Unaired Pilots - Great extras to include

Michael Alden · 11-27-2006, 11:46 AM

I was just watching the unaired Garrison's Gorillas pilot, which has some of the Combat cast in it. Would have made a nice extra on the Combat set but it wasn't included. That got me thinking about what other unaired pilots should have been on sets but haven't been. All in the Family comes to mind as they had 2 unaired pilots before the series was bought. Then there is the Outer Limits series which had the original pilot called Please Stand By as well as a different version of the Forms of Things Unknown episode which was an unsold pilot for a series called The Unknown. Neither are on the OL set. It seems like unless you get someone like Paul Brownstein producing the DVDs, no one else seems to know or care about these things. Really a shame.

Bob Hug · 11-27-2006, 12:23 PM

Rick Jason makes mention of "Garrison's Gorillas" in his autobiography "Scrapbooks of My Mind," the excerpt appearing here:

http://www.scrapbooksofmymind.com/co..._to_an_end.htm

Peter M Fitzgerald · 11-27-2006, 07:44 PM

I was hoping the Rod Serling-scripted DESILU PLAYHOUSE episode, "The Time Element", sort of a warm-up to his subsequent TWILIGHT ZONE work, would've been included in one of the otherwise excellent TWILIGHT ZONE: DEFINITIVE EDITION box sets, but it didn't happen.

If, when the Devil has to put on ice-skates, Paramount ever decides to favor us with a DVD set of Sam Peckinpah's short-lived, half-hour TV western, THE WESTERNER: THE COMPLETE SERIES, I hope its pilot, "Trouble at Tres Cruces", an episode from ZANE GREY THEATER, is included in the package. I also hope Peckinpah's hour-long modern-day comic retooling of the concept, "The Losers", done as an episode of THE DICK POWELL THEATER in 1963, with Lee Marvin in the "Dan Blassingame" role (originally portrayed by Brian Keith), would be put in there as well.

Luckily, I was personally able to capture all of THE WESTERNER and "The Losers" on tape, via ENCORE WESTERNS and TV LAND, respectively, and pop 'em on DVD-R, but I never got to see that ZANE GREY THEATER episode, alas. And those fans less fortunate than me (in this regard) would probably want those two "annex" episodes included, too.

Bob Gu · 11-27-2006, 09:43 PM

There was the unaired pilot for RAWHIDE, without Wishbone, that should have been on the S1 Rawhide release.
Aired Pilots:
Another Selmur pilot, that should have been a COMBAT! DVD extra, was a WWII show set in the Pacific Theater called, OPERATION: ATTACK,starring Gary Conway, from BURKE'S LAW.(It actually aired in Combat's slot one week.)

Missing from WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE S1 was an episode of TRACKDOWN called "The Bounty Hunter" featuring Steve McQueen. I've never seen it, was McQueen Josh Randall in that episode, or the other Trackdown he appeared in, called "The Brothers"?

If DAN AUGUST ever comes to DVD I hope it includes the pilot, THE HOUSE ON GREENAPPLE ROAD, which starred Chris George, Janet Leigh, and Keenan Wynn. It was unusually, sexy and bloody for 1970, plus it had an extra long running time.

Ray H · 11-28-2006, 12:01 AM

I'm hoping Warners includes the pilot of the L.A. Confidential tv series starring Kiefer Sutherland on a future SE of the movie.

It'd be great if the Buffy DVDs included that crazy pilot.

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MatthewLouwrens · 11-28-2006, 06:56 PM

Quote:

I'm hoping Warners includes the pilot of the L.A. Confidential tv series starring Kiefer Sutherland on a future SE of the movie.

That's right, I remember hearing that they made a pilot for a TV series. That would have been fascinating to see. Warners did include the Black Bart pilot in the Blazing Saddles disc, so there is precedent for them to do so.

Quote:

It'd be great if the Buffy DVDs included that crazy pilot.

Would be great. Not going to happen. I think I read somewhere that Joss has said he really hates the half-hour pilot - and having seen it a few years ago (albeit in appalling quality) I could see why. It's not good at all, and we definitely got the better Willow.

Michael Alden · 11-29-2006, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewLouwrens

Would be great. Not going to happen. I think I read somewhere that Joss has said he really hates the half-hour pilot - and having seen it a few years ago (albeit in appalling quality) I could see why. It's not good at all, and we definitely got the better Willow.

Worse than the actual series? I can't imagine that being possible.

Ethan Riley · 11-29-2006, 05:22 AM

Why? Can't you imagine One Tree Hill?

MatthewLouwrens · 11-29-2006, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Worse than the actual series? I can't imagine that being possible.

Not a fan of Buffy, I take it.

Michael Alden · 11-30-2006, 01:10 AM

I tried. Believe me I tried. A few times actually. I didn't get it and even the cute redhead wasn't enough to make me watch. I like high school shows for the most part and I loved Kolchak but I just found the show unwatchable.