Original Unaired DH Pilot with Sheryl Lee (now with photos!)

Post by **Jonah** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:49 pm

I recently downloaded the original unaired "Desperate Housewives" pilot because I had heard Sheryl Lee was in it. (I'll try to post some screen shots soon for those who haven't seen it.)

I'm not sure what I think about "Desperate Housewives" (only seen a few episodes) - it's nothing compared to "Twin Peaks" of course. It's kind of pedestrian like "Lost" and complete fluff - very "Sex in the City". Though there are some dark sides I like about it.

Anyhow, I found it amazing watching Sheryl Lee in the original pilot. It's such a shame the producers replaced her with Brenda Strong. I like Strong but I feel Lee brought a sense of innocence to the show, a sense of ethereal mystery that Strong doesn't have. It would've been amazing to see Lee get this kind of fame again - and see her again playing a dead person on TV! The image of her lying dead on the ground in the opening moments of DH's unaired pilot were quite haunting as one seems to view it automatically in comparison to the image of Laura wrapped in plastic.

I believe Kyle MacLachlan recently joined the cast of DH? The parallel between him, Sheryl Lee and Brenda Strong is very interesting. I had expected a lot more from Desperate Housewives, however. It is entertaining, but I'm disappointed overall. Thought it would be better, considering all I had heard about it.

But the point of this post is, I would highly recommend the unaired pilot to anyone who is a fan of Sheryl Lee (or Laura Palmer!).

Post by **Jonah** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 1:36 pm

Having some problems getting pics up. Here's the link for the torrent file if anyone wants to download episode:

http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3539882/Des ... ired_Pilot

Just a warning - downloading this episode takes VERY LONG. It took in excess of 40 hours for me (last 10% was a nightmare!).

But if you're a Sheryl Lee fan, it's worth checking out as this episode is not even available (to my knowledge) as a bonus feature on DH DVDs.

Hank_Jennings · Post by **Hank_Jennings** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:02 pm

I've heard about Sheryl Lee being replaced in the pilot, & it is a shame. I'm not a TV watcher, & have no interest in seeing Desperate Housewives, but she would have been excellent. I do appreciate the link, but I'm not interested in seeing it, sorry, but thanks.

FaceInTheLeaves · Post by **FaceInTheLeaves** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:51 am

They replaced Sheryl because she was ethereal and they wanted to take the character in another direction. There's an interview with one of the producers or writers somewhere on the net. He said she was really lovely about it and they want to use her at some point in the future.

Post by **Jonah** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:30 pm

Ok this took me ages but think I got it working. The first two images are the best in terms of parallels with Laura Palmer (dead body and framed picture at funeral).

By jonah26 at 2007-08-22

By Jonah26 at 2007-08-22

Post by **Jonah** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:23 am

Sorry for delay. Here's all the rest of the photos. (I like close-up of Sheryl smiling and also one where she's leaning into mailbox, interesting shot.)

By jonah26 at 2007-08-22

By Jonah26 at 2007-08-22

By jonah26 at 2007-08-22

Hank_Jennings · Post by **Hank_Jennings** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:27 pm

Hey, thanks for the photos, Jonah. I appreciated that. I also liked the ones you like aswell.

Red Room · Post by **Red Room** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:19 am

Jonah wrote:Here's the link for the torrent file if anyone wants to download episode:

http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3539882/Des ... ired_Pilot

Just a warning - downloading this episode takes VERY LONG. It took in excess of 40 hours for me (last 10% was a nightmare!).

Thanks for the heads-up Jonah. Incidentally, I managed to download it in under 3 hours.

I'll keep seeding the file for a while...

It's great to see, (especially as I'm also a fan of DH), although I personally feel that Brenda Strong is better suited to the role...

RR

Post by **Jonah** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:58 am

Glad you appreciate the link and photos guys. It's definitely a cool little rarity, I'm surprised it has not been released on any of the DH DVDs as a bonus feature.

Just got to end of second season of DH. Looking forward to watching Season 3, mainly for Kyle MacLachlan (who's with Bree/Marcia Cross - I love her!). I think Harriet Sansom Harris was wonderful in DH. I'm surprised she never worked with Lynch. She'd be perfect! (Always thought Jan D'arcy who played Sylvia Horne looked a bit like her however).