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So.....TV show pilots...
Basically the first episode of a TV show produced not meant to be shown to the public at first, but more to be shown as a proof of concept of a show's feel, setting and characters, or be even publicly shown in a certain way where it gets enough attention to warrant a full series like Jimmy Neutron, that's 90s CG pilot was so impressive to Nickelodeon that they greenlit not just a series but a whole FILM to really get kids invested in the boy genius and also cleverly reuse 3D assets for the show or in the 90s when both Nick and Cartoon Network ran shows that were all just potential cartoon pilots, which is where shows like Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Lab, My Life as a Teenage Robot and Fairly Oddparents came from.
Or if that's not the case and the pilot is private to the company at first, if the show becomes a hit, then they would often release it via things like DVD bonus features and the like, but some companies would rather keep certain show pilots locked away or just apathetic to publicly releasing them for whatever reason no matter how popular and beloved the show is.
Why am I bringing this topic up? Well lost media hunting is something that has really started to grow in recent years and because of this, a TON of cartoon pilots have been hunted and found through unofficial means, especially in the last six months. Notable ones include:
- Family Guy
- Phineas and Ferb
- Dora the Explorer, literally like in the last 24 hours (yeah for some reason lost media hunters are really set on finding pilots to nostalgic 2000s pre-school aimed shows)
And one that is extremely special to me, one that released OFFICIALLY and by MATTEL THEMSELVES no less in celebration of a beloved British children's books series turned best kids TV show turned basically my religion in early life's 80th anniversary (yeah, that old. and coincidentally also around Mattel's as well), the long sought after Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends "Down the Mine" pilot from 1983 fully restored in EXTREMELY impressive quality for a 42 year old pilot straight from Mattel's archives, previously unheard narration from Ringo Starr and new music by the original's show's composer. Really recommend a watch even if you never grew up with Thomas just for the sake of curiosity or watching a piece of restored TV history.
ALRIGHT ENOUGH RAMBLING I do it a lot. So with all these cartoon pilot finds lately, I was just wondering, has there ever been any evidence that any MOTU show has had a proper pilot episode that Mattel has probably never shown or even mentioned to the public?
"Diamond Ray of Disappearance" was the first Filmation He-Man episode ever aired in '83 but just because it's the first episode of the show doesn't automatically mean it's a reworked series pilot more in line with the final show. I know Filmation animated one of the first commercials for the toyline in '82 with better animation and different voices. It surely impressed Mattel, but I'm somewhat convinced they had to have made an actual pilot episode for the show in between that commercial and Diamond Ray's first airing.
And not just Filmation He-Man but also 200x, She-Ra 2018, 2021, especially with the latter two being so recent, there's maybe even fully animated pilots for MOTU shows pitched by various people throughout the franchise's quiet eras that Mattel rejected that are locked away in the vaults somewhere.
I'm just suddenly curious. Is there any evidence to support that there are any lost MOTU show pilots? And is anyone like me also curious if there are any like them?
No, Masters of the Universe and Princess of Power were made for syndication, so they did not have pilots.
@adam_prince-of-eternia I know syndicated and Saturday morning cartoons were different things I think? But if that’s the case why didn’t syndicated TV shows/cartoons have any pilots back then?
and yeah I knew Princess of Power definitely didn’t have a pilot because the Secret of the Sword basically was the pilot or at least basically like one of those normal episodes in a popular TV show where a certain character takes the spotlight, basically what they call a “backdoor pilot” for a spin-off show.
even so anyone wondering if any other potentially fully animated pilots for the other shows exist and Mattel hasn’t felt like publicly releasing them? I’m feeling like there has to be some considering they were all made after the 80s and I’m sure there may be some evidence to at least what they looked like or what was slightly different out there.
though I am sure Revelation was one exception considering it started with many street cred creators on board and honestly each season felt more like a streaming mini-series in terms of episode count.
Pilots are speculative works. Studios produce them so a network will fund a full season. A series made for syndication has its full season produced upfront, and networks can choose to license it after-the-fact.
Supposedly Amazon did a pilot for a live action She-Ra series a few years back. They hired a new writer after that so it must have blown chunks.
As in filmed it since it was meant to be live-action? Where do these supposed finished pilot rumors come from?
Also NGL the concept of a Live-action low TV budget She-Ra series that likely would've taken place on Earth gives me real vibes of that cancelled CW pilot of a live-action adult Powerpuff Girls show that just looking at the leaked trailer was beyond a complete dumpster fire and yet another modern Hollywood example of "What do you mean this is real? This really isn't a bad internet or sketch parody, it's real and official? Who the f*** thought about and greenlit this s**t!!???" In that trailer the VA legend Tom Kenny reprises his role as the narrator and he's one guy who never phones in a performance, but this was so bad it made him phone in a performance which is basically sin.
Yeah did anyone else think the Amazon She-Ra would be like that?
Hey guys so does anyone know if I can change the name of a forum/discussion topic?
and if so how?
I want to rename this one from “MOTU cartoon pilots?” to “MOTU lost media?”
technically not changing the subject because this started as me wondering potential unreleased cartoon pilots but I think it’ll help bring more discussion to this topic. Im broadening it.