Script Enabler

Conventional wisdom today says you should have a spec pilot as part of your portfolio. In the same way a writer will analyze episodes of a series to spec, I analyzed different pilots to see if there were any hidden story structures unique to pilots.

For this exercise, I looked at House, M.D., Ugly Betty, The Shield, and Shark. I chose these series because they all survived to a second season. Also, they all have a self contained story arc unlike Smith, Kidnapped and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

As expected, the pilot sets up the world, the characters and the central conflicts. By accident I discovered they also foreground the central theme of the series. This is different from a typical episode where the theme is integrated into the story’s DNA as subtext.

There is a moment in the third act where the theme of the series is explicitly stated: that is, stated ‘on the nose.’ Because many pilots eschew the traditional four act structure, it might be more useful to say that this moment occurs roughly 30 minutes into the episode if you leave out the titles and commercials (the entire episode is roughly 41 to 43 minutes in length measured this way).

The first example is from House, M.D. written by David Shore. In the third act, House visits his patient for the first time.

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Rebecca confronts House about his proposed treatment for her by asking about his leg. She tells him, “You feel cheated by life so now you’re going to get even with the world.” She has summed up House’s character and the theme that plays out in nearly all the episodes.

The next example is from The Shield written by Shawn Ryan. Terry Crowley has asked to join Vic Mackey’s strike team on their next raid.

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Vic tells Terry, “Remember, the team comes first. We take care of each other, all right?” The series revolves around the Strike Team fighting to stay together while looking out for each other at the expense of the criminals, the community and even the law.

The next example is from Ugly Betty written by Silvio Horta. Daniel tried to get Betty to quit by asking her to stand in for a model at Fabia’s photo shoot which turns out to be a disaster. He talks to his father Bradford, the head of the company, about his failure.

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Bradford tells Daniel, “I’m sorry I keep hoping you’ll be something you’re clearly not.” In the world of fashion and image, the tension between your public personna and your true self is a constant theme throughout the series.

Finally, I looked at Shark written by Ian Biederman. Sebastian Stark is having dinner with his daughter Julie while trying to juggle his new responsibilities as a prosecutor.

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Julie has observed that Stark’s need to win at all costs hasn’t gone away despite changing jobs from defense attorney to prosecutor. She says, “When that lady died and you lost it, I thought you really changed. Turns out you just changed sides.” Can Stark fundamentally change his approach to litigation and himself? This will turn out to be his struggle throughout the series.

If for no other reason, stating the theme so nakedly forces the writer to crystallize early on where the emotional heart of the series lies. With shows getting yanked after two or three (or even one) episodes, you don’t have the luxury of time to figure out what the series is about.

UPDATE: Several fellow bloggers in the Scribosphere have put my theory to the test. Jill Golick blogs about it here and here. Also Naomi Beaty and Elana Frink at Girl on Girl Action tested it on their own original pilot.