I started West Wing - that was a good pilot
TAXI had Danny DeVito doing his patented turn-on-a-dime from ‘fawningly sweet’ over to ‘loudly berating’ upon realizing Marilu Henner was pretending to be a regular person instead of his new employee the just-divorced mom – prompting Judd Hirsch to show her the ropes, when she explains she’s only working here part-time until things pick up for her at the art gallery.
“Oh yeah, I know,” he replies; “we’re all part-time here.” [Gestures at Jeff Conaway] “You see that guy over there? Now, he’s an actor.” [Gestures at Tony Danza] “The guy on the phone, he’s a prize fighter. This lady over here, she’s a beautician. The man behind her, he’s a writer. Me? I’m a cab driver. I’m the only cab driver in this place.”
Throw in Andy Kaufman as Latka and you’ve got the pilot episode.
Just wanted to add the HUMAN TARGET pilot to the mix: our hero is perfect in the role of bodyguard-pretending-to-be-the-VIP’s-innocuous-translator, but it’s his little hacker buddy who steals the show in the supporting role. “I gotta warn you guys, if this gets violent, I’m gonna fight back … All right, maybe fight back’s a little misleading. I’ll take the beating 'cause that’s all you two amateurs are cleared to do. And then, one night soon, I’m gonna break into your houses and kill each of you in your sleep. Probably start with you, Alfredo; that way, Steven here can have a few extra days with Marla and the girls. It’s only fair.”
(“H-How do you know my name?” “Your employer keeps sensitive information on a drive he thinks is secure. It isn’t. Shall we?”)
[quote=“terentii, post:80, topic:731943”]
This one blew me away when I was 11 years old:
[/QUOTE]Yes, our old friend Irwin Allen was the master of the expensive-looking-decently-made-pilot-that-turned-into-a-sack-of-crap-when-picked-up-by-a-network TV show. You gotta love him.
The scene with Theo and Cliff was some of the most memorable TV of all time.
Yeah, I prefer to remember it the way I felt back then, rather than suspend my disbelief 100% for a solid hour now.
What is interesting about the Cosby Show pilot is that big chunks of it were taken right from “Bill Cosby, Himself” which was (is? I don’t even know anymore after all that’s happened) one of my favorite Comedy sets ever.
It’s been awhile, but I remember Better Off Ted hitting the ground running.
Every episode of Middleman is fantastic, even the ‘last’ one that was just a table read at ComicCon.
And wow, psychonaut I thought I’d never know another person who watched Nowhere Man.
You mean besides all the folks here on the SDMB who you’ve been occasionally discussing it with for the last ten years? 
Is there a fundamental difference between “pilot” and “first episode”?
In the UK a pilot may be created behind the scenes but rarely would it be broadcast without the commitment already in place to create a full series for broadcast. (i.e. the Sherlock example above)
In the USA I get the feeling that a full pilot episode may be created, broadcast and the ratings analysed before it ever gets a full series and it might go nowhere. Here, I can’t remember offhand any one-off true pilot episodes being shown, other than as perhaps a DVD extra or youtube curiosity.
It was good that the only characters we had to meet were Mulder, Scully and CSM (who did no talking). We did meet Blevins who was their supervisor then, but he was later replaced, and Skinner became their supervisor. I also loved the opening credits/music. I can’t believe the pilot was 22 years ago.
I also preferred the MOW episodes.
BEWITCHED deserves mention: everyone has their schtick down, and the pilot makes it a fair fight by showing Samantha breaking the “I’m A Witch” news to Durwood after the wedding: that he didn’t know his mother-in-law could (and would) teleport him off his honeymoon and halfway around the world, that he didn’t sign on for this; start anywhere else and he’s less sympathetic, but here you can see his point.
I’m not sure that’s good thing.
HBO’s Oz had me hooked right away.
Rescue Me was also strong right out of the gate.
Broadchurch also.
A new cop show I watched last night: Quantico. FBI trainees all mixed up in a mystery. There’s hot women, funny gay guy, cute guys, a hot sex scene. And a bomb.
I’m looking forward to Ep 2!
Scorpion’s pilot episode was good. The cast had already developed the dynamics for working with each other, and each had a good sense of his or her character. The plot, on the other hand, did have large holes in it.
If i can add one from the caroon world, Batman: The Animated Series grabbed my attention from the first. The pilot was actually the introduction to each cartoon with the robbery and capture, and the first regular episode featured the Man-Bat.
It was dark and full of no-so-good humans (including at times the hero) and gritty and I loved it from the first.
I just got done watching the blu-ray of the first episode of “Lost in Space”. The two guys on the audio commentary said the pilot cost $700,000 which they claim was the equivalent of $7 million. I doubt if other tv shows ran that much. “Combat” makes a big deal about the two-part episode “Hills are for Heroes” costing $500,000. Of course Allen’s shows after a year approached “Firefly” in suckiness.
The 1966 revival of “Dragnet” is interesting. It was originally supposed to be just a two-hour tv movie (and those were new at the time). But it turned out so well that NBC decided to bring it back as a series, which Jack Webb agreed to because his recent projects had flopped and he had alimony payments. The “Dragnet 1966” tv movie didn’t air until 1969
Gotta love the woman on death row in the RAISING HOPE pilot. “For her last meal, she asked for a McRib and a Shamrock Shake; that should buy her a few months.”
I don’t think Gilligan’s Island aired the pilot. The Pilot had a different Professor (actually just a High School teacher) and two secretaries, Ginger and Bunny.