The episode of Nickelodeon's Taina that NEVER aired😮 

Nickelodeon was ahead of its time when it came to integrating cultural diversity into their shows. It was so organic and not forced and unknowingly taught me a lot about different cultures without realizing it. I miss those times man 🫶🏾

It's not the same lol the chemistry wasn't like with Christina Vidal ❤ Taina was my jam when I was a kid

The theme song has Dora Vibes... Or am I crazy? 😂

Omg this is such a treat for us Taína Fans

I’m so glad they got rid of this damn opening music lol

Quick Story: This pilot was filmed in late 1999 a little over a year before the Christina Vidal version premiered in Jan ‘01. Most, if not all of the main cast of Taina are from NYC. As a 15 year old boy I loved this show. I was always afraid it was going to get cancelled just like Nicks other show “My Brother and Me”, which it did. Nick at this time had another Latino based show called “Brothers Garcia” (which was OK imo)and the camera movements there is the same as this pilot. The woman who created Taina also created “Gullah Gullah Island”. Between 1998-2001 there was a huge Latin music explosion that took over the world including the U.S. It made sense for Nickelodeon to cater to their Latino audience with “Taina” and “Brothers Garcia”.

I can honestly say the show itself is and always will be such an amazing concept but I am glad the final cast was selected this chemistry was indeed classic!

That intro music ain’t it! 🤣😂😂 I’m glad they changed the music and the final cast.

Umm no Christina was definitely the better pick ❤just the singing alone made her a better pick I’m happy they chose her because if they didn’t I probably wouldn’t love this show like that 😂

We seriously don’t deserve you, LaTangela. Thank you so much for uploading!!! Side Note: Maritza always reminded me of Jackée’s Sandra Clark.❤️

Fatima Robinson omg I love her work one of the best choreographers ever ❤ loved taina growing up

Im so thankful this ended up in my feed!!! Had no idea there was a pilot with a diffrent taina!

23 Years Later and I get to see some new Taina content. Even though half this cast was retooled which I am glad for that love the OG Cast but I'm glad we had the OG Maritza, Lamar, Renee and Abuelo a part of this to give us the laughs they always do! I pray we can get a Taina Cast OG Reunion someday! Thanks for uploading this LaTangela!

Maritza (I mean LaTangela), you were so adoreable looking like a living Bratz doll back in those days. I loved watching this show with my daughter when she was little. This episode brought back memories. And thank you for sharing some of this history about the pilot episode. The actress who went on to play Taina in the series episodes was fantastic. But this young lady would have been a great Taina too. All of you kids were so talented.

As much as I LOVE Christina Vidal, my heart breaks for this girl... Only to be told you got the part, film a whole entire pilot, only to be let go 😔 And yes I know that's "show biz"

That was a massive slice of cake that waitress was carrying 😂😂😂

The fact that the black guy from Seseme Street is in this episode. He aged very well. I thought he was a teenager now.

oh wow! Fatima Robinson. I remember that Dance Class Scene got re-worked into the first episode. Lamar didn't want to wear the tights. And Karen E. Fraction (RIP) from My Brother & Me played the Dance teacher.

Thank you LaTangela this was amazing to see! The original family was nice but the recast had so much more chemistry, plus Sanito was the cutest! I can't imagine the show without Christina, and you can tell that yourself, Renee and Lemar were the standouts in the pilot. You even already looked like a star compared to everyone else 😅❤

Thanks for sharing this, LaTangela. Maybe we could get a reunion special or Comic Con panel someday. That would be nice. Peace and blessings.

1:40 Is that Fatima Roberson? Aaliyah choreographer back in the day. This is so interesting. Missed the 90s.

I think we have received the best early Easter egg ever. I think when Easter in 2025 gets here, I'll watch it on that day. Wonderful to see after hearing about the pilot for so long.

the 2nd intro with Christina Vidal is definitely the best 😂😂!

This was great. I think Nickelodeon made the right choice with the recasts. I did a bing search of the actress' name. A 1999 New York Times article showed up as well as the actress' imdb page. It looks other than this, she hasn't acted since 1989 in the original "The Equalizer" show. wow

This is a great pilot episode, LaTangela!!!! I love it!!!!!

This brought back memories. Sometimes I randomly do the “Taina” in the high pitched voice you use to do. 😂😂 Because of that I do it randomly when I’m around friends saying their names high pitched. 😂 oh the good days. School, homework, chores, Taina. 🤣

Well I'll be damned lol. Never knew there was an actress who played Taina prior to Christina. Gotta be heartbreaking to land a role, only to be let go ☹ On another note, I'm glad they changed the theme song 😆 Thanks for uploading LaTangela! ❤

This was okay but I’m glad they chose another Taina and D-Mack lol. Christina, LaTangela, Khaliah, Chris, and David had chemistry like no other. This was one show I hated to see end. Thank you for sharing this with us, LaTangela!!!!

Maritza always makes me think of Tamar Braxton

Wow, this version was so different but nice to see their initial ideas that were on the drawing board. I am happy that the final result was what we saw 🙌🏽 Thanks for sharing!

Wow wow such a different vibe. The theme song wasn’t giving though but I appreciate the effort.😅

Taina was my show back in the day

I was about to comment "Maritza" really was that girl & then I realized YOU ARE MARITZA!!! OMG, I never subbed so damn fast 😂 On another note, every switch was the right decision- no shade. This pilot gives off a "Brothers Garcia" vibe & IDK if it would have resonated with as many kids as the decided cast did.

This actress couldn’t act very well. I’m glad they went with Christina. But this is cool to see 😅

This was actually interesting, the chemistry was iffy, didnt grab me too much, but dang so no Dmac either just You, Ms. Aretha jones & Lamartian. Wow you 3 were the original blue print. Love the fact Christina V. got casted for the role of Taina ya all made it feel like home. It was like kicking it with my besties/family The t.v. chemistry was incredible, i can only imagine off screen how yall must have been like family. The first girl was cool too, but acting wise idk, she is talented but i understand why Christina got casted. Very much needed especially with such amazing People with high energy and more emotions, she was needed to match that MARRRIIIIITTTTZZZAAAA energy 😂 Thank you for sharing this with us queen. You are loved and appreciated. 🫶

This was amazing thank you LaTAngela! Now we just need maria to release the season 3 scripts!

Latangela is so good .she brought the realness and makes me crack up no mater how many times I’ve watched the series she kills me ,the way she responds and kills every line delivery !!hands down watch the series even if it’s just for the maritza character she’s hilarious 😂☠️dead every time girl

Now its cool that they re-worked this episode with Christina and it became the Season 1 finale instead

Thank you for uploading this! This is making me want to rewatch the show 😅

LaTangela Thanks for posting this! I sent you the episode Singing With The Enemy years ago on email and you sent me 2 of your songs, No Stoppin Us & Uh Oh. This is a real treat for fans so thank you for getting this transferred and uploaded.

This was my show in the 5th grade!!! And Maritza grabbed my attention from the first episode! Glad Christina Vidal ended up playing Taina.

Ok honestly it sounds like the main character is reading likes and not really acting, the lines just don’t sound natural coming from her.

This reminds me of Ghostwriter more than Taina

This is such a gem. Thanks for sharing!

They went from her having a little sister to having a little brother wow

Thank you so much for posting this treasure! Even though Christina Vidal was/is an icon, I feel for Diane Lozada. Earlier this year, I was cast as a lead role in a new project, and after a month of rehearsals and intense character work, I lost the part. I was crushed. It ended up being the right decision for everyone in the end, especially me - I was recently diagnosed with a serious illness which left me exhausted and in physical pain (which most likely was the reason for the decision). After talking with the directors, they agreed to let me remain as a non-speaking ensemble member, and when it was over, we all remained on good terms. I had a little bit of solace in the fact that a huge chunk of the scenes with my original character were cut at the last minute, meaning I would have done a lot more work for nothing. Overall, it ended up being a fantastic play of which I was proud to be a part, made even better by directors and castmates who really cared about me and helped me succeed in a much smaller role. I wish Diane Lozada would have at least gotten a chance to have done a guest role in the show when it aired, she seemed like a lot of fun.

Wow, I had no idea about the unaired Pilot of Taina. Thanks for sharing this, I’m happy that Christina Vidal took over the role but thanks for sharing the unaired pilot and the original actress Diane Lozada who played Taina Morales in the unaired pilot.

Lisa Lisa wasn't in the original pilot as Taina's mother?

Yikes she was NOT Taina …. The right decision was made

Another thing i was like who the hell is c-note until i heard the song and boom memory unlocked lol

This was good I like it but I definitely love the switch they decide to go wit for the actual cast ❤❤❤ love pilot episode will show my daughter later thanks cousin for upload 😊

LUV IT! Thank you so much for sharing. now I wanna know how Christina got the role and what happen to Diana?!

The little sister sound just like the little brother though lol

Woooow! What a pleasant surprise. I am too intrigued right now witnessing the original taping of Taina! I will say that the final nickelodeon cast was unmatched and you alls chemistry was absolutely perfect. Nonetheless, thank you for this upload!

Thank God for the recast.!

Maritza was already EATING 👏🏾😂

Who else caught the boom mic in the shot at the 5:27 mark 😂😂😂

So many plots and lines in this pilot which they later used in various episodes. It was 'shamari' that taina auditioned for in the actual show 😅

Thanks for posting this! I like the raw feel of this pilot!

The one time the replacement was better!

Thank you for sharing! This was really cool to watch!

My eleven year old self would have been in looooove with this version of Daniel 😂😍

Thank you LaTangela for sharing this I remember watching Taina wen it first aired I was sad that they cancelled it so early thank you for sharing this rare clip

Thank you for posting this LaTangela! Been a fan for years! I hate this pre-pilot episode but you did your thing as usual! Been a star since the Mariah “Fantasy” days! They did the right thing swapping Taina’s

Thats cool. Fatima Robinson. It 's just sad that some of these actors are not acting anymore. I like Diana, but I understand why they went with Christina Vidal. Production could've atleast given Diana a smaller recurring role on the show, She did well. Everyone was good. I see why the show was picked up. It was very relatable, and Taina gave you hope of following your dreams.

🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

Wow i was very entertained by this!!!!!!! Thank you for this ❤❤❤

Wow this was ao cool to watch! I have so many things to say.. first off the OG actress(Diane) was mad short! Everyone was taller than her. I can see why the network didn't cast her because she looked so out of place compared to everyone. Diane was a pretty girl but Christina just had that grown and sexy vibe to her which is probably why the network casted her in the long run. Thanks for sharing this raw gem! ❤

1999 vibes Forget Nickelodeon, they could have put this on primetime for CBS or UPN Possibly.

It's amazing how Nickelodeon took the premise for this show and then years later made Victorious. The only difference is the characters are more likeable in this show

thank you for sharing this ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ can’t wait for the q and a

This is so special to me ! it was a long time coming.l I love how much of this episode was still kept in the episode that aired !

I enjoyed watching this pilot. I liked your performance of Tania. Christina Vidal was good too. What did the creators of the show think?

Thank you for sharing this my ❤ but the way the Tania we grew to love deserved so much more I wish it can be revived like girl meets world with the OGs and their kids

I subscribed. Keep doing your Thang girl. I'm excited to watch this.

I saw C note in concert with Chris Kirkpatrick's k pop 2000 tour in manhattan (:

What a great treat and I’m so grateful you uploaded this! My childhood and it’s so cool to see the pilot 🤍🙏🏽 I loved this show growing up you & Christina Vidal were just the best!!!! Thank you for sharing xoxo

It just wasn’t the lead actress that seems off . The way the first episode was filmed , seemed low budget .

Omg i love this. And i just saw you on shark tank. Keep doing your thing. This was great. Cant wait til the live q&a

Lol the two dollar weave comment was gold 😂

Dang Christina Vidal was just way more energy and funny lol like Raven Symone level. I think this Taina was holding back a lot

Wow that was amazing ❤❤

This was so dope to see!

I wish they would put Taina on paramount +. Thank you for sharing the pilot.

ME AND MY SISTER JUST FINISHED WATCHING ALLLL TWO SEASONSSSSSS OF TAINA WE ABOUT TO START ALL OVER AGAIN LOVE ME SOME TAINNNNNNAAAAAAAA😂

This was a cute episode!

What a treattttttt!!!! My favorite show of all time. The final casting is so on point but this is a great pilot! 💘

Can't believe this

This was cool to see and diff.

Fatima Robinson as choreographer ❤

That was very good makes me want more of Taina

Thank you for this gem LaTangela! were there other actors/actresses we know who originally auditioned for Taina?

Loved this! Thanks for sharing! Just subbed! You’re awesome! I’m glad how it ended up!

🎶” I know I can’t wait to see my name in lights! No one’s gonna stop me, you’ll see! I will go farrrr! Taínaaaa… 🌟What’s her name? Taínaaaa… ✨” 🎶🎶

Not y’all having fatima robinson as yalls dance teacher, so iconic‼️

This is the pilot episode of Taina that did not air on Nickelodeon.

I love Taina! It’s nice to see another episode ❤

Thanks so much posting this was definitely a treat to see but yeah Christina Vidal was wayy better fit Taina. There was better chemistry with the final cast. I do love how you did what would become your signature TAIIINNAAA call here tho It's also cool you guys did the pilot on location and peep Fatima Robinson as the dance teacher lol

I enjoyed this very much ❤❤❤❤

Whoaaaaa! I had no idea this even existed! Must've been some unaired test pilot for the series. That's actually really cool! You think there's any chance of getting a copy without a watermark for archival preservation purposes? I would love to preserve it in case it ever were to be taken down one day. Plus, the watermark can be a bit distracting.