10 Best TV Pilots Ever

5. The Sopranos - The Sopranos

A towering crime epic. An engrossing family drama. And, at more times than it perhaps gets full credit for, a jet black comedy.

There are plenty of labels you can put on The Sopranos - none of which fully do it justice - and what's so impressive about the pilot episode is how they're all present in that opening hour.

The series opens with Tony Soprano, and sets about getting him to open up too as he visits psychiatrist Dr Jennifer Melfi. James Gandolfini is a dominating presence, but what makes Tony is interesting is the way that's juxtaposed with a sense of sadness and even vulnerability here.

The world of The Sopranos, as we're introduced to it, is of one in decline, and Tony is a man clinging to power in his crumbling kingdom. There are moments of crime and violence, and those of humour. There are epic speeches, surrealism and symbolism - the ducks! - and above all else, a gangster with a family, or rather, a family man who is a gangster. TV would never be the same again.