Comments on: Good News http://www.jillgolick.com/2008/01/good-news-2/ Thoughts on television writing for screenwriters Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:36:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: grapeshot http://www.jillgolick.com/2008/01/good-news-2/#comment-585 grapeshot Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:55:57 +0000 http://www.jillgolick.com/2008/01/good-news-2/#comment-585 I'm not sure I buy into the "pilots are dead" theory either. I'm not in show biz, but I have seen a couple of failed pilots. Judging by that, I can see where each of their concepts might have seemed attractive, and I can see why they failed. (i.e. narrow audience, cast doesn't gel, seemed golden on paper but looks like a turkey onscreen, etc.) It seems to me that pilots serve as a "proof of concept". If you're a network suit, and you're about to spend money on a show, you'd want to see how it actually plays, rather than hope that the interesting scripts that you've read and the proposed cast list pan out. Or are they seriously going to order six or so episodes and then begin broadcasting them and hope they work out? Maybe I don't get it (er...very probably I don't get it) but wouldn't this effectively force the first several episodes to BE the pilot(s)? And IF the average standard failure rate holds true (whatever that is) -- meaning that about the usual percentage of shows don't pan out -- isn't there a risk of running out of programming to fill up a week's worth of prime time? Or does this mean that there'll be a WHOLE LOT more game shows, reality shows, and news magazines in our future? I’m not sure I buy into the “pilots are dead” theory either. I’m not in show biz, but I have seen a couple of failed pilots. Judging by that, I can see where each of their concepts might have seemed attractive, and I can see why they failed. (i.e. narrow audience, cast doesn’t gel, seemed golden on paper but looks like a turkey onscreen, etc.)

It seems to me that pilots serve as a “proof of concept”. If you’re a network suit, and you’re about to spend money on a show, you’d want to see how it actually plays, rather than hope that the interesting scripts that you’ve read and the proposed cast list pan out. Or are they seriously going to order six or so episodes and then begin broadcasting them and hope they work out?

Maybe I don’t get it (er…very probably I don’t get it) but wouldn’t this effectively force the first several episodes to BE the pilot(s)? And IF the average standard failure rate holds true (whatever that is) — meaning that about the usual percentage of shows don’t pan out — isn’t there a risk of running out of programming to fill up a week’s worth of prime time? Or does this mean that there’ll be a WHOLE LOT more game shows, reality shows, and news magazines in our future?

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