8. Game Of Thrones
Game of Thrones would blossom from its humble first scene, into a full-grown phenomenon, catapulting its stars into wider limelights and constantly shocking its audience with sharp twists and turns at every corner. But it was from that first scene that our journey first began, and what a first scene it was. The show opens with a snow-capped landscape, a giant wall of ice and three horsemen investigating a Narnia-esque forest, only to come across ritualistic decapitations. It's a bold way to start a show, as it shocks the audience from the off, and gives us a mystery to ponder from the starting gun; Ser Waymar Royce's taunt of "Do the dead frighten you?" is as chilling as the surroundings, and though the show warms up over the course of the episode both atmospherically and setting-wise it never forgets the tone of this freezing beginning. It's a captivating idea to throw a show in at the deep end before introducing any particular characters, but the opening scene of Game of Thrones relies on a very simple idea; just because the start of a TV series should be slow-burning and gradual, it doesn't mean it can't be thrilling or horrifying.