Hey so to those writing their own pilots what are you watching as research?

Ummm... I mostly watch kids shows hence the name - Nick, Disney Channel, etc. etc.

I'm not watching shows as much as I'm reading scripts, to get a feel for the flow of it and also to figure out how professional writers describe specific effects/emotions/etc. That said, I'm reading a bunch of BBC scripts (since I'm writing a show intended for a British audience) as well as Heroes, the West Wing, and Prison Break. Also some movie scripts--most recently 10 Things I Hate About You and The Fifth Element.

I'm not really watching/reading anything. My show was partly inspired by the female lead on the show "life" but that's about it.
__________
-Sub Rosa-
Episode 1x01 "Down and Dirty"
Episode 1x02 "Welcome to the World"

COMING SOON to a TV near YOU!

I'm not really watching much more then I already do. :) I'm just mostly going over some scripts to get a feel of how I should be writing it and what's to be expected. I have also checked out a couple of movie scripts as well. I'm not really setting much standard for my show or plot or anything, I'm just going with it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nano 2005-"Coloring Outside The Lines"(FINISHED!)
Nano 2006-"Paper Hearts Have Strings"(FINISHED!)
Nano 2007-"The Elite Series: Book One"(FINISHED!)
Screnzy 2008-"Welcoming Starlet"(0/100)
Cups of Coffee=0
Hours of Lost Sleep=0
Insanity Level=

I'm in the "not watching much more than usual" group, but I tend to watch House, MD, almost 24/7, so...that's still a lot. I'm also watching some of Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes (Aw, Jeremy and Edward!). And then the usuals--new L&O:CIs, CSIs, Dexters, Boneses (Bonesai?), Canterbury's Laws, New Amsterdams, Monks, Psychs, etc., etc. A lot of quirky crime and investigating and law shows. Which is perfect, as my script is a Mystery/Drama (my MCs are a caseworker and a freelance genius psychologist and criminal profiler). I try to read scripts, but sometimes they're very elusive. I got my hands on an "Occam's Razor" House PDF script, which I now cherish. Heh. I'm more going with my gut--I've never been good with notes and research, etc.

~
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, and now on with the motley, whatever that means."

Script Frenzy '08 - Master Case File Episode 1: Master and the Vigilante Duke - 0 pages - 0 words - 0 % complete

I'm watching the same thing's I've always watched. Although, I've recently gotten into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and just got the entire series DVD set, so I've been watching those a lot.
____________
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes.

I've been watching a lot of television that I don't like to get a feel for what it is about those shows that makes me dislike them. It also makes me focus more on the technical aspects of the show, since I'm not that into the show itself. I can really focus on the way the scenes change, the way the acts are set up, the way the characters interact, etc.

I glanced at the pilot of Lost (and got confused because it had two parts).

I read quite a few articles that said that the pilot defines the show, and that the teaser defines the ep. So the pilot's teaser is very important (duh). Logically, I concluded that teasers should be a bit longer in the pilot. What do you guys think? Should there be fewer commercials as well?

NaNo '07 - Finding Phobia (50k, WIP)
Screnzy '08 - ?

I'm writing a back-door pilot (good for that magic 100 page number) so it was important to me I know the structure of those scripts. I work at a television studio so I was able to procure the scripts of three of this year's back-door pilots. I suggest reading as many pilot scripts and watching as many pilots as are possible (and as are relevant). Hulu (hulu.com) is a great new resource for watching pilots.

Since the story is superhero themed, I also read some first issues of comics from the bin but that has been less helpful for structure, but more so for environment and character.

I'm finding that there's nothing out there that really answers the questions that I have. I'm working on a serialized series, so I'm watching Lost and Heroes for scene structure and characterizations on the fly, but also on the things to NOT show. Sometimes these shows move so fast they leave it to you to figure out all the connective tissue between scenes. I mean ALL the connective tissue.

Mine's a "journey" series -- a long series of locations that my character has to travel to...from Seattle, Washington eventually to the Mount of Olives in Israel. (You'd be surprised what Canada can double for.) Any suggestions for other "journey" series?