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09-20-2006, 09:58 AM
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#1
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All better
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Dallas
Posts: 15,607
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Best TV Pilots of all time
Regardless of how the show turned out what shows would you say had almost perfect pilots? Mine are:
Six Feet Under
ER
The Shield
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
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"It's not stealing if you need it. And you need it." - Inignot
Gamertag - mwhip
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09-20-2006, 10:06 AM
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 448
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I know it is recent, but I have to say the pilot for My Name is Earl is one of the best I've seen, set the tone for the show, all the characters were fully developed out of the gate, it holds up on rewatching, and I swear I nearly hurt myself laughing while watching it.
Nobody else will say it, but the pilot for Charlie's Angels was amazing. I've never stopped wondering what the show would have been if they'd actually done the show the pilot hinted at. Certainly not one of the best ever, but one of the most disappointing executions of a great idea.
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09-20-2006, 10:07 AM
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Sparkle City
Posts: 381
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ALIAS; I always loved the Roswell pilot, and I really liked watching felicity again the other day on the WB finale . . .
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Series 2 240 Oct 03 (RIP)
Series 2 540 June 05 (Retired)
Series 2 DT 80HR--all better. Whew!
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09-20-2006, 10:12 AM
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 13,247
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by PeternJim
I know it is recent, but I have to say the pilot for My Name is Earl is one of the best I've seen, set the tone for the show, all the characters were fully developed out of the gate, it holds up on rewatching, and I swear I nearly hurt myself laughing while watching it....
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I rewatched the pilot for "Earl" last week. It is very good, but Randy was quite different in the pilot, IMO.
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09-20-2006, 10:16 AM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Chicago
Posts: 2,654
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24
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09-20-2006, 10:18 AM
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#6
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Princess Anti-Santa
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Overland Park, KS
Posts: 11,609
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My top three in recent memory:
Lost
My Name Is Earl
Alias
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And I happen to think mine is the level head and yours is the one things would roll off of.
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09-20-2006, 10:22 AM
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#7
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Grey Warden Reject
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: A City by the Bay
Posts: 4,312
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The real pilot for Firefly was a great introduction to the characters.
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SB
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09-20-2006, 10:24 AM
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2006
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,350
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Another vote for The Shield.
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09-20-2006, 10:30 AM
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#9
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Peekols
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Greenville SC
Posts: 27,733
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Firefly
Alias
West Wing
Studio 60
Sports Night.
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It's a sociological cornucopia of silliness.
Gamertag: GGwallen
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09-20-2006, 10:33 AM
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#10
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All better
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Dallas
Posts: 15,607
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I forgot about 24 and Alias. Eventhough I do not like what those shows turned into their pilots were awesome.
__________________
"It's not stealing if you need it. And you need it." - Inignot
Gamertag - mwhip
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09-20-2006, 10:34 AM
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Arkansas, USA
Posts: 1,832
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Lost
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09-20-2006, 10:34 AM
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#12
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Vegas Boy
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Dallas
Posts: 82,979
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Twin Peaks
__________________
Jeff
Proud to use my TiVo improperly
President of the TiVoShanan Fan Club
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09-20-2006, 10:35 AM
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#13
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Peekols
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Greenville SC
Posts: 27,733
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the 1st half of the 1st season of 24 was awesome TV. The initial order was for 12 episodes and I think that is all they expected to have to do, so the last half of the season felt a bit tacked on.
Still lots better than anything else that was on at the time.
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It's a sociological cornucopia of silliness.
Gamertag: GGwallen
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09-20-2006, 10:35 AM
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 493
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Gunnyman
Firefly
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The Whedon one or the Fox one ??
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09-20-2006, 10:35 AM
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#15
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Princess Anti-Santa
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Overland Park, KS
Posts: 11,609
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I really don't think Firefly can count for this debate. Yes, the REAL pilot was awesome. But that pilot was never shown to the public as the pilot. Instead, Train Job stands as the pilot. While Train Job is a perfectly good episode of an excellent show, it doesn't stand up as a top-tier pilot.
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And I happen to think mine is the level head and yours is the one things would roll off of.
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09-20-2006, 10:35 AM
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#16
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 3,333
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Arrested Development
Miami Vice
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09-20-2006, 10:38 AM
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#17
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ID-10-T
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 16,497
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Howard Borden
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I Support Global Warming!
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09-20-2006, 10:39 AM
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#18
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postcrastinator
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Earth
Posts: 2,910
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I think one of the great TV pilots was Steve Zodiac and his crew of "Fireball XL5".
Oh ... you mean pilot episodes ... 
Y'know, the pilot episode of "Fantasy Island" was pretty darn good. Or was that a television movie which resulted in the television series? I'm not sure. But the one I'm talking about featured Rourke and Tatoo, and the guest star was Hugh O'Brien as a man whose fantasy was to hunt the most elusive prey, and wound up being hunted himself.
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09-20-2006, 10:41 AM
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#19
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Grey Warden Reject
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: A City by the Bay
Posts: 4,312
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by AJRitz
I really don't think Firefly can count for this debate. Yes, the REAL pilot was awesome. But that pilot was never shown to the public as the pilot. Instead, Train Job stands as the pilot. While Train Job is a perfectly good episode of an excellent show, it doesn't stand up as a top-tier pilot.
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I wish I had a counter arguement for this but in the end, I have to agree with you.
I'll say that Lost had a good premeire. Pilots are tricky things though. Sometimes the pilot isn't a good indication of where the show will go once it really starts it's journey. I've been watching Vanished and I think that had a good premeire. Not something that I would put on the "all-time" list though.
I do consider the BSG mini series to be the pilot for that show and in that respect, the BSG mini series was excellent. Without the success of the mini series, we wouldn't have the series at all.
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SB
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09-20-2006, 10:43 AM
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#20
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My Custom User Title
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Houston
Posts: 19,060
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Profit
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09-20-2006, 10:43 AM
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#21
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Peekols
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Greenville SC
Posts: 27,733
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whedon called Serenity a Pilot therefore I am too. 
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It's a sociological cornucopia of silliness.
Gamertag: GGwallen
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09-20-2006, 10:44 AM
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#22
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L: 42-14 (Ouch)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Chicago Burbs
Posts: 6,801
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No question: My Name is Earl
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Earl: A purpose is a great thing to have, it gives you a reason to wake up every morning.
Randy: So a purpose is like a box of powdered donut holes?
Earl: Exactly.
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09-20-2006, 11:07 AM
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#23
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 9,714
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The Shield
Frank
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09-20-2006, 11:19 AM
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#24
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Unregistered User
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,619
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The Shield. No doubt about it.
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09-20-2006, 11:53 AM
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#25
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HDTivo's Last hurrah
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Texas
Posts: 444
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West Wing
Sliders
Dick Van Dyke Show -- Laura: "I'm a woman", Rob: "Yeah!" cirrica 1961
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you've got to ask yourself - "Does it pass the common sense test?"
--Tomr
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09-20-2006, 11:55 AM
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#26
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Yes, Mr. Tony
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Capital of the Free World
Posts: 19,248
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The West Wing
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C'm'ere darlin', from a whisper start / to have a little faith in me ...
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09-20-2006, 12:05 PM
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#27
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Phish Food
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: 0.7 miles from the Abita brewery!
Posts: 8,260
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Lost
Star Trek: "The Cage" (the first pilot. Not so much the second one: "Where No Man Has Gone Before.")
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09-20-2006, 12:05 PM
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#28
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The Dude abides
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 6,871
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Lost
The Shield
If your jaw was not on the floor at the end of The Shield's pilot, you were asleep or dead.
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09-20-2006, 12:48 PM
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#29
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Hockeytown Central
Posts: 59
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Rescue Me
The X-Files
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09-20-2006, 12:53 PM
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#30
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Thrice as nice
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Madison, WI, USA
Posts: 6,879
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Alias and Lost were awesome.
Many probably won't agree that this was a Pilot, but the very first episode of Survivor was amazing because it was so new and no one knew what to expect. I knew it was going to be a great show going forward.
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XBox Live Gamertag - DancnDude
Wii code - 5559-0767-1390-1788
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