Best Pilots in my poor memory...
Sep. 5th, 2008 02:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalSo, TV Guide made a list of the ten best TV pilots ever, nine out of ten of which I've never seen. (And the one I did see - 24 - although I love the series, the pilot episode is actually a little slow, except that it introduced the cool real-time format.) It must have only appeared in the print version, since no one seems to have a link, but the list is reprinted here and here, along with blogger commentary. Anyway, I decided to make my own list, which is more like "Best TV Pilots of the last ten years" (not that the original list was really reaching that far back) because I can't remember anything on TV prior to 1997, and I didn't watching anything except Sesame Street and cartoons prior to 1990. But then again, I figured, if I can't actually remember a show's pilot, then it probably wouldn't make a "best" list anyway, right?
1. The West Wing - Best. Pilot. Ever. Come on, the clever introduction to all the main characters? That unbelievably long tracking shot as Leo walks through the White House? The knock-your-socks-off entrance by President Bartlet? Those things alone should put this at the top of the list, and I can't believe TV Guide would've ignored it.
2. Friday Night Lights - God. That speech. That "we will be tested to our very sooooouls" speech. That was the moment when I decided I need to buy this show on DVD (I'd rented the first disc from Blockbuster).
3. Veronica Mars (the extended version from the DVD, not what aired on TV) - I attribute this partly to the fact that I watched the first episode while in a hot tub and not totally paying attention, so I missed some key details, but it took me two viewings to get into it. Once I gave it my full attention, though, I couldn't tear it away.
4.
5. Nobody’s Watching - A pilot that never got off the ground, but is totally hilarious. It was posted on YouTube after the WB passed on it, and then once it gained internet popularity, it did get picked up, only for NBC to change its mind. Or something like that – I’m a bit fuzzy on the details.
6. Psych - I was skeptical on the premise (I mean, really, fake psychic detectives?), but that scene in the pilot with Shawn in the police station totally sold me on it. Another one where I went out and bought the DVD set after renting.
7. Jericho - Ah, Jericho. Despite the show turning into utter crack, and a plot with more holes than, well, something hit by a nuclear bomb, the pilot was dark and creepy, and I was totally sucked in by the post-apocalyptic scenario. Oh, well, we’ll always have Jake and Awesome Hawkins.
8. Reaper - I was less impressed with the show later on as well (and actually stopped watching it, although I’ve been told it got better again), but the pilot made me laugh out loud several times, and actually had me mentioning it in the same breath as Buffy. Maybe my hopes were too high, because it never came close to Buffy potential. (Although it was, at times, about as annoying as the Potentials.)
9. The Nine - This also falls into the category of "Great pilot, but..." It started out with a great premise, introducing interesting characters and a compelling mystery of what really happened in the bank during the robbery... and then it fell completely apart and was canceled before we ever got all the pieces of the puzzle.
10. Battlestar Galactica - I admit, I'm undecided whether this one counts, which is why it goes at the bottom of the list. Technically, the miniseries is the start of the series, but 33 is the first real episode, and it's incredible. I was a little lukewarm on the show after the miniseries (I thought it was slow getting started, and dragged in a lot of places) but this episode totally hooked me.
2. Friday Night Lights - God. That speech. That "we will be tested to our very sooooouls" speech. That was the moment when I decided I need to buy this show on DVD (I'd rented the first disc from Blockbuster).
3. Veronica Mars (the extended version from the DVD, not what aired on TV) - I attribute this partly to the fact that I watched the first episode while in a hot tub and not totally paying attention, so I missed some key details, but it took me two viewings to get into it. Once I gave it my full attention, though, I couldn't tear it away.
4.
5. Nobody’s Watching - A pilot that never got off the ground, but is totally hilarious. It was posted on YouTube after the WB passed on it, and then once it gained internet popularity, it did get picked up, only for NBC to change its mind. Or something like that – I’m a bit fuzzy on the details.
6. Psych - I was skeptical on the premise (I mean, really, fake psychic detectives?), but that scene in the pilot with Shawn in the police station totally sold me on it. Another one where I went out and bought the DVD set after renting.
7. Jericho - Ah, Jericho. Despite the show turning into utter crack, and a plot with more holes than, well, something hit by a nuclear bomb, the pilot was dark and creepy, and I was totally sucked in by the post-apocalyptic scenario. Oh, well, we’ll always have Jake and Awesome Hawkins.
8. Reaper - I was less impressed with the show later on as well (and actually stopped watching it, although I’ve been told it got better again), but the pilot made me laugh out loud several times, and actually had me mentioning it in the same breath as Buffy. Maybe my hopes were too high, because it never came close to Buffy potential. (Although it was, at times, about as annoying as the Potentials.)
9. The Nine - This also falls into the category of "Great pilot, but..." It started out with a great premise, introducing interesting characters and a compelling mystery of what really happened in the bank during the robbery... and then it fell completely apart and was canceled before we ever got all the pieces of the puzzle.
10. Battlestar Galactica - I admit, I'm undecided whether this one counts, which is why it goes at the bottom of the list. Technically, the miniseries is the start of the series, but 33 is the first real episode, and it's incredible. I was a little lukewarm on the show after the miniseries (I thought it was slow getting started, and dragged in a lot of places) but this episode totally hooked me.
no subject
Date: Sep. 5th, 2008 06:43 pm (UTC)Psych is on my list, but haven't gotten to it yet. Got some other light TV to get through first ;)
no subject
Date: Sep. 5th, 2008 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 5th, 2008 08:47 pm (UTC)Lucky!
Psych is also great, too, but in a completely different, lighthearted buddy/slashy comedy kind of way.
no subject
Date: Sep. 5th, 2008 10:47 pm (UTC)The pilot for Reaper was wonderful, but the show didn't sustain the momentum. I like the engaging characters, though.
no subject
Date: Sep. 7th, 2008 12:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 7th, 2008 02:06 pm (UTC)And that's all I had to say.