Pilot Error Revisted: Michael Weatherly Failed to Get His Kicks on "Pier 66"
Originally published on AntennaFree.TV on 8/2/2013
Given that Michael Weatherly has had the luxury of playing the part of Anthony DiNozzo on CBS’s NCIS for more than a decade now, it’s doubtful that he has any real complaints about the way his career has played out in the long run, but back in the mid-1990s, when he was attempting to make the jump from daytime dramas to prime-time series, he wasn’t exactly in great spirits when he found himself denied the opportunity to jump into a full-time gig with Aaron Spelling.
Filmed in Fort Lauderdale, Pier 66—which featured a cast of then-unknowns including Weatherly, Jeri Ryan, and Denise Richards, among others—was described by Spelling with the easy one-liner “Melrose Place in a marina,” but when he delivered Pier 66 to ABC in 1995 and found them less than enthusiastic about moving forward with the nighttime soap opera, the uber-producer was blindsided. “I was very surprised—shocked—that ABC didn’t pick us up,” he told The Sun-Sentinel in July 1995. “I think they were scared to death of having another serial.”
Never one to give up easily, Spelling declared, “We’re going to sell that show. It’s going to be on someplace if I have to take it to cable.” His first stop, however, was on the then-fledgling UPN, who took a pass, and if he did indeed pitch it to cable networks after that, the reaction was seemingly just as unenthusiastic.
Finally, in May of the following year, ABC decided to try and recoup at least a little bit of their investment by screening the pilot for Pier 66, cutting it down from its original 90-minute run-time to only 60 minutes, which almost certainly resulted in a final product that was less impressive than originally intended.
Still, the experience of making the pilot seems to have been a pleasant one for most of those involved. In Rob Owen’s book Gen X TV: The Brady Bunch to Melrose Place, series creator Kimberly Costello briefly discussed her experiences on the pilot. “We had eight actors ages 20 to 27, and none of them would go to the store without calling all the others,” she said. “They were careful not to hurt anyone’s feelings or leave anyone out, which I found incredibly kind and wonderful. Then they’d stay up until two or three in the morning and talk about music and film.”
This certainly checks out with every experience I’ve had with the aforementioned Mr. Weatherly, who’s an avowed music geek as well as a film aficionado. (Most NCIS viewers probably already suspected the latter, what with all of DiNozzo’s movie references on the show.) Having chatted with him at least briefly at every Television Critics Association press tour that we’ve both attended, I figured Weatherly wouldn’t mind revisiting the Pier 66 pilot, and I was not wrong. What I didn’t expect, however, was that I’d end up having to loiter around for several minutes until he was finished chatting with some business types. I did so, however, and he finally came over and joined me, all apologies for the delay.
So tell me about Pier 66. I know it had quite a cast, at least in retrospect.
Michael Weatherly: [Puts his arm around his publicist.] Ruth, let me tell you about Pier 66… [Turns to me.] Walk with me.
Okay.
Let’s walk to the bar. You’ve been waiting here long enough, you’re probably thirsty.
I’m probably going to need a drink for this, anyway. Should I say that you needed a drink to even talk about it?
[Laughs.] Okay, so Pier 66…was March of 1996. Michael Lange directed, it was written by Kimberly Costello, and Aaron Spelling produced. It was Denise Richards, Jeri Ryan, Martin Cummins, Meredith Salenger, and myself. And Paul Snyder was the first A.D., who has also been the first A.D. on NCIS for the last 11 years. And when I directed my first episode, he was my first A.D. So this is for Pilot Error, huh? Well, I know far too much about this pilot. It was my first pilot.
I did not know that. How did you find your way into it?
I was on an ABC soap called Loving, and ABC Daytime and ABC Nighttime…must have known about each other. [Laughs.] So I had meetings with ABC Nighttime and was signed to a holding deal, and when I finished the soap, I did the pilot the next day. I literally flew from New York to Fort Lauderdale, where we shot it. It did air, by the way. On Memorial Day 1996, I believe. It aired as an ABC special. And I really thought it was gonna go! And then I did another ABC pilot called For the People, with Patrick Dempsey, and I really thought that one was gonna go, too! Chris Columbus was the executive producer, for God’s sake! But it didn’t go. I’ve done a few pilots…
It’s funny that Pier 66 was produced by Aaron Spelling. When I talked to Jonathan Frakes recently, he seemed to think that he’d been in the only Spelling pilot not to get picked up (1979’s Beach Patrol). I’m sure he’ll be pleased to know that he’s not alone.
Pier 66 was an actual place, too. It was also the first time I ever went to an actual spa.
You said you were pretty sure that it was going to be picked up. What was your reaction when you found out that it hadn’t been? Legitimate shock, or were you already numb to the business by then?
[Sighs.] Oh, Will, you and your questions…
They’re very probing, I realize.
Okay, here’s what happened. In March or April 1995… [Puts his hand on my shoulder.] I remember it well. It was 18 years ago, but, fuck, I remember it. My ex-girlfriend got pregnant, so we got married. And nine months later, my son—who’s now 17 years old—was born. And not only did the pilot not get picked up, but that marriage didn’t really last, either. [Points to his publicist.] This is a publicist’s dream, by the way. [Laughs.] By the way, my present wife will be so happy to hear me talking about how unhappy I was then…because, honestly, have you ever met a happier person than I am now?
Surely not.
Y’see? There you go. [Laughs.]
I wonder how happy Weatherly would’ve been if I’d told him that, when ABC opted to take a pass on Pier 66, it was because they decided another pilot had more potential: Charlie Grace, starring…Mark Harmon.
Actually, he probably already knows. And if he doesn’t, then he probably would’ve just laughed, since Charlie Grace only lasted for nine episodes and, in the long run, they both still ended up in the same place, anyway.