# Obscure Television Pilot identification **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313 "2013-03-18T23:17:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/1 "2013-03-18T23:17:08Z")
Back in the late 70s and early 80s, I watched just about every television show with an SF or fantasy premise, even the most obscure (“A Year at the Top,” “Tabitha,” “Dr. Strange”, etc.) including a couple of shows that only had pilot episodes. Today I was thinking of one of those pilots that wasn’t picked up - it was about someone from the present day (of the time - ~ 1980) who is cryogenically frozen and wakes in the future. There’s a prejudice against revivees - they’re referred to by the impolite as “dead people” (or something like that). Our hero gets a job at an antique store, and makes friends with people from the future, who have a haughty robot and refresh themselves by taking short naps in what looks like a giant toaster. One joke I remember in particular is that when our hero visits his friends, he finds out that they are watching “I Love Lucy” - he’s shocked to find out that those reruns are still being broadcast. Anyone know of a good list of pilots from that era that were never picked up? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/2 "2013-03-19T02:35:20Z")
Is it possible you watched it during a Schwerin test session? Did you ever get invited to a theater or similar setting to “rate TV shows?” The Schwerin system is actually about testing the commercials, but the filler material they use is often discarded TV pilots. I saw a couple of really, really bizarre pilots that way. Point being, there might not be anyone who ever saw it with you, if it wasn’t publicly shown. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/3 "2013-03-20T01:49:54Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Is it possible you watched it during a Schwerin test session? Did you ever get invited to a theater or similar setting to “rate TV shows?” The Schwerin system is actually about testing the commercials, but the filler material they use is often discarded TV pilots. I saw a couple of really, really bizarre pilots that way. > > Point being, there might not be anyone who ever saw it with you, if it wasn’t publicly shown. No, I definitely saw it on broadcast TV. Wouldn’t surprise me if the show ended up being used as filler material though. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/4 "2013-03-20T03:01:29Z")
[Stick Around](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick_Around_%28TV_pilot%29), with Andy Kaufman no less. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/5 "2013-03-20T03:52:17Z")
Heh…almost sounds like Futurama. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/6 "2013-03-20T16:05:16Z")
I’m wondering if **Andy L** is conflating two obscure pilots. The description of “Stick Around” doesn’t mention anything about cryogenics. I asked a [similar](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=351647)question several (holy crap! more than 7!) years ago about a pilot I remembered. I still haven’t figured out what it was called. > [@Meltdown](#): > > have this fuzzy memory of a TV show (could have been a TV series, could have been a made-for-TV movie, could have been a theatrical movie that I happened to see on TV – but I doubt it) that was on when I was a kid. It must have been late seventies or early eighties. I don’t remember anything about the title, or any of the actors in it – which makes searching via Google or IMDB hard. All I remember is the premise. > > Two roommates (they may have been brothers) fall asleep in their apartment with the gas on during a cold winter’s night. Some combination of the freezing temperature and the gas (I swear I’m not making this up) cause them to fall into comas, and they wake up many years in the future (kind of like Woody Allen’s Sleeper (which this is definitely NOT) or Futurama). Comedic hijinks ensue as they get acquainted with their new environs. **Baldwin** , a poster who is now banned, at least knew what I was talking about. I’m not sure if it is kosher to quote banned posters, but his reply is post #5 in the linked thread. So even if **Andy L** wasn’t conflating the two shows, and his question has been answered, I’ll shamelessly take this opportunity to ask mine again. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/7 "2013-03-20T16:09:33Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > [Stick Around](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick_Around_%28TV_pilot%29), with Andy Kaufman no less. And you can watch it on youtube! What a country! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/8 "2013-03-20T22:24:11Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > [Stick Around](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick_Around_%28TV_pilot%29), with Andy Kaufman no less. That’s it. I just watched the first 3/4 of it on Youtube, and spotted the two scenes I remembered best (the burglary in part II starting at about 2:50 and the scene when Lucy is mentioned in Part III starting at 3:25. It’s funny what I misremembered - I thought the show was about the neighbor from the past, and forgot about Andy the robot - I just remembered the obnoxious other robot (Earl). Another weird fact - when the show was broadcast in 1977, 2055 was unimaginably far in the future - but 2016 (just 3 years from now) is halfway between 1977 and 2055. Thanks, GuanoLad. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/9 "2013-03-21T01:23:22Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > I’m wondering if **Andy L** is conflating two obscure pilots. The description of “Stick Around” doesn’t mention anything about cryogenics. > > I asked a [similar](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=351647)question several (holy crap! more than 7!) years ago about a pilot I remembered. I still haven’t figured out what it was called. > > **Baldwin** , a poster who is now banned, at least knew what I was talking about. I’m not sure if it is kosher to quote banned posters, but his reply is post #5 in the linked thread. > > So even if **Andy L** wasn’t conflating the two shows, and his question has been answered, I’ll shamelessly take this opportunity to ask mine again. That does sound familiar to me too; I’ll think about it. This book “Experimental Television, Test Films, Pilots and Trial Series” [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/experimental-television-test-films-pilots-and-trial-series-1925-through-1995-vincent-terrace/1111757137](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/experimental-television-test-films-pilots-and-trial-series-1925-through-1995-vincent-terrace/1111757137) lists my show - so maybe it mentions yours too (unfortunately the book isn’t available electronically, but it might be available from a library). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/10 "2013-03-21T04:51:56Z")
“America 2100”? A description of it is given at the bottom of this page: > **[Obscure circa-1980 SF sitcom with similarities to Futurama? | Other Media](https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads%2Fobscure-circa-1980-sf-sitcom-with-similarities-to-futurama.623543%2F)** > > A dim memory of this show just popped into my head, and I wondered if anyone here can help identify it: > > It was a network sitcom from the late '70s or early '80s. Short-lived, and quite possibly VERY short-lived. Like only 6 episodes, or maybe just... ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/11 "2013-03-21T14:19:00Z")
Wow, the internet is awesome. When I was a kid and I had a vague memory of something like this – tough luck! ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/12 "2013-03-21T15:52:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “America 2100”? A description of it is given at the bottom of this page: > > [Obscure circa-1980 SF sitcom with similarities to Futurama? | Other Media | RPGnet Forums](http://forum.rpg.net/archive/index.php/t-623543.html) The title doesn’t ring a bell, but that description is definitely the show I’m thinking about. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-television-pilot-identification/653313/13 "2013-03-21T22:37:17Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Wow, the internet is awesome. When I was a kid and I had a vague memory of something like this – tough luck! Yeah. It’s great. There are several short stories about people trying to find vaguely remembered shows: “Sitcom” by Lewis Shiner called " [http://www.lewisshiner.com/liberation/sitcom.html](http://www.lewisshiner.com/liberation/sitcom.html) “Candle Cove” (deeply creepy) [http://www.ichorfalls.com/2009/03/15/candle-cove/](http://www.ichorfalls.com/2009/03/15/candle-cove/) “Mr. Goober’s Show” by Harold Waldrop [http://www.astralgia.com/webportfolio/omnimoment/fiction/goober/index.html](http://www.astralgia.com/webportfolio/omnimoment/fiction/goober/index.html)