Television pilot

A television pilot is the first episode of an intended television series. It is usually longer than normal episodes (often twice the normal length) and is intended to get network programming executives, and later the public, interested in the series. However, pilots are rarely fair examples of what a "normal episode" of a series is like, since they usually set the general background and tell the origin story for the series (e.g., if the series is about two angry roommates, the pilot will probably show how they met).

Backdoor pilots

A backdoor pilot is a television movie, other TV special event, or even an otherwise normal episode of an already established series that is being used as a trial balloon—if audiences respond and ratings are good, the studio or network may order subsequent episodes from the creators. An example of the former would be when ABC aired its Dinotopia mini-series; although audience response to the mini-series was favorable, the following series was short lived. Again, Star Trek provides a famous example of the latter "backdoor pilot"-type with the episode, "" where the crew of the Enterprise encounters Gary Seven, a character with his own agenda with the planet in a story that was intended to introduce the character and the premise of his adventures in a proposed series of his own.

Related Topics:
Trial balloon - ABC - Dinotopia - Gary Seven

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At one time many pilots not selected for production as full series were aired as parts of anthology programs; these shows, which were often aired as summer replacements, were regarded as potentially holding more of the audience than repeat showings of old episodes of popular programs and this usage allowed the recoupment of at least a small part of the large development cost. Also, in a very few, rare instances, public interest could result in network executives taking a second look at the decision not to go forward with the series. One of the best known examples is "Love and the Happy Days", a rejected pilot for a TV series about a family in the 1950s, which was aired as an installment of the popular anthology, Love, American Style; this, combined with the popularity of the film American Graffiti (both productions starring Ron Howard) resulted in a series called Happy Days being commissioned. The practice of airing pilots is now very seldom seen; pilots are more apt to be screened to focus groups than to a mass audience. Few pilots not selected to go into production as a series are ever aired in any form.

Related Topics:
Anthology - 1950s - Love, American Style - Film - American Graffiti - Ron Howard - Happy Days - Focus group

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~