A few days ago several unaired TV pilots were leaked on Internet Archive. Have you watched any from the list and what were your thoughts?

Submitted by HRJafael t3_zyn8ps in television

In case you missed it: https://archive.org/details/tv_tunnel

I watched "Drew" the day of the leak and watched "Big Thunder" today so far and planning to check the three CW pilots (Blink, Changelings, and Transylvania).

Big Thunder was bizarre and the pilot felt incomplete since the total duration was 35 minutes. It still sets up a mystery surrounding the strange occurrences around the mountain that looks over the mining town but I can see why ABC passed on it. Essentially you're watching a "period drama on the cheap" that can't help but play as an advertisement for the Disney ride. In fact, there is a sequence of a train running through the mountain that seems lifted from the ride itself.

The pilot felt thin as we barely got to know any characters or the location. We get aspects of a mystery and some otherworldly forces at work in a LOST setup kind of way. The mountain is always in focus and we barely breath before being introduced to another character or even barely interact with the Old Western town that is the setting.

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gatorgongitcha t1_j26uiy7 wrote

I hadn’t heard about this wave of unreleased pilots but I’m curious, particularly about the Brave New World one. I’ll have to check it out later tonight.

Edit: oh. “. The single-camera project, from Sony Pictures TV, is a workplace comedy that follows a group of unusual characters at Pilgrim Village, a theme park that specializes in recreations…”. . I thought I was getting into some Aldous Huxley goodness.

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HRJafael OP t1_j26uumu wrote

I'll be checking this one as well. I grabbed these as soon as I saw they were uploaded. Never know how long they'll be up.

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Snuffl3s7 t1_j27jhox wrote

There is a Brave New World show on Netflix which is an adaptation of the book.

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reddig33 t1_j27qh1s wrote

In the US, I think it’s on Peacock.

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gatorgongitcha t1_j27jmbr wrote

No shit? I’m surprise I missed that. Was it well received/ well done?

Edit: google says not so much, but I’m still going to check it out for myself

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Snuffl3s7 t1_j27k5y1 wrote

Yeah the reviews were not great, so I didn't bother. But shows with this sort of subject matter can still be interesting even if they're not well received.

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ThatEvanFowler t1_j29m2f6 wrote

Eh, it had it's moments. The main interesting thing about that was that Grant Morrison (heady comic book author) was one of the writers. The show didn't end up coming together as well as they'd hoped, but they did have a lot of ideas to bring to the table. I dunno. I'm not sorry I watched it the once.

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cheezitsofcool t1_j27d6jv wrote

Sounds like it could be based on a George Saunders short story!

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ScabbitAllPro t1_j277hwx wrote

There is a hilarious jump scare in like the final 10 seconds of the pilot for "Secrets of a Small Town". I have no idea if it would have actually aired like that or if it was just put in to get the attention of the executives watching it.

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TheJoshider10 t1_j28cdtk wrote

That's so random lmao. You can tell they just upped the volume of the scream for like a second and that was it.

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ShadowMadness t1_j28reif wrote

Even after reading this, that jump scare still got me a bit.

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theavenged t1_j27cyv3 wrote

There's a whole subreddit for stuff like this. It's pretty dead, but they'd love to see this. I think it's /r/ripilots

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reddig33 t1_j26v4n3 wrote

“Taxman”: Awful awful sitcom based in an IRS office in Iowa. I couldn’t finish it (and it’s only 20 minutes long). Martin Short plays the head of the department. Lead actor tries, but the material is bad. There’s some North Korean character with a bad accent and a bad wig. Yikes! Also, two sidekicks who refuse to answer the phone who are more interesting than the rest of the show.

Also features Kerry Kinney and Orlando Jones. Actually has an IMDb page if you want to read more.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1619883/?ref_=tt_sims_tt_t_1

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Wyatt821 t1_j29g9ss wrote

Super interesting... David Krumholtz is great in pretty much everything else I've seen him in. And Randall Park (North Korean) really blew up in the years after this.

...also it was directed by Fred Savage? The kid from The Wonder Years.

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ham-nuts t1_j29u67k wrote

Fred Savage directs a lot of It’s Always Sunny episodes

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OneGoodRib t1_j27syav wrote

To be totally fair a lot of pilots are meant as more like "give us money so we can make a better show", so the cheap feeling might've gone away if the show had actually gotten picked up.

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HRJafael OP t1_j290gr7 wrote

This is very true. I have a feeling that the leak I watched was not the complete product though, as if it was leaked in post-production without being 100% done to show to executives.

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CurlSagan t1_j26v1s9 wrote

Holy shit, this is awesome. I remember some of these, like Saint Francis, which is a comedy starring Michael Imperioli and Paget Brewster.

The writing is painfully terrible.

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ConfidenceKBM t1_j27ctb0 wrote

I adore both of those actors so I had to check it out, this show is a FEVER DREAM. I can't even process what I'm seeing. But I also can't look away...

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-Frances-The-Mute- t1_j28ligv wrote

Gilded Lilys
(US Version Of Downton Abbey)

It was surprisingly good. After watching I'd have happily binged a few more episodes.

Great actors, decent story, so maybe the problem was the budget?

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HRJafael OP t1_j2903aj wrote

I could definitely see ABC passing because of the budget. It kind of doesn't make sense since why make the pilot anyway if the budget was ultimately going to be an issue?

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reddig33 t1_j26uccw wrote

“The Way” is another witchcraft-centered pilot with some pretty big names. Jane Alexander, Peter Strauss, Andrew McCarthy, all slumming it in some corporate intrigue nighttime soap opera where rival corporations are owned by different families of actual witches. Weird concept. Felt very ABC but actually appears to be a Paramount/Sony coproduction? Not sure where the fad came from that every show needed to be about witches.

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crashfrog t1_j27x9oh wrote

Supernatural romance needs to rotate through different monsters to stay fresh. I’m hoping we get Sexy Frankensteins soon, although maybe we already did in Penny Dreadful.

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CharlieAllnut t1_j27ckdp wrote

I watched the IT crowd it was an American version. Some scenes were identical.

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andykwinnipeg t1_j288o6c wrote

I didn't see IT Crowd on the list. Is it It Takes a Village?

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HolyReddit_Batman t1_j28v9hv wrote

It's not in this list but here it is

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andykwinnipeg t1_j28ykom wrote

It's watchable. But Joel McHale as Roy is something else, and this not getting picked up was a blessing for Community. Also, Jessica's reads towards the end were word for word the British pilot and she couldn't deliver Nearly the same quality

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splitcroof92 t1_j29daq6 wrote

i was tempted to watch it, but now that I know joel mchale is roy I have to watch it immediately! my lord that sounds hiraliously bad.

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reddig33 t1_j26uetn wrote

“Life On The Hill”: not too bad for a sitcom. Surprised it didn’t get picked up (though hopefully they would have dumped the voiceover).

Wendy Malick plays a Nancy Pelosi like figure on Capitol Hill, and Mark Moses from Desperate Housewives is her foil from across the aisle. Plot is focused mostly on the misadventures of the younger subordinates who try to keep things working in her office. Think Spin City meats HIMYM. Also features Michelle Trachtenberg of Buffy fame. Humor could have been just a touch more cynical. Fun potential for additional humorous caricatures of lobbyists, senators, etc. as the show went on.

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heids7 t1_j2c1xhv wrote

Oh man, I’ll watch Wendie Malick in anything!

Taking note to check this one out.

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Vorpishly t1_j2944po wrote

The first 5 minutes of the 1%, holy shit.

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BusinessPurge t1_j297b04 wrote

Losing a Lucy Punch and Kim Dickens show is a real punch in the dick

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occono t1_j294p95 wrote

No sign of JJ Abrams pilot "The Catch". I remember reading about it in Lost/Alias trivia, it's never surfaced.

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Kevwithac t1_j271hx2 wrote

Oh my fuck lol I just watched the first 5 mintues of "welcome to the jungle gym" and its some crazy shit

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nachoquest t1_j27a7d3 wrote

Big Thunder is such a bizarre concept for a TV series. Haunted Mansion is a Disney attraction that’s better suited for a serialized format.

What was up with all the Under Suspicion episodes being included?

Also: did anyone watch Babylon Fields?

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OneGoodRib t1_j27t723 wrote

The actual premise of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is that an old west town of gold miners built their town on a cursed Indian burial ground and now the spirits of nature are haunting the village, which drove out the miners from the area and has resulted in an insane haunted mine train that's possessed by ghosts. I know that sounds insane, but it's the actual premise.

I like in Disneyland Paris they tied Thunder Mountain in with Phantom Manor - that many of the ghosts in Phantom Manor are the ghosts of people from the Big Thunder village who died, and part of the backstory involves some big mining tycoon whose business was ruined by the nature spirits destroying the mining town?

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HRJafael OP t1_j27f9r0 wrote

Did you watch the Big Thunder pilot? The whole thing felt off and unfinished but that could be just the nature of the leak (such as what the potential advertisers saw was probably more refined).

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Frankfusion t1_j29uvju wrote

I think they eventually took the story and turned it into a comic book. Disney had Marvel make a few comics based on rides and other theme park IP like Figment.

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DynamixRo t1_j27vk8e wrote

I was hoping to see Day One on the list, but it looks like that pilot was buried really deep.

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occono t1_j294lxv wrote

Putting Xander Berkeley off to the side while blank face Twink is centrered in the cast photo. It deserves its fate I don't even need to see it.

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DulceEtBanana t1_j28exr2 wrote

"Wright vs Wrong" - Deborah Messing attempting to make a conservative pundit that's funny and, likely, relatable? I dunno. She comes across like Grace's right-wing sister if I'm being honest. Carrie Fisher (RIP) plays her manager and tries to keep things peppy.

Maybe it's the last few years but the jokes alternate between hollow sounding and just not landing.

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indig0sixalpha t1_j28tvw9 wrote

noticed that Nicholas Braun (cousin greg succession) was a lead in one of the shows.

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bros402 t1_j28wzca wrote

I watched Drew - it was pretty good.

I also watched "Untitled Liz Meriwether Project" - it had potential, but felt a lot like it would've been cancelled after 13 episodes.

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reddig33 t1_j2b087f wrote

“Transylvania Rising”: Gets better as it goes along. Feels a bit like “Once Upon A Time” but with monsters like Dracula and the Wolfman. Kind of fun, and has a mystery element woven in. Needed a better show name.

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americaIsFuk t1_j27qas5 wrote

I remember watching the Salem Rogers one years ago. Amazon released like 3 different pilots and allowed everyone to vote on which got picked up.

Salem Rogers was my favorite, but didn't make the cut. I thought it was hilarious and have a copy saved.

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jersace t1_j27ud13 wrote

I liked Friend Me, shame what happened to the creator. RIP

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reddig33 t1_j29tlpp wrote

“The Coven”: A bad Charmed knock off. Has some good actors in it, including Illyana Douglass. But the show is very CW paint by numbers. Stuff like this makes me think of all the hard working people in Hollywood who get so excited when they land a pilot. You never know if it’s going to be a hit or not.

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ChaserNeverRests t1_j2aq2x5 wrote

I tried watching Friend Me, but it was so not good. I made it less than halfway through it. It was like the worst "typical" sitcom, the humor wasn't funny at all.

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braf-d-log t1_j2b2yj3 wrote

Sarah Shahi staring in 'Drew' now I shall have another show to be angry about it never seeing the light of day.

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boundless888 t1_j26v1gg wrote

Are these upcoming and new tv series?

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reddig33 t1_j26zpmp wrote

They are test shows that were filmed years ago and never picked up.

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Frankfusion t1_j29v496 wrote

The Adam West pilot where he's a tv detective who tries to solve real crime looked good. And there was a pilot where Jack Black had a talking motorcycle voiced by Owen Wilson.

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reddig33 t1_j2fexit wrote

“1%”: Motorcycle gang meth cartel. I think it was trying to be “motorcycle gang Sopranos” but it’s just bad. Everyone needs to take a shower and wash their hair. Lots of motorcycles. Lots of idiocy. I can see why HBO passed on this one. Written by the guy who brought us “Deep Impact” and the Miles Teller Godfather mini series.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1218981/?ref_=nm_flmg_i_4_prd

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