And then I came to my senses.

I think it's a little much to expect writers to have a coherent, series-long story in mind while writing a pilot.

eta Though, rereading everything, I don't think the above is germane to what was being said.

I think it's a little much to expect writers to have a coherent, series-long story in mind while writing a pilot

I don't. Show bibles are good things, and the beginning isn't too early to start.

Sure you can diverge from it, but I've never gotten the feeling that the Lost team was diverging from an existing text.

I think it's a little much to expect writers to have a coherent, series-long story in mind while writing a pilot.

This depends on the type of show. A sitcom? No, all you need is a premise, you can see where it goes. A mystery? I think that you need a tentative plot that takes you all the way to the resolution of the mystery.

I don't. Show bibles are good things, and the beginning isn't too early to start.

It is too early when the beginning of the story may be the end of the story. I think to ask for a well-developed story, whether it be for 9 episodes or 9 seasons, when the pilot may only go as far as a few suits, is to ask a lot from the writers.

A mystery? I think that you need a tentative plot that takes you all the way to the resolution of the mystery.

But the end of the pilot may have been the end of the mystery (as unsatisfying as that would have been.) When the writers are guaranteed an opportunity to tell the rest of the story, then they should get their asses in gear.

I do agree one should write a pilot with a notion of what the answers to the questions it raises are but anything beyond a one-line it's-a-psychological-experiment, or whatever, is a waste of the writers' energy.

I mean, a mystery series should have a strict idea of what lies ahead. But it has to become a series first.

I do agree one should write a pilot with a notion of what the answers to the questions it raises are but anything beyond a one-line it's-a-psychological-experiment, or whatever, is a waste of the writers' energy.

I disagree. The writers are not selling a one or two hour movie. They are selling a series. The pilot is just the product they create to sell the series to a network. If they intend to sell the show to me, I want them to have more than a "notion" of where they intend to go with it.

Amen. If I were one of the network suits, I'd certainly want more than "we'll figure something out as we go along" in terms of assurances about future storylines before commiting $40+ million dollars to a year's worth of television.

It is too early when the beginning of the story may be the end of the story

Then why do some series start out with show bibles? Are they doing it wrong?

They are selling a series.

That's somewhere around the sticking point for me; they're selling a potential series, they're not writing an actual one. If they are asked to write an actual series, that is when the work of writing one should begin. Of course it's preferable to have significant portions of the world being built when the pilot is being written; it is, however, unfair to be demanding the writer spend months of his or her time on it when, at any moment, the whole thing could go up in a plume of smoke (And have it mean as much as a plume of smoke to the audience if it does)

I'd certainly want more than "we'll figure something out as we go along" in terms of assurances about future storylines before commiting $40+ million dollars to a year's worth of television.

I don't think the writers should "figure something out as we go along". They should figure it out when they have a team of writers, a salary and a guarantee that all their work won't be for naught. Right around the time when they get picked up. 'Cause to put in an enormous amount of work into a project that doesn't get picked up leads to frustration, ulcers and depending on what part of the world you're living in, a up-close tour of the poverty line.

All they need is Skip the Asspull demon. Continuity ain't no...

Forget it. I can't.

It is too early when the beginning of the story may be the end of the story

Then why do some series start out with show bibles? Are they doing it wrong?

I knew, writing that sentence, that I wouldn't get away with its imprecision.

It's the writers' prerogative what goes in. Y'know, if they want to spend a lot of time imagining and including an abundance of world-building information, before the series get a thumbs-up, cool. If they decide that they want to imagine and include an abundance of world-building information, after being giving the go-ahead, cool. It's their time, they can incorpoarte the pilot script into a ballroom dancing routine if they want.

They shouldn't have practicality on their part mistaken for laziness, though.