What's your favorite Series Premiere Episode?
03-16-05, 12:10 PM
#76
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Lost - damn, that was a good one; the only thing that would have made it better would have been if ABC had shown all two hours from the start
Firefly - the original pilot is probably the best one out there, The opening scene had me yelling, "and Fox thought there wasn't enough action in this? What a buncha maroons!"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - after the quiet entrance of TNG, DS9's was da bomb
Brimstone - the opening scene in the confessional is still pretty chilling
The X-Files - the last scene is what hooked me
The Shield - I literally jumped at that last "shot"
G vs. E/Good vs. Evil - Great pilot, and I want the DVDs NOW!
Rescue Me - wow.
Firefly - the original pilot is probably the best one out there, The opening scene had me yelling, "and Fox thought there wasn't enough action in this? What a buncha maroons!"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - after the quiet entrance of TNG, DS9's was da bomb
Brimstone - the opening scene in the confessional is still pretty chilling
The X-Files - the last scene is what hooked me
The Shield - I literally jumped at that last "shot"
G vs. E/Good vs. Evil - Great pilot, and I want the DVDs NOW!
Rescue Me - wow.
03-16-05, 12:24 PM
#77
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
I'm surprised no one has said Family Guy. It premiered after the Super Bowl, I laughed from the end of the credits to the first commercial. I may have suffered brain damage by not breathing for those 8 minutes.
03-16-05, 09:55 PM
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Missed this thread the first go around. My favorite pilot of all time...
American Gothic
I haven't seen it since it first aired, ten years ago, an entire decade, and I still remember it well. The blood that forms a message on a wall, "someones at the door" in a spooky southern accent. God, what a show.
American Gothic
I haven't seen it since it first aired, ten years ago, an entire decade, and I still remember it well. The blood that forms a message on a wall, "someones at the door" in a spooky southern accent. God, what a show.
03-16-05, 10:18 PM
#81
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Originally Posted by cleaver
I'm surprised no one has said Family Guy. It premiered after the Super Bowl, I laughed from the end of the credits to the first commercial. I may have suffered brain damage by not breathing for those 8 minutes.
03-16-05, 10:31 PM
#82
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Desperate Housewives - Seeing Eva Longoria for the first time in lingerie and having mad love definitely set the mood for the rest of the season. Contrary to the pilot, the show has no substance and sucks like crap. But the pilot was brilliant!
03-16-05, 10:45 PM
#84
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The one that blows me away as not having been mentioned is ER, maybe because the series has run it's course and most people, even fans, are a bit tired of it. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a series arrive so completely fully formed and able to show and integrate the complex environment in which the series is set in the very first episode so effectively. The cast is ridiculously good and seem to uniformly have their bearings right off the bat, which is almost unheard of. The revealed backstory of the characters comes through as sharp as a knife. An abslolute marvel of TV drama.
A big second on Twin Peaks. Six months ago I would have said it was the best ever. Also:
Freaks and Geeks
The Prisoner (if you aren't highly intrigued by the pilot, you're dead)
Hill Street Blues (the best cop show ever)
A big second on Twin Peaks. Six months ago I would have said it was the best ever. Also:
Freaks and Geeks
The Prisoner (if you aren't highly intrigued by the pilot, you're dead)
Hill Street Blues (the best cop show ever)
03-16-05, 11:32 PM
#85
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Twin Peaks was great, as was Alias.
But the kid in me will always treasure the first episodes of Gomer Pyle and the Flintstones best.
Now where are my Gomer Pyle season sets???
But the kid in me will always treasure the first episodes of Gomer Pyle and the Flintstones best.
Now where are my Gomer Pyle season sets???
03-17-05, 01:00 AM
#86
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They've been mentioned, but:
Twin Peaks gets another vote. We REALLY need Season 2 on DVD already...
Oz. Any show that kills off the character with the most screen-time in the first episode has got me forever.
Wonderfalls. Just plain perfect for a pilot.
Some that weren't mentioned:
The Dead Zone. Very well done with some fantastic special effects. Feels more like cinema than TV.
Mr. Show. It has the lines "...we received a baked carrot from the Society of Unpleasant Gifts" and (I'm paraphrasing) "He knows he's guilty. But we're all guilty and we don't even know it. So who's really in jail?" Pure comedic genius.
Twin Peaks gets another vote. We REALLY need Season 2 on DVD already...
Oz. Any show that kills off the character with the most screen-time in the first episode has got me forever.
Wonderfalls. Just plain perfect for a pilot.
Some that weren't mentioned:
The Dead Zone. Very well done with some fantastic special effects. Feels more like cinema than TV.
Mr. Show. It has the lines "...we received a baked carrot from the Society of Unpleasant Gifts" and (I'm paraphrasing) "He knows he's guilty. But we're all guilty and we don't even know it. So who's really in jail?" Pure comedic genius.
03-17-05, 01:14 AM
#87
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Agree with Alias, Sopranos, 24, Lost and NYPD Blue.
Adding :
Murder One -- It hooked me from the get-go. Though the pilot hinted at more personal life stuff (ie Patrica Clarkson) than we'd ever see again, it also introduced Richard Cross, and that was enough.
LA Law -- Rollicking good fun from the start. Senior partner dies in office. Arnie Becker calls dibs on his office. Car trunk slams. Cue theme music.
Cheers -- Shockingly good opening episode shows this sitcom was well built with strong characters and great writing.
thirtysomething -- Smart, sophisticated and Hope near-naked
Moonlighting -- Didn't hear any pre-debut hype. Just happened to catch it, thinking it was a typical detective show. Then it got funny. I was really impressed. Too bad it eventually self-destructed
St Elsewhere -- Very dark from the beginning. I liked it that way.
Adding :
Murder One -- It hooked me from the get-go. Though the pilot hinted at more personal life stuff (ie Patrica Clarkson) than we'd ever see again, it also introduced Richard Cross, and that was enough.
LA Law -- Rollicking good fun from the start. Senior partner dies in office. Arnie Becker calls dibs on his office. Car trunk slams. Cue theme music.
Cheers -- Shockingly good opening episode shows this sitcom was well built with strong characters and great writing.
thirtysomething -- Smart, sophisticated and Hope near-naked
Moonlighting -- Didn't hear any pre-debut hype. Just happened to catch it, thinking it was a typical detective show. Then it got funny. I was really impressed. Too bad it eventually self-destructed
St Elsewhere -- Very dark from the beginning. I liked it that way.
03-17-05, 08:01 AM
#88
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Already mentioned, but
24 season 1
NYPD Blue
Frasier
24 season 1
NYPD Blue
Frasier
03-17-05, 08:03 AM
#89
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Originally Posted by milo bloom
What episode was the pilot? The series was so hard to see on Fox, but I'm sure I've seen it on Cartoon Network.
03-17-05, 01:39 PM
#90
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Originally Posted by cleaver
The one where Peter hit the satellite dish with his car and blamed it on his daughter.
03-17-05, 01:46 PM
#91
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Originally Posted by cleaver
The one where Peter hit the satellite dish with his car and blamed it on his daughter.
I only remember that because the commercials involved the scene at Quagmire's party where the (random) guy was saying "your clock won't flush"
03-17-05, 04:47 PM
#95
DVD Talk Limited Edition
A lot of good ones listed so far, but I'll add:
E.R. (The 24-hours-in-the-life-of-the-ER episode. Also interesting for later looking back on how some characters changed in personality once the series started.)
Star Trek (TOS's "original" pilot, the one with Captain Pike, that is, although the 2nd pilot with Captain Kirk is good too.)
E.R. (The 24-hours-in-the-life-of-the-ER episode. Also interesting for later looking back on how some characters changed in personality once the series started.)
Star Trek (TOS's "original" pilot, the one with Captain Pike, that is, although the 2nd pilot with Captain Kirk is good too.)
03-17-05, 07:06 PM
#96
The Last Precinct
03-20-05, 08:50 PM
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the shield - it was just completely shocking, something you wouldn't have expected
lost - really got my interested, but now im starting to hate this show.. seems like they're trying to just drag it out as long as much as they can
lost - really got my interested, but now im starting to hate this show.. seems like they're trying to just drag it out as long as much as they can