Traditionally, when one of TV Guide’s ‘controversial’ lists, or as I like to call them — desperate attempts to make up for the fact they no longer seem to remember how to break actual news — shows up in my inbox, I am fairly quick to click ‘send to trash.’
But something about this weeks list of Top 10 Pilots got my attention. Namely, what TV Guide neglected to include.
So with that in mind, theTVaddict.com thought we’d present a few of our favorite pilots that might have slipped TVGuide’s mind.
[Their list which by the way can be picked up on newsstands now included 24, THE SHIELD, THE SOPRANOS, 30 ROCK, FOOTBALL WIVES, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, ER and ALIAS]
1. STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP: The colossal failure of Aaron Sorkin’s STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP was made all the more disappointing when one looks back at the brilliance of the SUNSET pilot. Not only was it one of Aaron Sorkin’s finest hours of television, it elicited “Let Bartlett Be Bartlett” levels of chills.
2. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: While one might argue that the miniseries was the show’s actual pilot, the first episode that followed, titled ’33,’ brilliantly crystalized what fans would come to expect from the Peabody Award Winning series over the course of the next four seasons. Gritty realism, unimaginable death and nearly impossible life and death choices. Yes, pretty much from day one, our intrepid heroes were totally Frakked. And we’ve loved every moment of it.
3-7. EVERWOOD, FELICITY, JACK & BOBBY, VERONICA MARS and GROSSE POINTE: In the same callous manner in which Emmy Voters inexplicably managed to snub the WB each and every voting season, so to did TV Guide by completely neglecting to include any of these great WB shows. Not only did JACK & BOBBY, FELICITY and EVERWOOD have this this TV Addict reaching for the kleenex from the moment their respective theme songs started rolling. VERONICA MARS and GROSSE POINTE both equaled pilot perfection thanks to their brilliant mix of interesting characters, witty one-liners and sharply penned pilot scripts.
8. FRIENDS: Before the haircut, the break and the ugly naked guy. There was a frazzled almost-bride named Rachel who escaped from her wedding only to end up in some random uber-trendy coffee shop. Thus setting off a chain of hilarious events that would provide millions of fans with ten years of laughter, romance and somewhat unfortunately — incredibly unrealistic New York real estate expectations.
9. PRISON BREAK: How such a simple premise like Michael Scofield breaking out of prison became such an international phenomenon we’ll probably never know. But if we had to guess, it probably had a little something to do with Wentworth Miller and his iconic tattoo.
10. PUSHING DAISIES: Also known as the number one reason why HD TV’s are a must buy for any TV Addict.