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Top 50 Tv Pilots
Splitting the honorable mentions in three parts.
First up, the animated shows.
#5
“Night of the Sentinels Part 1/Part 2”
X-Men
“People fear what they don’t understand.”
Aired the 31th/7th of October/November, 1992
Length – 41:20
One of my favorite shows of my early days of life. And I still totally love it.
The animation is weak compared to today’s standards, but storytelling and characters were superb.
#4
“Burning Visions”
Spawn
“Why do people with authority always abuse their power?”
Aired the 16th of May, 1997
Length – 24:15
A very grim animated series for adults from the late 90s.
It was like a hardcore version of Batman meets Blade. Very good pilot.
#3
“Portraits from Memory”
Boogiepop Phantom
“Let me know if you want me to grope your chest. It’s better then letting that bug eat you up, no?”
Aired the 5th of January, 2000
Length – 23:55
One of the few things I find legitimately creepy. The whole show is spooky as fuck,
and the pilot did a great job at hitting off that dark spooky feeling it possessed.
#2
“The First Taste”
Kemonozume
“I had a very cute girl today. And my belly’s still full.”
Aired the 5th of August, 2006
Length – 23:55
Perhaps my favorite anime ever. it’s so unique and the animation is incredible.
I think it was drawn completely from water paint and it adds a very unique dynamic to it. The story is very intriguing.
#1
“Rebirth”
Death Note
“It’s just as I thought. Humans are so interesting.”
Aired the 3rd of October, 2006
Length – 22:44
Death Note definitely had an incredible pilot. Very unique story, about a “good” guy who finds a death note. Whomever’s name gets written in the book dies and it drives him mad with power by the end of the episode. Great animation, more detailed than most animes.
Next up, the pilots that were cut due length.
#5
“Pilot”
The Comeback
“This here is my people’s choice award, that I got for “I’m It”. And it means a lot to me because it’s from the people.”
Aired the 5th of June, 2005
Length – 32:07
Awkward, depressing and painful to watch. Definitely not a comedy for most.
The main reason why I loved it was because of Lisa Kudrow’s performance. Brilliant, magnificent etc.
#4
“Sally”
Flight of the Conchords
“Chicks are attracted to lonely guys. It’s a psychological analogy.”
Aired the 17th of June, 2007
Length – 27:30
My type of humor, just ridiculously dry. Not even one of the best episodes but hilarious nonetheless.
The songs, especially “I’m not crying” is how musically-driven shows should be.
#3
“The Man Who Was Death”
Tales From the Crypt
“I guess this ain’t the kind of work they give you a gold watch for, is it?”
Aired the 10th of June, 1989
Length – 21:24
Excellent pilot to a great anthology series. First story was about an executioner that was fired but continued his “duties” of electrocuting the baddies and immoral. Like all stories, what goes around came around. I loved the voice-overs and the dialog. Tales from the Crypt is badass.
#2
“Where Is Everybody?”
The Twilight Zone
“There’s one thing we can’t simulate that’s a very basic need. Man’s hunger for companionship.”
Aired the 2nd of October, 1959
Length – 35:02
One of the greatest shows of all time, still being talked about 50 years later. I’ve seen the pilot about five times and it’s still just as good as ever. It is about *SPOILER* a military experiment and how loneliness can drive a man insane.
#1
“Pilot”
Enlightened
“This is all for you. And everything is a gift. Even the horrible stuff.”
Aired the 10th of October, 2011
Length – 30:31
Such a fantastic pilot, top 20-ish worthy. Staring Laura Dern as an emotionally unstable business woman.
There are laughs and tears to be had and Laura Dern’s performance is one of the best i’ve seen in a long time.
and last part, none of the above
#5
“Pilot”
Glee
“Being a part of something special makes you special, right?“
Aired the 19th of May, 2009
Aired the 19th of May, 2009
Length – 43:08
There are honestly a couple way more deserving of the honorable mention,
but Glee is one of the first that popped to mind when I worked on these.
I kind of hate it now but the pilot showed a lot of promise and got me pretty excited.
#4
“Currahee”
Band of Brothers
“Once we get into combat, the only people you can trust is yourself and the fella next to you.”
Aired the 9th of September, 2001
Length – 73:12
The beginning of a fantastic mini-series. The pilot wasn’t one of the strongest episodes, but it introduced us to these characters and showed the calm before the storm. It was all about their training and preparations.
#3
“Out Here in the Fields”
Life on Mas (US)
“Do you know what this is, Annie? It’s the end of the yellow brick road.”
Aired the 9th of October, 2008
Length – 42:11
This was originally intended to be in the late 30s but I decided to cut it because of the UK version.
It wasn’t as good, but it was still very good? I loved seeing the twin towers and hearing all that great music.
Too bad the show kinda sucked after the hiatus and had the most random ending ever, because it started off v good.
#2
“The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency”
The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
“We were told in the secretarial school about a former time, before computers, when typing was done on typewriters, and our country was called Bechuanaland, and dinosaurs roamed the earth.”
Aired the 23th of March, 2008
Length – 104:37
Cut because of the 10 episodes limit and it sadly only had 7. The show was incredible, the performances, characters, dialog, cinematography etc. There have been quite a lot of robbed tv shows but this one is at the very top along with Carnivale, Freaks & Geeks, Rome, Deadwood and Pushing Daisies. Easily a top 10 pilot.
#1
“The Miniseries”
Battlestar Galactica
“The world is coming to an end and all I could think about is that I have cancer and I’m probably going to die. How selfish is that?”
Aired the 8th/9th of December, 2003
Length – 175:05
Cut due length, no other pilot really stood a chance against it.
BSG’s pilot or “miniseries” was perfection. It had quirky moments, epic end-of-the-world stuff, action, great special effects, great performances and kept you at the edge of your seat. At least mine anyway. I remember somehow stumbling up on it when it first aired, no idea it was the pilot but I was hooked immediately and never stopped following it after that.
-Other pilots that deserve at least a mention-
Spartacus: Blood & Sand
Desperate Housewives
True Blood
Wolf Lake
Kindred: The Embraced
In Treatment
Life (BBC)
Human Planet
Studio 60
Planet Earth
The Philanthropist
The Larry Sanders Show
24
Alias
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Angels in America
John Adams
Bored to Death
Hellsing
Cowboy Bebop
Paranoid Android
The Munsters