I will second The Office and True Blood.

The Office I didn't like because it was a carbon copy of the original and I feared they would all be like that. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

True Blood, wow that one was all over the place. There were great moments, and frankly the show really got going around episode 4. i just finished it yesterday and it really went out with a bang.

The other show is The Shield. Now this may sound weird but I was discussing it with my brother and we both agreed to this. Up until the ending, it is a by the numbers cop show. Then you get turned on your head. But every episode after that was amazing.

Seinfeld

"The Seinfeld Chronicles" pilot episode is pretty weak. Based on it alone, it's amazing that one of the greatest network sitcoms ever started with such a meek pilot episode.

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I discovered Moonlighting on DVD after hearing great things about it for years. It's pilot was the worst I've seen, but I didn't give up and have enjoyed three seasons of the show now. I've heard the show tanks again towards the end but its been worth it so far.

I think Sex and the City had a weak pilot as well, and it's my favorite show ever.

Mention of Star Trek, but not Star Trek: The Next Generation? I was in college, and I remember how excited some people were. I couldn't believe how lame it was. The lameness continued for most of the first season. Remember the debut of the Ferengi, touted as the new nemesis for the Federation?
I started watching it in syndication a few years later, probably around the time the 3rd season was airing in the cycle, and really got into it. But the acting in that pilot! Watching it now, it still looks like a bunch of actors playing parts--they never convince me to just fall into the story and enjoy it.

The Office(US) definitely. Thankfully it's the only episode of the series to recycle one of the UK series' scripts. It's been all uphill since then.

Gossip Girl. A fairly weak pilot(and first season for that matter). But the show is having a very entertaining 2nd year.

Quantum Leap. Lame pilot, but it really found its footing in Seasons 2-4.

Friends. The pilot was mediocre, but it picked up from there.


Does the Private Practice episode they did on Grey's Anatomy count? That one was pretty lame, but I actually kinda dig the series.

Heroes. Took a few episodes before I really started to enjoy watching it.

Seinfeld - "The Seinfeld Chronicles" pilot was truly awful. Actually, most of the early episodes were terrible -- took a couple of years for the show to find it groove.

Babylon 5 - "The Gathering," the two hour pilot movie. Most here have only seen the recut version that's available on DVD, which is far superior the one that was originally broadcast as a movie-of-the-week a year before the first season started airing. What a boring, turgid mess. And the "alien sector" looked like a fucking zoo.

The 30 Rock Pilot was meh.

I actually dig the series as well, but I thought the 2 hour backdoor pilot on Grey's sucked. I'm actually glad they re-casted Naomi with Audra McDonald.

+1

Seen the pilot after I was a fan of the show. Well, it's my favourite sitcom. Kudos to the executives who were still willing to pick up the show.

I remember hating pretty much everything about the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine pilot, "Emissary." I found the Bajorans boring, the look of the sets almost depressing, etc. A friend of mine still recalls me even going so far as to complain about the color font they used for the main titles. And yet, I can't imagine loving a series more than I love the Niner.

While not the pilot I couldn't even make it though the first aired episode of Firefly. Later having gotten the DVD's I ended up loving the show.

The first show I thought of when I saw the thread title was The Office. As others have said, it was just a bad rehash of the original. I actually quit watching and found my way into the show by accident in season 2 (my TV was left on NBC one day while I was doing other things, so it was on in the background and I found myself laughing).

I might have to give Fringe another try. I was very excited about the show and then I watched the pilot ... Well, I should say that I tried to watch the pilot. I actually attempted to watch it at least 3 times and was never able to finish it. I hear it's developed into a decent show. Maybe I'll Netflix it when it comes out.

I think it's fair to say ALL the Trek pilots sucked. Though I guess they don't fall into the "series you ended up liking" part.

I'm surprised you say that. Sure it got terrible ratings, but it was a pretty good episode and got good reviews. It seems in line with most episodes from those first few seasons. I think it hit the ground running.

Agree with Seinfeld, though. That had a rough start.

I'm going to second (third? fourth?) Big Bang Theory. Horrible pilot, has turned into a hilarious show.

I thought it was really funny but my sister and cousin though the pilot was pretty terrible... it is now their favourite show on TV.

I will agree with you on this one. I thought the first couple of episodes were meh. At the time I vastly preferred Studio 60, even though they were entirely different formats, they were both about a late night sketch comedy show. I thought Studio 60 was a vastly superior show. I still really love Studio 60, but 30 Rock has its own place for me now as well.

I am with your sister and cousin on that one. One of the best comedies on TV right now.

The funny thing is, I actually liked the pilot for Star Trek: Voyager. It didn't take long at all to become apparent that having the first enjoyable pilot for the series did not guarantee I would enjoy the series.

I chose not to include 30 Rock in this discussion even though I thought the pilot was very bad at the time. I'm all but certain that for me, my bias toward Studio 60 shaded my reaction to 30 Rock. I nearly stopped watching 30 Rock early in the season but was hooked on it as of around midseason.

Blade - The first episode was so bad I gave up on it. I picked it back up after catching episode 3 I think (the episode with kid blade) during a marathon. Can't say it is the best vampire show I have seen but it was pretty good and kept getting better.

I'm with you. I thought the pilot was great. The show definitely hit the ground running.

I have to admit the Sticky Fingaz really started out rough playing Blade. Alot of people thought he was more or less mimicking Wesley Snipes. However, he really grew into the part and made it his own. I actually really liked the show and was disappointed when Spike gave up on it.

X-files. The pilot kind of stunk. But I stuck with it (and thankfully, so did Fox) and it became my favorite show of all time.

Seinfeld
Big Bang Theory
The Office