Greetings, reader!
My four-week dive into TV's finest beginnings and endings continues - last week I took a look at the greatest pilot episodes in comedy television, so today it's the turn of drama TV. From intriguing introductions to addictive kick-offs, these are the best first episodes.
Here are my honorable mentions: Dexter (Dexter), Pilot (Breaking Bad), Pilot (Designated Survivor), Pilot (Homeland), Pilot (Prison Break).
10. Days Gone Bye (The Walking Dead)
"Hey you. Dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank. Cozy in there?"
Oh man, that first scene is rough. Not only that, but it's a pitch-perfect introduction to a zombie apocalypse. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes up from a hospital bed, having been comatose when it all went down, and thus awakens into a thoroughly changed world. And how changed it is - the script based on Robert Kirkman's graphic novels, coupled with Frank Darabont's high-scale directing, make for one of the most real-feeling post-apocalyptic settings in fiction. A zombie apocalypse, as an idea, can never be 'realistic', but the question of "how would our society change if that DID happen?" is answered in the most realistic way imaginable.
So, yeah - it's a changed world, and this episode purposefully explores very little of it, only giving bits and pieces of the walking dead and the implication of their rise, thus leaving the viewer wanting more and wanting it fast. An expert way to begin such a series, and one that sure went down in TV history.
9. Emissary (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
"You can't cheat every customer who walks through the door anymore, Quark. You are a community leader now"
"Very well, very well...perhaps we could discuss these new rules over a drink"
I'm a huge Star Trek fan - and having watched the pilot episodes to all 8 TV shows in the franchise, I can say that most of them aren't that great. The Original Series didn't air its intended pilot episode first but went with a last-minute 'safe choice' (read: more boring choice), The Next Generation had its growing pains, Enterprise felt cheesy as hell and so on. But the one that was love at first sight was my favorite Trek series of them all - Deep Space Nine.
This is the one Trek show that seemed to know its identity from the start, instead of growing into what kind of show it wants to be through trial and error. From the very first episode, they make it clear how this will be a different kind of Trek series: being set on a space station instead of a moving spaceship is just the tip of the iceberg, as we're also introduced to the central geopolitical conflict that takes fictional alien races and alliances to a level of complexity usually reserved for real-world situations (think Syria in the 2010's), and to the show's trademark combo of being darker than the previous Trek shows on some level, yet also the coziest of them all - between the location of Quark's bar and the warm soundtrack playing as characters navigate the station, Deep Space Nine feels like home from the very start.
8. Pilot (Person of Interest)
"Knowledge is not my problem. Doing something with that knowledge is where you come in. You can call me Mr. Finch"
The pilot to Jonathan Nolan's deeply underrated sci-fi crime drama scores a lot of points in my book just for the fact that it introduces one of TV's cooler premises - a supercomputer that was built post-9/11 to detect acts of terror has been shelved because of difficult distinctions between 'relevant' crimes and ordinary crime, but the man who built it has had a crisis of conscience knowing that he has access to this machine that predicts acts of violent crime before they happen, so he recruits a partner in order to begin an operation of stopping crimes before they take place.
But more than that, it's the emotional and gripping manner in which this premise comes to be. Former CIA hitman John Reese (Jim Caviezel) is depressed and downright suicidal, feeling like his life has no purpose anymore, when he's contacted by the enigmatic but heart-of-gold genius Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), who offers him an opportunity to do some good with the skillset he used to use for evil. This gives him a new purpose, and it's all very touching.
7. 12:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m. (24)
"My name is Jack Bauer, and this is the longest day of my life"
There is a clear correlation between A) how interesting a television show's premise is, and B) how highly their pilot episode ranks on this list. The two aren't quite the same, but the pilots of shows with particularly fascinating concepts tend to naturally be a bit better in general. A great premise is easier to introduce in a compelling manner than an average premise. And this is the biggest factor behind the success of the opening episode in the infamous series about counter-terrorist agents taking place in real time.
From the very beginning, the question of "can this premise possibly work and be as cool as it sounds?" is answered with a resounding "yes". Sean Callery's instrumental soundtrack in the first minutes is pure dramatic gold, as we're gradually introduced to our major characters in a riveting midnight setting, and the plot starts to build and thicken. There are thrilling moments of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) badassery to the backdrop of an assassination threat in the midst of a Presidential primary, but most of all, the pilot works because it proves right off the bat how intense and addictive the real-time premise is.
6. Pilot (The West Wing)
"It's a nice morning, Mr. McGarry"
"We'll take care of that in a hurry, won't we?"
Oh man - no one introduces characters like Aaron Sorkin. After a low-key 'normal' opening scene to set the tone before the Sorkin magic kicks off, the original main ensemble (with the exception of President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), who we'll get to later) is met, one by one, in a hellishly entertaining and informative montage. All of them receive the same piece of news while in the middle of a situation or interaction that tells you everything you need to know about that character, culminating in Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) leaving the room of his one-night-stand with his legendary POTUS line just as Snuffy Walden's majestic Walking the West Wing score drops into motion.
From thereon out, it's clever ping-pong dialogue, fascinating walking-and-talking sequences, and brilliant idealism as we get to know the immediately lovable White House staff of the Bartlet administration. This culminates in Bartlet himself making one of the most iconic entrances in fiction, with his first lines and the rest of the scene cementing his character to be as towering in presence and believable as President as he is likably humane and 'feels-too-good-to-be-true' in his fist-pumping nature.
5. eps1.0_hellofriend.mov (Mr. Robot)
"See, I usually do this kind of thing from my computer, but now I wanted to do it AFK, in person. Trying to work on my social anxiety. But there's always the threat of you fleeing after I call you out - you call your assisted men to take the servers down, wipe all the data. So, I made sure to include the current time and location in my anonymous tip"
"Wait, hold on! I'll give you the money! How much do you want, I'll pay you!"
"That's the part you were wrong about, Ron. I don't give a shit about money"
Yeah, the very first scene of the Mr. Robot pilot had me hooked like (almost) no other. Rami Malek's sledgehammer performance proves to be worthy of Emmys and Golden Globes in just that one scene, as he plays the role of Elliot Alderson with a unique mixture of cold distance and vulnerable heart, making the protagonist feel like someone who you can't reach yet you deeply care for. The central themes and core values of the series are also clear from just that one scene, as some razor-sharp dialogue clears up the worldview of the protagonist and the larger points about society that the series strives to make through him.
After that banger of an opening scene, the rest of the episode is quite a treat as well - the artistic cinematography, interpretational storytelling and Elliot's inner monologue narration make the viewing experience feel like a psychedelic fever dream of sorts. And, of course, there's a bizarre cliffhanger.
4. We Just Decided To (The Newsroom)
"First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore"
If I were ranking the greatest opening scenes from television, instead of the whole pilot episodes, the #1 spot would be a battle between Mr. Robot and The Newsroom - and this Aaron Sorkin series just might gain the edge and come out on top. In this earth-shattering opening scene, we follow a panel where prominent journalists are asked about the United States' status as the greatest country in the world - only for star anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) to go off on a tirade encapsulated in the sentiment "it's not (but it could be)". This monologue is brilliantly acted, although the true star of the show is the brutally honest set of words written by Mr. Sorkin.
The rest of the episode continues in a Sorkin-esque fashion, as we find out what we need to know about the main characters in a rapid progression through a bunch of clever and entertaining moments. The show's tradition of mixing fiction with reality also makes itself known, as the fictional newsroom we follow suddenly finds itself covering a very real breaking news story from 2010. Oh, and the episode's final moment, tying simultaneously into the show's two best characters archs, its best love story and Sorkin's grand idealism behind the series, is nothing short of profound.
3. Winter Is Coming (Game of Thrones)
"The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword"
The opening act of HBO's massive-scale, high-budget blockbuster fantasy series is, well, massive in scale and high in budget. Game of Thrones is considered one of the key factors in the argument that TV has risen to the same level of art as cinema during the last decade or so, and the case seems solid from the get-go: this isn't you soap-opera, mindless-entertainment, no-risks-taken ratings-oriented safety TV. This is high art, bold storytelling where anything can happen, with intricate characters played by masters of the trade.
The pilot episode remains very loyal to George R. R. Martin's books in both plot and atmosphere, and contains killer dialogue and memorable moments through and through. The biggest thing for me however, the thing that really sold me on knowing from the start that this will be one of my all-time favorite shows, is the sheer intrigue - we're introduced to various settings, lore elements and plotlines in a truly fascinating manner. It has you hooked and invested from the very beginning, as the ball starts to roll and one can't take their eyes off it.
2. Northwest Passage (Twin Peaks)
"Diane, I'm holding in my hands a small box of chocolate bunnies"
Once upon a time, filmmaker David Lynch decided to team up with Mark Frost and venture into the world of television. One 90-minute pilot episode later, they had the world's attention, with everyone tuning in each week to find out more about who killed Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), and what the hell is going on in the strange town on Twin Peaks, Washington.
A pilot is, at best, a promise of what kind of series this will be. Sometimes the promise is overstated (Designated Survivor begins with its best episode, and it's all downhill from there), while sometimes it is understated (Star Trek: The Next Generation had some serious growing pains to get over). But once every blue moon, a series manages to kick off with the perfect promise, an episode that tells you everything you need to know about what sort of series it will be - and Twin Peaks sure does that.
Sure, the arthouse surrealism would get even weirder deeper down the rabbit hole, but the psychedelia is strongly present from the start, warning mainstream viewers that this will be no ordinary murder mystery. Sure, the emotional payoffs would only grow larger later on, but there is a strong emotional core from the very moment Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) receives the phone call about his daughter's death to the backdrop of the late Angelo Badalamenti's heart-wrenching score. Sure, the moments of humor would grow even more bizarre and Kyle MacLachlan's Dale Cooper is only to be revealed more and more wholesome, but there's enough peculiar humor and lovable Dale Cooper content to make it clear from the start where the show's moments of laughter and heart would originate from. The Twin Peaks pilot is a test for the famously opinion-dividing series: if you don't like it, chances are you won't like the rest of the series, but if it is to your liking, I reckon that the rest of the series will feel the same but even better.
1. Pilot (Lost)
"Guys...where are we?"
A close-up of Jack Shepherd (Matthew Fox) opening his eye. He gets up from where he was lying down, looks around his jungle-like surroundings, trying to figure out what's going on. He walks into a certain direction, escalating into a run as he hears screaming, until finally he arrives. The beach. On an island. Machinery and fire. Injured people, dying people, all hell breaking loose. This, the immediate aftermath of the Oceanic Flight 815 plane crash, is how we're introduced to the setting of Lost.
After all these years, this cinematically magnificent pilot from 2004 is still the best in the business. No series has started with such an eye-opening bang. Not only does J. J. Abrams' blockbuster directing make the plane crash feel chaotic, panicky and real, but the show's memorable and fleshed-out characters are introduced with great fascination, and the rabbit hole of the show's many mysteries is opened just enough that you just have to take a deeper peek so see what it's all about. Of course, the biggest mystery of them all, "what exactly is the deal with this island", is established as a wonderfully cryptic theme immortalized in Charlie's (Dominic Monaghan) closing words, quoted above.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I continue my four-week look into television's finest beginnings and endings, with a ranking of the greatest series finales in comedy TV.
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