Here's Day One, the Expensive Series So Bad Even NBC Wouldn't Air It
As NBC celebrates the birth of several new series at today's upfront events in New York City, a few Peacock henchman are simultaneously tossing one of their most expensive shows into the East River. And unlike Heroes and Law & Order, which lived relatively long, full lives, this project -- heralded at last year's upfronts as addictive apocalyptic event television (with explosions!) -- Day One never made it to air.
You may remember that Day One started out as a post-apocalyptic pilot from Jesse Alexander, executive producer of Lost, Alias and Heroes, and was expected to replace Heroes after the 2010 Olympics this spring. The Peacock announced a midseason premiere and a thirteen-episode season before slashing the season to four installments, scheduled to air as a miniseries, and then slashing it even further until it was just a two-hour TV movie. At that time, NBC's primetime entertainment president Angela Bromstad explained that there was "concern about sustaining the show's mythology."
Apparently the mythology was so faulty that the network scrapped the expensive project entirely, as Bromstad confirmed at today's upfronts. Let's not forget, too, that NBC was so starved for programming this season after the Leno debacle that they briefly un-canceled Trauma and aired programming like Who Do You Think You Are? and Minute to Win It; how dire must Day One have been that it couldn't even penetrate that schedule? But before it sinks to the bottom of the river -- and the recess of our brains reserved for cataloging NBC failures -- let's take a moment to remember NBC's Day One via its original trailer:
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Comments
Coming to the SyFy channel this spring...
Wait! But I want to read how awful it really was! I mean it can't be worse then V and Heros? Can it?
I'm sure Comcast is really happy they landed the NBC fish!
I'm pretty sure NBCs choice not to aire it had nothing to do with the quality of the show, it was based on the poor ratings and subsequent cancellations of similar shows V and Flash Forward. I worked on the pilot (which they shot completely) and having read the script I can truly say this show had the potential to be *brilliant*! The trailer that leaked does nothing to show off Day One's true depth. I hope this show gets picked up somewhere else & given at least the chance for audiences to decide it's fate. It's hard to trust NBC's judgement on anything with all that's been happening recently! Then again, judgement has never been NBCs strong suit- this is the network that cancelled the original Star Trek, proclaiming that it would never go anywhere!! 😉
Actually seems kind of interesting.
However, I can understand how difficult the case is to fund a show like this right next to V, even on a different network. (It would always be 'that other alien invasion show'.)
This kind of thing is ripe for a guaranteed, set, 26 episode thrill ride. Lasting exactly one season, viewers would get straight to the action and intrigue without the endless squabbles between characters that pad out other shows that languish for seasons. Not milking something for all it's worth is 100% against what any producer is good at doing, but I think there's something valuable in that.
I would have liked to have seen Day One. It looks better than the rest of the crap on network television. A small band of survivors work to bring back civilzation after being destroyed c'mon that premise is better than flashforward or a remake V .
Really, guys? This thing looks terrible.
[…] the network ended up having a change of heart about the new entry. Executive Angela Bromstad made excuses for it and claimed that there was “concern about sustaining the show’s mythology.” But […]