Best ever Pilot episodes.

[statto]

As per the thread title really. Mention as many or as few as you want, and remember, it doesn't necessarily have to be a great show, but what Pilot episodes had you yearning for more? My top ten (in no particular order):

The West Wing
ER
Twin Peaks
Lost
Veronica Mars
Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip
Profit
Scrubs
Dark Skies
The Mentalist

[joconnor]

Alias had a pretty good pilot iirc.

[welshmatt]

The Shield
Alias

[Richie]

For me:
Twin Peaks
Lost
Arrested Development
Friday Night Lights
Alias
Moonlighting

So many shows though grow to become so much more from quite lacklustre pilots. From my fav series of all time not many had that great a beginning.

[statto]

So many shows though grow to become so much more from quite lacklustre pilots. From my fav series of all time not many had that great a beginning.

Indeed. One of my favourite shows of all time (Babylon 5) had a decidedly average Pilot, and the way The Wire is written doesn't lend itself to a particularly great pilot, even though it does what it wants to perfectly.

Just remembered how much I enjoyed the Pilot of The Mentalist, and that would probably bounce Ally McBeal from my list.

[LouBarlow]

The Shield
Due South
X-Files

Richie is right though, a lot of my favourites did start off slowly.

[Roberto]

Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip & BSG, blinding first episodes/pilots

[cliff homewood]

For me most series have great pilots, old skool love The Incredible Hulks, Six Million Dollar man had a good un too (being based on the book Cyborg). Curious how Knight Riders would hold up now.

[thescrounger]

BSG - (mini-series, sort of pilot)
Lost
Angel
Californication
X-Files

Older shows that had good starters that I've rewatched recently:

The Fall Guy
The Rockford Files
Magnum PI
Quantum Leap

[SIMON ADEBISI]

Has to be the Shield

[scoobyood]

BSG
Lost
Californication (^^ :thumbs:)
Jonathan Creek
Coupling
Due South

[LouBarlow]

Deadwood started off pretty damn strong too you ****suckers

[Captain Scarlet]

Farscape
Thunderbirds
Dead like me
Lost
Babylon 5
Red Dwarf
Heros
Moonlighting
Now & Again
Space 1999

OO

[The404]

Life on Mars

[sleepy67]

Veronica Mars

[MaleStrom]

I vaguely recall the pilot for Dark Angel as being quality!

[cjanderson]

Was the first episode of Lost a pilot? was excellent anyway!!

[Smash41]

I really liked The OC pilot, seen it countless times.

[Grandmaster]

Surprised there's no love for the Prison Break pilot.

The 1963 Doctor Who pilot stands up pretty well too.

[gordo]

Isn`t a pilot an episode that is shown to the broadcaster in an attempt to get the series to be made,e.g Star Trek`s The Cage which was part included in The Menagerie,the American Red Dwarf pilots etc.
It is not really the first episode of a new show or is that what the term means now.

[sleepy67]

Isn`t a pilot an episode that is shown to the broadcaster in an attempt to get the series to be made,e.g Star Trek`s The Cage which was part included in The Menagerie,the American Red Dwarf pilots etc.yepIt is not really the first episode of a new show or is that what the term means now.But they are almost always the first episode shown though, sometimes with a few changes in cast or scenes. sometimes they are dropped [Dollhouse] or reedited and shown later [a certain crappy SF show]

[Captain_Howdy666]

A pilot shown to broadcasters and test audiences generally becomes that shows first episode. Sometimes reshoots are needed when certain characters or actors don't appear well liked for one reason or another (Jamie Sommers sister in the recent Bionic Woman and Colm Meaney in the U.S. version of Life On Mars are a couple of examples).

I think it's safe to assume that the pilot is the first episode.

Edit: Beaten.

[Desk]

Moonlighting
Alias
Millennium
Twin Peaks

[Silent Voice]

Painkiller Jane.

This had a Pilot film + a Pilot episode which starred 2 different actresses though.

Birds of Prey.

Most Pilots were good (because they had to be otherwise no funding for a series ) but it was after that the shows went downhill.

[Sandeep C.]

Definately Alias - had a storming pilot.

[mattymoo]

Lone Gunmen has a good pilot - so topical it was pulled by the broadcasters iirc. Dealt with a plane being flown into a skyscraper and was made just before 9/11

[Richie]

Not just any skyscraper, it was the world trade center! :eek:
It actually aired in March 2001.

[Phayze]

Global Frequency had a pretty good pilot - I thought it would have made a pretty decent series...

[Mr Dan]

Not sure if they were pilots but
OZ
24
Prison Break
The Shield
Sunset Beach:D

[cliff homewood]

Another great one, without doubt one of the best pilots ever, Dr Who - AN Unearthly Child.

[ohood]

In addition to the great ones mentioned, I'd say the pilot of 'Being Human' was pretty bloody good.

[Markhev]

great first episodes:

Captain Scarlet
The Prisoner
New BSG
Space 1999
Doctor Who 63

[Brad123]

Cold Feet.

[BlueDwarf]

Heros

For me, Heroes is one of the series that had a dull as ditchwater pilot, yet somehow went on to have one amazing season.

[Sprout Crumble]

X-Files for me. Perfect set-up that had me hooked from day one.

[James45]

Can't believe no-one mentioned 30 Rock, superb pilot, hit the ground running, I laughed as much as any other episode of 30 Rock, which is a hell of lot!!

[T4V]

Sports Night? :D

[Harsin]

Anyone who hasn't said The Shield should hang their heads in shame.

[James45]

Terry's murder was a cheap, audience-grabbing stretch though, at no point has Vic been that far off the reservation since then, he's not that nasty.

[cliff homewood]

You've reminded me of another couple of classics: Minder: Gunfight at the OK Landerette is perhaps the bvest ep of the series and the Oz pilot was great as well. And watchnig Dave at the mo: Red Dwarf. They are dead, Dave, they are all dead.

[robzinski]

The West Wing. Infact, I think I'm going to go watch it again now.

[Xeon007]

Terry's murder was a cheap, audience-grabbing stretch though, at no point has Vic been that far off the reservation since then, he's not that nasty.

Agreed, by itself it was great but after the whole series I'd say it's probably the one thing that I'd alter if I could go back and change anything.

[jermainejones]

Surprised there's no love for the Prison Break pilot.

I came to this thread looking for Prison Break and here it is. PB gets the thumbs up from me. :thumbs:

[kjn6371]

Homicide:LOTS.

[pigpicker]

I can remember the A-Team's 2-part pilot which must have been back in 1983.
I think they went down to Mexico to make a couple of tanks out of a couple of cactus's and an empty tequila bottle.

As a 9 yr old I was hooked!!

[AndrewP]

Veronica Mars

[chrisns]

Firefly
Firefly
and
Firefly

[Delta Kneebone]

The Black Adder is my favourite. The story is similar to a story in Series 1 but Rowan Atkinson plays the part more in the style of Black Adder 2.

[bollecks]

Seinfeld, if only for Kramer's 'never to be seen again' giant dog.

[Moldiver]

Love Northern Exposure's pilot. The crazed wonderment of it all as Fleischman struggles to come to terms with the fact that he's been dumped there indefinitely was handled superbly. The series had many great moments, but this was a brilliant introduction to some very quirky and loveable characters.

[wendy]

I adored the pilots/first episodes of Lost and Alias, really had me desperate for more. Also found the opener for Jericho was incredibly powerful, surprised no-one's mentioned it yet.

[DeadWalk]

The Night Stalker - this was the tv movie which introduced Carl Kolchak. It was followed by a second tv movie, The Night Strangler, and the tv series Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

A lot of the series from the 1980s had fantastic pilots/tv movies that introduced the tv series proper... and the majority had their 'formula' perfected (if that's the right term) from the get-go. For example, The A-Team, Stingray, Knight Rider, Airwolf, Street Hawk, Automan, Manimal, Otherworld, Cover Up, 21 Jump Street, Werewolf, The Greatest American Hero, Riptide, Quantum Leap, Beauty and the Beast. Maybe not by co-incidence, a fair few of those were created or co-created by Stephen J Cannell.

[Richie]

Oh yes DeadWalk, The Night Stalker / Night Strangler double bill dvd is well worth getting. Superb movies! :thumbs:

Speaking of the 80s, of the supersoaps only 'Falcon Crest' can say it has a truly memorable pilot episode. It gets right in there with no messing around and no tonal problems (that affected both Dynasty and Dallas early on). That show hit the ground running.

[statto]

While we're on the topic of '80s stuff, the Miami Vice pilot was great.

[ascender]

Just finished the Moonlighting pilot which I'd never seen and was pleasantly surprised by just how good it was.

[H Dot]

There was a show I watched a few yrs ago called Traveler the pilot/ep1 was great had me hooked shame the rest of the show didn't live up to it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805668/

[Richie]

Yeah the Traveler pilot was indeed great.

[Todd Tomorrow]

1. Twin Peaks (it's on the same level as Lynch's feature films)
2. Battlestar Galactica (re-boot)
3. The Shield (the ending of the pilot is a shocker and it reverberates through the entire series)

I thought the pilot for Firefly was excellent, even though I wasn't that much of a fan of the actual series. Much preferred it to the spin off film Serenity

[mattmccabebrown]

1. Twin Peaks (it's on the same level as Lynch's feature films)
2. Battlestar Galactica (re-boot)
3. The Shield (the ending of the pilot is a shocker and it reverberates through the entire series)

I thought the pilot for Firefly was excellent, even though I wasn't that much of a fan of the actual series. Much preferred it to the spin off film Serenity

Those last 10 seconds of the Shield pilot pretty much ensured that I wouldn't miss an episode :thumbs:

[Todd Tomorrow]

Those last 10 seconds of the Shield pilot pretty much ensured that I wouldn't miss an episode :thumbs:

Same here and I wasn't dissappointed. The entire series stayed on the same level of quality as the pilot. :)

[andybhoy]

reedited and shown later [a certain crappy SF show]

Star Trek wasn't that bad, Though Captain Pike was no Captain Kirk...


;)

[sleepy67]

:nono:


;)

[stupidgibbon]

Lost had the best pilot ever !

[Shey Tapani]

Burn Notice.

Roots

[Hoskas]

Sliders was a great pilot (to me anyway)

[tpr007]

I've never seen The Shield...

[degeneration]

Burn Notice.Like hell that was a good pilot. I wanted to tear off my ears at the sound of that Orish accent.

Moiamme. :mad:

Good show though, but she killed it for as my as Troi killed the pilot of TNG by blubbing every two seconds.

[GProject]

I've just started watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - only three eps in at this point, but I thought the pilot was particularly strong. Even before the titles it has you hooked with that fantastic 'Network'-style breakdown scene.

Actually, loving the show in general, so far.
.

[T4V]

A criminal cancellation!

[statto]

I never really got all the hate for Studio 60. OK, it wasn't as good as West Wing, but it was well written and the charisma between the cast members was great. It was a little preachy at times, but all of Sorkin's shows are.

Anyone who liked it should check out Trust Me, which had a similarly excellent ensemble cast, and was also cancelled after just one season.

[Rhino]

Thought the John Doe pilot was pretty good.
Guy wakes up, doesn't know anything about himself but knows everything about everything else.

[unrealnils]

I've never seen The Shield...

you're a copper right ? :lol: best not to mate we dont want you getting any ideas :lol: