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Jim Nabors and Courtney Cox costarred in a flop 1980s sitcom
He played her uncle in a pilot that never got picked up.
Show business is full of "what if" stories. From alternate casting choices to accidents that changed a plotline mid-shoot, there is plenty to ponder when it comes to events that almost happened.
One consistent contributor to the chapters of hypothetical Hollywood history is the failed television pilot. Shows as varied as The Rifleman, The Brady Bunch and Green Acres all aired episodes toward the end of their runs' that were backdoor pilots intended to launch spinoffs. Obviously, none ever got off the ground.
The list of failed television pilots could stretch to the moon and back. Most weren't picked up for the same reason they've been lost to history — they were just plain dull. But sometimes, a pilot that didn't pique anyone's interest at the time now seems downright intriguing in hindsight.
One such pilot is the 1986 sitcom Sylvan in Paradise. It follows a bumbling hotel bell captain named Sylvan Sprayberry who works at a resort in Hawaii. Sylvan is surrounded by other oddball characters like Polly, who runs the puka shell gift shop, and Sparky, a bellboy who is engaged to Sylvan's niece, Lucy.
It came at the tail end of a wave of vacation and Hawaii-themed episodes and shows vying for airtime. In fact, one of the aforementioned Green Acres spinoffs was meant to take place at a Hawaiian hotel.
Sylvan in Paradise would be nothing more than a footnote in a story about a larger TV trend were it not for the fortuitous casting that elevates it from a ho-hum disappointment to an interesting failure.
Jim Nabors played the title role with his trademark Alabama twang, clearly meant to be the show's main draw. But what really makes this half-hour of television stand out are two of the other actors.
Courtney Cox, eight years before she became known to millions of people around the world as Monica in Friends, appeared as Nabors' niece, Lucy. Though Sylvan was still years before her most famous role, if this kooky pilot had become a successful show, it could have continued into the Nineties and changed the makeup of the now-iconic sitcom about six friends in New York.
Sylvan in Paradise (which also kicked around the potential title Hotel Hawaii) aired on August 2, 1986, a Saturday evening, sandwiched between Golden Girls and Remington Steele reruns. It performed quite well in the ratings, landing in the Top 10 for the Nielsens that week. And yet, NBC opted to pull the plug.
A much more immediate result of Sylvan in Paradise getting the boot connects to a show that debuted just one year later — Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The overbearing manager of the hotel in the pilot, Clinton C. Waddle, was played by a young actor who had been appearing on TV for a few years but only in small roles. He was about to get his big break, just not from the pilot costarring Gomer Pyle. Brent Spiner played Mr. Waddle in the Sylvan pilot, before winning the fan-favorite role of Data in the Star Trek series.
If Sylvan in Paradise had gone on to air just a few seasons, Spiner may never have auditioned for his career-defining sci-fi franchise role.
50 Comments
It must've been an interesting process, all the decision makers (or maybe just BT) sitting around the conference table trying to "head-trip" the concept. After all, who doesn't love Gomer Pyle (ooops, I mean Jim Nabors). Or the "roving" romance stories of Love Boat and Fantasy Island. Then if we set in Hawaii with fabulous scenery, just coincidentally where JN lives, how can we miss.
Focus Groups are "usually" asked to evaluate (comment) on a Show within it's own context, like the chemistry of the characters and how entertaining are the storylines. Focus groups "can" often be voluntary with a reviewer looking forward to something novel. Of course if the studio audience had no reaction, then that would be sad indeed. And would it be worth retooling?
Brent Spinner, as is Dwight Schultz, both are "chameleon" actors, meaning their personalities blend into the role. Meaning a viewer remembers the role, not necessarily them (unless they're a personal fan).
The real obstacle was, if the "Gomer Pyle" character WAS going to be used at all, then why take him out Mayberry. Because fans have a very long memory. And how long would it have taken for viewers to get used to him in a completely different setting?
Who danced with Bruce Springsteen
In the video DANCING in the DARK
When he picked a woman from
The audience??!!
Have enjoyed the show better
If Roy Stuart Elizabeth MacRae and Tommy Leonetti had also
Been regulars on the show.
Elizabeth MacRae played
Lou Ann Poovie and Tommy
Leonetti played Cpl. Nick
Cuccinelli all of those persons
Were on Gomer Pyle USMC.
The Jim Nabors Show would
Have been an even better show
If Roy Stuart Elizabeth MacRae
And Tommy Leonetti had been
On that program.
Roy Stuart Elizabeth MacRae and Tommy Leonetti were just
As funny and just as talented
As Ronnie Schell Frank Sutton
And Jim Nabors.
Fun Fact: Alice Cooper guest starred on an episode! (P.S that episode is HILARIOUS)
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