And Even Yet Another New Slideshow

The one and only hospital scene in the pilot happens now - and as the chart shows, it happens at the same time in the pilot as the two hospital scenes are written in the script.

Because Julia hasn't actually appeared in the scene yet as it was reworked for the pilot, obviously she doesn't deliver today's quote -

Page 29 - Hoffman: 'Ben Griffin found her inside his garage. From the look of things, she must have fallen through the skylight.'

- and also because that info (minus the references to Carolyn having fallen through the skylight and being found inside Griffin's Garage because that isn't the way things played out in the pilot) has already been imparted by Joe in the pilot.

So, what does happen next in the pilot? Well, what Julia actually does is make her appearance by calling out "Clear the doors!" as Carolyn is brought through the opening doors on a gurney. Also arriving with Carolyn is a nurse.

And a bit of trivia: this hospital scene was shot on the set of the show ER - though that shouldn't be too surprising considering John Wells executive produced ER as well as the pilot. 

I'm just now finding myself thinking how strange it is that Collinsport had a hospital.

And not just any hospital, but one that is equipped like the hospital of Cook County???  (he wonders, having not seen the DS pilot and unsure how much like ER the set was dressed...)

Collinsport seems so isolated that they would probably need some sort of medical center in town.  Bangor, the closest city, is quite a drive.

After Julia mentions in the script that Carolyn must have fallen through the skylight at Griffin's Garage, Joe is scripted to wonder aloud -

JOE
The skylight?

- but we skipped over that because it was basically redundant and there were other lines we wanted to feature in the slideshow. Which brings us to today's quote -

Page 29 - Elizabeth: 'Doctor, is she going to be all right?'

- though what actually happens in the pilot is that Elizabeth sees Carolyn being wheeled in on the gurney and she calls out "Carolyn."

Now, why does today's graphic for the slideshow feature a black oval with three question marks in it:

Well, for one, considering that Julia's part from the hospital room scene was all dropped when the hospital room scene was combined with the corridor scene, obviously she doesn't deliver today's quote -

Page 29 - Hoffman: 'She's cracked three ribs and lost a lot of blood. The next twenty-four hours are critical.'

- (and what a shame not to have the stereotypical, er, of course I mean classic doctor's remark that the "next twenty-four hours are critical" be a part of the pilot  ), nor does Julia do what the script indicates she does before delivering today's quote, which is:

Hoffman checks the I.V. dripping blood into Carolyn's system.

And for two, the character who actually delivers the next line in the pilot doesn't even appear in the script, nor has the actress who plays her ever been identified in anything I've ever read about the pilot - so not having any idea who plays her, it's impossible to feature any type of photo of her in the graphic. 

But, again, what does happen next in the pilot? Well, the nurse accompanying Carolyn announces "She’s tachy." And for those not familiar with the term, tachy is short for tachycardia, which I'm pretty sure means Carolyn has a more rapid heartbeat than would be considered normal. (And if I'm wrong about that or not giving the term its full due, I'm sure Midnite will correct me and provide a fuller explanation.  ) And given that Carolyn has been attacked by a vampire and lost blood, it's hardly surprising that she's suffering from tachycardia.

Today's graphic of Elizabeth combined with the quote from Joe doesn't mean that Joe has had plastic surgery to look like Elizabeth - or that he's had the quickest sex change operation in history.    No, it's simply that Joe is scripted to deliver today's quote -

Page 30 - Joe: 'I don't understand. The Sheriff said she'd been attacked by an animal.'

- but in the actual pilot it's Elizabeth who, after Carolyn's appearance, asks "Can I walk with her?" - and after it being indicated that she can, does so as Carolyn is taken off.

And at this point in the pilot the scene picks up next with stuff taken from the corridor scene. However, the script still has four more days worth of quotes to be featured before we get to that point in the slideshow. And fear not because much of the stuff that was scripted/dropped from the upcoming four quotes from the hospital room scene will be dealt with in one form or another in the new version of the corridor scene.

Also, with his explanation about Carolyn's accident, we saw the last of Joe's dialogue in the pilot. He does appear in one more scene, but he doesn't speak - and you'll understand why when we get to the scene in October. And speaking of Carolyn, she also has only one more scene coming up in the pilot - and not coincidentally, it's the same scene in which Joe doesn't speak. Interestingly, though, in the script they both share an upcoming scene with Julia followed by a long exchange between the two of them once Julia leaves the room - however, the scene was never shot - and that's most likely because Kelly Hu wasn't cast as Julia until like halfway through the production of the pilot. But the scene will be coming up in the slideshow in August/September...

I apologize for repeating myself, but I totally love this.  Interesting that the very late casting of Julia meant some of her scenes were scrapped.  It makes one wonder whether the role was originally offered to another actress who kept them on the hook a little too long.

G.

It would be great if there could be a consensus of questions to be asked and fans to go about getting the answers at various coms & fests to get a much better picture of the '04 pilot.

Interesting that the very late casting of Julia meant some of her scenes were scrapped.

Well, the reason I say that is because the timing of her casting seems to coincide with the wrapping of shooting at Greystone and the move to other locations - and the scene that was dropped with Julia, Carolyn and Joe would have been shot at Greystone because it takes place at Collinwood.

I don't remember where I heard this. It's been so many years. But I thought that they were pursuing Lucy Lawless for the part of Julia. Had you heard that, MB?

I can't say I honestly recall hearing or reading anything about Lucy Lawless back in '04, or even since. But that doesn't mean it's not true. And given that back in '04 she was the same age as Kelly Hu, it's not out of the realm of possibility.

The only rumors I recall had to do with Robia LaMorte, who'd played Jenny Calendar on Buffy - but those proved to be unfounded.

Julia was such a nothing role in the version of the pilot I saw; it's hard to imagine any actress being tempted by a copy of that script. If an actress had seen some episodes of the OS or of, say, hoDS, though, she might have been tempted by those versions of the role.  It's too bad that so far as I can determine, we have no idea at all what TPTB planned for Julia in this iteration.

G.

Believe it or not, what Julia is given to do in the '04 pilot is in some ways a bit more interesting than what she does in the pilot for the '91 DS. True, in the pilot for the '91 DS Julia has a few more scenes, with two of the more significant being Julia hypnotizing Daphne and then Julia noticing Daphne's odd reaction to Barnabas - but other than that she simply arrives in Collinsport, she briefly meets Liz and before going off to run tests (offscreen) she considers allowing Daphne to go home, and once Daphne is home Julia attempts to give Daphne an injection but puts it off to give Daphne and Joe some alone time. However, in the '04 pilot all of Julia scenes have importance as Julia gives important info about Carolyn's attack while also imparting info that was given to Prof. Woodard in the pilot for the '91 DS, and she's in on making a discovery that would have been of major significance down the line had the pilot gone to series. The Julia scene that wasn't shot does have one significant aspect to it (something that's more significantly explained than it was in the pilot for the '91 DS), though other than that it's the least interesting thing she has to do in the script. But then the pilot script for the '91 DS also has Julia scenes (four, as I recall) that weren't shot - or at least if they were, left on the cutting room floor...

Not that it has anything to do with it, but after today's quote in the slideshow, the script indicates that:

Carolyn suddenly MOANS. Concerned, Elizabeth pulls away from Roger and goes to her daughter.

As you'll recall, in the original version of the scene, they're still in Carolyn's room.

MB, are you referring to the pilot screenplay (which to be fair, is what an actress interested in the role would have been sent to read), or the final cut as shown at the Festival?  Because in all honesty, I was quite intrigued to see what Julia would do, and I remember her being onscreen all of twice, with maybe four lines at most.  Then again it was ten years ago and my short term memory is ghastly these days--and I don't even recall the Alec Newman scene that's on Youtube from that original screening; just that I thought Newman was really quite exceptional in the role (I preferred him to Ben Cross).

Miss Hu as the good Doctor left no impression upon me at all, favorable or otherwise.

G.