"Lost" is the best pilot ever
Mike M
TV Guide has come up with its list of the 10 Best TV Pilots in the
issue on newsstands now. Their list, my knee-jerk cavils and
additions, and your invitation to play along, after the jump:
No. 1 – LOST (2004) Forget that we still have no idea why the hell
Flight 815 went down. From the moment Kate started sewing up Jack’s
injuries, we were sucked in like that dude who got too close to the
engine. Plus, anything that can introduce one of TV’s loopiest
mythologies and Josh Holloway is totally worth a $12 million budget.
No. 2 – 24 (2001) Real time was a real turn-on when Jack Bauer got
to work cracking bratty Kim’s disappearance, the threat of Senator
Palmer’s like [sic; I think they mean the threat on his life], and a
shocking final-moments airline explosion that only hinted at how
bananas Bauer’s day was about to get. Probably would have called in
sick had he known.
No. 3 – THE SHIELD (2002) Who knew the Commish was such a badass?!
Michael Chiklis practically scorched our corneas with his blazingly
intense Det. Vic Mackey, the dirtiest Harry ever, in this profane,
violent opener that took NYPD Blue’s idea of flawed cops to a corrupt
new high. Or is that low? Either way, it was truly arresting.
No. 4 – THE SOPRANOS (1999) Ducks. One word and we’re having a
panic attack right along with Tony again. Filmed two years before HBO
ever aired it, this Godfather-gone-neurotic series showed that
mobsters are people, too, and gave us two wildly divergent ideas of
family that were both utterly unfuhgeddable.
No. 5 – 30 ROCK (2006) After a few tweaks and the swap out of
Rachel Dratch for Jane Krakowski, Tina Fey’s second pass at her hit’s
opener deftly nailed the bizarre world that is sketch TV, while
flipping a major bird at corporate-network synergy. Comedy is rarely
this smart, accessible or, well, Rock solid.
No. 6 – FOOTBALL WIVES (2007) James Van Der Beek, Eddie Cibrian,
Lucy Lawless and Gabrielle Union in an American version of the Brit
soap about jocks and the women who, um, support them. Hot, right? Too
bad ABC dropped the ball by not picking these Wives up, ‘cause they
would have scored big time.
No. 7 – DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (2004) With a mix of soapy goodness
and comedy darker than the garb at Mary Alice’s funeral, our Wisterian
wonders somehow made bad parenting and suburban dysfunction as
delicious as Bree’s muffins. Maybe it was the fierce cast. Or the fact
that none of them actually looked like our real neighbors.
No. 8 – SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1975) Live from New York, it’s the
one that started it all! Hosted by George Carlin, the late-nighter –
then called NBC’s Saturday Night – felt cheap and unpolished, but with
Andy Kaufman’s Mighty Mouse bit and the nascent Not Ready for Prime
Time Players, it was clear that
we were seeing subversive greatness take shape before our not-so-
sleepy eyes.
No. 9 – ER (1994) Marcus Welby officially left the building after
these frenetic medics crashed through the doors of County General with
about 1,000 ccs of realism and George Clooney on the verge of breakout
stardom. When those EMTs rolled in suicidal nurse Carol Hathaway, we
almost flatlined.
No. 10 – ALIAS (2001) While there is little in this world cooler
than Jennifer Garner in that red wig, what really blew us away was the
adrenalized action, the coed-turned-spy’s emotional complexity and the
arsenal of twists creator J.J. Abrams packed into over an hour of
commercial-free mayhem. Like Sydney, this one kicks butt.
OK, I'm solid on the first four picks, SNL is a smart inclusion and
none of these are really indefensible. But as someone who makes lists
I know the point of them is to pick fights.
So, first—no Arrested Development? Where's my gun? If not the best
sitcom pilot ever, the best one I've ever seen as a TV critic. I still
remember the afternoon I put it in my DVD player, watched it, watched
it again, then marched down the hall and told Joel Stein he absolutely
had to watch this show.
Second, Freaks & Geeks. Or you cannot be my friend.
Football Wives? Eh. If we're going for never-made-it-to-air pilots,
you've got to think about Mulholland Drive, Heat Vision and Jack or
Lookwell.
Now I have to bump a couple to make room, to be fair. First, easy:
Desperate Housewives? Spare me. I'll admit I never fully got the
phenomenal appeal of the show, but I also think that the show hit its
stride that first big season after the pilot, which was way too heavy
on the American Beauty style smugness about the suburbs.
And don't take this the wrong way, but: 30 Rock? Listen, back in the
fall of 2006, I was a broken record telling anyone who would listen or
cared that, of NBC's two big shows about SNL-type sketch comedies, 30
Rock and not Studio 60 was the one to watch. And I remember almost
anyone who would listen or cared looking at me like I was insane, in
part because they said the 30 Rock pilot, while hilarious in spots,
was too disjointed and scattershot. And while TV Guide does cite the
retooled pilot here, I still think they're engaging in revisionist
history. (Maybe they needed Tina Fey for a photo shoot?) I did love
this pilot, but the show hit an entirely new gear halfway through its
first season.
Those are my starters. Your turn! If you don't waste at least 15
minutes of your work day unable to do anything bu think about this,
you must turn in your Tuned In digital-cable-decoder ring.
SoHillsGuy
So, basically, everything they voted on was either made in the past
ten years, or is a program still on today. Nice definition of "ever."
I guess we can assume the writers of this list are in their 20s or 30s.
Smart Ape is not more of the same
While I really enjoyed, the first episode of Lost, I wasn't hooked until we
saw Locke in that wheelchair for the first time.
--
--- Tied for 4th Best RSPW Poster of 2007.
--- Co-Winner of 2006's Worst Feud/Flamewar/Thread.
--- Winner of 2007's Most Deproved Poster (with everyone else)
--- 8th Funniest Poster of 2004, 6th in 2005, 5th in 2006 and 4th in 2007.
--- 5th Most Improved Poster of 2004, 6th in 2005, tied for 4th in 2006 and
tied for 2nd in 2007.
--- Involved in the 2nd and 4th in Best Flamewar/Thread/Feud of 2007
--- 3rd Highest Vote-Getter of the 2005 KORSPW (I got screwed in 2006).
--- In the Final Four of the 2006 RSPW Rumble
--- Ranked 4th on Lvubun's Top 127 RSPW Posters of 2005
the Bede
"Smart Ape is not more of the same" <Za...@POTA.com> wrote in message
news:M6%vk.1869$dq4...@weber.videotron.net...
>I actually found the Alias pilot to be better than Lost.
> While I really enjoyed, the first episode of Lost, I wasn't hooked until
> we saw Locke in that wheelchair for the first time.
>
EB
Right about the no-attention span.
What about:
Hill Street Blues - Seeing two main charactor gunned down at the end
was like ...wow
Prison Break - The Tattoo scene at the end..Great
Married with Children - Loved the talk Al had with Steve ("If I told
you what I was thinking, I'd be talking")
Charlie's Angels - Have to say I did love the pilot.
The New People - "Lost" in the college vein. The sheer stupidity of a
white guy trying to prevent a black guy from leaving the island which
meant him staying there too.
Land of the Giants - Great action pack beginning
The West Wing - Pres Bartlet's speech at the end grab me for the rest
of the season.
Just my .02 cents
EB
Mason Barge
Ar Q
Sliders.
LongRodSilver
wrote:
> So, first—no Arrested Development?
GOOD! The name of the post is BEST Pilots.. not overrated bullshit
LongRodSilver
<mason...@comcast.net> wrote:
>House sucked
yes it did
Master Ninja
> Rachel Dratch for Jane Krakowski, Tina Fey’s second pass at her hit’s
> opener deftly nailed the bizarre world that is sketch TV, while
> flipping a major bird at corporate-network synergy. Comedy is rarely
> this smart, accessible or, well, Rock solid.
The 30 Rock pilot was garbage. I wanted to never watch the show
again. Luckily I kept watching because nothing else was on, and the
show became really good by the 4th episode.
Some of my favorite pilots:
- The original Knight Rider (great fun when you're a kid)
- Firefly (the original pilot, not the one Fox aired)
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (while the show
quickly dropped to the level of a Saturday morning cartoon, the pilot
brought a lot of humanity to the character of Clark/Superman)
- My So-Called Life
- My Name is Earl (funny and original)
- The Wonder Years (made me care for that kid right away)
Brian Thorn
<Michae...@vzw.blackberry.net> wrote:
>TV Guide has come up with its list of the 10 Best TV Pilots in the
>issue on newsstands now.
> No. 1 – LOST (2004)
> No. 2 – 24 (2001)
> No. 3 – THE SHIELD (2002)
> No. 4 – THE SOPRANOS (1999)
> No. 5 – 30 ROCK (2006)
> No. 6 – FOOTBALL WIVES (2007)
> No. 7 – DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (2004)
> No. 8 – SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1975)
> No. 9 – ER (1994)
> No. 10 – ALIAS (2001)
More very good pilots, some from (gasp!) before the 21st Century...
FUTURAMA (1999)
STARGATE SG-1 (1997)
PUSHING DAISIES (2007)
STAR TREK: VOYAGER (1995)
FRASIER (1993)
GILMORE GIRLS (2000)
QUANTUM LEAP (1989)
MURPHY BROWN (1988)
NORTHERN EXPOSURE (1990)
Several of these I'd rank a lot higher than "30 Rock" or "Desperate
Housewives". I've never even heard of "Football Wives", but it must
have been great to surpass Pushing Daisies' "Pie-lette".
Brian
Brian Thorn
wrote:
>The West Wing - Pres Bartlet's speech at the end grab me for the rest
>of the season.
I really hated the pilot, Mandy was hugely annoying and Bartlett's
speech at the end was ridiculous. The idea that a group of
preachers/rabbis don't know the First Commandment... way, over the
top. The show became great later (around the time of the first
Christmas episode), but the pilot wasn't.
Brian
Chris Lansdell
SNIP
The "Lost" pilot sucked. He crashed!
--
--
Lansdellicious - out. SURIMATE!
http://www.411mania.com/user_profile.php?user_id=2212
www.altraps.com
Arthur Lipscomb
"Ar Q" <Arthu...@hottmail.com> wrote in message
news:wOGdna2h4OT6GlzV...@earthlink.com...
>
> Sliders.
>
>
I especially liked "The People's Court" segment.
Ian J. Ball
wrote:
No, "House's" pilot was decent, but it wasn't earth shattering.
Anim8rFSK
Brian Thorn <btho...@suddenlink.net> wrote:
> On Thu, 4 Sep 2008 17:11:04 -0700 (PDT), Mike M
> <Michae...@vzw.blackberry.net> wrote:
>
> >TV Guide has come up with its list of the 10 Best TV Pilots in the
> >issue on newsstands now.
>
> > No. 1 – LOST (2004)
> > No. 2 – 24 (2001)
> > No. 3 – THE SHIELD (2002)
> > No. 4 – THE SOPRANOS (1999)
> > No. 5 – 30 ROCK (2006)
> > No. 6 – FOOTBALL WIVES (2007)
> > No. 7 – DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (2004)
> > No. 8 – SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1975)
> > No. 9 – ER (1994)
> > No. 10 – ALIAS (2001)
>
> More very good pilots, some from (gasp!) before the 21st Century...
>
> FUTURAMA (1999)
> STARGATE SG-1 (1997)
> PUSHING DAISIES (2007)
> STAR TREK: VOYAGER (1995)
Wow. I hated every minute of it.
> FRASIER (1993)
> GILMORE GIRLS (2000)
> QUANTUM LEAP (1989)
> MURPHY BROWN (1988)
> NORTHERN EXPOSURE (1990)
>
> Several of these I'd rank a lot higher than "30 Rock" or "Desperate
> Housewives". I've never even heard of "Football Wives", but it must
> have been great to surpass Pushing Daisies' "Pie-lette".
>
> Brian
--
Multiple root canals; hopped up on multiple pain drugs.
It's an explanation, not an excuse!
George W Harris
--
Doesn't the fact that there are *exactly* 50 states seem a little suspicious?
George W. Harris For actual email address, replace each 'u' with an 'i'
Brian Thorn
wrote:
>> STAR TREK: VOYAGER (1995)
>
>Wow. I hated every minute of it.
Well, I figured there was a 90% probability you would chime in to say
that. :-)
Regardless, I thought it was an absolutely terrific pilot. The show
never lived up to it, but that's not the pilot's fault.
Brian
Brian Thorn
<ib...@san.rr.com> wrote:
>No, "House's" pilot was decent, but it wasn't earth shattering.
The one with Robin Tunney, right? Pretty darned good, but not the
show's best.
Brian
Anim8rFSK
Brian Thorn <btho...@suddenlink.net> wrote:
I actually thought much of the series was better than the pilot. There
are just SO many things wrong with the pilot, from "let's screw the
writer that created the real Tom Paris character" to "Janeway is so
goddamned stupid she can't figure out how to blow the array without
trapping them all there"
There are lots of ways Caretaker *could* have been saved, but they all
involve Starfleet and the Maquis getting together and agreeing to
execute Janeway.
Brian Thorn
wrote:
>There are lots of ways Caretaker *could* have been saved,
No there weren't. The Voyager was outnumbered and the Kazon were
closing in.
>but they all
>involve Starfleet and the Maquis getting together and agreeing to
>execute Janeway.
I think you misremember the timespan of the climactic scene. If they'd
had days, even hours to plan it, maybe. But they didn't.
Brian
Anim8rFSK
Brian Thorn <btho...@suddenlink.net> wrote:
So leave a volunteer behind in one of their endless shuttles. Janeway
was incompetent and murderous; she wasn't as bad as Picard, and Archer
was worse than both, but all of them deserve to be put to death.
number6
>
> More very good pilots, some from (gasp!) before the 21st Century...
> STAR TREK: VOYAGER (1995)
Voyager - The Demise of the White Male ...
Antonio E. Gonzalez
<btho...@suddenlink.net> wrote:
>On Thu, 4 Sep 2008 17:11:04 -0700 (PDT), Mike M
><Michae...@vzw.blackberry.net> wrote:
>
>>TV Guide has come up with its list of the 10 Best TV Pilots in the
>>issue on newsstands now.
>
>> No. 1 – LOST (2004)
>> No. 2 – 24 (2001)
>> No. 3 – THE SHIELD (2002)
>> No. 4 – THE SOPRANOS (1999)
>> No. 5 – 30 ROCK (2006)
>> No. 6 – FOOTBALL WIVES (2007)
>> No. 7 – DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (2004)
>> No. 8 – SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1975)
>> No. 9 – ER (1994)
>> No. 10 – ALIAS (2001)
>
>More very good pilots, some from (gasp!) before the 21st Century...
>
With the exception of SNL, nothing before 1994; might be lack of
attention span, might be too lazy to look for anything outside their
lifetime, too lazy to look for anything they didn't see broadcast for
the first time, or just not looking to the past . . .
>FUTURAMA (1999)
>STARGATE SG-1 (1997)
>PUSHING DAISIES (2007)
>STAR TREK: VOYAGER (1995)
>FRASIER (1993)
>GILMORE GIRLS (2000)
>QUANTUM LEAP (1989)
>MURPHY BROWN (1988)
>NORTHERN EXPOSURE (1990)
>
Nothing before 1989 here, at least better than 1994 (I graduated
high school that year!) . . .
>Several of these I'd rank a lot higher than "30 Rock" or "Desperate
>Housewives". I've never even heard of "Football Wives", but it must
>have been great to surpass Pushing Daisies' "Pie-lette".
>
GET SMART (1965)
THE PRISONER (1967 UK; 1968 US)
THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW (1960)
I LOVE LUCY (1951)
GILLIGAN'S ISLAND (1964)
STAR TREK (1966)
THE BRADY BUNCH (1969)
ALL IN THE FAMILY (1971)
GUNSMOKE (1955)
M*A*S*H (1972)
HOME IMPROVEMENT (1991)
--
- ReFlex 76
- "Let's beat the terrorists with our most powerful weapon . . . hot
girl-on-girl action!"
- "The difference between young and old is the difference between
looking forward to your next birthday, and dreading it!"
- Jesus Christ - The original hippie!
<http://reflex76.blogspot.com/>
<http://www.blogger.com/profile/07245047157197572936>
Katana > Chain Saw > Baseball Bat > Hammer