3. Lost
Lost was a show that would unravel over the course of 121 episodes and six series, all to answer one perpetual question: will the survivors ever find their way off the island? The show kicked off in incredible fashion; protagonist Jack staggers through the plane wreckage on a beautiful island, smoke billowing all around him, as he surveys his scene. Screams and cries ring out, the music only shadows the action lightly, and Jack tries to help as many victims as he possibly can. It's a blockbuster-esque scene of engrossing drama, introducing the mystery of the show straight away, and throwing the audience in at the deep end. The pilot reportedly cost a record $11.5 million to produce. The series more than repaid that price tag, becoming one of the defining dramas of its era, with 20 million people watching the first season finale alone. Yet those opening shots of Jack wandering around that punctured paradise would become iconic scenes as memorable as anything to come.