# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/61 "2020-03-10T03:27:18Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > **NBC** > > [Mockingbird Lane](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2130271/reference) though the less said about this one the better. That reminds me, [The Mini Munsters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mini-Munsters). _"This movie was created with hopes of developing an animated spin-off of the original Munsters series[2], but it was not picked up as a series. "_ ---
**Author:** ![AlTraina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/altraina/32/50_2.png) [@AlTraina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlTraina)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/62 "2020-03-10T10:24:49Z")
W_A_L_T_E_R was a proposed M_A_S_H spinoff where Radar had decided to sell the farm and move to St. Louis to become a police officer. He tries to kill himself but is talked out of it by Victoria Jackson. Yes, really. CBS burned this off in the summer of 1984, and it didn’t air on the west coast due to coverage of the DNC in San Francisco. Remember that AfterMASH will still on the air at the time, so CBS thought they could go to that well again. * * * The producers of The Office attempted to spinoff Dwight, but NBC didn’t pick it up. Making lemonade out of lemons, the pilot was reworked into the Season 9 episode The Farm. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/63 "2020-03-10T11:14:17Z")
‘The Bakery’ was going to be a cop show, circa 1989, about a Southern California police station that was, temporarily, located in a converted bakery. The gimmick was, they’d start looking into a crime and learn it had links to a case from back in the ‘60s — which another set of cops (who’d, uh, just started working out of a converted bakery) had investigated; so we’d then watch the _‘60s_ cops for a while, all vintage clothes and antique cars, as they do a decent job back when but leave a couple of loose ends — which is why we then watch the ‘89-era cops maybe finally solve _that_ case, while making some progress on their own. But you can bet that (a) they’ll end up leaving some loose ends that far-off future cops in 2001 will investigate, even while (b) 21st-century cops keep getting assured that, oh, hey, this whole converted-bakery arrangement is just temporary. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/64 "2020-03-11T04:19:00Z")
There was one Babylon 5 spinoff that got a single season and then was cancelled (Crusade), and a pilot for another series Legends of the Rangers that actually fits this thread. I don’t think either of them were up to the level of the original series. Crusade had a weird ‘lets make a D&D party’ vibe going on, complete with retconning a Thief’s Guild into the station just because. Legend of the Rangers seemed to be an OK concept, but I think the utterly baffling decision to make space combat into 3d hovering virtual reality kung fu just tanked it completely. If that phrase sounds nonsensical to you, watch a clip of it: [Legend of the Rangers - Space Battle - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZapAjjTDbh4) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/65 "2020-03-11T06:32:41Z")
I presume the _Get Smart_ movie was something of a pilot for a new series. I would have watched it. ---
**Author:** ![AlTraina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/altraina/32/50_2.png) [@AlTraina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlTraina)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/66 "2020-03-11T07:25:31Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > I presume the _Get Smart_ movie was something of a pilot for a new series. I would have watched it. I don’t see how. Steve Carell and Ann Hathaway are movie stars. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/67 "2020-03-11T08:05:15Z")
There was a made-for-TV movie adapted from the Marvel comic book series ‘ **Generation X** ’ which was an X-Men spinoff. I believe they’d hoped to follow the movie up with an ongoing tv series but it was so poorly received they scrapped those plans. ---
**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 12, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/68 "2020-03-12T19:43:38Z")
Respectfully submitted for your perusal, possibly the only evidence for [Paul Williams as ‘Marvin the Martian’](http://imgur.com/a/WTidwlb). (And this has nothing to do with the WB character.) This came from the book on unsold pilots. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/69 "2020-03-12T21:42:14Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > There was a pilot for a Wonder woman show like 5 years ago starring Adrianne palicki. They filmed the pilot but it never aired. You can find the pilot out there if you’re so inclined. It was not good IMHO. A year before the Lynda Carter version, there was a pilot with Cathy Lee Crosby as Wonder Woman, and Ricardo Montalban as the villain. It bears little resemblance to the classic comics–she’s blonde, her costume is quite modest, and there is little to indicate any super-powers–but it’s not much worse than the Lynda Carter series. > **[Wonder Woman (1974 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman_(1974_film))** > > Wonder Woman is a 1974 American made-for-television superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Vincent McEveety and starring Cathy Lee Crosby. The film was a pilot for an intended television series being considered by ABC. The film presented the character as a James Bond–style superspy, and did not contain many elements from the comic book series. Ratings were described as "respectable but not exactly wondrous" and ABC did not pick up the pilot. > Instead, War... ---
**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 12, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/70 "2020-03-12T23:43:26Z")
Before Lynda and Cathy Lee, there was \*\*this \*\*short pilot from 1967, brought to you by the producers of \*\*\*Batman \*\*\*and _ **The Green Hornet** _ (who else?): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-tKZJVhn7M4/hqdefault.jpg "ORIGINAL Wonder Woman Pilot") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tKZJVhn7M4) ---
**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 23, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/71 "2020-03-23T14:46:58Z")
Look what just popped up in my Facebook feed: [Alan Alda adopting an invisible baby from outer space, Dwayne Hickman as a Manhattan lawyer with a 140-year-old client, Dwayne’s younger brother Darryl starring in a live action _Flintstones_…](https://www.handitv.com/lists/6-failed-tv-pilots-from-1966-that-featured-familiar-faces) ---
**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 23, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/72 "2020-03-23T18:01:58Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Look what just popped up in my Facebook feed: [Alan Alda adopting an invisible baby from outer space, Dwayne Hickman as a Manhattan lawyer with a 140-year-old client, Dwayne’s younger brother Darryl starring in a live action _Flintstones_…](https://www.handitv.com/lists/6-failed-tv-pilots-from-1966-that-featured-familiar-faces) What a wonderful time-waster this site is. I had completely forgotten that Majel Barrett was Lumpy Rutherford’s mom on _ **Leave It to Beaver** _! 🆒 Oh, well. Back to work… \*Sigh!" ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/73 "2020-03-23T18:59:22Z")
As someone else said, it was Assignment Earth, but it was not the final TOS episode. That (dis)honor went to Turnabout Intruder, when Kirk had his body swapped with his old lover and she wanted the Enterprise. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/74 "2020-03-23T19:02:01Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Look what just popped up in my Facebook feed: [Alan Alda adopting an invisible baby from outer space, Dwayne Hickman as a Manhattan lawyer with a 140-year-old client, Dwayne’s younger brother Darryl starring in a live action _Flintstones_…](https://www.handitv.com/lists/6-failed-tv-pilots-from-1966-that-featured-familiar-faces) I actually watched _We’ll Take Manhattan_. It was incredibly awful. I think the only reason I watched it was because it starred Dobie Gillis. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/75 "2020-03-24T00:33:28Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > 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. Are you thinking Buffy, Season 8? Because [that kinda almost happened.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825697/?ref_=fn_al_tt_8) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/76 "2020-03-24T01:27:12Z")
No, an actual Buffy animated series. [Here’s the pilot. 3m35s long.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4uXnaahFkc) ---
**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 24, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/77 "2020-03-24T02:44:07Z")
I doubt any amount of polishing could make\*\* this 1967 turd\*\* from Irwin Allen shine: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2wmjtkYWk6A/hqdefault.jpg "City Beneath the Sea (1967)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wmjtkYWk6A) ---
**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 25, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024/78 "2020-03-25T01:18:36Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:77, topic:849024”] I doubt any amount of polishing could make\*\* this 1967 turd\*\* from Irwin Allen shine: [/QUOTE] I'm not sure. Add Patrick Troughton and you might have a passable Doctor story for that era. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-werent-picked-up-as-a-series-never-came-to-be/849024.md?page=3)