way to watch <i>24</i>, but I lost interest in the first episode and haven't watched it since. I've tried a couple times to start watching <i>Sex and the City</i> and <i>Curb Your Enthusiasm</i> on DVD. Even though I've seen later episodes that I really liked, I just haven't been able to get into them from the beginning. I'm sure there are other great shows I haven't given a chance yet.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('92','screenwriterguy'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('92','screenwriterguy','I also have a few that I know I\'m SUPPOSED to like, and yet they just don\'t excite me. I remember going out of my way to watch <i>24<\/i>, but I lost interest in the first episode and haven\'t watched it since. I\'ve tried a couple times to start watching <i>Sex and the City<\/i> and <i>Curb Your Enthusiasm<\/i> on DVD. Even though I\'ve seen later episodes that I really liked, I just haven\'t been able to get into them from the beginning. I\'m sure there are other great shows I haven\'t given a chance yet.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> I also have a few that I know I’m SUPPOSED to like, and yet they just don’t excite me. I remember going out of my way to watch 24, but I lost interest in the first episode and haven’t watched it since. I’ve tried a couple times to start watching Sex and the City and Curb Your Enthusiasm on DVD. Even though I’ve seen later episodes that I really liked, I just haven’t been able to get into them from the beginning. I’m sure there are other great shows I haven’t given a chance yet.
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]]> By: screenwriterguy http://www.screenwriterguy.com/television/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/comment-page-1#comment-91 screenwriterguy Thu, 22 Mar 2007 06:38:33 +0000 http://www.screenwriterguy.com/2007/03/20/what-are-the-best-ever-series-pilots/#comment-91 Rob-- Yeah, I realize not everyone is a big nerdy dork like myself, tracking down pilot episodes and analyzing them for why they made it to the air. I guess I figured a lot of TV shows are out on DVD now, so people might have more often seen the first episodes. What was <em>Love Monkey</em>? Oh, that was with the dude from <em>Ed</em>, right? I'll have to try to track down a copy... FutureMovieMogul-- Yes, <em>Studio 60</em> is one of the ones I'm considering. I love the tension of the speech telling people to turn off their TVs. I had a chance to read this script before the show hit the air, and it might be the most compelling screenwriting I've ever read. I definitely like <em>Friday Night Lights</em>. Was its pilot particularly great? Mike-- Yeah, HBO definitely counts. If it's good enough for Emmy award eligibility, I guess it's good enough for ScreenwriterGuy top ten lists. Meanwhile, clearly that <em>ALF</em> pilot was something special. Ha, Willy! StudioPicturesSuck-- You make a good point about revisionist history. What I'm trying to get at is what gave a particular script the CHANCE to launch years of entertainment for us. I actually already have <em>The Cosby Show</em> in contention (not to give anything away, but I think it's in the top 3.)  I actually started writing a draft of the eventual post, and I mentioned the monopoly money exchange between Cliff and Theo.  You and I have similar taste, StudioPicturesSuck.  We should write something together.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('91','screenwriterguy'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('91','screenwriterguy','Rob--\nYeah, I realize not everyone is a big nerdy dork like myself, tracking down pilot episodes and analyzing them for why they made it to the air. I guess I figured a lot of TV shows are out on DVD now, so people might have more often seen the first episodes. What was <em>Love Monkey<\/em>? Oh, that was with the dude from <em>Ed<\/em>, right? I\'ll have to try to track down a copy...\n\nFutureMovieMogul--\nYes, <em>Studio 60<\/em> is one of the ones I\'m considering. I love the tension of the speech telling people to turn off their TVs. I had a chance to read this script before the show hit the air, and it might be the most compelling screenwriting I\'ve ever read. I definitely like <em>Friday Night Lights<\/em>. Was its pilot particularly great?\n\nMike--\nYeah, HBO definitely counts. If it\'s good enough for Emmy award eligibility, I guess it\'s good enough for ScreenwriterGuy top ten lists. Meanwhile, clearly that <em>ALF<\/em> pilot was something special. Ha, Willy!\n\nStudioPicturesSuck--\nYou make a good point about revisionist history. What I\'m trying to get at is what gave a particular script the CHANCE to launch years of entertainment for us. I actually already have <em>The Cosby Show<\/em> in contention (not to give anything away, but I think it\'s in the top 3.)  I actually started writing a draft of the eventual post, and I mentioned the monopoly money exchange between Cliff and Theo.  You and I have similar taste, StudioPicturesSuck.  We should write something together.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Rob–
Yeah, I realize not everyone is a big nerdy dork like myself, tracking down pilot episodes and analyzing them for why they made it to the air. I guess I figured a lot of TV shows are out on DVD now, so people might have more often seen the first episodes. What was Love Monkey? Oh, that was with the dude from Ed, right? I’ll have to try to track down a copy…

FutureMovieMogul–
Yes, Studio 60 is one of the ones I’m considering. I love the tension of the speech telling people to turn off their TVs. I had a chance to read this script before the show hit the air, and it might be the most compelling screenwriting I’ve ever read. I definitely like Friday Night Lights. Was its pilot particularly great?

Mike–
Yeah, HBO definitely counts. If it’s good enough for Emmy award eligibility, I guess it’s good enough for ScreenwriterGuy top ten lists. Meanwhile, clearly that ALF pilot was something special. Ha, Willy!

StudioPicturesSuck–
You make a good point about revisionist history. What I’m trying to get at is what gave a particular script the CHANCE to launch years of entertainment for us. I actually already have The Cosby Show in contention (not to give anything away, but I think it’s in the top 3.)  I actually started writing a draft of the eventual post, and I mentioned the monopoly money exchange between Cliff and Theo.  You and I have similar taste, StudioPicturesSuck.  We should write something together.

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