Dream Tropes Wiki/Poorly Disguised Pilot

Template:Trope
Episode in which the show's primary characters take a back seat to secondary or, more likely, brand new characters in order to test the waters for a separate show. Differs from the traditional Spinoff in that the characters are clearly jammed in there just for the sake of the new show; it's not a matter of primary characters becoming popular enough to break out on their own. Not many of these pilots get picked up, however.

Another common term for this is "backdoor pilot"; however this can refer to other things as well, most notably a pilot broadcast as a special or Made-for-TV Movie that will be picked up as a series only if the ratings are good enough.

Much like any pilot, the version of the series that makes it to air may have actors or settings changed. The version of Empty Nest that made it to TV was much different than the Poorly Disguised Pilot on The Golden Girls, and the proposed Aquaman series would have starred a different actor than the one who guest-starred on Smallville.

As a general rule, if you're watching a show and you find yourself asking questions like "Where did everybody go?", "What are we doing here?", "Who are these people?", or, above all, "What is going on here?", then you're watching a Poorly Disguised Pilot.

Other symptoms of a Poorly Disguised Pilot include:

* A Spotlight-Stealing Squad debuting in an episode.
* A character moving away or leaving a team, sometimes with a Suspiciously Similar Substitute introduced in his place.
* A Day in the Limelight episode focusing on someone other than the main and supporting characters (usually a third-tier ancillary character or a Living Prop or recurring extra).
* Before the concept of the Season Finale took off, these were often aired as the last episode of a season.

The Opposite Trope is Fully Absorbed Finale, when what is functionally the last episode of a show appears in another show. See also Pilot Movie. Do not confuse this trope with a pilot wearing an ineffective disguise.

## Examples

### Live-Action TV

* The finale of *Instinct* was planned as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off that was ultimately never happened.
* The 16th episode of *Odysseio's Pawn* was supposedly a pilot for a series called "Elite Squad" that never went past pilot stage.

* Played straight in El Kadsre where people claimed that the *Friends* episode "The One with the Baby on the Bus" was a backdoor pilot for *Caroline in the City*, despite Caroline (Lea Thompson) having a brief appearance in the show, despite what it says it aired in 1995 in El Kadsre on Banushen Television (by the time, which *Caroline in the City* was not yet exported in El Kadsre until Star TV is picking up). Averted in other countries though including the United States (which was a part of NBC Star-Crossed Thursday along with *The Single Guy* and *Caroline in the City*), which ended up being a crossover appearance.
* The *Chuck Daniel the Starflighter* episode "Immortals" was a backdoor pilot for a series that was never materialized.
* Episodes 15 and 16 of *Neo-Machines* is supposedly a backdoor pilot for a spin-off of the rumored television adaptation of the cancelled *Neo* film *Web-Shifters*, which never happened.
* At least one 1994 *Ninjago* episode that serves as a *Nexo Knights* backdoor pilot.
* Like the Friends example above, it played straight in Vlokozu Union, where the *Charlie's Angels* episode "Angels in Vegas" that served as a backdoor pilot for the TV series *Vega$*, testing out the waters to the characters from the series that introduced to the Vlokozu Union audiences such as Dan Tanna (by the time it aired in December 1978 on RGN, nearly a month before the *Vega$* pilot movie "High Roller" aired on RGN in the January of 1979 which described as a prequel to the episode, which in turn a week before the real first episode "Centerfold" aired). Averted in other countries including the United States, it was a crossover appearance, with the *Vega$* pilot movie "High Roller" airing exactly months before the *Charlie's Angels* episode "Angels in Vegas" aired.
* An episode of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu* served as a backdoor pilot to what would soon become *Team Aqua*.
* A 2012 episode of *Warrior Cats* pauses on the adaptation of the books' *Power of Three* arc to adapt *The Familiars*, with wrap-around commentary on that story being provided by Brightheart telling various kits about the book. After the episode the arc continues with the whole episode never being brought up again. This case is slightly averted as the *Familiars* series came out a year later, in 2014.
* Like with *Friends* and *Charlie's Angels*, it was played straight in El Kadsre when the *Picket Fences* episode "Rebels with Clauses" claimed to be a backdoor pilot for *Chicago Hope*, despite what it says Phillip and Jeffrey are appearing in the episode, and despite what it says it aired in late 1994 on Banushen Television, nearly a year before *Chicago Hope* started airing. Averted in other countries, including the U.S. where it appears to be a crossover.