10 TV Shows With Great First Episodes
3. Serenity - Firefly
Firefly will always be one of TV's biggest tragedies. Promoted poorly and aired out of order, it never drew the ratings Fox were hoping for, and was cancelled after just fourteen episodes. Though Joss Whedon later gave us a movie conclusion, Firefly is a heartbreaking case of "what if," rather than the historic series it should have been.
Nonetheless, it was incredible throughout its run, and its pilot episode was one of its best. Introducing audiences to Malcolm Reynolds and his ragtag crew of lovable misfits, Joss Whedon did what he does best: created a phenomenal cast of three-dimensional characters that you can't help but love. He also gave us a fascinating universe, a sci-fi show without aliens but with a rich history, vibrant culture and curiously familiar technology.
The plot of Serenity is fairly straight forward, with the ship's crew attempting to offload some ill-gotten cargo and being double-crossed, but it was full of everything great about Firefly; crackling dialogue, brilliant character interactions and some genuinely impressive set pieces.
Unfortunately, Serenity wasn't even the first episode aired, with Fox electing to show the second episode, The Train Job, instead. While that is arguably a more exciting episode, Serenity does an excellent job of establishing the characters and the world they live in, and with the second episode diving headlong into the action, first-time viewers were denied that wonderful introduction, and the show suffered as a result.