Some Good TV Beginnings

I think it is probably common knowledge that a lot of shows improve off of their early episodes. It can sometimes take quite a while for a show to find its groove, and early episodes can sometimes reflect that the writers didn't really have much of a plan at first. Also, introducing all the characters can be a difficult task. I thought I would take a moment or two to list some of the shows that I think did the best job of introducing their shows to the audience.

Freaks and Geeks: Within the first three minutes of this show, before the opening credits have even rolled, the writers have done many things. They have introduced all the major characters and some of the minor ones, and have done so in such a way that you really have a good feeling for them. They have demonstrated their brand of humor. Further, they have dispelled the possibility that this show might be just like all the other stupid teen dramas out there. The pilot episode goes on to accurately reflect many aspects of high school life, from the school bully to the teacher who thinks he's cool, but isn't. By the end of the episode you have seen something that hasn't been done on television since The Wonder Years. You've seen realistic characters, realistic settings, realistic periods, and realistic problems, and you have been entertained while doing it.

Angel: This is a show that I think definitely got worse as it went along. In the early episodes, though, it was brilliant. Rather than just being a copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the show it spun off from, it was charting a new path. Eventually, of course, it did just become a copy of its parent show, but in these early episodes we were introduced to a hero who was incredibly lonely, living in a city filled with millions of equally lonely non-heroes. I've never lived in LA, but I can only imagine that a city filled with that many transplants must have its share of loneliness, and that is what initially drew me to this series. Enough so that even when I got bored with it I kept watching.

John from Cincinnati: This show is hated by almost everyone, both critics and regular people, but it is brilliant. Since it only ran for one season it is really all early episodes, but right from the get go I was enthralled by the surfer lifestyle and the philosophy that could be drawn from that. And I have never more quickly fallen for a character than I did for John. Don't bother watching the show, you'll probably hate it, but know that I love it.

Twin Peaks: The bizarre nature of this show is what most people remember, but it is the characters that kept me coming back. Especially Agent Dale Cooper of the FBI. After the mystery is solved a lot of people quit watching, and understandably so, as the series temporarily started to shift into silly melodrama, but these early episodes really pop, and its too bad that people didn't stick around to see what happened, because by the end of season 2 it was really starting to have a second life. It would have been nice to see what happened next.

This list only scrapes the surface of excellent television programs, but if I continue it any further I will be stretching the premise, since what I am talking about here is beginnings.