misbegotten Back in the early Noughties, writer Warren Ellis created the twelve issue mini-series Global Frequency for DC Comics. It concerned the titular semi-secret organisation, created to deal with the kind of immediate, potentially catastrophic crisis-es that most of the world's governments had neither the imagination or foresight to plan for, let alone deal with. While some members of the Global Frequency were highly-trained and/or experts in their chosen field - such as ex-soldiers, marksmen, scientists, etc - many more were ordinary people living perfectly normal lives, who just happened to have a particular skill or talent, or know a certain piece of information, that might prove to be vitally important should a certain situation occur. In which case their phone would ring and they'd suddenly find themselves with an hour or less in which to save the world. Over the course of those twelve issues, the Global Frequency dealt with malfunctioning next-generation weapons systems, experimental cutting edge super-science gone horribly wrong, and the accidental activation of forgotten Cold War-era doomsday devices, amongst other things.A pilot episode for a proposed TV series about the Global Frequency was produced in 2005, with Michelle Forbes playing the organisation's founder & leader Miranda Zero (having read the initial comic book series when it was originally published, I can confirm that the fabulous Forbes is perfect casting for the role), but the network decided not to commission it. There was a time when it was common practice to make full length pilot movies, so even if a series wasn't greenlit at least there was still a ninety minute made-for-TV film that would usually be broadcast and/or released on VHS. But from the early Nineties onwards, as a cost saving measure the networks decided to just make 45 minute-long pilot episodes instead, and those that failed to progress to a full series are often never seen by the general public.However, the Global Frequency pilot was leaked on-line, became readily available as an illegal download, received universally positive reviews and swiftly gained a sizeable following. The pilot's fanbase hoped that it's popularity on-line would cause the network to reconsider it's decision not to greenlight a full series, but the opposite proved to be true: nowadays, downloads of TV shows are so common that most channels & networks have adopted a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach, and have made downloads of their shows available on their own websites. But back in 2005 the leaking of Global Frequency was a high profile embarrassment and ran as a major news story in the entertainment press. Warren Ellis has stated in interviews that the network were so affronted that not only was any possible revival of the project killed stone dead, they have also repeatedly refused requests for the pilot to be released on DVD.I finally got the chance to see Global Frequency in late 2011, and as a fan of the original comic book series I can report that it lived up to both it's reputation (the British newspaper 'Metro' once ran a page-long article about the pilot, in which they described Global Frequency as "the greatest TV series never made") and my own high expectations. Believe the hype.

vane117 I find the glowing reviews of other reviewers difficult to understand. I absolutely love the original comics of Global Frequency. However, this pilot is a weak shadow of the source material. Specifically, the actress playing Miranda Zero lacked energy and was completely uninteresting. In addition, the characters had an almost "Fringe-like" ability to remember the one crucial piece of 30-year-old information in a matter of seconds. In essence, they are walking, talking deus ex machinae.I completely understand why WB chose not to proceed with the series.I'm glad someone else is writing a new pilot.

Livewire242 For those who don't know the background story, this pilot episode was never meant for public eyes. It was dropped by the network, as many other series are, after only the pilot episode was produced. However, a DVD screener of this show somehow made it out of the studio, and was uploaded to the Internet. It has now been downloaded millions of times and continues to be downloaded a full year after its initial appearance. Just search for it on the torrent sites.It diminishes the enjoyment of a show somewhat to know there will never be another episode. That being said, this was an outstanding pilot.The special effects were extremely good for a pilot. When I think back to other pilot episodes for similar series such as X-Files, The Collector, and Supernatural, I'm amazed those shows ever got out of the gate. Global Frequency makes a much better first impression.While not deviating too much from the comics, the show needed a more familiar base. So much of the pilot is spent introducing Sean Flynn, a police officer suspended from the force, who accidentally stumbles upon this secret network by finding one of their phones. Sean is decent, but not a very bright guy, so all of the science fiction elements of the show require translation into layman terms. This would have ensured a broader appeal than just comic book geeks.What I found to be a real departure, and a refreshing change, was the fact that Miranda Zero--a woman--runs the show. Action/adventure shows (particularly those touching on science fiction) rarely feature a female lead. Tilting the scales even further, the two other starring characters, Kate Finch and Aleph, are both women.Taken for what it is, it's certainly not science fiction's finest hour. But it's easily as good an hour of entertainment as anything on TV these days. The fact that you're not even supposed to see it makes it even more appealing.

ironjade Not the most original show I've seen mainly because it reminded me very much of Search Control.Michelle Forbes is always watchable and the other, annoyingly unfamiliar, cast members make a pretty good attempt at taking it seriously. The dialogue is sharp and witty but much of the fun lies in spotting how many movies it's ripping off: Blade Runner and The Matrix to name just two.It could have done with higher powered cast or at least some familiar faces and a longer running time: I don't recall seeing a 44 minute pilot for this sort of show for years.All told it's entertaining fun and far worse shows have been made into a series: "Lost" anyone? It's a pity pilots aren't all exposed to public scrutiny and put to a vote: I think this would have been in with a chance.