I think the problem with saying ’skip the setup’ is when we’re talking about a show that’s heavy on season arc. You couldn’t skip the setup for a 24, or a Prison Break, or a Lost (though those shows did a good job of making sure the pilots had the elements of a typical episode).

I actually think there’s some middle ground between setup pilot and premise pilot. I’ve been working on a 1/2 hour comedy pilot (which does have some interest from Cdn prod cos, though I’m not counting my chickens) and it’s a line I’ve been trying to walk… but I think it’s doable. When I think of sitcom pilots like, say, Friends or Newsradio– those pilots set-up the show, but also felt like typical episodes (given the character dynamics, kind of plot, and subplots happening). Most importantly, the conflict in those pilots was the same kind of conflict you’d see in a typical ep.

Lots to think about, here. Thanks for blogging, Jill!

When I say “don’t write a setup pilot”, I say it to Canadian writers developing series for Canadian broadcaster.

However, since the pilot was a bit slow, the network decided to air the “Train Job” first.

I remember watching the very first episode when it aired and thinking “What the *bleep*? This universe has no set-up. It’s lame.” And I didn’t watch any more of it until the show had been canceled and the DVD came out, which had the real pilot as the first episode. And after watching the (really awesome) pilot I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, Firefly turned out to be a great show.

I guess the moral of the story is that pilots don’t always go on air first and the network can always decide to screw things up for you.