The Pilot The most groundbreaking and influential pilot of all time begins with a bloodied doctor stumbling onto the beached wreckage of a downed passenger jet. As he tends to the wounded a swooping camera drags us through fire and debris, feeding glimpses of each survivor and any clues that might lend to the show's lexicon of mysteries. In what would become a recurring theme, we end on a cliffhanger as the doc and survivors run for their lives from a black malevolent smoke monster. Between all this, flashbacks tell the tale of how each survivor found themselves on this ill fated flight. Suffice to say, in one fell swoop we all wanted to get to the bottom of this tropical island mystery. What Did It Change? Before it raised the bar for how we now watch TV shows, Lost was just an idea that was close to being pitched as a dramatic take on reality series Survivor. But when this premise was placed in the minds of creators Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof and one J J Abrams, the idea grew into something with a sci-fi bent to it, where the overriding mystery was actually the setting itself. This was a class move and once it had been filmed - at the time of airing in 2004, this stood as the most expensive pilot of all time budgeted at around the $14 million dollar mark - a two-part series opener was unleashed that threw suspense, intrigue and just a pinch of weird (polar bear anyone?) at viewers to gleeful effect. However you feel about Lost and its controversial closing seasons, its pilot was irresistible and unforgettable; everything changed once this aired and what followed was a slew of TV shows that took the same bombastic approach of opening a series by way of a grandstanding episode. However, no show has yet beaten Lost in terms of cultural impact as, unlike the ill-fated passengers of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815, this was a show firmly in cruise control. Legacy At the time of this feature, Lost was celebrating its ten year anniversary and its really staggering to see just how many shows have ducked and weaved through the jetstream it cut through television. The trend started with ensemble series Heroes and continued with the likes of Flash Forward, Terra Nova, Alcatraz, Once Upon A Time and The Leftovers. Got some pilots that you think soared higher than those featured on this list? Then mosey on down to the comments thread below and wax lyrical about the series openers you feel set the bar just that bit higher.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
