What are the chances of a new Dark Shadows?

[Zahir]

You might be right.  Gene Roddenberry actually got in the way when it came to putting TNG on the air.  He was the one who mandated no internal conflicts among the crew (in other words no drama of any kind) and he evidently kept insisting the Ferengi should have sex organs growing out of their heads.  I'm not kidding.

From the interviews I've read of those involved with the 1991 series, Dan Curtis was the one who insisted on a pretty straightforward retread rather than telling anything like original stories.

[Brandon Collins]

Well, what about pitching the potential of the combination of back-stories, new plots, and an established fan-base?  I know this might be stretching it, but what about a 2-hour pilot to set the whole thing up? How do 2-hour pilots get made?

Well I don't know about all pilots, but I can and will use Buffy as an example, as I'm pretty knowledge on some stuff in that area. If my facts are correct (sometimes they are, sometimes they get confuzzled lol) then what happened was that Joss Whedon made the movie (puke puke puke) which was awful--he blames it on the director. I believe that when he wanted it to be reimaged as a TV show that either he went to the exec at FOX who ran the new entertainment division (whatever it's called) and said hey, I have this idea. I also remember something about maybe that exec, who was a woman but I don't remember her name, came up with the idea of remaking it as a TV show. Whatever...

What happened was that the script was written and it was shopped around to all the nets, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and when none of them bit, they took it to WB. The WB was new then, and looking for a fanbase, so I believe they were more willing to take risks back then. They liked the script and and the pitch (obviously) and ordered the Pilot to be made. Now, the finished pilot that aired on TV for people to watch was 2 hours long. But, what was originally produced for both Buffy and Angel (when it hit the air) was a half hour pilot to just present to the network execs. This is just a rough copy of the pilot--they basically took 2 hours of material and cut all the stuff that was absolutely essential and then made it into a half hour. Casting and all that happens, and they shoot it. Then it was presented to the execs, who at this stage either love it or hate it, and order more or say hell no. They liked it, gave the Jossman some notes, and they recast a couple people, and went into full production on the real Pilot, which viewers eventually saw.

I'm not saying that this happens with all shows, but that is what happened with that show. And I can infer that the same thing probably happened with DS except the pilot produced was an hour instead of a half hour.

[Brandon Collins]

I was just gonna say, Lost got on the air, and probably effortlessly, because of JJ Abrams.  And Aaron Sorkin is a big player too w/lots of clout in Hollywood, but so is John Wells who produced the WB pilot, and what excited me about the prospect of not only a new show, but a GOOD one, not like that crap NBC rolled out a dozen or so years ago.  Don't know why his clout wasn't enough for the WB to give it a shot, maybe because DC was still around?  I hate to say this, but his death MIGHT be what we needed to actually get a new show.

Didn't John Wells back out towards the end of the production? I heard that somewhere. It could have been because Dan Curtis was too controlling about it, or it could be just because they had creative differences. I mean, hey, if I was creating a show, I would be protective as hell over it too, but I would still listen to suggestions. Joss is protective of Buffy, which is why any TV movies etc that have been talked about haven't happened--because he and FOX can't agree on the terms. So I'd imagine that DC was much the same way.

Or John Wells could've backed out because the pilot the shot wasn't what the script was (it was in large part, but was still very different), and the ending just plain sucked. If you were a network and the MAJOR producer on the project backed out, would you still feel confident about it? I sure wouldn't.

[MagnusTrask]

The last several posts have been great, and informative.    I think it would be a gruelling thing to put writers through though, to write several scripts ahead of time, for a series that might get turned down, possibly on a whim.    Also, network executives aren't the best guardians of quality.    They don't have much patience, either-- I doubt they'd read several test scripts for new unbought shows.    Some shows have had pilots lasting only ten minutes or so... there's a low attention span for you.

Abrams... I think it's he who's been put in charge of an 11th Star Trek movie??   I wonder if Wells might have less pulll at the moment, with his version of West Wing losing ratings, though that doesn't affect the 2004 DS pilot, I know, unless he were to try to exhume it now.

The example of Lost is there now, and can be pointed to.    Better pitches need to be made.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Wells remained faithful to the pilot to the bitter end. After Garth Ancier had claimed that the pilot was "unsalvageable," Wells publicly defended it, declaring they liked the way it turned out but the WB didn't, mostly because the WB's concept for the show was different from that of Wells, Mark Verheiden and DC.

There are a few topics on the forum that deal with the war of words between the WB and Wells in the aftermath of the WB passing on the pilot, this being but one:

Well, here's a very interesting article about the WB pilot. It repeats the same line that we've gotten from Garth Ancier - that the project "just didn't quite gel the way we hoped." However, what's much more interesting is that John Wells lays the blame on the WB. In part, the article says: The problem, Wells said, was the network wanted to WB-ize the concept. "We liked it and they didn't. ...

Unfortunately, though, the current link in the topic no longer brings up the article, and one has to pay to read it now. 

[retzev]

I think it would be a gruelling thing to put writers through though, to write several scripts ahead of time, for a series that might get turned down, possibly on a whim.

I don't think so, fans write reams and reams of fanfic that few if any people will ever read. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

fans write reams and reams of fanfic that few if any people will ever read.

True. But fans are doing it out of a pure love for whatever genre of entertainment they're devoted to and expanding upon (TV show, movie, book, etc.). TV writing is a business and its writers don't get paid to write reams of material that may never be used. That's simply just the unfortunate fact. 

[MagnusTrask]

They have to budget their time and do work that will feed themselves and their families.    Also, the work of a real writer is not to be treated with disrespect... having it demanded of them that they wrack their brains and souls to come up with several special, inspired scripts just in case the series is picked up, scripts that have no use anywhere other than in that TV show, would be insulting.

[retzev]

I'm not talking about paid hacks, I'm talking about someone who has a love for DS and an emotional investment in the series. Maybe y'all  are right, maybe I'm way off-base, but I don't think so. I'm keeping the hope alive 

[Brandon Collins]

I think it would be a gruelling thing to put writers through though, to write several scripts ahead of time, for a series that might get turned down, possibly on a whim.

I don't think so, fans write reams and reams of fanfic that few if any people will ever read.

Many people don't realize that it's actually not too difficult to get your writing into the hands of someone in the TV business. It's called 'spec'ing a show. (speck, that's how it's pronounced) I've been researching this a great deal because I'm thinking about doing this. All one needs to do is write a script that is really good and send it to the network, or to the tv show, if you can find the address. It is hard, and you're not guaranteed to get a response, but many TV writers have gotten jobs this way. It helps if you can get your hands on a script from the show your specing, because then you can write your script the same way they write there's, with the correct number of act breaks etc etc.

It's difficult, but not impossible.  <~~~~I wish I could look that pretty everyday. lol

[Zahir]

In practical terms, an hour-long weekly series must be produced within a certain number of days.  At any given time, the staff is approving future script concepts, giving a final edit to another script, doing preproduction (design, building, casting) for another script, shooting a fourth script, and doing post-production (ADR, music, editting, etc.) for a fifth episode. This is all on the SAME DAY.