A television pilot has the power to make or break a network and its cast. These 15 single episodes broke the mold and went on to change TV history.
As we delve deeper into the fall TV season, we’ve already seen pilot episodes from ABC‘s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and NBC‘s The Michael J. Fox Show. Those are just a few of the many new series premieres designed to entice us, keep us engaged with our favorite networks, and bring us back for more enjoyment.
It is interesting just how powerful a TV pilot can have on the audience, too. The creation of a strong pilot can be an example in striking while the iron is hot (such is the case with S.H.I.E.L.D.), or just building an original character that becomes regarded as a work of art (Breaking Bad anyone?).
Some truly amazing shows even have weak starts, but for The 15 Greatest Television Pilot Episodes we’ve listed here—there are nothing but hits.
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Photo: Tumblr
Desperate Housewives
Launching in 2004, this series was a winner from the jump. Creator Marc Cherry took the soap opera-esque tragedy, threw in some satire and tragedy, and cooked up a surefire smash. Adding scandalous starlets such as Teri Hatcher and Nicolette Sheridan helped to create a unique hit that lasted eight years on ABC.
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The Shield
The FX ran-and-operated crime drama found creator Shawn Ryan unfolding episodically the lives of Los Angeles’ most corrupt cops. Starring Michael Chiklis, CCH Pounder, and Walton Goggins, The Shield‘s pilot establishes tone in under fifteen minutes. From that point on, all eyes were focused on the district’s biggest hero, Vic Mackey (Chiklis), who is also its biggest criminal.
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Friday Night Lights
Although very little was expected from this pilot, it quickly stole hearts across the globe. Eventually petering out at 76 episodes, the initial episode focused on the life of coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his small town football team. The show developed into a platform to address many issues including family values, child development, racism, drugs, and lack of economic opportunities. The handheld camerawork used during the pilot episode gave Friday Night Lights a real documentary feel that helped it to find a place in audience’s TiVo schedules.
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Twin Peaks
David Lynch‘s feature-length pilot for Twin Peaks was unlike anything ever seen on network TV. ABC knew it had a hit when the program premiered on 1990, which found the premise being adopted by audiences simple enough: small-town teen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is found murdered and her death draws the attention of FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). The best character of the show is the town itself; full of dark secrets suppressed under an all-America façade.
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The Sopranos
HBO is no stranger to making compelling television, but not too many people knew that The Sopranos would be one of TV’s best-ever series. The influential crime drama shot out the gate with awesomeness not-so-cleverly disguised as art. The Sopranos pilot truly was the beginning of something great. James Gandolfini brought to life a truly mesmerizing and frightening character. The supporting cast was solid and the general outline of the story was so on-point, that looking back, it’s no surprise it won so many awards that it did.
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Deadwood
HBO, no stranger to create compelling content, struck the nail on the head with this western-thriller show. The pilot episode found us watching a sheriff leave his sense of duty in the wind and move to the lawless frontier town of Deadwood. This was the kind of show that only death had a quiet reverence, as the stupid, the crazy, the weak and the loud-mouthed would end up in a pine box on the hill quicker than you could say, “Bushwick Bill.”
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The Wire
David Simon should be considered as a national treasure just for this pilot episode alone. His incredible sense of timing with the pen allowed The Wire to shine within the grittiest corners of Baltimore. The show’s tone was dark enough for HBO fans, yet inquisitive enough to warrant six full seasons. While critics wondered aloud if this show would make it past the first season, David Simon proved that a show set in the hood doesn’t have to be full of shootouts and gratuitous sex. Earning the audiences attention with memorable characters (Omar, Avon and Stringer) and smart conversation (McNulty and Bunk), The Wire was full of great talent powered by this amazing pilot episode.
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Firefly
Before the world knew of Joss Whedon‘s storytelling talents, he gave the sci-fi world this beautiful gem of a show. The first episode spent its delicate time answering everything about how a space western can actually be. Featuring Mexican stand-offs, badass outlaws, and, of course, Nathon Fillion, Firefly blended and twisted genres much to the audience’s chagrin. It is a show that is still missed and yearned for by fans till this day.
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30 Rock
Although the pilot explicitly lifted the theme to the classic Mary Tyler Moore Show, 30 Rock aimed for the number one spot right from the jump. Buoyed by Tina Fey‘s crisp writing and Saturday Night Live experience, the pilot episode was a pop-culture referencing modern joke machine. 30 Rock was hip, with the time and full of that crisp humor that felt so good upon the funny bones.
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Breaking Bad
The show’s signature tonal blend of the absurd and the horrific took awhile for audience’s to catch on, but there’s plenty of craziness in Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) initial unveiling. The first images are striking: the runaway pair of pants, the RV hurling through the desert, the two corpses on the floor; and a pants-less Walt stopping to make a confessional videotape. It seems like it would take a whole season to explain how this mild-mannered high-school teacher turned into a fugitive desperado, but if you look back at Vince Gilligan‘s genius pilot episode — all the signs are right there.
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How I Met Your Mother
Most television junkies thought that this CBS show was a returning series. With fully actualized characters, the pilot also showcased the pure comedic flair of Neil Patrick Harris, whose Barney was an instant sitcom hit in a slick suit. The show, itself, became a great mystery when, in the final moments leading to the end of the pilot episode, the older Ted (voiced by Bob Saget) tells his children, “That’s how I met your Aunt Robin.” And with that, the warm half-hour comedy show became an invitation to a years-long adventure.
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Battlestar Galactica
2003 was quite the year for science fiction, as Ronald D. Moore put together one of the coolest (and longest) pilot episodes ever to air on television. The three-hour run time found nerds, geeks, and all-around fans of science caught in the moment of hopelessness as Edward James Olmos and his crew came to terms with the impending cataclysm. The reserves of strength that him and his crew muster, as they summon to continue the fight, means this show stands as one of the best to do it… so say we all!
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Lost
Possibly the most cinematic pilot ever made, J.J. Abrams‘ not-so-straightforward, off-kilter original episode found audiences gripping their couch cushions. As we’re quickly introduced to more than a dozen major characters, including Jack (Matthew Fox), there’s little hint of what’s to come. Clocking in at two hours of breathless suspense full of explosions (the jetliner crashed on a tropical beach), blood, and ominous dread (“Guys, where are we?” haunted us for years) — Lost hooked fans and kept them coming back in search of answers for six seasons.
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Alias
Born out of a wisecrack J.J. Abrams told about Felicity, this pilot introduced audiences to his unique sense of brilliance. Every sort of camera trick, theme, and trope the auteur has has been used on his other shows and even on the big screen. Jennifer Garner, as no-nonsense CIA agent Sydney Bristow, was tasked with multiple top secret missions while having to conceal the truth from her closest allies. The role still stands as one of the best roles of her career. Add to that that Bradley Cooper also got his start, and you have one of the weirdest and intriguing spy pilot episodes ever.
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Arrested Development
Comparable to the hilarious film, The Royal Tenenbaums, Mitchell Hurwitz‘s crafty sitcom was one of the nuttiest and most original pilot episodes ever to air on television. Fully realized and presented in mockumentary style, the Bluth family was spotlighted with the aid of handheld camera effects, freeze frames and classic narration by Ron Howard. Buoyed by deadpan moments in the middle of frantic pacing, the Bluth family were uniquely drawn out characters that America (and the world) took hold of—and haven’t let go since.
Did we miss anybody? Let us know in the comments section if we did.
