Irwin Allen had four, count ‘em, four SF series running on TV in the second half of the sixties, an accomplishment that has never been equaled, though the 90s Trek franchise came as close as anyone ever has with three series running over the course of a decade. That in no way prevented Mr. Allen from trying for five, however, and though ultimately he failed, he still produced a film that is ripe for our riffing.

Every year there are dozens of pilot episodes made. These are essentially a working model or proof of concept episode for a potential new TV series. Some of these are fully-fledged episodes, and some are only partial-length. Others are feature length. Based on the strengths or weaknesses of these ‘proposals’, networks decide which new shows they’re going to pick up and which ones they’re not.