Unsold Pilots - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Sitcomwriter · 06-16-2002, 07:01 PM

Can anyone give me a list of around 10 or 20 unsold sitcom pilots,what they were about and who was in them.Just wondering.Thanks

I Dream of Jeannie · 06-16-2002, 07:24 PM

I know one unsold pilot. It was for The Barbara Eden Show. Barbara Eden played Barbara Norris (said to be a mail lady, soap opera writer, and a newspaper columist. I think! I'm not exactly sure about which Barbara Norris the character was.) Anyway, it was in May of 1973 and it was on ABC. And the other characters/actors were, Larry Hagman as Major, Lyle Wagner as Barry, Joe Flynn as Bradford Newton, and Reta Shaw as Adelle Landers. The show had one episode the pilot which was not bought buy the network and so that was the end of that!

ClassicComedyFan2 · 06-17-2002, 07:26 AM

Ralph and Potsie (unsold Happy Days spinoff) - Had them living in an apartment complex run by a relative of Chachi's.

The Mertzes (unproduced ILL spinoff) - Not done because Vivian Vance HATED William Frawley and totally refused to work one-on-one with him.

Scooby and Scrappy-Doo with the Fonz (unproduced animated Happy Days spinoff) - Featured the famous Doo dogs with the Fonz. Laverne & Shirley animated show produced instead.

Sitcomwriter · 06-17-2002, 05:10 PM

I don't think it was ever filmed but there was talk of a Seinfeld spinoff about Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris)

Jimbo · 06-20-2002, 06:30 PM

About a year or so after the show M*A*S*H left the air, I saw a pilot for a program called "Radar", starring Gary Burghoff. The premise was that, after returning home from Korea, Radar O'Reilly moves from Iowa to St. Louis, where he becomes a police officer.

Thank God the network executives had the good sense NOT to pick up this program!

Sitcomwriter · 06-20-2002, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo
About a year or so after the show M*A*S*H left the air, I saw a pilot for a program called "Radar", starring Gary Burghoff. The premise was that, after returning home from Korea, Radar O'Reilly moves from Iowa to St. Louis, where he becomes a police officer.

Thank God the network executives had the good sense NOT to pick up this program!

I knew about that but it was called W*A*L*T*E*R.

IheartMoonlighting · 06-22-2002, 09:27 PM

also, check out zap2it.com's pilot roundup section and then play with the dates, i did that and it was pretty interesting to see what was out there.

Sitcomwriter · 06-22-2002, 09:57 PM

What's the address?

Tyler77 · 06-23-2002, 08:46 PM

"Goodbye Charlie"--Suzanne Somers played a very sexist man that had died in a hang gliding accident and was reincarnated into a WOMAN!! The reason why this show never made it was because it was too soon after Suzanne Somer's fiasco on "Three's Company" and none of the networks didn't want to take a chance on her causing more problems.

"Nikki and Alexander"--I actually ACCIDENTALLY taped this one many years ago (1987), because I thought "Cheers" would be on at that time, and this show was aired instead. It was a proposed spin-off of "Night Court" where one of the litigants that appeared before Judge Stone has a cute blonde Russian immigrant show up at his door, and they pretend to be married so she doesn't face deportation. I liked this one.

"Joanna"--Cindy Williams ("Shirley Feeney") played a female supervisor at a factory that employed all men.

06-16-2002, 07:01 PM	#1
Sitcomwriter Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 27, 2001 Posts: 7,356	Unsold Pilots Can anyone give me a list of around 10 or 20 unsold sitcom pilots,what they were about and who was in them.Just wondering.Thanks

06-16-2002, 07:24 PM	#2
I Dream of Jeannie Undisputed.......... Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 12, 2002 Location: Rebelling againist a group, defining a genre, and supporting Deidre -n- Drake and John and Marlena no matter what, and thanking Mr. Reilly for this magnificant storyline. Woohoo!! Life is good! Dee and Drake are bad. he he he Posts: 4,925	I know one unsold pilot. It was for The Barbara Eden Show. Barbara Eden played Barbara Norris (said to be a mail lady, soap opera writer, and a newspaper columist. I think! I'm not exactly sure about which Barbara Norris the character was.) Anyway, it was in May of 1973 and it was on ABC. And the other characters/actors were, Larry Hagman as Major, Lyle Wagner as Barry, Joe Flynn as Bradford Newton, and Reta Shaw as Adelle Landers. The show had one episode the pilot which was not bought buy the network and so that was the end of that!
	__________________ Die Hard J&M/DnD-er and Proud of It! "As she gets more desperate and frightened, he becomes her salvation, as she falls apart, he's right there. It's every child's fantasy and every woman's fantasy of a husband, where he is a knight in shining armor. And Drake is magnificent at it. It's clean and it's pure and it's right there in front of you." ~ Deidre Hall "John has always been her salvation. I'm not sure Marlena believes anyone can clear her, but if anyone can do it, it will be John." ~ Deidre Hall "Yes, it does look really bleak right now (for John and Marlena). I know that, but as in any good fairy tale there's a lot of pain to get through in order to reach the end of a good or happy ending." ~ Ken Corday Smile God Loves You www.geocities.com/hazel_n_blue_4ever/index

06-22-2002, 09:27 PM	#7
IheartMoonlighting David & Maddie Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 01, 2002 Location: Blue Moon Detective Agency Posts: 318	there's a book on this subject also, check out zap2it.com's pilot roundup section and then play with the dates, i did that and it was pretty interesting to see what was out there.

06-17-2002, 07:26 AM	#3
ClassicComedyFan2 Coolicious! Forum Regular Join Date: Sep 28, 2001 Location: AL, United States, Alpha Quadrant Posts: 698	Ralph and Potsie (unsold Happy Days spinoff) - Had them living in an apartment complex run by a relative of Chachi's. The Mertzes (unproduced ILL spinoff) - Not done because Vivian Vance HATED William Frawley and totally refused to work one-on-one with him. Scooby and Scrappy-Doo with the Fonz (unproduced animated Happy Days spinoff) - Featured the famous Doo dogs with the Fonz. Laverne & Shirley animated show produced instead.

06-17-2002, 05:10 PM	#4
Sitcomwriter Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 27, 2001 Posts: 7,356	I don't think it was ever filmed but there was talk of a Seinfeld spinoff about Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris)

06-20-2002, 06:30 PM	#5
Jimbo Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 29, 2001 Location: United States of America-One Nation UNDER GOD! Posts: 471	About a year or so after the show MAS*H left the air, I saw a pilot for a program called "Radar", starring Gary Burghoff. The premise was that, after returning home from Korea, Radar O'Reilly moves from Iowa to St. Louis, where he becomes a police officer. Thank God the network executives had the good sense NOT to pick up this program!

06-22-2002, 09:57 PM	#8
Sitcomwriter Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 27, 2001 Posts: 7,356	What's the address?

06-23-2002, 08:46 PM	#9
Tyler77 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 23, 2002 Location: North Brunswick, NJ Posts: 96	"Goodbye Charlie"--Suzanne Somers played a very sexist man that had died in a hang gliding accident and was reincarnated into a WOMAN!! The reason why this show never made it was because it was too soon after Suzanne Somer's fiasco on "Three's Company" and none of the networks didn't want to take a chance on her causing more problems. "Nikki and Alexander"--I actually ACCIDENTALLY taped this one many years ago (1987), because I thought "Cheers" would be on at that time, and this show was aired instead. It was a proposed spin-off of "Night Court" where one of the litigants that appeared before Judge Stone has a cute blonde Russian immigrant show up at his door, and they pretend to be married so she doesn't face deportation. I liked this one. "Joanna"--Cindy Williams ("Shirley Feeney") played a female supervisor at a factory that employed all men.