History Main / Pilot

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Invader Zim}}'''s 1999 pilot episode never aired on Nickelodeon, but was aired on Nicktoons on December 24, 2011 as part of Nicktoons' Winter Funderland. Interestingly enough, this wasn't even the original version, but rather [[ExecutiveMeddling a redubbed version]] using Zim's series actor Richard Horvitz, rather than [[TheOtherDarrin Zim's pilot voice of Billy West]]. The original version of the pilot with all of Billy West's lines intact was previously made available as a bonus feature on the show's Volume 1 DVD release.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has a seven-minute pilot nicknamed "The Time Thing". The series' setting, premise and characters are in place, but the designs are very different, as well as some characterization. The pilot isn't canon, but elements are re-used for the series; the episode ''Steven and the Stevens'' re-uses the pilot's time-travel plot, and audio from the pilot is used for the series' extended theme song.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': The famous opening sequence where Batman foils some bank robbers is similar in the general style of their animated pitch.

Even when a show is picked up and given a timeslot, there is no guarantee that a pilot will ever reach the air. Granted, they usually do air, and as the {{premiere}} episode (for obvious reasons). But sometimes, usually with those shows whose producers were told "try again", [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the original pilot is so different from what reached the air]] that they don't try to use it (as is the case with ''Series/GilligansIsland''), or they [[RecycledScript recycle the plot]] in an innovative manner later in the series. (A good example of the latter would be "The Cage", the first pilot episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', which was recycled into the two-part episode "The Menagerie".)

* Creator/GerryAnderson's ''Series/TheInvestigator'', an never-aired pilot intended to pitch a new UsefulNotes/{{Supermarionation}} series that was a massive TroubledProduction.

* ''Virtuality'' is an ''unfinished'' MindScrew of a pilot which one can only describe as ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' meets ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'' meets ''Series/BigBrother'' [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE]] (with some ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' and ''Film/{{eXistenZ}}'' for flavor) from the producers of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. It's bad enough the crew has to pilot an experimental ship ''and'' be RealityTV stars in space for 10 years, but then mysterious "malfunctions" kick in, and the VR goggles start to blur the lines between fantasy and reality: [[spoiler: the captain gets killed, yet his consciousness seems to have survived; a crew member gets raped in her own simulation by a man who may or may not be a computer virus]]. Notable in that it was aired despite the show itself being cancelled.

* ''Virtuality'' is an ''unfinished'' MindScrew of a pilot which one can only describe as ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' meets ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'' meets ''Series/BigBrother'' [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE]] (with some ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' and ''Film/{{eXistenZ}}'' for flavor) from the producers of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. It's bad enough the crew has to pilot an experimental ship ''and'' be RealityTV stars in space for 10 years, but then mysterious "malfunctions" kick in, the VR goggles start to blur the lines between fantasy and reality [[spoiler: the captain gets killed yet his consciousness seems to have survived; a crew member gets raped in her own simulation by a man who may or may not be a computer virus]]. Notable in that it was aired despite the show itself being cancelled.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' was greenlit for an entire first season off the bat, so their first episode was not a pilot. Reportedly, Roddenberry claimed the network wanted a telemovie to start the series and expanded "Encounter at Farpoint" into two episodes, but in reality wanted extra royalties for writing the first episode. Nobody really understood the episode because of that, the entire Q subplot came from Roddenberry and is very disconnected from the main story. Several sequences were also written with the foresight of a full series, the saucer separation sequence and the main engineering set ensured the creation of assets they could reuse in the main series but would have been rejected as too expensive if they waited until after the pilot to write it in.

*** Before the series aired a producer took the two pilot episodes and showed them to an audience at a sci-fi convention (the most discerning audience possible), and when completed their was absolute silence... because they were in awe over what they saw.
*** One of the things that changed between the pilot and the regular series was [[ArtEvolution the design of the Enterprise]] - due to the high cost of special effects and the low resolution of 1960s televisions, many of the special effects shots from the pilot were reused in the series, even though the ship looked subtly different.

->''"Well, the way they pick the shows on TV is they make one show, and that show's called a pilot. And they show that one show to the people who pick the shows, and on the strength of that one show, they decide if they want to make more shows. Some get accepted and become TV programs, and some don't, and become nothing."''

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' had two pilots, the second one being the first episode of the series and the only characters to transfer over is Leonard and Sheldon. The "genius characters" premise was still intact, but the story had them meet a girl named Katie on the street having a hard time and invite her to have dinner with them, eventually taking her in as a roommate. They have another female friend and co-worker Gilda, who is just as intelligent as them, and has an admitted crush on Leonard. Katie has a tough exterior and rooming with Leonard and Sheldon would help her to soften up. Test audiences ''hated'' Katie, but Leonard and Sheldon were extremely well received. Many lines of dialogue were reused in the first few episodes and much of the series proper was taking consideration for the failure of the first pilot:
** They made Penny as a new neighbor (making the dinner invite more natural) and is warm, friendly and bubbly to avoid the UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist that was Katie.

The writing in a pilot can be significantly worse than in regular episodes. Introducing all the characters and setting up the situation in a limited time can be difficult to do in a natural way, and even the best pilots can be privy to [[AsYouKnow clunky exposition]]. In addition, pilots often are slightly differently-shaped than the series that coalesce if the show gets picked up; for example: in the pilot of ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' Sookie is a CuteClumsyGirl (this trait fades away by the fourth or so episode), Lorelai drives a different car, and many of the sets are not the ones used later in the show, as a real street in UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} was used rather than the "Main Street" set at Creator/WarnerBrothers Studios which was used as Stars Hollow for the rest of the series. Pilots may also be filmed on a different stock than the rest of the series; the pilot may look more 'cinematic' in film story and cinematography than other episodes in the series. If it's the ''length'' of a film and presented as such, then it's a PilotMovie. The same rules roughly apply to animation, except that pilots in that industry usually never exceed eleven minutes unless it is the aforementioned pilot movie.

* ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' has two pilots. One was aired as a TV special on Creator/FoxKids in 1999, though in an edited form and another pilot remains unaired but some scenes were used in "Big Sisters". The former had differences from the final version:
** Trini was played by Audri [=DuBois=] rather than Thuy Trang.
** The local hangout was not the Angel Grove Juice Bar but a bowling alley.
** The Rangers used physical violence towards the bullies.
** Skull was played by Bobby Val than Jason Narvy.

** Bulk and Skull were part of a gang of five bullies.
** Alpha's appearance was more boxier.

** Billy's glasses were thick framed than wire framed.
** The morphing sequence resembled more like its Sentai counterpart.
** Zordon was originally named Zoltar and the Power Morphers were referred as the Transmorphers.
** In its unaired and unedited form, Zords were originally called Droids.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' had two pilots, which was unusual back then. The first one ("The Cage") didn't sell because Gene Roddenberry produced a dramatic show instead of the action show he had promised. It was later worked into the two part "The Menagerie". The second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before" lacked Dr. [=McCoy=] and was aired (in a slightly re-edited version) as an early episode of the series. Before the series aired a producer took the two pilot episodes and showed them to an audience at a sci-fi convention (the most discerning audience possible), and when completed their was absolute silence... because they were in awe over what they saw. One of the things that changed between the pilot and the regular series was the design of the Enterprise - due to the high cost of special effects and the low resolution of 1960s televisions, many of the special effects shots from the pilot were reused in the series, even though the ship looked subtly different.
*** "The Cage"'s unused characters went on, ''decades'' later, to feature in ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' and eventually have their own show in ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' -- in effect, a gestation of some ''56 years'' between pilot and series.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' was greenlit for an entire first season off the bat, so their first episode was not a pilot. Reportedly, Roddenberry claimed the network wanted a telemovie to start the series and expanded "Encounter at Farpoint" into two episodes, but in reality wanted extra royalties for writing the first episode. Nobody really understood the episode because of that, the entire Q subplot came from Roddenberry and is very disconnected from the main story.
** By the time of the ''Next Generation'' spinoffs, the franchise was so large that new series were greenlit without a pilot. In fact, ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' was picked up for multiple seasons right off the bat. (This is presumably why they felt safe with having the main character, Commander Sisko, openly express contempt for the beloved [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Captain Picard]] - they knew they had time to win audience sympathy for Sisko.)

* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'' had an interesting case with its pilot episode(s). The first-ever episode was called ''Series/PoliceStop'' but the NamesTheSame as the VHS series (which caused confusion), so it quickly switched to the better-known title of ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'' from November 1994. The pilot episode had a sort of visual pun; Alastair Stewart in the police helicopter with his name captioned in Helvetica Bold. Also, [[CreativeClosingCredits the end credits were on a blue background with white Futura Condensed font on]]. Two edited versions were then re-shown in 2006-2007 as "Danger! Drivers Ahead" and the opening titles re-edited to ''POLICE CAMERA ACTION!''.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'''s pilot was adapted into the first act of the first episode "Death has a Shadow". It is largely identical except that Lois has blonde hair, and she, along with Stewie and Meg, wears different colored clothing.

* The Pilot Episode of ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' was 16 minute instead of the usual 11. Frylock was more robotic & subservient to Shake.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' had an original pilot, the script for which made it online. In it, we get a few scenes viewers wished had been retained, such as a heart-to-heart between Arya and Jon Snow, a confrontation between Robb and Joffrey that was heavy with foreshadowing, a less "rapey" wedding night for Daenerys and Drogo, and a scene in which Jon Arryn actually utters his infamous final words. However, Sansa had no lines whatsoever, Hodor is not included and the scene where John asks Benjen to take him with him to the wall dissatisfied many fans. Also, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Jennifer Ehle played Catelyn, Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys and Roy Dotrice played Pycelle]]. Guest stars included such names as Ian [=McNiece=] and Jamie Campbell Bower.

* Soichiro Yamamoto's manga series, ''Manga/WhenWillAyumuMakeHisMove'', was based on a sixteen-chapter webcomic he wrote in 2018 titled ''Shōgi no Yatsu''. The two series' were very similar in tone, with character designs later becoming the basis for Ayumu, Urushi, Takeru, and Sakurako. Additionally, many plot points from the manga's first thirty chapters came from the webcomic.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' had a pilot episode (actually several, since they re-made it several times, using the same script) which, despite being a British show from 1963, survived. It was similar to the first episode, but with different costumes, a scene with Susan drawing a bizarre inkblot, and a statement that the Doctor and Susan come from the 49th Century. Because it was produced after the series was accepted rather than to sell the series, it may not technically be a pilot by some definitions.

* A number of Creator/{{Cartoon Network}}'s original series debuted as pilots on the anthology series ''WesternAnimation/WhatACartoonShow'', which was created specifically as a pilot showcase. These included ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'', ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'', ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'', ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', ''WesternAnimation/MikeLuAndOg'', and ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog''. In 2000 came "The Big Pick", which was where ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', ''WesternAnimation/WhateverHappenedToRobotJones'' and ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' got their start. For more ''Big Pick'' shows that never came to be, see "Never got beyond pilot stage" below.

Many, many pilot episodes are simply named "Pilot", making "Pilot" [[StockEpisodeTitles the most common episode title among all series]].

* ''Series/CardSharks'' filmed two pilots in 1978 with the same set, which pretty much resembled the show's final product. The only difference was that #1 depicted a Money Cards loss and #2 depicted the highest possible win in the Money Cards (which also happened once in the series). Two revivals (one on Creator/{{CBS}}, one syndicated) aired in the late 1980s, apparently without pilots.

* ''Manga/HitomiChanIsShyWithStrangers'', before turning into a serial manga, the one shot chapters were a little different in tone, it was just about how Hitomi interacted with different characters, and how they initially mistook Hitomi as a scary delinquent; there was no building romance as Yuu did not exist in that prototype run.

* ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'' had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXHME5248pM a four-minute clip]] made to celebrate the release of ''VideoGame/KirbyAirRide'' in Japan.

* ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'' is two back-to-back pilot episodes of an anime that never got off the ground.

* ''Nobodys Watching'' was a Creator/BillLawrence pilot built on unbridled ShowWithinAShow UpToEleven. Ready? It was a sitcom within a reality show within a sitcom within a reality show within a sitcom. Despite being brilliantly written and unquestionably hilarious, its somewhat confusing "which show is it now?" plotline made it difficult to follow.

** By the time of the ''Next Generation' spinoffs, the franchise was so large that new series were greenlit without a pilot. In fact, ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' was picked up for multiple seasons right off the bat. (This is presumably why they felt safe with having the main character, Commander Sisko, openly express contempt for the beloved [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Captain Picard]] - they knew they had time to win audience sympathy for Sisko.)