Warren Littlefield head of NBC programming hated the show
It can never be said often enough that Warren Littlefield acted like a complete idiot when it came to the '91 Series.
We've talked about this before and it's definitely OT for this thread but quite possibility the worst thing when it comes to Littlefield is that once he finally saw the error of his ways, it was too late. For several seasons after the '91 Series' cancellation everything Littlefield scheduled on Friday's in DS' slot did terribly. That finally made him realize that despite his dislike for the show, DS had had great demos, and he approached DC about reviving the show as a series of made-for-TV movies, similar to what NBC was doing with
Perry Mason. But DC's response, in the rather colorful language that DC was known for, was that he wasn't interested. And beyond the fact that DC felt Littlefield had already screwed him and DS over, DC also felt DS is best done as a continuing serial and wouldn't work as a series of self-contained movies. Perhaps. But, sadly, and mostly because of DC's rightful resentment of Littlefield, we never got the chance to know...
Another sad thing which is also OT for this thread is that the WB also came to see the error of their ways when it came to passing on the '04 pilot. But again, it was a realization that was too late in coming. Though unlike the situation with Littlefield, the exec who had passed on DS had been fired, and it was a totally different regime that realized the error of his ways.
But bringing things back to being on topic, will we hear down the road that the CW might one day regret passing on DS:R? Well, that's anyone's guess...