#television pilot

[chernobog13]

The cast of the atrocious (which, in hindsight, may not be a strong enough word) Justice League of America (1997) failed television pilot (clockwise from left):

Michelle Hurd as Fire; Kim Oja as Ice; David Ogden Stiers as Martian Manhunter; Kenny Johnston as The Flash (Barry Allen); John Kassir as The Atom; and Matthew Settle as Green Lantern (Guy Gardner).

DO NOT WATCH THIS if you value your sanity and/or soul!!!!!!!

And thank whatever deity/deities, Hollywood celebrities, or household appliances you worship that this was never picked up as a series.

[electronicsquid]

Doing screen tests for The Addams Family pilot

(Bill Ray. 1964)

[thirtytwoelvismovies]

Half-Nelson — you’ll love it! Learned of the existence of this amazing mid-‘80s pilot today. The cast on this one-pager is only the tip of the iceberg. Can’t even imagine what was going on in Joe Pesci’s career in 1985, the half-way mark between Raging Bull and the stardom that came along with Goodfellas/Home Alone.

The plot is… Beverly Hills Cop meets Hill Street Blues meets Magnum P.I. meets… practically every other cop show on air ca. 1985, featuring every Top 40 radio hit (which would never have been licensed for a DVD release).

The score is… “just make sure Harold Faltermeyer doesn’t sue us.”

An incredibly high-quality copy of the pilot/90-min TV movie is on Youtube and I’m watching it right now.

And just as I’m about to post this, I hear a “No I can’t play this tape, it’s a VHS and I only have a BETA” joke. Amazing.

[chernobog13]

"I'm going to stand right here and watch you all get it on!"

The real reason Talos lV was off-limits is because the Talosians were a bunch or pervs!

[chernobog13]

John Saxon as Dylan Hunt (Gene Roddenberry's version of Buck Rogers), and Janet Margolin as Harper-Smythe in the television movie Planet Earth (1974).

This was the second pilot for a proposed series from Roddenberry focusing on Hunt, a 20th Century man in suspended animation who awoke in the 22nd Century, and his work with the global peace keeping organization PAX.

The original pilot, Genesis ll (1973), starred Alex Cord as Dylan Hunt, and showed his "origin" story. It was rejected by the television network, so Roddenberry re-worked the concept as Planet Earth. However, unlike with the Star Trek pilots, the second time was not the charm, and the series was never greenlit.

There are some in the fandom who consider Genesis ll and Planet Earth as Star Trek's pre-history, fitting in somewhere between the Eugenics Wars and the creation of the United Planets.

[chernobog13]

When the coke is wearing off, but you've still got to get your space ship to Mars!

A still from Paul Starr (1964), a television pilot for a science fiction puppet show that tried to cash in on the success of Space Patrol (1962). Both were created by Roberta Leigh, but Paul Starr was never picked up as a series, and both were eclipsed by the more popular Gerry and Sylvia Anderson Supermarionation series like Fireball XL-5, Supercar, Stingray and Thunderbirds.

You can check out the entire pilot here:

And brownie points to whoever can identify the actor providing Paul Starr's voice without looking at the credits!

[shadowwingtronix]

BW's Daily Video> Adv. Of The Galaxy Rangers Demo Reel

BW's Daily Video> Adv. Of The Galaxy Rangers Demo Reel

[shadowwingtronix]

Saturday Night Showcase> A Taste Of Star Trek's Second Pilot: Studio Edition

BW Media Spotlight's Saturday Night Showcase> A Taste Of Star Trek's Second Pilot: Studio Edition

This is going to be a short intro because I don’t know the full story of this edition. Still, I thought this compilation of videos was a good connection to our recently completed look at the guide and original sales pitch for the original Star Trek. “Where No Man Has Gone Before” is the first official episode of Star Trek, although “The Man Trap” was the first one aired. “Where No Man…” was also…

Saturday Night Showcase> A Taste Of Star Trek's Second Pilot: Studio Edition