new york television festival

I didn't really know what to expect from these pilots. Well, I kinda did, but I thought they'd be...I don't know, a little better than this? There are four drama pilots (you can watch them here at MSN), and they range from very well done to amateurish.

Bloodhounds

Premise: It's about a small-time TV channel looking for a hit, and one of the workers (Bernie, so broke he's stealing money from his mother in the first scene) seems to have found one in a reality show that's (in his words) "a cross between America's Most Wanted and Survivor." A woman, Elizabeth Benton, has been missing for a while, and there are no leads, so why not have a reality show competition to see who can find her first? He convinces his boss Sam to put the show on the air, and soon it becomes a hit.

What I found interesting about the comedy pilots from the New York Television Festival is how slickly-done most of them were. Of the six pilots in this category -- the largest number of pilots in any category -- four looked like they could air on a network right now. And at least three of them had actors that should be recognizable to regular TV watchers. Of course, high production value doesn't necessarily translate to good comedy. But there were really fun and creative aspects in all the pilots. My reviews are after the jump, and you can watch the pilots on MSN.

Fed, cooled-off by the Frappuchino, and now smelling sporty-fresh, I stationed myself near the red carpet for the premiere of ABC's new comedy The Knights of Prosperity. You've heard about the show by now; a group of down-on-their luck folks conspire to rob Mick Jagger in order to help them improve their dreary lives.

I was shuttled around a couple of times to make room for photographers with real cameras, so the pictures after the jump are taken from a couple of different areas. Outside, press and photographers were put in a pen, with barriers on three sides. I didn't want to stand inside the pen while waiting for everyone to go in, because it just felt a touch humiliating. As I pointed out to another reporter: barriers on two sides make a line, but barriers on three sides make a pen. Yeesh. More pictures after the jump.

When you're sitting less than ten feet away from a television legend, you pay attention, even if you're hot and sweaty and somewhat aware that the deodorant you put on in the morning is no longer doing its job. That's the situation I was in as I hustled uptown from the One-Minute Pitch finals just in time for the panel discussion on the news media's role in a war zone. Twenty minutes and one very muggy F train station later, I found myself in the front row, with a panel of distinguished newsmen in front of me. But everyone knew the attraction was Rather.

More on the panel -- and more pictures -- after the jump.

I was excited to get the screener for the Animation pilots for the New York Television Festival, because if you can't go to the festival, you might as well get to watch stuff in advance right? Of course, now you can watch them, too, but that's beside the point. I requested the Animation pilot because A) I have kids, B) I also write for our sister blog, Blogging Baby, C) my husband loves Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, and that is kind of what these shows are like. Which renders A and B on my list completely irrelevant.

Reviewed here: End of the Line, Squid Dragon Legend and Strange Transmissions.

Because of Tuesday night's festival kickoff party, I decided to sleep in a little yesterday. Because of that, I missed both a morning panel on the value of independent TV production, which included Doug Herzog, the president of Comedy Central. I also missed the screening for the first set of Drama pilots. But I did manage to catch the first batch of Reality pilots, the first batch of Comedy pilots, and a really funny panel discussion about the American family on TV.

Why was the panel hilarious? Because the three people on the panel were executive producers Mitchell Hurwitz of Arrested Development, Phil Rosenthal of Everybody Loves Raymond, and Mike Scully of The Simpsons. So no one was left unscathed joke-wise; even the creator of 7th Heaven was lovingly labeled a "whore."

Folks, I never got into this job to be a red carpet/party reporter. I'm not good in noisy crowds of people I don't know, and I'm especially not good at fighting other people to be heard in a group. But when I found myself on the press side of the red carpet for the premiere of NBC's Kidnapped last night, I tried to do my best.

The red carpet consists of whatever stars are coming to the premiere slowly walking down a procession of press people: first they pose for photographers, then they talk to television and other video outlets, then they answer questions from lowly print outlets like us. I decided to hang out at the end of the line and catch what I could, since I'd also be going to the screening and the afterparty (which also doubled as the NYTVF launch party). And since I was on the Kidnapped set a few weeks ago (that post is in the works), there wasn't much more to ask the principals that I hadn't already. But it was still an interesting evening. After the jump, a few pictures of my night.

We've been excited about the New York Television Festival since the second edition was announced earlier this year. Think of it as a Sundance for television, where budding TV moguls submit their pilots, the best are selected for the festival, and awards are given. Of course, in between, the organizers try to cram as many celebrity-related events and panels in as possible.

Because this is such an interesting concept, we're going to have extensive coverage of the festivities. Pilot screeners in each of the five categories (Comedy, Drama, Animation, Educational and Reality) will be reviewed by various TV Squadders; the review posts will go up starting on Thursday. And I'll be a roving reporter, trying to attend some of the bigger premieres, panel discussions, and other events, bringing you pictures and maybe even a quote or two from the stars who are attending parties for Kidnapped, The Knights of Prosperity, and Standoff. So, look for our daily posts from the festival and for the reviews of the pilots. I'm looking forward to this...

We've mentioned to you that the second-annual New York Television Festival will be held in September. Think of it as a Sundance for TV pilots; 22 pilots submitted by people from all over the country will be considered, and prizes will be given out. Unlike last year, most of the submitted pilots were made specifically for the festival, some of which will star actors with previous TV experience. All pilots will be under consideration for pick-up; indeed, two pilots from last year's festival got picked up by the A&E and OLN networks.

Because the stakes are a little higher, the festival, in conjunction with video hosting partner MSN, has announced that the $10,000 will be given to the winner of the festival's top prize. Also remember that they are co-sponsoring a "Best Pitch" contest with the IFC, so the creativity should be a-flowin' in New York next month.

TV Squad is going to be attending the festival, and we hope to get a bunch of cool stuff from there, including interviews with the pilots' stars and producers, so stay tuned for our coverage!

[via Bloglines]