The Top Ten Pilot Episodes

After watching the advanced showing of Touch's incredible pilot, i decided to create this list of the top ten shows with the best pilot episodes. A little heads up: a show that had an awesome pilot but the rest of the show sucked can be on here. Let's get started.

10. Malcolm in the Middle
The only thing Frankie Muniz has done that people actually care about is Malcolm in the Middle, which ran for six seasons on FX. In the episode, we establish that Malcolm is 3rd of four (later five, and, as is implied in the finale, soon to be six) boys, with two parents who are freaks working dead end jobs. Malcolm's oldest brother Francis, who he sort of worships, is at military school. Malcolm is in sixth grade, and his school has seperate classes for geniouses, called Krelboynes, who get treated like crap. Malcolm becomes a Krelboyne after being tested and learning he has an IQ of 165. He always talks to the camera, which moves to his will. He becomes friends with a crippled Krelboyne named Stevie, who only has one lung. He deals with a bully. As strange and basic as this plot sounds, it was actually really funny and entertaining, which the show managed to stay for the next few seasons, before becoming really bad durring the last two. Either way, the pilot was good. Final rating: 89%

9. The Event
Okay, i know what you're thinking: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU THIS SHOW SUCKED YOU MORON!!!!!!! And while that is... very true, the pilot episode and the first two episodes after it were honestly really good, but most people forget that because the rest of the show's one and only season delivered 21 solid episodes of suck. So here we have Sean Walker, apparently an average Sean, which is revealed to be less than true later, who goes on a cruise in the carribean with his hot girlfriend Leila. He's planning on proposing while they're there. And then they make some friends, and Leila goes missing. At the same time, we learn that President Martinez has learned of a group of people being kept at a prison camp in Alaska. He lets one of the prisoners, the leader, Sophia, out. And then, Leila's dad, who knows she's been taken, must crash a plane into a party the president's having and kill him to get his daughter's freedom. Sean's on the plane trying to stop him. This episode got a ton of people hooked pretty quickly because you never actually completely know what's going on. These people, myself included, were let down later when the show became incredibly bad, which is why this isn't higher up. But, the pilot was awesome, so yeah. Final rating: 92%

8. Seinfeld
One of the most iconic tv shows ever is Seinfeld, the famous show about nothing. In the pilot, a girl Jerry met in Michigan is visiting town, and he and George argue over whether or not she wants to go on a date with him. We also meet Kramer and Elaine, get the first look at the famous coffee shop, get the one and only encounter with Kramer's dog, and see quite a bit of Jerry's stand up between scenes. There's really not much else to explain. But hey, it was funny, and were it not for it, no one would be able to celebrate Festivus. It's Seinfeld, enough said. Final Rating: 90%

7. Leverage
(Episode also called The Nigerian Job)
At one point, this was my favorite show. It's the pilot of TNT's hit drama about thieves who steal to help people. In the pilot, we meet Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton) an alchaholic, divorced, ex-insurance investigator who's son died. He meets a guy who works for an airplane design company who says another company stole his designs. He asks Nate to help him steal the designs back by leading an a team of three of the world's greatest thieves. They steal it back, but they find out they've been conned, so, after picking up a skilled grifter, they go to get revenge. They pull it off, and since Nate is the only honest man among them and did most of the planning, the team goes to work for him, doing only the jobs he wants to do, which involve helping people using criminal methods. This was engaging, incredibly clever, had great acting, and some hilarious comedy relief scenes. It sent the show into mega-fame, which is appropriate because it only got awesomer from there. Final rating: 93%

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(Episode also called "Welcome to Hellmouth)
If you know me at all, the you knew that this was gonna be in here. The two-part pilot episode of the show that lauched the career of Joss Whedon, the man who makes me want to be a writer, followed Buffy Summers, the vampire slayer. It's pretty self-explanatory, actually. After being expelled from her old high school (she burned down the gym) she arrives in Sunnydale, CA, hoping to avoid further vampire-slayage. But then she finds out her new watcher, which is sort of her protector, has been waiting for her there. And than she finds out that Sunnydale is built on top of a Hellmouth (giant, evil, majick vampire pit) and that a very old, very pissed off vampire is trapped there, trying to get out to kill people. This show stayed consistently good throughout it's run. The pilot was fantastically written and embodied almost everything fans would come to love about the show, mainly the huge action/fighting sequences, great characters, and hilarious comedy relief. In short, it's an awesome show with an awesome pilot. Final rating: 94%

5. Sherlock
(episode also called A Study in Pink)
BBC's modern day reimagining of the Doyle's classic mysteries comes from Doctor Who alums Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis. Set in London, we have Army doctor and Afghanistan vet John Watson returning to england after being discharched due to PTSD. Looking for a roomate, his friend introduces him to Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective. They become flatmates. Holmes, needing a doctor for a case, brings John along to help examine the body. Holmes is a genius with aspergers. He sees and notices every tiny detail, so naturally he loves mysteries. Thus begins a mind bending mystery throughout london involving a rash of apparent suicides.This show is just absolutely brilliant. If you're paying attention, you can appreciate sherlock's genius, the unfolding, highly intelligent mystery, and the fact that it's just plain awesome. Final Rating: 96%

4. Angel
(episode also called City Of)
Okay, now you may or may not be thinking, oh look another Joss Whedon show. We got another whedon addict blogger to deal with. Or if you're a whedon addict like me, you might be thinking "you have this above the buffy pilot?! what's wrong with you?" The simple truth is that enjoyed this more than i enjoyed welcome to hellmouth. This show is actually Buffy's spin off. We have here the vampire Angel, cursed with soul so he may feel the guilt and pain of the people he's killed. He's left Buffy, the love of his absurdly long life, and has come to LA. Naturally, do to a lack of other things to do, he begins doing what he did in Sunnydale: he fights vampire and other demons, mostly because saving people temporarily releives him of his guilt. He meets Doyle, a prophetic half-demon, as well as Cordelia, an old friend from Sunnydale. They decide to work together, using Angel's skills and Doyle's visions, to fight demons. This was an enormously entertaining episode, lot's of great action and humor, plus some strong performances by the lead actors. For those of you who are ticked i put this ahead of Buffy, i say: this is my list. Final Rating: 96%

3. Firefly
(Episode also called Serenity)
Yes, i am that obssesed with joss whedon. and i just happen to like this show. So here we are 500 years in the future. mankind has spread out to a new solar system. a government force called the alliance controls planets at the center of the solar system, the outer planets are lawless and wild. The show introduces the crew of the Serenity, a group of badass space cowboys who aim misbehave. The captain is a war veteran, the war being a group of planet's last attempt to keep the alliance out. They pick up some, shall we say, fugitive passengers. Why do i like this so much: gunfights, explosions, awesome characters, hilarious one-liners, and a great plot that sets up for the rest of the show. Fox, however, did not see the pilot's potential, so, being the trolls they are, they didn't air, fully knowing that the rest of the show wouldn't make sense without it. But don't let that discourage, because this is freaking awesome. Final Rating: 98%

2. Touch
Alright, technically i already reviewed this episode, so i won't spend too much time on it besides saying that it's incredibly awesome. Theatrically wonderful, even. You can read the review a little ways below. It's awesome and it's got a great premise. Final rating: 98%

1. The X Files
What is any nerd's top ten list without something x files related. Odds are, you know what this show is about. FBI agent Dana Scully (the skeptic) is assigned to monitor the work of agent Fox Mulder (the beleiver.) he works on the the X Files, the FBI's unsolved cases, which he beleives are a bit more than meets the eye. Scully is originally assigned to debunk his work as the two investigate a murder in Oregon which Mulder beleives to be a bit extra terrestrial. Everything about this episode was awesome: the acting. the script, the sets, everything. It also sets up the main ongoing story on the show involving a government-alien conspiracy theory and just about everything that i would ever love about the show. So awesome. Final Rating: 100%

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