10 Amazing First Episodes Of Brilliant TV Series

This is a bit of an unusual one because it is the first official episode of the season but it isn't the first episode canonically, as it follows the 2003 Miniseries. This can be confusing as the miniseries details how the human colonies are wiped out in a surprise attack by the re-emerging Cylons and chased from their worlds.

The episode itself is a brilliant breakdown of the often unconsidered side of Sci-fi military fiction, the toll it takes on the human body. Called 33 because the fleeing human ships must jump to light speed every 33 minutes to flee the pursuing Cylons, it is as much an examination of human tenacity as it is action. Human pilots are forced to scramble to their ships repeatedly despite increasing sleep deprivation. The limits of their endurance poses just as much danger as the cold hearted Cylons themselves. Elsewhere in the universe the first of the human Cylon spies is revealed, throwing everything we believed about our characters out the window.

It is a fantastic first episode because it shows you right out of the gate what kind of show this will be. This isn't some half hearted military shooter with robotic enemies, this is a hard hitting drama about the challenges of survival. These themes come back time and time again throughout the series to excellent effect, and the creators do great work to sow the seeds of these themes so early on. You are meant to question humanity and their motives just as much as the robotic villains, and ask yourself what is good and evil.