more pilots news

[Temis the Vorta]

NBC's terrible lineup of pilots may be depressing, but ABC makes me happier. Several of the most interesting-sounding shows are still contenders. In order of my interest:

V - Great cast, and hey I'm always up for a nice paranoid aliens-among-us show, especially now that BSG has ceded the turf.

Happy Town - They keep saying it's like Twin Peaks, hopefully a bit more coherent. Probably not as imaginative, but even a pale imitation could be worthwhile.

Flash Forward - Could be too gimmicky, but I'll give it a shot.

It's also being promo-ed on Lost during this sweeps. Makes sense since it could easily pick up the Lost audience that loves a good mystery series.

I wouldn't count my chickens when it comes to Lost fans liking anything but more Lost.

Eastwick - I'd check it out, but I'm just not feelin' it. Sounds like its losing ground anyway.

Oh yeah and there's the CW for what it's worth...

Hollywood Reporter has a bit more news on other networks. Fox is still interested in Human Target. Other than that, I'm interested in the Ben Stiller CIA farce The Station from Fox, but haven't seen indications that it's in contention.

CBS continues to have nothing of interest whatsoever.

 

[bigdaddy]

Flash Forward might be good because if it gets a full season we might get a complete story in season 1 with minor mysteries that could lead to a season 2. I like shows that conclude one storyline in a season but leave the door open for more seasons of course.

THE FORGOTTEN (Warner Bros/Bruckheimer) only now starting to get talked about even though it's from Jerry Bruckheimer. One source tells me it's "rising to the top because ABC liked that a lot".

Jerry Bruckheimer should stick to movies, haven't a lot of his shows failed badly? Or maybe I'm just crazy.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Jerry Bruckheimer should stick to movies, haven't a lot of his shows failed badly? Or maybe I'm just crazy.

You're just crazy. He's had some failures (as all TV producers have), but they're outweighed by his successes, like the whole CSI franchise, for instance.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

^ And the related shows of Cold Case and Without a Trace have done well too. I think both are in their 6th seasons.

Not sure how much longer they will last, but no matter how you slice it, 6 seasons is a success.

 

[bigdaddy]

Jerry Bruckheimer should stick to movies, haven't a lot of his shows failed badly? Or maybe I'm just crazy.

You're just crazy. He's had some failures (as all TV producers have), but they're outweighed by his successes, like the whole CSI franchise, for instance.

Oh I just like to ignore CSI and all the other crap on CBS.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Isn't it wonderful ABC has a new series named "Canned"? Works out really well if it gets ... canned...


Too bad there was pretty much dick in the way of descriptions on each show ABC had in that link. I don't even see an IMDB.com page for the new "V". Hope Dennis McCarthy scores it again.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

For descriptions of most of the potential pilots, visit this page and click the links according to network and genre.

CBS pilots. Back might be interesting. Gotta change that name.

Fox pilots. Eh, not much...

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Shows that sound interesting on paper can turn out to be disappointing and shows that don't sound particularly interesting can turn out to be great - it's all in the execution. So bearing that in mind as a caveat, here's my ranking of this year's broadcast network pilots in order of my level of interest at this stage:

1. Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas (ABC - it was developed for the current season, but passed over; it's back in contention for next season; it seems that concerns it'll be too expensive are the biggest issue)

2. V (ABC - I have fond memories of the original miniseries and this iteration has a good cast)

3. Flash Forward (ABC - intriguing premise, but whether it works remains to be seen; it looks like it's definitely a go)

4. Day One (NBC - picked up already; may be a limited series; Julie Gonzalo and Carly Pope are hotties)

5. Eastwick (ABC - sexy witches could make for a fun show)

6. Happy Town (ABC - sounds offbeat and intriguing)

7. Human Target (Fox - I'm a huge DC Comics fan, so I'll be interested in seeing how this turns out, but I'm not sure about Mark Valley as a series lead)

8. Vampire Diaries (CW - could be insufferable, could be a guilty pleasure)

 

[Angel4576]

I'm a huge DC Comics fan.

Which reminds me, why oh why did HBO drop out of producing Preacher?! That would have been fucking awesome!

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Which reminds me, why oh why did HBO drop out of producing Preacher?! That would have been fucking awesome!

Well, Columbia Pictures is developing it as a feature film now, with Sam Mendes attached as director.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Shows that sound interesting on paper can turn out to be disappointing and shows that don't sound particularly interesting can turn out to be great - it's all in the execution.

I can list plenty of the former type (Bionic Woman, My Own Worst Enemy, Harper's Island) but not so many of the second. All the good shows I can think of at least sounded interesting on paper.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I can list plenty of the former type (Bionic Woman, My Own Worst Enemy, Harper's Island) but not so many of the second. All the good shows I can think of at least sounded interesting on paper.

For me Medium falls into the second category (I know you're not a fan, but I think it's a great show). Same goes for Eli Stone, Journeyman, Reaper, and Supernatural.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I can list plenty of the former type (Bionic Woman, My Own Worst Enemy, Harper's Island) but not so many of the second. All the good shows I can think of at least sounded interesting on paper.

For me Medium falls into the second category (I know you're not a fan, but I think it's a great show). Same goes for Eli Stone, Journeyman, Reaper, and Supernatural.

Didn't like any of those, except for Reaper, which struck me as having the potential for being charming and fun almost immediately when I read about it and saw the cast. But I'd also give Supernatural credit for having a good premise (got me to sample it anyway) and Medium probably sounded good way back when that premise hadn't been done to death.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

When I read its description during the relevant development period, Medium sounded like it might be a dull procedural, but I tried it out and was hooked very quickly. The writing was a lot more inventive than I expected it to be, and the emphasis on the family dynamic added a lot to the show.

 

[Mr Light]

LOST turned out to be much, much better than it first sounded. The initial description was "scripted Survivor" with an invisible dinosaur Now it's my favorite show on the air by a mile!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I thought Lost sounded interesting, but had no idea it would be anything beyond a cheesefest about a bunch of half-nekked people running around the jungle and trying to kill each other over a papaya.

Darn. That would have been a fun show, too. Hey there's your Lost ripoff. They're overthinking the whole thing, what with Flash Forward and all the other times they've tried to make us like some other show just because it was convoluted and had fifty people in the cast.

 

[Angel4576]

Which reminds me, why oh why did HBO drop out of producing Preacher?! That would have been fucking awesome!

Well, Columbia Pictures is developing it as a feature film now, with Sam Mendes attached as director.

It's better than nothing, but a HBO Preacher with the production values of Carnivale, would have been awesome

 

[bigdaddy]

Which reminds me, why oh why did HBO drop out of producing Preacher?! That would have been fucking awesome!

Well, Columbia Pictures is developing it as a feature film now, with Sam Mendes attached as director.

It's better than nothing, but a HBO Preacher with the production values of Carnivale, would have been awesome

Yeah and then HBO would have canceled it because it cost too much.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

More scuttlebutt.

ABC: Happy Town is gaining traction. I wish V were better than "warm." No mention of Fast Forward at all.

FOX: Human Target keeps getting mentioned as the hot show. But from the descriptions, I don't get how Chance can plausibly pull off his masquerades since the show seems to have dropped the sci-fi-ish aspects of the story. Is he going to be limited only to clients who look vaguely like him? Eh.

 

[bigdaddy]

No word on Fast Forward because it's clear it's been picked up.