Pilot-itis
Ken from Chicago
network production season begins in earnest. And with that comes the risk of
PILOT-ITIS.
What is "pilot-itis"? As a syndrome, a condition, that afflicts many tv show
"pilots". TV pilots are the episodes used to sell a series to a network.
Based on how well that pilot looks an entire series will be approved for
production. Typically (tho not always) the pilot is the first episode of a
tv series aired. And that's where the pilot-itis sets in. How so? Two major
conditions:
--You see, because the pilot is used to sell a series, a lot of time, energy
and money is spent on it. One major result can be that the pilot episode
looks and is a lot better than subsequent episodes. It's one thing to have
and spend months on a single episode, even a double-sized episode, and
another to have only a week per episode. This can be especially true with
genre series.
--Another major condition is pilot episode, tho good, is WORSE than
subsequent episodes. It's one thing to have an idea about an episode or
series, the reality of seeing it onscreen can prove different. So with
practice TPTB behind the show learn what really works and hone their skill
and get better, so the series actually improves.
Other conditions are between filming the pilot and the series approved:
--Characters are removed
--Characters are added
--Characters are recast with different actors
--Settings are changed from one job to another
--Emphasis is shifted from home to work or vice versa
The upshot of all of this is that with new series, sometimes, it takes more
than a single episode to REALLY decide if its watchworthy (tho sometimes
it's so bad or so good you can tell right off).
-- Ken from Chicago (who's learned to be wary of a piece of PI)
Obveeus
"Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
> The upshot of all of this is that with new series, sometimes, it takes
> more than a single episode to REALLY decide if its watchworthy (tho
> sometimes it's so bad or so good you can tell right off).
>
> -- Ken from Chicago (who's learned to be wary of a piece of PI)
So, you are suggesting that we all watch multiple episodes before concluding
anything?
Just looking at tonights TV lineups I can make some conclusions.
1. CW is already starting out on the wrong foot. Everyone else has new
programming and they are dragging out the most tired show in their lineup
with a rerun? After that, they want people to watch a 'what will we show
this season' compilation when viewers could flip to any other channel and
watch actual new shows. It almost seems like a way to give up right on week
#1.
2. Studio 60 will have an uphill battle initially. People seeking out
new/entertaining programming certainly won't be tuned in through 2 hours of
that Deal or No Deal. Will they be willing to turn away from CSI after
watching 2 hours of CBS premieres? CBS has 2 hours of original programming
to promote their 10pm show. NBC has 2 hours of a really repetative show
that is easily sampled/ignored...lots less oportunity to pull people in with
commercials during that time. As for myself...not a CSI fan and Studio 60
commercials/buzz from the past few weeks is enough to have caught my
interest.
3. Prison Break...I haven't been watching this show, but from the
commercials I thought it was about some guy wrongly put in prison then his
brother intentionally goes to prison to break him out? Lame concept, but
ok...the viewers can go with it. However, the last commercial I saw seemed
to indicate that all these upstanding prisoner types will now be going after
'the loot' ($5million in cash) this episode rather than just trying to stay
free and get back to a 'normal' life. The new plotline doesn't seem to make
sense from the commercials. I didn't watch before, and the commercials
don't give me any desire to try it now. Either the show has stupid plot
lines or the show has really poor advertising.
4. ABC...a lineup of daytime Oprah style programming. The people that tune
in at the start will, no doubt, be on this channel all night long. It looks
like a completely different demographic than every other network (except
maybe MyTV). Not even a tiny desire to watch this network tonight.
Ken from Chicago
"Obveeus" <Obv...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:eem8ol$4nc$1...@registered.motzarella.org...
>
> "Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>> The upshot of all of this is that with new series, sometimes, it takes
>> more than a single episode to REALLY decide if its watchworthy (tho
>> sometimes it's so bad or so good you can tell right off).
>>
>> -- Ken from Chicago (who's learned to be wary of a piece of PI)
>
> So, you are suggesting that we all watch multiple episodes before
> concluding anything?
> Just looking at tonights TV lineups I can make some conclusions.
Yes.
> 1. CW is already starting out on the wrong foot. Everyone else has new
> programming and they are dragging out the most tired show in their lineup
> with a rerun? After that, they want people to watch a 'what will we show
> this season' compilation when viewers could flip to any other channel and
> watch actual new shows. It almost seems like a way to give up right on
> week #1.
>
> 2. Studio 60 will have an uphill battle initially. People seeking out
> new/entertaining programming certainly won't be tuned in through 2 hours
> of that Deal or No Deal. Will they be willing to turn away from CSI after
> watching 2 hours of CBS premieres? CBS has 2 hours of original
> programming to promote their 10pm show. NBC has 2 hours of a really
> repetative show that is easily sampled/ignored...lots less oportunity to
> pull people in with commercials during that time. As for myself...not a
> CSI fan and Studio 60 commercials/buzz from the past few weeks is enough
> to have caught my interest.
Yep, I'm looking forward to STUDIO 60--even if I have to figure out what to
watch after PRISON BREAK ends now that THE CLOSER has finished. I might try
VANISHED since people say it's gotten better since. Plus Esai Morales who
starred in BAD BOYS, shot in Chicago back in the day when Chicago films were
rare, is supposed to be on the show.
> 3. Prison Break...I haven't been watching this show, but from the
> commercials I thought it was about some guy wrongly put in prison then his
> brother intentionally goes to prison to break him out? Lame concept, but
> ok...the viewers can go with it. However, the last commercial I saw
> seemed to indicate that all these upstanding prisoner types will now be
> going after 'the loot' ($5million in cash) this episode rather than just
> trying to stay free and get back to a 'normal' life. The new plotline
> doesn't seem to make sense from the commercials. I didn't watch before,
> and the commercials don't give me any desire to try it now. Either the
> show has stupid plot lines or the show has really poor advertising.
You missed the season finale and season debut ads, where they broke--past
tense--out of prison. Had you watched the show, you would have known the 5
million was part of the plan from the beginning for the two brothers to STAY
out of prison. As Scofield said in the first couple of episodes last season,
breaking out is just the beginning. You have to STAY out.
Also, the show is taking a different tack than being THE FUGITIVE by having
the former guys who teamed up for a common goal by now having them COMPETE
against each other for a common goal. Scofield didn't plan on them ever
finding out about the 5 million.
> 4. ABC...a lineup of daytime Oprah style programming. The people that
> tune in at the start will, no doubt, be on this channel all night long.
> It looks like a completely different demographic than every other network
> (except maybe MyTV). Not even a tiny desire to watch this network
> tonight.
WIFE CRAP-er SWAP? Sorry, watching people was never my cup of tea, be it
"reality" shows or daytime "talk" shows.
-- Ken from Chicago
Obveeus
"Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
> You missed the season finale and season debut ads, where they broke--past
> tense--out of prison.
I knew they were out of prison from the ads.
> Had you watched the show, you would have known the 5 million was part of
> the plan from the beginning for the two brothers to STAY out of prison. As
> Scofield said in the first couple of episodes last season, breaking out is
> just the beginning. You have to STAY out.
So, the 'good guys' going after the $5 million aren't stealing? It actually
belongs to them and was hidden somehwere so they had some escape cash to get
away with? Geeze...if they had $5,000,000 they could have just bought a
good lawyer (or judge ;-)) to begin with and avoided prison.
George W Harris
:
:"Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
:> The upshot of all of this is that with new series, sometimes, it takes
:> more than a single episode to REALLY decide if its watchworthy (tho
:> sometimes it's so bad or so good you can tell right off).
:>
:> -- Ken from Chicago (who's learned to be wary of a piece of PI)
:
:So, you are suggesting that we all watch multiple episodes before concluding
:anything?
You stopped reading before the parenthetical?
--
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV!
George W. Harris For actual email address, replace each 'u' with an 'i'
Michael Johnson
The old guy in prison that died in the escape was revealed to be DB
Cooper. He told them where to find the cash he stole just before he
died and that it was actually more than what was reported.
Btw.. Pilot-itis? Anybody else do what I do when it comes to most
serialized shows? If it looks like an iffy pickup and doesn't get me
hooked immediately I just ignore it. If it gets a second season
renewel I'll download it all at once and watch it straight through.
I'll probably do that with Jericho, Heroes, and a couple other new
shows. Its so much more fun saving time and watching a season all at
once.
-MJ
Ian J. Ball
"Obveeus" <Obv...@aol.com> wrote:
> "Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
> > The upshot of all of this is that with new series, sometimes, it takes
> > more than a single episode to REALLY decide if its watchworthy (tho
> > sometimes it's so bad or so good you can tell right off).
> >
> > -- Ken from Chicago (who's learned to be wary of a piece of PI)
>
> So, you are suggesting that we all watch multiple episodes before concluding
> anything?
FTR, I tend to be in that camp. Others, like Jay, watch every pilot they
can get their hands on, and base decisions on those alone.
It seems like everyone has a different approach on this question...
--
"Read less. More TV." - Dr. Greg House, "House"
http://homepage.mac.com/ijball/TV-Blog/
Ken from Chicago
Here's the problem with judging the show from the ads. The 5 million is
sposed to be the legendary DB Cooper's millions that he jumped out of plane
with decades ago. Scofield did research on candidates of prisoners with
access to large sums of money and stumbled onto an old convict who fit the
legend. Turned out he was DB and knew where the money was--only he died in
the escape and now everyone is racing for the loot.
The show's not as dumb one might fear--tho it has other flaws, still those a
countered by pretty good execution overall, sometimes even a little bit over
the top.
-- Ken from Chicago
Ken from Chicago
"Michael Johnson" <a...@b.com> wrote in message
news:qdmtg2tjo0uimavlv...@4ax.com...
That's the smart move--but not the fun one, waiting for renewal.
-- Ken from Chicago
Obveeus
"Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Here's the problem with judging the show from the ads. The 5 million is
> sposed to be the legendary DB Cooper's millions that he jumped out of
> plane with decades ago. Scofield did research on candidates of prisoners
> with access to large sums of money and stumbled onto an old convict who
> fit the legend. Turned out he was DB and knew where the money was--only he
> died in the escape and now everyone is racing for the loot.
So, the 'good guys' are now in the hunt for stolen money. If they take it
and run they are criminals. The whole concept of 'innocent good guys' that
do things like organize prison escapes and profit from stolen goods is lost
on me. Of course, I had problems with the fugitive movie when the cop
acknowledged that the doctor was not a bad guy, but still tried to plug him
full of bullets because that was his job.
> The show's not as dumb one might fear--tho it has other flaws, still those
> a countered by pretty good execution overall, sometimes even a little bit
> over the top.
Finding DB Cooper over the top? Naw. ;-)
Ken from Chicago
>
> "Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>> Here's the problem with judging the show from the ads. The 5 million is
>> sposed to be the legendary DB Cooper's millions that he jumped out of
>> plane with decades ago. Scofield did research on candidates of prisoners
>> with access to large sums of money and stumbled onto an old convict who
>> fit the legend. Turned out he was DB and knew where the money was--only
>> he died in the escape and now everyone is racing for the loot.
>
> So, the 'good guys' are now in the hunt for stolen money. If they take it
> and run they are criminals. The whole concept of 'innocent good guys'
> that do things like organize prison escapes and profit from stolen goods
> is lost
Lincoln was framed for a murder--that never even happened.
When you're convicted of a robbery and it turns out the "victim" hid the
"stolen" loot, it kinda makes the convict sympathetic--especially if the
victim robbed someone else and used their goods as evidence of a robbery.
Plus during his time in jail, Scofield has had two toes cut off--with lawn
shears--rather than reveal a crucial part of the plan to get his brother
out.
> on me. Of course, I had problems with the fugitive movie when the cop
> acknowledged that the doctor was not a bad guy, but still tried to plug
> him full of bullets because that was his job.
>
>> The show's not as dumb one might fear--tho it has other flaws, still
>> those a countered by pretty good execution overall, sometimes even a
>> little bit over the top.
>
> Finding DB Cooper over the top? Naw. ;-)
At least he didn't throw rocks at a glass mason jar to do so.
-- Ken from Chicago
Obveeus
"Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Plus during his time in jail, Scofield has had two toes cut off--with lawn
> shears--rather than reveal a crucial part of the plan to get his brother
> out.
If you are trying to make this show sond watchable, that kind of stuff
doesn't do it for me.
I did like Sharkey's Machine, though...
As for watching shows for 3+ episodes before giving up on them...well, I
couldn't even sit through the whole episode of 'Class'. Ack, that was bad.
Ken from Chicago
Didn't say all. In fact, I specifically mentioned there are times when a
series is so bad (or good) you can indeed tell from the pilot alone.
Personally I hated the premise of THE CLASS. Who the frell has a class
reunion for 3rd grade "alumni"? None of the previews looked appealing. Plus
it airs opposite PRISON BREAK.
-- Ken from Chicago
Michael Johnson
<kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
It beats getting invested in a show that gets an early ax, which is
anything but fun. I'm still bitter over Cupid and that was like 6
years ago :P.
-MJ
Ken from Chicago
Jeremy Piven (Chicagoan, member of the Piven family, son Byrne Piven who
founded Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, that trained a lot of actors,
included Jeremy and the family of Chicago actors, the Cusacks: John, Joan
and Ann), Paula Marshall, set and filmed in Chicago, great writing, NOT
another cop / doc / lawyer show ... what's there to be bitter about?
-- Ken from Chicago (who's learned to let go)
P.S. And that was EIGHT years ago of televised greatness.
William December Starr
"Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> said:
>> "Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Here's the problem with judging the show from the ads. The 5
>>> million is sposed to be the legendary DB Cooper's millions that
>>> he jumped out of plane with decades ago. Scofield did research
>>> on candidates of prisoners with access to large sums of money
>>> and stumbled onto an old convict who fit the legend. Turned out
>>> he was DB and knew where the money was--only he died in the
>>> escape and now everyone is racing for the loot.
Note that Michael wasn't expecting the buried treasure to be
anywhere near that big. Officially, "D.B. Cooper" was paid a ransom
of only $200,000 -- nice money in 1971, but no five million. The
story within the show was that after Cooper got away the authorities
didn't want to look any worse, or make Cooper look any better, than
they had to so they vastly understated to the public how much money
Cooper had gotten.
The difference is somewhat significant. At two hundred grand, it
might not be enough to attract so many of the fugitives (and others)
to the treasure hunt, but at five million it's a super-magnet.
[ *snip* ]
> Lincoln was framed for a murder--that never even happened.
Actually *somebody* was murdered, just not who everybody thought the
victim was. (Okay, maybe the bad guys came up with a body that had
died of natural causes and shot a bullet into its head, but that
seems awfully unlkely.)
--
William December Starr <wds...@panix.com>
Anim8rFSK
More so than the 6'7" guy finding a perfect match homeless guy to swap
out with on BONES?
David Barnett
news:itctg2lelth72ujh1...@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 09:47:49 -0400, "Obveeus" <Obv...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> :
> :"Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
> :> The upshot of all of this is that with new series, sometimes, it takes
> :> more than a single episode to REALLY decide if its watchworthy (tho
> :> sometimes it's so bad or so good you can tell right off).
> :>
> :> -- Ken from Chicago (who's learned to be wary of a piece of PI)
> :
> :So, you are suggesting that we all watch multiple episodes before
> concluding
> :anything?
>
> You stopped reading before the parenthetical?
Often the pilot is the worst episode of a series, IMHO.
I usually watch a few episodes of a new series before making an opinion on
it.
--
David Barnett
Ken from Chicago
"David Barnett" <dbar...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:OxkQg.32936$rP1....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
Precisely. Sometimes you it takes a few eps for them to work out the kinks.
-- Ken from Chicago
Agent Smith
news:WbWdnelQZr1wA5PY...@comcast.com:
> it takes more
> than a single episode to REALLY decide if its watchworthy
Boy, you got that right, Jenkins. A while ago, when I thought I might
be good enough to be a writer, I cranked out a script for Saturday
morning cartoon, based on an Elf character designed by Frank Brunner.
When I was done, I was *very* happy with the result, although there was
one small flaw I couldn't iron out.
I said to myself "Self, let's mail this right out to Brunner and get his
opinon." But then I stopped myself and thought more coherently.
Because I didn't want to look stupid in front of a giant of the
industry, I tried to write a second episode, and stalled completely.
I worked on it for a few days and then walked away, unable to create
anything of quality even marginally approaching the first script. I
guess that I was smart enough to see this pothole coming, before I
stepped in it.