Book Commentary: Writing the Pilot (By William Rabkin)

What I like about William Rabkin's Writing the Pilot is the manner in which it teaches the reader how to make a pilot. He utilizes many popular and recent examples of television pilots to illustrate how and how not to make one, running through the plots of each episode and utilizing the level of success the particular show had beyond the pilot to show whether the pilot was successful or not. For example, the book make the claim that the show Flashforward was a complete failure as a pilot and series, as it created a premise which did not allow the main characters to make decisions that would result in their development and that of the plot. This resulted in a slow but gradual deterioration of viewership that eventually resulted in its cancellation.

Not only does the claim seem to directly hit the mark on why Flashforward was such a failure, but it also shows an insight into the process of television making and an understanding on what the ultimate function of a television pilot is: to provide an experience that hooks viewers, while also setting up a premise that allows for future conflicts to occur and giving the viewer an idea of what the show will be like each week. It also helps that the prose is accessible and entertaining to read, meaning one will have very little trouble understand what Rabkin's saying. If you want to better understand what makes a good pilot, the different types of pilots out there, and how to make a good pilot, then Rabkin's novel is definitely something that every inspiring television writer should read.
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