"'Major Dad' Pilot"

During my career, I made three pilots. One, Island Guy, did not sell. Two, Best of the West and Major Dad, did. The common denominator of all three projects was the same:

Nobody believed in them.

And by "nobody", I mean the networks that had ordered them.

Overcoming serious network reservations, the two pilots that became series succeeded entirely on merit, based on the enormously positive responses of the studio audiences that saw those pilots filmed. Networks may harbor negative preconceptions about a project, but they'd be foolish to ignore evidence.

I know that, ultimately, it doesn't matter why a show sells. It just makes me happy when the explanation is quality. When that happens, the world is, at least momentarily, in sync with how I'd like it to be.

Story of a Writer - Part Twenty, a five-post extravaganza chronicles my Major Dad pilot experience. I can't find it right now, but it's there. Those posts may be worth checking out later.

There are also, apparently, two subsequent "Mop Up" postings on the subject, in case you'd like to be thorough steeped.

Recently somebody told me the pilot episode was on Hulu, and I thought you might be interested in seeing it.

The pilot is twenty-three years old. There are unquestionably too many "formula" moments. But there's also stuff that feels fresh and original, my favorite being the wordless sequence where the little girl just stands there, staring at the Major.

Anyway, here it is. I hope you like it.