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White Collar uncut pilot
I watched the extended version of the White Collar pilot last night! Mostly it's pretty much like the aired version, except some of the scenes are longer - they trimmed bits of dialogue here and there to shorten it, without really changing the meaning of the scene. It was neat to get a little more - a little more banter here, a wee bit more backstory there - but there wasn't much that was cut that I minded not having in the "official" episode. We got to see June talk more about playing poker with the boys in the old days, and more of Diana teasing Neal, and a little more Neal-Peter banter. But really I could see why they cut most of it; it would've been nice to keep it, but I never noticed that anything had been cut from the final scenes - the pacing and emotions and everything are still just fine - so they did a good job.
There were only two bits I wished they'd kept. There was one little exchange between Peter and Neal - it was one of the scenes where they're talking in Peter's office, and Peter asks Neal if he trusts him, and Neal answers "... yeah" in this little-kid-caught-in-the-cookie-jar sort of tone that is so cute. Presumably, aside from just needing to trim for time, they didn't really want to push that aspect of Peter and Neal's relationship that quickly. But it was an adorable bit and I wish we'd gotten to keep it.
The other bit I would've liked to have seen in the episode is that, in the uncut version, we see Peter's moment of realization when he figures out what Neal is up to with the ankle monitor and the warehouse. I can see why they cut it, because when Peter gets out of his car and starts ordering people around on the scene, he's obviously figured it out and is still gleeing about it. The moment when he catches on isn't really necessary. But it's neat, just seeing that grin spread across his face as it hits him what Neal is up to and why. I always love Peter's "Eureka!" moments.
And the only long scene that they cut is one I'm glad they did - there's a scene in the extended pilot in which Peter meets Mozzie. But I think it was a good decision to string that along for a while, keeping the two sides of Neal's life separate until they accidentally collide. Also, the scene in which they finally meet in Neal's apartment is a lot more amusing and just generally a stronger scene than the original one in the pilot (where Mozzie supplies some plot-related information to Peter).
This is actually something I struggle with in my original writing, as opposed to fanfic ... the fact that any important scene can only happen once! Aside from canon AUs in shows/books/movies that have time or dimensional travel, you can only ever have one version of anything: the way two characters met, the first time they kissed, the time one of them died. So you'd better make it good. I think this performance anxiety is one of the hurdles that I have to overcome in writing original fiction -- the awareness that out of all the possibilities for the big emotional moments in the plot and in the characters' lives, I'm always going to have to pick one and go with it. In fanfic you can write a dozen versions, and other writers can write a hundred more. And then you can enjoy the one that you find the most satisfying. At the very least, there's always another version out there, or you can make up your own. As a writer, I like that freedom, even though as a reader/viewer, I'll (nearly) always take the one canon version over the million fanon versions. But when I'm writing my own stories, and will only ever get one version, it's hard to overcome the paralyzing fear that I'm not making the best decision and I won't get another chance.
This entry is also posted at http://friendshipper.dreamwidth.org/363507.html with
comments.
There were only two bits I wished they'd kept. There was one little exchange between Peter and Neal - it was one of the scenes where they're talking in Peter's office, and Peter asks Neal if he trusts him, and Neal answers "... yeah" in this little-kid-caught-in-the-cookie-jar sort of tone that is so cute. Presumably, aside from just needing to trim for time, they didn't really want to push that aspect of Peter and Neal's relationship that quickly. But it was an adorable bit and I wish we'd gotten to keep it.
The other bit I would've liked to have seen in the episode is that, in the uncut version, we see Peter's moment of realization when he figures out what Neal is up to with the ankle monitor and the warehouse. I can see why they cut it, because when Peter gets out of his car and starts ordering people around on the scene, he's obviously figured it out and is still gleeing about it. The moment when he catches on isn't really necessary. But it's neat, just seeing that grin spread across his face as it hits him what Neal is up to and why. I always love Peter's "Eureka!" moments.
And the only long scene that they cut is one I'm glad they did - there's a scene in the extended pilot in which Peter meets Mozzie. But I think it was a good decision to string that along for a while, keeping the two sides of Neal's life separate until they accidentally collide. Also, the scene in which they finally meet in Neal's apartment is a lot more amusing and just generally a stronger scene than the original one in the pilot (where Mozzie supplies some plot-related information to Peter).
This is actually something I struggle with in my original writing, as opposed to fanfic ... the fact that any important scene can only happen once! Aside from canon AUs in shows/books/movies that have time or dimensional travel, you can only ever have one version of anything: the way two characters met, the first time they kissed, the time one of them died. So you'd better make it good. I think this performance anxiety is one of the hurdles that I have to overcome in writing original fiction -- the awareness that out of all the possibilities for the big emotional moments in the plot and in the characters' lives, I'm always going to have to pick one and go with it. In fanfic you can write a dozen versions, and other writers can write a hundred more. And then you can enjoy the one that you find the most satisfying. At the very least, there's always another version out there, or you can make up your own. As a writer, I like that freedom, even though as a reader/viewer, I'll (nearly) always take the one canon version over the million fanon versions. But when I'm writing my own stories, and will only ever get one version, it's hard to overcome the paralyzing fear that I'm not making the best decision and I won't get another chance.
This entry is also posted at http://friendshipper.dreamwidth.org/363507.html with