Dollhouse - Original Pilot Script

[fembuck]

OMG!  The script for the unaired pilot was so much better than the aired one.  I mean, yes the second half of the aired pilot was pretty good, but all of the unaired one was good.  There was Joss speak, and more of an exploration of how the Dollhouse works, we got hints into the characters backgrounds, the Activies interacted with each other, there was some philosphizing and tons more Adelle and Claire. 

*hates FOX so much*  Why do they always gotta go and eff up Joss's pilots?!?!?!  Ugh.

Anyway ... 

Comments

[crys-22.livejournal.com]

Oh I had heard that this script was floating around, but couldn't find it. Thanks for sharing! I like this version way better. And not just for the additional Claire.

I don't know, I liked the aired pilot, but there was something off about it. I couldn't fully grasp it and knew I would have to see more in order to get into the swing of it. But with this script, I felt like I connected more with the characters than I did with the pilot that aired and got way more of an understanding of what Joss and the gang intentions are.

[asher-601.livejournal.com]

Awesome! They filmed this, right? I mean, I know I have seen a lot of the shots described in old previews, so I really, really want the unaired pilot to hit the net.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

They filmed this, right?

Yeah, they did.

I really hope that they put the unaired pilot on the DVD for the first season (see, optimism!). The script sounds fun, and creepy and awesome and I'd love to see Joss's original vision.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing! I like this version way better. And not just for the additional Claire.

No problem! Glad to help :D

I liked this version a lot better as well. Not only was the additional Claire nice, but the additional Adelle was fantastic as well, and Paul actually seemed to have a purpose (though the femslasher in me is not sad that I didn't have the seeds of Paul and Echo's inevitably epic love shoved down my throat in the first episode).

I couldn't fully grasp it and knew I would have to see more in order to get into the swing of it.

It was choppy. It felt like a patch work. You could see Fox's meddling hands all over it. The second episode felt much more organic, it felt much more Mutant Enemy, and established the characters and world far better than the aired pilot.

Of course, the original plot did all of these things wonderfully.

I honestly don't get networks sometimes. Why hire someone with a distinctive and popular style and then tell them to be completely different?

[anna709.livejournal.com]

Damn it, now I really want to watch this. What the hell is FOX thinking, tossing this gem? Fucktards, the lot of them. Why the hell do they think cool motorcycles and macho boxing scenes are better than what the author originally invisioned? The testosterone must have rotted their pea-sized brains. *grumbles*

If there is a God, this pilot will be on the DVD or at the very least leaked onto the Internet for our viewing pleasure. Yes, this is a hint, You Guys Up There.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

What the hell is FOX thinking, tossing this gem? Fucktards

Stupid fucktards that don't learn from their mistakes! They screwed Firefly over exactly the same way.

Why the hell do they think cool motorcycles and macho boxing scenes are better than what the author originally invisioned?

I know. It's like why did the order the show if they wanted something completely fucking different? If your not going to support the artists vision then why fuck bother hiring them? First impressions count Fox!

If there is a God, this pilot will be on the DVD or at the very least leaked onto the Internet for our viewing pleasure.

This. If it's not, many people around the world will weep. Tears will flood the earth!

[anna709.livejournal.com]

They screwed Firefly over exactly the same way.

*groans* Don't remind me. I'm still not over that particular clusterfuck.

If it's not, many people around the world will weep. Tears will flood the earth!

Or at the very least we'll flood 'em with hate mail.

[hypno-ninja.livejournal.com]

I disagree. The script itself is awesome, and wouldn't undoubtedly made a better episode than the pilot they aired, but it would've made a worse pilot. It's got too much of the meat of the story coming at the audience when they've just been introduced too the characters. If this had been aired, no one would've cared that they were 'grouping' or that at the end of the episode Echo says 'Caroline', because most people aren't invested in the characters yet. All of this stuff is great stuff for later episodes, but putting it into the pilot probably would've guaranteed that the show died.

Also, the comparison that was made with Firefly is bullshit. Firefly was screwed over by A LOT more than just the fact that it's pilot didn't get aired first. It could've survived that if it had gotten the proper advertisement, or stayed on a single night, or not been preempted for anything and everything.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

It's got too much of the meat of the story coming at the audience when they've just been introduced too the characters.

Actually, all of that stuff made me MORE interested in the show, didn't kill my interest in it. Questions were posed, but other than the "Caroline" thing, none of those questions were answered in the unaired pilot (and the Caroline thing was revealed in the first 5 seconds of the aired pilot), just left hanging to grab your attention.

I liked the teases about the imprinting, and the name dropping of Alpha, and the bits about the pro-bono work, and the seeing the Dolls interact with each other. I thought it planted some tantilizing hints that could then be developed throughout the season.

Also, the unaired pilot felt like a Mutant Enemy show. The characters had .. well, character. In the aired pilot everyone came off really flat to me, though that did get better in the second half of the episode.

The only thing I liked better about the aired pilot was that Paul's investigation wasn't so far advanced. I think it's better to see him going through the beginning stages of the season, then having him meet a Doll and have everything about the Dollhouse confirmed for him in the pilot.

Also, the comparison that was made with Firefly is bullshit. Firefly was screwed over by A LOT more than just the fact that it's pilot didn't get aired first.

This is true, but airing the episodes out of order certainly didn't help. The original Firefly pilot did a much better job setting up the characters and introducing the world that they occupied than The Train Job did. Personally, I liked The Train Job. It was certainly a better pilot than the Dollhouse one.

FOX did a whole lot of other things to screw Firefly over of course, but the pilot being re-shot, the episodes airing out of order, and the Friday night time-slot can't help but remind me of the Firefly situation.

They're not being quite as bad with Dollhouse, but they're certainly not doing anything to really help Dollhouse out here. They're meddling didn't help before, so maybe they should have tried to just let Joss tell the story in the order (and way) he wanted to. I certainly doubt it would've hurt the ratings.