In 1979 I made a trip to California and while in LA wanted to attend a sit-com taping. Went to NBC and got into a taping for an unaired (and it seems very much forgotten) pilot staring Redd Fox. Not sure it the attached link will work. Hard to find any info on it. It was called "My Buddy" Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2012
At the very end the narrator says that next week's show will be "Green Thoughts," which after a bit of my own digging, I found to maybe be the inspiration for Little Shop of Horrors. Too bad we'll never see what the show could have done with the story. I quite enjoyed the video. Thanks for uploading it.
Please Stand By (1963), the unaired pilot for what became The Outer Limits. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6ajk2g
Empty Nest pilot episode in Golden Girls: This episode, which starred Rita Moreno, was supposed to be the basis for the show that would be spun off to become the hit series Empty Nest. The show was re-tooled, and the only aspects of this pilot that would remain are: they used the same house set, and keep actor David Leisure, who would play a different role in the eventual series.
The Virginian (1958) First attempt to make this famous title into a series. Little resemblance to the novel -- owes far more to HGWT. Stars James Drury, who would also be cast in the later version.
The Yank (1960) A veteran of Sherman's March returns to Columbia S.C. after the war, hoping to face up to his past. Companion piece to The Rebel, from the same writer-producer; directed by Irvin Kershner. Star James Drury gives it another shot.
Heat Vision and Jack! Astronaut on the run with special powers and his talking motorcycle must deal with a malevolent artificial life form that's possessing people and turning them into dust, as well as NASA's hitman and real life actor Ron Silver.
Silverfox (1991) This unsold TV-pilot had James Coburn playing the part of Robert Fox, a retired secret agent staying active with thwarting/solving crimes. The supporting cast: Jillie Mack (wife of this pilot's story producer, Tom Selleck) M. Emmet Walsh Julia Nickson-Soul Christopher Allport Gianni Russo Geoffrey Lower Leigh Taylor-Young Story by Tom Selleck (husband of Jillie Mack), Charles Floyd Johnson, and Chris Abbott Teleplay by Chris Abbott Directed by Rod Holcomb
That unsold Virginian pilot also features Jeanette Nolan, who also went on to co-star in the regular series (she played the wife of the ranch owner in the later seasons, opposite her real-life husband, John McIntire).
Rosie (1960) Infamous sitcom pilot about a talking dog (character actor Phil Leeds in a dog suit). FilmBizarro.com - From extreme underground horror reviews to independent arthouse and beyond The show is about a talking dog named Rosie who returns home with a boy who was thinking of running away to join the circus. The family is of course the atypical 50's "Leave It to Beaver" type family, (no surprise as to why the kid wanted to join the circus) and of course they want the dog gone, but the dog gets to stay after he stops a burglar. Doesn't sound strange I'm sure, even though the family is damn creepy. What makes this TV-pilot fall under the bizarre category is the fact that Rosie the dog is played by a full grown adult male in a really terrible dog costume. No, I'm not kidding. Occasionally crawling around on all four's and standing up like a normal person too. The dog dispense philosophical words of wisdom about life, growing up on the streets, being a good person, and other stomach-turning-eye-rolling moral lessons. The setup is damn strange and bizarre; it's hard not to laugh at not only the show but the fact that someone actually made it and thought it was a good idea. Though I think the reason it never took off was that it became to damn creepy with having scenes of a little boy stroking and petting a man in a dog suit. Classics of the Corn/Classic Stars on the Small Screen: Rosie (1960)
At first I was like "WTF" then I looked at the date and looked up when "Love at First Bite" came out. 1979. One year later. Guess they assumed they'd have a ready audience. Awful. Not as bad as that Rosie mess, but really cringe-worthy.
Lum & Abner (1949) Lum and Abner was an American network radio comedy program created by Chester Lauck and Norris Goff that was aired from 1931 to 1954. Modeled on life in the small town of Waters, Arkansas, near where Lauck and Goff grew up, the show proved immensely popular. This was the first of three unsuccessful attempts to bring L&A to TV.
Big Shots in America (1985) Starring Joe Montegna as a Russian immigrant trying to make it in New York City.
A co worker of the wife's would sign up for those things and talked us into going to one. You got a gift card when it was done. The sitcom looked like it was 6 or 7 years old and all the questions, as you said, were about the commercials. Only part that stands out after 20+ years was they asked about the woman in the commercial--what did we think of her hair? Did we like the dress color? Did we like her?