# Shows that weren't picked up as a series/never came to be. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024 "2020-03-06T18:25:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/1 "2020-03-06T18:25:43Z")
One thing I think some people don’t realize is how many TV shows never make it past the pilot. Even getting a network to greenlight a pilot for your show is a major accomplishment, as sometimes, a show will be scrapped before it even gets to air, or never makes it past production For every show that gets picked up, many more shows don’t even get past the pitch. So, let’s have a thread discussing shows that didn’t make it past their pilot episodes, and faded into obscurity. There was going to be an animated Buffy series called, appropriately enough, Buffy: The Animated Series. Unfortunately, it never got to air. ---
**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 6, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/2 "2020-03-06T18:33:39Z")
Early '70s: Gene Roddenberry’s _ **Genesis II** _ and _ **Questor** _. The pilots were made and aired, and they were excellent. Unfortunately, they were never picked up as series. In the case of the latter, it was said the network thought it was too much like _ **The Six Million Dollar Man** _. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/3 "2020-03-06T18:36:50Z")
I thought the last episode of _Star Trek: TOS_ was supposed to spin off into a series. No pilot AFAIK. Too bad - Terri Garr, after all. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/4 "2020-03-06T18:54:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Early '70s: Gene Roddenberry’s _ **Genesis II** _ and _ **Questor** _. The pilots were made and aired, and they were excellent. Unfortunately, they were never picked up as series. In the case of the latter, it was said the network thought it was too much like _ **The Six Million Dollar Man** _. :rolleyes: IIRC, Roddenberry also wanted to make a new Star Trek series titled Phase II. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/5 "2020-03-06T19:02:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I thought the last episode of _Star Trek: TOS_ was supposed to spin off into a series. > > No pilot AFAIK. Too bad - Terri Garr, after all. > > Regards, > Shodan Right. [Assignment: Earth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assignment:_Earth). A “backdoor pilot”. Not the worst TOS episode, and perhaps the series that never followed may have been interesting. Roddenberry was quite prolific, but a lot of his ideas were never picked up. ---
**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 6, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/6 "2020-03-06T19:18:38Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > IIRC, Roddenberry also wanted to make a new Star Trek series titled Phase II. Yes. It eventually morphed into the first motion picture a couple of years later, riding the popularity of _ **Star Wars** _. There was also a retooling of _ **Genesis II** _ after it wasn’t picked up. It was called _ **Planet Earth** _ and starred John Saxon. “Assignment: Earth” was the final episode of _ **TOS** _’s second season. Roddenberry came up with it because at the time, he wasn’t sure the series would be renewed for a third one. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/7 "2020-03-06T19:25:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Yes. It eventually morphed into the first motion picture a couple of years later, riding the popularity of _ **Star Wars** _. > > There was also a retooling of _ **Genesis II** _ after it wasn’t picked up. It was called _ **Planet Earth** _ and starred John Saxon. > > “Assignment: Earth” was the final episode of _ **TOS** _’s second season. Roddenberry came up with it because at the time, he wasn’t sure the series would be renewed for a third one. It wasn’t going to have a third season originally, but fan petitions made CBS change its mind. ---
**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 6, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/8 "2020-03-06T19:28:34Z")
NBC. ---
**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 6, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/9 "2020-03-06T19:40:02Z")
There was another pilot sadly not picked up: _ **Spectre** _, Roddenberry’s venture into the supernatural. I saw it on late-night TV back in 1977 or '78. > **[Spectre (1977 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_(1977_film))** > > Spectre is a 1977 British made-for-television horror film produced by Gene Roddenberry. It was co-written by Roddenberry and Samuel A. Peeples, and directed by Clive Donner. It was one of several unsuccessful pilots created by Roddenberry, and one of several pilots in the 1970s in the occult detective subgenre. The pilot follows the adventures of William Sebastian (Robert Culp), a former criminologist and occult expert, and his colleague, Dr. "Ham" Hamilton (Gig Young), a physician and forensi... I had seen John Hurt a couple of years earier, playing Caligula in _ **I, Claudius** _. He was just as scary in _ **Spectre** _. ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/10 "2020-03-06T19:45:35Z")
Below is a link to my favorite pilot that never became a series because of why it was rejected. It seems the suits believed the two leads didn’t have the right stuff between the two of them to headline a TV show. . . . . . . . . . (I wonder how they felt shortly after that decision when Magnum P.I. and Spenser For Hire were top shows) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/11 "2020-03-06T19:58:47Z")
Among attempts at translating a hit movie into a family-friendly series include “Black Bart” (the original title of _Blazing Saddles_, of course) and “Mother, Juggs & Speed” (the extra “g” because her surname became “Juggston” and to deemphasize her assets). Neither got past the pilot stage. Honorable mention goes to Adrian Cronauer for trying to create a series which combined WKRP and M_A_S\*H. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/12 "2020-03-06T20:37:29Z")
This show made it to production, but holly crap was it a bad idea. Basically a con artist gives his viewers step by step instructions on how to pull off some of his easier scams. Like how to get a free meal from McDonald’s. Or how to have two hot models clean your house for free. I can’t believe that show ever made it on the air even if it was short lived. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/13 "2020-03-06T21:04:08Z")
I’ve never seen it, but I have heard of _[Campo 44](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0143163/)_, which _Hogan’s Heroes_ ripped off. There was a pilot and nothing else. Not only did the similarity kill it (_Hogans Heroes_ got on the air first), but another issue was that the executives thought it was so funny that they couldn’t keep up the standard. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/14 "2020-03-06T21:15:46Z")
Another failed backdoor pilot: [Katmandu](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249644/reference) (via [Happy Days](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0596190/reference)). ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/15 "2020-03-06T21:39:25Z")
The first Game of Thrones pilot for a prequel was not picked up by HBO. They did greenlight a different prequel that is 300 years before the books. [HBO: Home to Groundbreaking Series, Movies, Comedies & Documentaries](https://www.hbo.com/hbo-news/game-of-thrones-prequel-house-of-dragons) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/16 "2020-03-06T21:41:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I thought the last episode of _Star Trek: TOS_ was supposed to spin off into a series. > > No pilot AFAIK. Too bad - Terri Garr, after all. > > Regards, > Shodan Nitpick: It wasn’t the last episode. It was the last episode of season two. There was a third season. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/17 "2020-03-06T21:47:54Z")
TOS was on NBC. And the third season was very important because back then they normally did not syndicate a show unless it had 3 seasons. No 3rd season and they could have been the end of Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/18 "2020-03-06T21:52:20Z")
On January 21, 1978, a pilot for a new series aired. Once. And never saw the light of day again. But for those of us who saw it. . . Oh, we never forgot it. But none of us could remember the name! A couple of decades ago, a website sprang up called “IMDb,” which had a message board forum for most of its life before they decided to pull the plug a few years ago. (A scaled down version of it still exists at [moviechat.org](http://moviechat.org), though.) Anyway. . . one of the forums was called “I Need to Know,” in which you could post a question about some fragmentary memory of a movie you had seen, and the movie/TV history buffs could weigh in on what it probably was. One question surfaced every few months (paraphrasing): > [@](#): > > I remember seeing some movie about a ‘mud monster’ that was destroyed when it fell into salt water. Everyone remembered it, but no one could remember the title. This went on for a couple of years until. . . someone actually dug it up. Respectfully submitted for your approval, the episode “Monster” from a series that was not picked up. . . [The World Beyond](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235068/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_119), featuring a youthful JoBeth Williams. ---
**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 6, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/19 "2020-03-06T22:44:27Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’ve never seen it, but I have heard of _[Campo 44](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0143163/)_, which _Hogan’s Heroes_ ripped off. There was a pilot and nothing else. Not only did the similarity kill it (_Hogans Heroes_ got on the air first), but another issue was that the executives thought it was so funny that they couldn’t keep up the standard. The story I read was that Ruddy (or Fein) was on the way home after the original concept (set in a US prison) was rejected. On the plane, he saw someone reading the book _ **Stalag 17** _ (the play, I presume), rewrote the proposed script overnight, and headed back the next day. It was originally called _ **Stalag 13** _, but the title was changed to avoid charges of plagarism. I’ve never heard of _ **Campo 44** _, but I find it odd that it’s dated 1967. _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _ debuted in 1965, meaning the other series would have been in limbo for at least two years. Vito Scotti played an Italian officer on _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _ (Major Bonacelli). He agreed to work for the Allies before he went back to Italy. I wonder if _ **Campo 44** _ wasn’t an attempt at a spinoff. ---
**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 6, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/20 "2020-03-06T22:57:13Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > This show made it to production, but holly crap was it a bad idea. > > Basically a con artist gives his viewers step by step instructions on how to pull off some of his easier scams. Like how to get a free meal from McDonald’s. Or how to have two hot models clean your house for free. > > I can’t believe that show ever made it on the air even if it was short lived. Was that the one where the kid and his older friend got free pizzas from a Domino’s dumpster? All they had to do was order them over the phone, not pick them up, and then wait for them to get tossed out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024.md?page=2)