4. Breaking Bad "Pilot"
Breaking Bad is probably (probably) my favorite show currently on TV and definitely one of my all time favorite shows, and the pilot episode was incredible. The reason this isn't higher on this list, despite arguably being the best show on this list is that whilst the pilot was thrilling, it isn't Breaking Bads greatest episode, and at this point we didn't really know Walter White all that well. The show is interesting because Walter is such a complex character, and the more complex he gets, the better the show gets. Season 1 was probably the weakest in its run, with every season after just getting better and better. Season 1, despite being the worst season, is still one of the greatest television series of all time. Breaking Bad's Pilot chews threw so much story in so little time. You forget how much really happens in this episode and how quickly, though convincingly Walter Whites character changes in such a short amount of time. In this pilot, Walter goes from being a 50 year old chemistry teacher who is living the definition of a mundane life to meth cook who kills a guy. All this in just the first episode... it is extraordinary that the writers managed to make such a sudden character transformation seem so seamless as this. The episode begins with Walter driving his RV with his assistant Jesse with him, through the desert, with two apparently dead bodies in the back of his van. At first the audience (at least I did) thinks that this must be a scene from the end of Season 1, but in fact this crazy cool scene happens again before the episodes end. It is impossible not to watch this episode and not be immediately hooked from then on. Truly edge of your seat drama with a great deal of thrilling action thrown in for good measure. This is a must watch. One of the greatest episodes in TV history.