TV shows in which the pilot episode didn't air as the first episode

[Vahan]

Usually, the pilot episode airs as the very first episode of the show. But in some cases, it doesn't. Can you think of any examples?

Here's what I know of:

Most Nicktoons on Nickelodeon
Most, if not all game shows, with a few exceptions
Remington Steele
227
Reading Rainbow
Star Trek TOS

[treky]

with STAR TREK, the pilot episoded didn't air at all! Neither did the 2nd one, I think. The first one did air however in the first season in a two-part episode, for which Gene Rodenberry wrote a "framework" to go around it, where Spock was accused of mutiny for comadeering the Enterprise to a planet that was off limits and at his court martial he showed the pilot episode to show why he did it.

[treky]

I remember, the pilot of "WELCOME BACK KOTTER" didn't air as the first episode.

[MPKidder]

Because of technical issues, the first episode "Lucy Thinks Ricky is trying to Murder Her" wasn't the first episode shown. I believe the first one shown was "The Girls want to go to a Nightclub."

[tv star collector]

On The Munsters, 'My Fair Munster" was the first episode filmed but the second to air.

[Jack Gomez]

Firefly's pilot episode didn't air until the very end of it's run, because the executives at FOX felt it lacked action.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...did indeed appear- two weeks after a "sneak preview" episode {"The Man Trap"} kicked off the series on September 8, 1966, 'treky': "Where No Man Has Gone Before" aired on September 22, 1966. "The Cage", the original pilot, was never telecast in its original form on NBC, and aired instead as a two-part episode, "The Menagerie" {November 17-24, 1966}, with new footage overlapping the original, as Gene Roddenberry primarily wanted to schedule the first pilot for budgetary reasons...and found a way to do it.


The original pilot for "THE MONKEES" (with Bing Russell, Kurt's father, as their agent, whose role was dropped for the series) was shown on November 14, 1966, as it was decided to schedule for the premiere telecast what the producers thought was a more "typical" episode- "Royal Flush", on September 12, 1966 {that eventually won director James Frawley an Emmy for Best Director for a Comedy Episode}.

"THAT GIRL"'s original pilot episode, where Ted Bessell appeared as "Don Bluesky", Ann Marie's agent [his character became the All-American "Don Hollinger", her boyfriend], with Harold Gould & Penny Santon as her parents [Lew Parker & Rosemary DeCamp replaced them for the series], was never seen. A slightly refilmed version of the pilot was shown as the first episode on September 8, 1966. The unaired pilot was eventually released as part of the series' DVD box set.

[bencasey]

Funny Face - pilot was the last show aired

East Side West Side - pilot aired as episode 20



Honey West doesn't count because the pilot was an episode of Burke's Law

[Vahan]

Actually, the pilot episode of East Side/West Side aired as the first episode.

Even this episode guide reflects this:

http://www.tv.com/shows/east-sidewest-side/episodes/

The first episode is production number #1001, while episode 20 is production number #1020.

[catlover79]

Law & Order
The Bob Newhart Show

[ThomasE]

Yes, Dear's pilot did not air as the first ep (I think) When Greg's N-laws moved in was the pilot ep but didn't air til' later during season one.
Mama's Family the same. The pilot was about Vinton hocking Mama's silver for his friend Claude. When the show show picked up by NBC, a first ep was filmed with Vint and the kids moving in.

[eng51squad51]

Leave it to Beaver Pilot was it a small world

Emergency! Pilot

[bencasey]

Originally Posted by Vahan

Actually, the pilot episode of East Side/West Side aired as the first episode.

Even this episode guide reflects this:

http://www.tv.com/shows/east-sidewest-side/episodes/

The first episode is production number #1001, while episode 20 is production number #1020.

I was mistaken. It aired as episode 17, not 20. The episode is It's War Man:

With the approval of Aubrey and his newest television star, Talent Associates began production on Aurthur’s pilot script, now called “It’s War, Man.”

“It’s War, Man”’s story of a teen gang killer and his path through the legal system proved to be a somewhat didactic and even naive inquiry into the sociological underpinnings of crime. Structurally, it more closely resembled an episode of The Defenders, Reginald Rose’s courtroom procedural, than the show East Side / West Side would be come. But the pilot did an adequate job of establishing the series’ point of view, its goals, and its characters (including one, a junior case worker played by Victor Arnold, who was probably meant to be a regular but was never seen again). Though he received no “created by” credit, Robert Alan Aurthur took home a $1,000-per-episode royalty check for his initial contributions to the format of East Side / West Side – even though his involvement with the show ceased entirely after the production of “It’s War, Man.”

[McGillicuddy]

Gilligan's Island

The Patty Duke Show

The Partridge Family (?) There's been discussion on this board that there is a long lost un-aired pilot, but has this been confirmed?

Barney Miller

All in the Family and Three's Company both had 2 originally un-aired pilots.

[treky]

Originally Posted by markway895

Gilligan's Island

The Patty Duke Show

The Partridge Family (?) There's been discussion on this board that there is a long lost un-aired pilot, but has this been confirmed?

Barney Miller

All in the Family and Three's Company both had 2 originally un-aired pilots.

The "GILLIGANS ISLAND" and "THE PATTY DUKE SHOW" pilots didn't air at all. Clips from the pilot of "THE PATTY DUKE SHOW" were shown in a season 3 episode, and the unaired pilot is currently being shown on tv4u.com and NICK AT NITE showed it once.

The "GILLIGANS ISLAND" unaired pilot was shown by TBS once back in 1990 or something and I think it's avaible on one of the DVD sets-I forget which one.