The Greatest Shows You Never Saw - Unsold Pilots

A 1996 special that I produced, based on my book UNSOLD TELEVISION PILOTS. It was hosted by Faith Ford.

[@anthonyeldridge4358]

I will never get tired of learning about THE MAN WITH THE POWER.

[@gamewizard1760]

Seeing some of the ones that never went to series, makes you wonder how many more we will never know about, because the tapes were wiped, or destroyed after they served their purpose.

[@Enshohma]

I've always been fascinated by obscure films and television shows especially ones that were never produced. Thank you so much for posting this on KZbin as I remember watching both this special and the other based on your book.

[@gigi-gc8gu]

Me too! The first time I ever watched an unaired pilot it was Global Frequency which was a show based on the comic book. It was really good and the network was actually going to make it a show but because the pilot was leaked online by fans they decided to cancel the show all together

[@Daviticus042]

"If you don't dig, you'll never strike gold." Wise words.

[@jonnuanez2843]

This looks like one of those Saturday @3pm shows, when there isn't a thing to do and you're bored.

[@hemihead001]

Thank the Lord that none of those got on TV . The ones that did make it are bad enough .

[@PeterKelly-g5c]

Faith Ford is still gorgeous ❤

[@trueknowledgeispower]

I remembered watching this the night it was aired. Haven't seen it since till now. Nice to see it uploaded here.

[@folgore1]

I had forgotten just how gorgeous Faith Ford was! A nice contrast to the much less than pretty rogue's gallery of failed pilots!

[@SMtWalkerS]

These are hilarious! There are a few (a very few) that I wish had been picked up and produced. But how fun to see a glimpse of all these shows! Thank you for posting this!!

[@MrKeech666]

Some of those pilots would have made awesome shows! As a child of the 80's I would have loved to watch them! Fuzz Brothers FTW!!

[@renitabozeman6267]

Bansaku as would I

[@BarbadosBeerFestival]

I would have watched fuzz brothers!

[@cityhawk]

I would have watched The Bellinis. That show would have been wicked if they got over the fact that they’re mobsters. Who cares, it’s a funny concept.

[@Derpy1969]

The narrator in the last 10 minutes was absolutely great. He might as well have just teamed up with... The Man with the Power... to start his own show!

[@hydrolito]

They had some shows about people with powers also some movies.

[@CoopyKat]

This was hilarious at time - imagine a TV show called "BAFFLED!"

[@g0i2023]

California was dealing with a lot of scary shyt the night this originally aired. And Faith Ford walks like a duck. Thanks for the upload :)

[@atlasking6110]

It's so weird, Faith Ford walks like her shoes are on the wrong feet.

[@DMBall]

I had to stop this playback several times because I was laughing so hard. The commentary script by James McManus is an absolute riot.

[@badcompany-w6s]

Holy cow! I had heard that Max had been in a television series but people can't giving me the wrong title. They kept calling it concrete cowboy.

[@LeeGoldberg007]

It was called CONCRETE COWBOY in development.

[@badcompany-w6s]

@@LeeGoldberg007 okay. They may have been telling me asphalt cowboy. Anyway they had the title mixed up. The people that kept telling me.

[@donnakaye2015]

OMG. This makes me feel old. I watched it right after I had my last son. He graduated college a year ago.

[@robertpolanco1973]

Well, I have to say that this video about unsold TV pilots is quite funny. I enjoyed laughing so much. I wish that there be a TV special about the WORST TV shows of all time so that I could learn and understand about why they have failed for a reason. I also hope for plenty of humor to be used in it like the two TV specials about the unsold TV pilots as well.

[@Panwere36]

And more than a few of these are better than what we see today a lot of the time. *_Northstar_* , *_Condor_* , and *_Chameleon_* all are better than most of the tripe masquerading as sci-fi alone.

[@bikebeerrun1960]

"Scamps" did become A series but was cancelled after A few episodes aired.

[@nassmatic]

The Clone Master - Orphan Black The Tribe - The Croods Stranded, Crash Island, Lost Flight - Lost The Bellinis - The Sopranos It's Up to You - Shark Tank Orson Welles' show would have been good on PBS

[@YayAkiba]

Exo-man - M.A.N.T.I.S. Amazing how many loved series had so many failed attempts prior, in slightly different forms.

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

Suburban Beat Desperate Housewives kinda

[@Brownshoe24]

Dr. Strange (1978) - Constantine (TV series)

[@yell0wberry]

nassmatic wasn't the show on ABC "Lost "created as a result of some of these pilots decades later?

[@Neville60001]

@@Brownshoe24, not quite; Constantine isn't a Sorcerer Supreme like Dr. Strange or Dr. Fate (from DC Comics).

[@baberoot1998]

In another parallel universe...all of these shows, are pop culture icons.

[@baberoot1998]

@Herbert Norkus Hahahahahaha...touche. 😁

[@writerpatrick]

I remember seeing many of these showing up during the summer. There were also apparent pilots for animated shows that were aired together on specials such as "Kids Day Off." These would often air on holidays in place of regular shows. It's hard to tell if they were done as specials, but they looked a lot like failed pilots. Nowadays they're less likely to develop a show and not air it, although it does happen. There's an unfinished copy of the Wonder Woman remake pilot from a few years ago floating about.

[@davidthomas283]

I once saw an unsold pilot sitcom "What's Up, Doc?" based on the Ryan Neil, Barbra Streisand movie, during a summer "Unsold Pilot" series.

[@luisreyes1963]

And just how much slapstick can they cram in a half hour?

[@blackphoenix77]

Most of these pilots aired on TV during the summer or on holidays (or as backdoor pilots on other shows); I remember seeing The Invisible Woman tv movie in the late 1980s. Also, that show with a witch, vampire, and werewolf as roommates reminds me of the BBC series Being Human

[@julieporter7805]

The Man With The Power and Men of the Dragon are called back as often as The AMAZING RANDO!!!!! "See him construct sets with his very mind!" Reportedly, Sammy Davis Jr. did the Poor Devil pilot around the same time that he befriended Anton LeVey and dabbled with The Church of Satan (I don't know how involved he was or how long. It sounded more like he was experimenting and comparison shopping with different faiths. But LeVey reportedly loved the pilot). One of my favorite unsold pilots was one called White Dwarf (not Red Dwarf) a Science Fiction series which took place on a planet where one half was day and the other night. I remember there was a newcomer who fell in love with a princess of the Night Half, a shape shifter, a woman serving a long prison sentence and given serum to live out the centuries of her sentence. It was strange (probably too strange to carry a full series) but very beautiful and unique.

[@markgardner4426]

Nice to see this as a television historian. I missed this when it aired and always was sad for months.

[@mjnoir1]

Ahh wonderful people who love tv will love this old special

[@rexlex1736]

I just love the canned laughter!

[@DavidTSmith-jn5bs]

That was fun! 39:23 I was a little disappointed that the announcer didn't say that the "Dr. Strange" pilot was loosely based on the Dr. Strange comic book series which, if successful, could have been a companion piece to "The Incredible Hulk" which starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno along with the unsold pilots of "The Mighty Thor" and "Daredevil" which were inserted as extended episodes of "Hulk." Maybe those shows will be covered in the sequel that Mr. Goldberg talked about on his blog.

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

They were The shows were mentioned in the Bullpen Page of Marvel Comics back in 1979 to 1981

[@hydrolito]

Hulk meeting Thor might have been called The Incredible Hulk returns although a long time ago so not sure was a TV movie so was Trial of the Incredible Hulk which had Daredevil and villain was Fisk (also known as Kingpin in the comic) although was not bald on it.

[@yaleblor]

thanks for putting this up , it was very entertaining

[@vsgfilmgroup]

And the Emmy for Least Like His Own Name...Happy Derman, the Disturbed Little Boy!

[@thedys70]

Well Happy Derman probably felt hard done by, after watching Butch Patrick fill his shoes

[@TJ52359]

That Pulp Fiction "Intro" was used for another version of this special on ABC. Nick Derringer, Samurai & Poochinski look like the only 'repeats' from/for that show (not sure which came first) Lou Gosset Jr suffered a lot of these failed series... in defense of Popeye Doyle, Ed O'Neill was a pretty good serious actor before Married with Children saw him typecast as a comedy guy... he made several attempts to reclaim his dramatic credit, but the closest he came appears to have been a Dragnet remake in early 2000s as Friday a Welles Anthology series could have been good, but even based on this clip I can see how it was passed as Cheesy as 'Madam Sin' was, likely a product of its era; being a Villain Protagonist also meant that it was too early for TV audiences to accept it Baffled!'s pilot was re-purposed as a Movie... it gets play on Comet (a free OTA sub-channel, and Roku app) every few months Shangi-La Plaza featured a lot of character actors, including a very tiny Allison Mack (Eventually of Camp Nowhere, Smallville, and currently of the Federal Prison System...)

[@MrMatteNWk]

25:42 "This is your captain speaking. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking."

[@not-so-smartaleck8987]

Apparently, "Lost Flight" was from 1970, ten years before the movie "Airplane!"

[@richardgadberry8398]

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

[@Hyacinth4368]

And don't call me Shirley..

[@c__walker__jr]

Irony: I'd been watching this and paused it, leaving the PC for a few hours. I then read some more, as I had been already, about the passing of Meadowlark Lemon. Just now I opened the PC again and started this video, which I had stopped at the end of one segment. So the one that started when I hit play just happened to be "Crash Island" starring Meadowlark Lemon. R.I.P.

[@g0i2023]

Meadowlark Lemon RIP Only man ever who could successfully dribble a coconut.

[@ranhat5641]

Had such a crush on Faith Ford...still do!

[@Portugal2025]

Randy Hatfield outsourcing taste

[@Portugal2025]

Should read outstanding :)

[@mlt6322]

They forgot shows like the pilots for Aquaman 2006, Time Tunnel 2002, Batgirl 1967, Planet Earth 1974, Genesis II 1973, Thor 1988 and The Robinsons 2004 (lost in space remake). Even though 3 of these came after this video was made in 1096 it needs to be updated

[@noone6949]

These are hilarious! Such a great and rare treasure! Please keep finding, publishing, and posting these!

[@HeidiRobinson-ft7vl]

Thank you for this video.

[@JosephOBrien]

Thank you for posting this. My friends and I watched this when it was originally broadcast, and many lines remain staples of our conversations to this day. We've been trying for years to locate a copy to watch again. Amazing!

[@SandyDiVa]

Man, i miss the way TV was. Specials like these, tv bloopers & practical jokes, circus of the stars etc. were events you didnt want to miss. TV programs were SPECIAL before the 2000’s. Remember how special animated holiday specials were? Because you couldn’t see cartoons at night back then and it made holidays even more special, more magical for the little ones. I dont know exactly when it all went wrong, but TV just isn’t the same anymore. It’s not really worth watching and definitely not worth the prices companies are charging. Somewhere along the way, hollywood decided that TV was their own personal soapbox to preach their political & social beliefs. Its a major turn off to say the least. TV was how Americans relaxed & FORGOT about real life, the politics, social woes & real world problems. For 4 hours a night, America laughed & cried with our favorite characters AND OUR FAMILIES bringing us all together…but that’s all gone now. I say bring back the specials, bring back the magic, without all the propaganda & politics, and you’ll bring back the unity of this country, which we all so desperately need.

[@KevinTheSkullAnderson]

Many of these pilots were so far ahead of their time that the companies who chose not to pick them up as series on TV would later regret their decision to reject the aforementioned pilots.

[@luisreyes1963]

Oh, sure. The world is poorer for not picking up The Men Of The Dragon. 😒

[@Pellefication]

Love the music from late 60's and 70's crime tv shows!

[@sha11235]

I actually am familiar with the Bob Denver pilots. Both were done by Sherwood Schwartz and the Invisible Woman ran as a TV movie. Also, I know about Ed O'Neill doing Popeye Doyle before becoming Al Bundy. It is also interesting to see the familiar faces on these pilots.

[@celebrityrog]

Country Estates 1993 - A pilot that aired ONCE on ABC, it was a murder mystery in suburbia that never got picked up. I watched it LIVE the only night it aired. I loved it, but I was also about 14 at the time. They now list it as "TV Movie" but it was an hour long and left on a cliff hanger.

[@susanfit47]

I seen each of the pilots during the summer each year. There were also pilots for animated series that were aired together on specials such as Bohbot Entertainment’s “Kid’s Day Off" syndicated package. These would often air on holidays during the Thanksgiving weekends in place of regular shows. And not only we see the animated shows we usually see on the weekdays and weekends, but also cartoon pilots that fail to pass the 1st episode, such as Magic Trolls and the Troll Warriors, P.J. Sparkles, Peppermint Rose, Defenders of Dynatron City, Battletoads, Super Trolls, Moo Family Holiday Hoe-Down, Bubsy, Moo Family Stall of Fame, So You Want to Be, and The Legend of the Hawaiian Slammers. It’s kind of hard if they were done as specials, but they looked a lot like failed pilots.

[@billycross1798]

The last 3 starting with "Baffled" looked really cool. 👍👍👍👍

[@ogami1972]

High-quality stuff, thanks for sharing this! Also: Wings was a great show, lol

[@mikehoskins7480]

For a couple years, CBS would show one or two pilots each week during the summer instead of reruns. They even had a call in line that you could vote on your favorite.

[@captainsensiblejr.]

William Shatner was regarded as the greatest Hamlet in Canada in the early 1950s.

[@Sansaval]

I remember seeing some of these on T.V in the seventies. Cool.

[@maklorn]

i remember exo-man but always thought it was a bad b-movie and ive been looking for it for 4 freaking decades - im so glad i never found it

[@FreihEitner]

Holy smokes, Exoman! I saw a tiny piece of that (the bit where he runs out of power and oxygen and gets found by the 1930's New York street kid, with the flat cap and all) and never knew what the hell I was watching. For a time I thought it was Automan but turned out that was a completely different show. Eventually I convinced myself I had dreamed the whole thing, possibly while suffering a high fever.

[@robothunter1035]

Cowboys, robots, and go go dancers, you can't miss with that combination.

[@gilsanders8448]

I liked it! You can be proud to say you did it. ☺

[@bambieyedd]

“Even the chicks get in on the action” lmaoooooo 🤣🤣 also I would watch that show Crisis if they decide to sell it and reboot

[@futuramayeah]

i have the Dr strange movie on dvd, when this show came out on tv, I don't think a large portion of the people watching this program knew that Dr Strange was a Marvel comics character

[@stingray4real]

The unaired pilot 'It's Up To You'is similar to 'Shark Tank';'American Inventor' and 'Dragon's Den'.

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

I always told people if they had a bad day or a bad mood watch this show if you do NOT feel any better little or alot seek help I feel better half way through

[@nicholastosoni707]

I am still, ten years on, hunting down a decent-quality copy of _Things That Go Bump._ NBC, 1997, aired with _Profiler,_ _Pretender,_ and _Dark Skies._

[@WinterSteele]

Great stuff. I would love to see an updated version of this special, including more recent unsold pilots. P.S. - Vincent Price and Peter Lorre could've costarred in a tv series, but the network _didn't pick it up?!_ What the hell were they thinking? That would've been amazing!

[@mjnoir1]

i couldn't agree with you more i can only imagine what shows never got picked up during late 90s and 2000's

[@homelesshannah50]

Maybe because they were not tough guys trying to be tough guys. They could not fight for shit.

[@JHollowayNetwork]

or maybe the pilots Daphne Zuniga starred in after she left Melrose Place.

[@barowt]

After watching these I wonder how the shows that got on TV even got on TV..

[@roman14032]

lookwell is totally HILARIOUS

[@dhenderson1810]

The "Seinfeld" pilot was a lot different. It was called "The Seinfeld Chronicles". There was no Elaine, but instead a waitress character, George was a lot more confident with women, and less neurotic, and Kramer was called "Kessler". Jerry's apartment also looked different.

[@thedys70]

It can be found on the torrent sites; worth a look

[@winddmmy]

if there was cable back then like now you'd of seen them all.

[@jonathanwright8025]

I remember watching this in the 90s. Especially the samurai who didn't use his sword, just his truck.

[@Mattwav]

I remember watching this the night it aired, loved this special

[@farscape319]

Me too

[@johnlynch6695]

I seen jack Norton in his first pilot when I was a kid , here in canada

[@daltysmilth]

I remember watching this when it first aired. Man. What might have been...

[@JusticeDue911]

I so wish these were made into tv shows they look really good and funny.

[@luisreyes1963]

Only in Bizarro World, especially Men Of The Dragon. 🤪

[@MrMatteNWk]

Anyone else pause it every 20 seconds for each new show to check the IMDB to see who else was in each pilot?

[@not-so-smartaleck8987]

God, that's too much work! I haven't even gotten through half of this 46 minute video yet.

[@Filmation77]

In a bit of a Twist: a lot of those "Stranded on a Mystical Desert Island" finally hit Paydirt 20+ years later with ABC's "Lost" Series.Which was Gilligan's Island as a Fever Dream and a lot of these Pilots just got a way better Presentation ,but essentially the Same Story,but if they rebooted this series,they should get Seth"Family Guy/Robot Chicken/Buffy The Vampire Slayer" Green(cause he has stated that he made a living the first part of His Career off of TV pilots that never went anywhere,before he got Buffy or Family Guy or even The Austin Powers Movies) he would be a great choice

[@not-so-smartaleck8987]

Lost: Gilligan's Island as a "Fever Dream"(?)

[@stingray4real]

The unaired pilot 'Madam Sin' was later released as a feature film.

[@readhistory2023]

I saw it on TV decades ago. It was terrible.

[@fromthesidelines]

It originally appeared on ABC's "MOVIE OF THE WEEK" in January 1972.

[@danielhaire6677]

I think the I saw the Exo-Man pilot as a straight to tv movie when I was a kid on a local station's weekend afternoon showing. In fact, several of these look familiar.

[@Shteve67]

This one makes me actually want to see all these shows. 😆

[@luisreyes1963]

Funny. 😐

[@tooties545]

I've been searching for an Ann Margret pilot I surveyed many years ago. It aired years after I'd watched it for that survey. She played the matriarch of a cattle ranch. It was set in Hawaii. I can't remember what it was called.

[@LeeGoldberg007]

I believe you are mistaking it for the Bo Derek series WIND ON WATER. www.dailymotion.com/video/x5jgv69

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

Nice to see this back up I tell people about this program and they REFUSE to believe me Precursors to The Soprano's Desperete Housewives and Lost who knew (Not the Network Ex's)

[@hydrolito]

TV show called Lost used idea of a plane crashing on an island. Mantis was series about disabled man with a power suit that fought crime.

[@samobispo1527]

Mr. Goldberg, perhaps you can help me. In the summer of 1971 or 1972, I saw a pilot for a military themed situation comedy I had read a preview about in TV Guide. It revolved around an Army Reserve unit. It was commanded by a nice Jewish boy lieutenant from Brooklyn, who reported to sympathetic African American colonel and his obnoxious southern executive officer. It was set in the backdrop of Vietnam, had the usual assortment of funny unit members, and the dramatic tension every episode was what the characters would do keep the unit from going to Nam. I don't know the title, but fast forward to the 2000's I would find myself in the same position as colonel, having to decide who I would send to the Middle East and who would get a reprieve. What was the show called, and where could I get more information about it.

[@kevincozens6837]

fSome of these shows you can tell why they never made it past the pilot stage. They would have needed some major retooling in some cases to make them worth turning in to a series. FYI, there was a series called Nick Derringer., P.I. which ran for two seasons. It starred John Ritter. The series from Orson Welles that got dumped because it was too sophisticated is a problem other shows have faced. Some of the execs and suits that hold the purse strings have often underestimated the intelligence of the TV audience. The Archer: Fugitive From The Empire became a TV movie.

[@ki5aok]

So, for Nick Derringer, P.I., they took the little guy out and put John Ritter in and that's what sold it? Wow, networks just don't like giving little people serious roles, huh?

[@synapticflow]

I remember watching this!

[@not-so-smartaleck8987]

18:03 Louis Gossett Jr., with hair!

[@DynamixWarePro]

I am a fan of obscure and lost media as well as unsold pilots and I think some of these could have made great shows if they had been given more time for the actors and writers to shine as they didn't with just with a pilot. Some of these I would have like to have seen become actual shows were: The Asphalt Cowboy, Hellinger's Law, Nick Derringer P.I., The Orsen Welles Show and Madame Sin. I have seen the pilot of Shangri-La Plaza and while I didn't totally dislike it, I did find it a little cringworthy a couple of times. I think it might have worked and had a chance if they hadn't had the cast sing 99% of their lines. That was too much singing. Instead they should have had only a few singing and dancing scenes now and then , rather than nearly all the time.

[@luisreyes1963]

The Orson Welles Show might not be as lucky (or inexpensive) as The Loretta Young Show. Also, I don't think a crackpot Eurasian biddy who plots global conquest would fly nowadays.

[@ki5aok]

I think Nick Derringer P.I. probably would've worked. Maybe it's a David and Goliath thing, but something about a little guy thoroughly kicking a big guy's ass puts a smile on my face. I honestly think it would've work if the networks had given it a chance.

[@sneezepal]

Angel from the Rockford Files makes a guest appearance at 9:17.

[@das81]

I remember Northstar! I watched the TV film here in Argentina, back in the day. It was dubbed as "El Hombre Solar".

[@futuramayeah]

I knew a man once... a man with the power!

[@CommanderCronus]

The Northstar pilot aired on TV. Once.

[@fromthesidelines]

It was part of a "double feature" on "THE ABC FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE" in August 1986 (with another unsold pilot, "CONDOR").

[@allenmcfarlinmcfarlin8440]

This was great. There was a another special on ABC TV shoes that almost made it.

[@Section5_CdnIntelService]

Asphalt Cowboy with Max Baer looked pretty good.

[@Allegheny500]

Seems some Ideas get reworked, "13 Thirteen Ave" bears an uncanny resemblance to the BBC show "Being Human" that came out a decade later. And "Asphalt Cowboy"? anyone remember "McCloud"?

[@TJ52359]

McCloud was the 70's Aspalt Cowboy was 1980... so odds are McCloud was name dropped in the meeting where AC was rejected

[@jwb52z9]

After a number of years, I wonder why people in the TV industry don't try again and tweak these shows to see if they ever would work? I definitely wish a few of these would be tried again with new actors.

[@shaner743]

I know by today’s standards the Dr. Strange TV movie looks very cheesy but in the 70’s to a 8 year old I thought it was the coolest thing. Even Stan Lee was quoted at the time saying that he enjoyed it.

[@cathyvickers9063]

I was upset he was a shrink instead of a surgeon, & other inaccuracies.

[@robphilll22]

Dwayne Hickman had a show called "HEY TEACHER" which I found entertaining.

[@heidifedor]

I remember that he Scamps, and The Invisible Woman, pilots both aired.

[@ronman2221]

What they have today they should go thru these and put them on air today

[@thepeternetwork]

Faith Ford makes for a great television hostess. Her charisma levels are over 9000.

[@melissacooper4482]

When she said that some pilots are different from the actual series a couple of shows came to mind. The Big Bang Theory for example originally had Sheldon as a sex maniac. They changed him to being asexual. On Full House there was an unaired pilot that had John Posey as Danny Tanner instead of Bob Saget.

[@daryaionesco2634]

they were ahead of their time

[@pbiasizzo]

Some of these sounded like SNL sketches that I would've loved to see...

[@kimiisungstartedthekoreanw2771]

Faith Ford most beautiful woman!