Failed TV Pilots

[nbs2]

Inspired by Lord Blackadder's mention of a US Red Dwarf pilot and my low hopes for the US Spaced remake, I was curious to know if people could think of other pilots that failed to be picked up for whatever reason.

If you have links to GooTube listings of the pilots, all the better.

There is one that I have always enjoyed - Heat Vision and Jack. With Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Ben Stiller, it's kind of fun to see how bad a show could have graced our televisions.

 

[bartelby]

Fox Force 5. Failed due to lame jokes, apparently...

 

[Teh Don Ditty]

Fox Force 5. Failed due to lame jokes, apparently...

You are aware that there is an invention called a Television and on this invention you watch shows on it yes?

 

[Unspeaked]

Cop Rock?

 

[bartelby]

You are aware that there is an invention called a Television and on this invention you watch shows on it yes?

I've just finished watching the film!

I had to after having bloody quotes going round my head all day!

 

[Teh Don Ditty]

I've just finished watching the film!

I had to after having bloody quotes going round my head all day!

It gets better and better each time I watch it. I can never get bored with it.

Do you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with cheese?

What?

A Royale with Cheese

 

[Thomas Veil]

I don't think Cop Rock qualifies as a failed pilot. The series sold, even if it didn't last long.

The DVDs of the 1960s series The Time Tunnel include an hour-long pilot for a remake. It's actually pretty good, though it takes a few too many liberties with the original concept.

Same people did a pilot for a remake of Lost in Space, and that didn't sell either. Too bad, because I always thought that show started out great and then got royally screwed up. The movie wasn't much better. Someday, somewhere, somebody's going to do this idea right. (And no, Voyager wasn't it.)

 

[Unspeaked]

I don't think Cop Rock qualifies as a failed pilot. The series sold, even if it didn't last long.

Isn't that amazing?

Another one I thought of: I'm not sure if it was simply a horrible movie or an actual TV pilot, but there was an awful Fantastic Four piece that was filmed by Marvel in the early-to-mid 90s that many folks swear is the worst thing committed to film ever.

I think it was a case of the production company needing to produce something with the characters or risk losing the screen rights entirely (which I reckon became the blockbuster Fantastic Four film of a few years back) and so cobbled together a bunch of B-movie actors and gave the project an appaulingly low budget with no intention of even trying to sell it (not telling the poor actors this, of course).

 

[Aeolius]

Aquaman

 

[Unspeaked]

Aquaman

That was a free iTunes download for a while!

 

[Jaffa Cake]

There was Heil Honey I'm Home – a comedy caper in which Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun set up home next door to a Jewish couple, with hilarious consequences.

I kid you not. You won't be surprised to learn that only the pilot was aired. Just the once.

 

[dsnort]

How about a thread of otherwise hit shows that should have died at the pilot stage?

 

[Unspeaked]

How about a thread of otherwise hit shows that should have died at the pilot stage?

That already exists. It's called the ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC message boards!

 

[iJohnHenry]

There was Heil Honey I'm Home – a comedy caper in which Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun set up home next door to a Jewish couple, with hilarious consequences.

I kid you not. You won't be surprised to learn that only the pilot was aired. Just the once.

They must have seen The Producers one too many times.