Fannish5: Bad Pilots, Good Shows

Five favorite tv series that started with bad pilot episodes.

Glad you asked! Though I shall stretch the definition of "bad" to "did nothing for me" in some cases, though they are hardly the same thing. Other cases are just plain bad, of course. :)

1.) Star Trek: The Next Generation. To be fair, the entire first season, the rare episode excepted, wasn't All That, but I still remember going back to the pilot after the show had finished, for the first time, all aglow in fannish love and misrembering stuff and then I rewatched and... err. CRINGE. SUPERCRINGE. Especially knowing the actors and later scriptwriters were capable of so much more. Which is why, when I want to pimp TNG, I NEVER go for the pilot.

2.) Babylon 5. By which I mean The Gathering, not the first episode of season 1. The Gathering has some good points - I still like the scene with Garibaldi and Londo in which Londo makes his "tawdry tourist attraction" remark, for example - but all in all, again, very much a good idea still in development and not one you'd use to advertise the show.

3.) Fringe. It has the downsides - the gore, the bad science - and not yet many of the virtues of the show. Olivia's trauma is standard noir and you could see it coming a mile away, and while I appreciate that her initial clashes with Broyles show her strength of character, introducing Broyles as someone who thinks sexual molestation isn't a big deal was a really bad idea. (Also weirdly incongruent with later characterisation.) Had I not known better things were to come, I might not have stuck with the show (and would have regretted it very much.)

4.) Doctor Who. To be fair, applying the concept of pilot episodes to something produced at the start of the 60s with a very different format is unfair, but I still wouldn't use An Unearthly Child to draw anyone in, or even to introduce the First Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Susan, especially if they're not familiar with 60s tv yet. (My showcase for the original Team TARDIS is The Aztecs. Which I defy anyone to watch and not love.) It's an eternity until something happens other than Barbara and Ian talking about how weird Susan is, One's characterisation is still very wobbly (caveman incident, what the hell?), and Barbara isn't yet her awesome later self, either. Now I didn't see this until I had seen a great deal of Seven, some Four, some Six, some Three and the first two seasons of New Who, so it wasn't a question of getting hooked or not, but if it had been my introduction to Whodom, I suspect it might have been a short-lived one.

5.) Highlander: The Series. It has good stuff - not least because that's the one and only time we see Connor on the show, and it's important to establish a connection between the original film and the series, plus it does a good job of introducing Tessa and Ritchie - but the reason why it nearly turned me off from watching was that Duncan himself, and the actual plot of the pilot, seemed terribly derivative. So there is this Highlander whose backstory sounds just like the other Highlander's, and the evil villain now donning a punk exterior in pursuit, who does his best to sound like the film's villain, too. Now I had liked the original film well enough - that was why I had tuned in - but a pale copy wasn't what I wanted to see. In due course, the show would establish its own rich universe, full of interesting characters (female and male) and with a focus on moral dilemmas that hadn't been there in the filmverse, plus Duncan would become very much his own character, but again - for pimping HL, I would never use the pilot.

****

I await pilot defenders for all five with bated breath. In other news:

a.) Stumbled across a rumour Brad Pitt wants to play John Lennon in a biopic; was suitably aghast. I mean, nothing against Brad, but my brain breaks when I attempt to imagine (ha!) him as John. Sidenote: not that previous screen Johns looked all that much like the late J.L., not least because actors tend to have a far more buff figure than musicians who were frighteningly thin at times to compensate for what they called their "fat Elvis" period, though yours truly would call it the period when he actually had some flesh on his bones. But still - Brad Pitt?

b.) A Dynasty prequel? Dynasty was a guilty vice of mine during the 80s. (It didn't dawn to me until later how outrageous the whole plotline with Blake killing his son's ex boyfriend was, since we were supposed to feel sorry for Blake there.) Back when I fell for Heroes it took me a while to make the connection and realise Noah Bennett was none other than Steven Carrington (second version), which was fairly mindboggling.

c) onyxlynx pointed me towards "The Rest is Noise", where I found a great essay about the two Rings - Wagner's and Tolkien's, that is. Very much reccommended if you're fond of either or both, and even if you're not.

Torchwood casting news, hilarious TvTropes, and a Yoko interview

crossoverman told me, and a bit of googling confirmed it: Lauren Ambrose joins Torchwood! The Six Feet Under fan in me is dancing right now. ( Spoilers for Ambrose's character description. )

People, this makes me so happy. The entire SFU cast was superb, but Claire/Lauren had a special corner in my heart. Also, every Whoverse show should have a redhead. *nods sagely*

Meanwhile, evil astrogirl2 pointed out to me that the phenomenon mentioned in my last post - good shows emerging from none too promising beginnings - actually has a tvtropes name (after, naturally, a TNG occurence): Growing The Beard. Reading, nodding or shaking my head while reading through said page, I finally collapsed in giggles when I saw they named the Beatles as a real life example. And that in turn let to the discovery the Fab Four have their very own tropes page: The Beatles. (And a separate page for their Crowning Moments of Heartwarming.) Which turns out to be one of the best things ever, containing such entries as:


Draco In Leather Pants/Ron The Death Eater: Invariably occurs during some of the more Fan Dumb arguments about whose fault it is the band broke up, usually taking the form of "Beatle X was a jerk whose solo material was completely worthless"/"Beatle X was the only sane member of the group and the others would have been nothing without him." John is a frequent Draco In Leather Pants, Yoko a Ron The Death Eater, and Paul is both.

Fanservice: Pretty much the entire point of Help! (see Excuse Plot, above).

The Obi Wan: Manager Brian Epstein, who died shortly after "Sgt. Pepper". Major subversion, as his death is considered the beginning of the end for the group.



Brian as Obi Wan is makes me suddenly wonder whether Ewan McGregor ever considered playing him. But "John is a frequent Draco In Leather Pants, Yoko a Ron The Death Eater, and Paul is both" is the best summary of the core fannish reactions to all three parties named I've ever seen. Come on, check out the page already, you know you want to. Just one further incentive: Alternate Reality Episode: "We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band..."

Speaking of Yoko, I came across one of the most interesting interviews with her I've seen. Unfortunately for much of my flist, it's in German. Why is it so interesting? Because there is only one John question in a four page interview (whether he was supportive when she lost her daughter), and the rest is about her art and her relationships with her children. The magazine interviewing her is Brigitte, which might explain the difference in emphasis (Brigitte's main focus group are women between 35-50; it tries to cover the bridge between housewives and professionals. I'm not sure about English or American equivalents - maybe Ophra on tv?). So instead of asking her about the nth time about the end of the Beatles, or how John would feel about *insert current day event x*, they talked to her about the very ambiguous feelings she had/has regarding being a mother (and a grandmother), and what creating art means to her. If you speak German, here is the interview.

For non-German speakers, some of the most interesting quotes. Bear in mind that is me translating something back into English which was translated from English to begin with.

Re: getting pregnant with Kyoko accidentally: I wasn't sure whether I could do it. This role didn't seem to be right for me. I first had to learn: this isn't something I created - something I can be proud of because it's my work - but a gift simply given to me. (...) From the moment I held Kyoko in my arms, there was this incredible love. But everyone who loves knows that it's a double edged sword. As wonderful as it feels, it makes you insecure. Love weakens you.

Q: And art strengthens you?

It strengthens me. I could always rely on my art. It's constant. When I am satisfied with a work or a song, I can let it go. It leaves me, belongs to the world, and yet also will always be mine. And I can always produce something new. This certainty gives me security and strength. But the relationship with children is different. You are powerless, often, as a mother. You can't do anything if someone kidnaps your child.

Q: *repeats for readers the story of how Kyoko at age 7 after a bitter custody battle was taken by her father, Tony Cox, and disappeared, only contacting Yoko some time after John's death* What scars does something like this leave?

It turns everything upside down. I hadn't realised the strength of a connection between mother and child until then. I missed her so much that it physically hurt. It was as if someone had cut out part of my body.

Q: Can you bridge such a gap in a relationship afterwards?

With difficulty. A lot is missing even today. But we have a good contact now.

Q: You're a grandmother now.

Of two sweet and beautiful grandchildren. But I can't really relate to them yet. Honestly, I still need time to work on my relationships with my own children.

Re: Sean, and sending him with a nurse to Miami after John's death while she remained in New York:

In all the chaos that seemed to be the best solution. I didn't want him to witness all the people grieving for his father. And I was very afraid someone would hurt him, too. So I sent him away for his protection. I couldn't join him then, because so many business and personal things had to be done. It was a burden as a mother.

Q: Do you regret such decisions, prioritizing your work?

No, I don't think there was another way. It was the best for Sean. But of course I wish I had spent more time with him when he was still a child.

Q: Did he ever resent you because of this?

No, luckily he never did. (...) We're the best of friends.

About her own parents: My father was a passionate pianist, but back then wasn't allowed to become one professionally in Japan. He came from a very traditionally minded family, and his way was pre-ordained - he couldn't fight against society and its rules. So he became a banker and regretted that for the rest of his life. I still feel sorry for him. My mother had a similar experience. She was a very intelligent woman who painted with passion and skill, but she nearly completely abandoned her art when she became a wife and mother.

Q: What did you learn from your mother?

To watch her fighting to remain an independent personality has imprinted me. I respected her for that. She always told me: "Don't marry. Never have children. It's the worst thing which you can do to yourself." I understand why she thought that way - becoming a mother meant the end of her own identity for her. She wasn't free anymore. I still didn't listen to her.

There is an older interview in English in which Yoko talks about her family background and her daughter as well, but I was especially impressed with the frankness in the Brigitte one.