With the upcoming season of new TV shows, we at Based on Nothing have decided to create a list of our favorite TV show pilots. To us, a great pilot gives off the potential of the entire series, leaves the watcher wanting more, and shows the viewer something that they’re missing. Granted, there are many, many pilots we would love to put on this list but sometimes you gotta make some cuts. Onward!


Lost 
There are a lot of things that can be said about Lost’s pilot. It was practically a movie! The very first episode showed us exactly what the rest of the series was going to be about. The characters’s lives, and the island that they were on. Also, explosions, secrets, monsters, cute pregnant girls, mysteries, and “is that the guy from Lord of the Rings? I like him!” Lost did in one episode that many shows strive for in seasons.

 

Modern Family
Rarely does a sitcom make a pilot that is as solid, funny, and enlightening. Modern Family’s does all of those things with so many laughs. Though the show has sort of lost its uniqueness, Modern Family still is as great as the very first episode. Oh and the child actors? Almost as good as the adult actors. THAT’S rare.


Breaking Bad 
Not only is Breaking Bad one of the best shows ever, but it showed us that in the very first episode, in the very first scene. A middle aged guy is driving around the desert with his pants off, a gas mask on, and two bodies are swiveling back and forth in some kind of chemical in the back of the van. Grabbing everyone’s attention as soon as possible, Breaking Bad hasn’t let up since the first episode and has only gotten better (despite what people say about season three’s “Fly”). 


Studio 60 of the Sunset Strip
Aaron Sorkin’s creation of a fictional SNL-like sketch show allowed audiences to see in that creative world. Dealing with broadcasting, audiences, writing, and hating everyone around you, Studio 60 was a great little pessimistic show that taught us things about the industry from the very beginning.


Twin Peaks 
I’ve always said that shows like Lost and Breaking Bad wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Twin Peaks. The show’s heavy serialized storytelling paved roads for programs we all know now. Twin Peaks gave us a mystery at the very start and by the end of the first season, who cared about it? Because there were a million other more important things to wonder about! Twin Peaks was a damn fine television show with charm and mystery.