NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- Some of this fall's big-buzz premieres for the U.S. networks are causing a big stir now because the pilots have been leaked online.
Copies of hot prospects such as NBC's "Bionic Woman," ABC's "Pushing Daisies," The CW's "Reaper" and other shows were available Friday for illegal download on sites such as Torrent Spy, The Pirate Bay and Mininova, TV Week reported Monday.
Other leaked shows include Fox's mid-season offering "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," ABC's controversial comedy "Cavemen," and NBC's "Chuck" and "Lipstick Jungle."
Most of the series pilots finding their way onto Web sites last week were those generating the most buzz, prompting some observers to wonder about the origins of the downloads, TV Week said.
Network and studio representatives denied uploading the shows.
"We're doing everything we can to fight piracy," said a major studio representative. "Our piracy department is playing whack-a-mole with these things," the unidentified rep said referring to a popular arcade game.
Several users who viewed the pirated pilots posted comments on the good quality of the material.
"A lot better than I'd expected," one user posted. "(A) bit weird though -- this isn't supposed to air until 2008."
