1/4life, 1.1: Pilot (2005 [unaired], Marshall Herskovitz, Edward Zwick) ****

The best pilot I've seen in years -- the genesis of a generational questioning -- was denied a series order. Two of the most acclaimed and seasoned figures in modern television couldn't get ABC (i.e. its green lighters who blatantly ignored the commercial value of quality) to put their ambitious ensemble piece on the air. 1/4life -- with its overlapping conversations, fleeting glances and romantic pyramids -- captures the messy haze of post-collegiate existence with Reality TV's energy (much of the episode unfolds in a single house), but none of its glibness or plasticity. As a friend wrote me, watching 1/4life's pilot today felt like "total exhilaration mixed with crushing sadness," the thrill of seeing master showrunners at the height of their craft tempered by the knowledge their infant was unaccountably slaughtered. This is great art and an even greater tragedy.

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