Sci-fi is often one of the most complex TV show genres out there, as many shows in the genre have a lot of worldbuilding to set up, while still being exciting enough that viewers want to watch more. Many of the most captivating opening scenes in TV history have been in sci-fi series, despite them all being extremely different from each other.
While some sci-fi TV shows are masterpieces despite shaky openings, a series that does not manage to nail the pilot episode can have a harder time attracting an audience. On the other hand, many of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time began their following from the very first episode, and sometimes even from the very first scene.
Futurama
The Pilot Was The Foundation For The Future Of The Show
On New Year’s Eve in 1999, Fry delivers a pizza to a laboratory and, due to a series of unfortunate accidents, he gets cryogenically frozen for 1000 years, awakening as the 31st century arrives. The plot for the pilot episode of Futurama, titled “Space Pilot 3000,” does not spend time on too much unnecessary backstory, throwing Fry into the action right away.
The episode sets up several running gags for Futurama, like the fact that Professor Farnsworth is technically younger than Fry despite being his descendant. While Futurama changed in many ways since its pilot, “Space Pilot 3000” is still one of the best episodes of the show, and the makers even elaborated on it later with the heartbreaking “Jurassic Bark.”
Star Trek
The Original Series Pilot Was Groundbreaking For The Time
While teleportation and space travel are common sights in today’s high-budget sci-fi TV shows, the opening episode of 1965’s Star Trek gave audiences an entirely new spectacle. In much the same way as Game of Thrones broke creative boundaries for TV shows, Star Trek‘s original series introduced new concepts. These were not just limited to sci-fi.
Star Trek‘s diverse cast, featuring women in positions of power, changed the TV landscape both inside and outside the sci-fi genre. The show began as it meant to go on, setting the scene for even better political and social commentary, inspiring science and technology, and highlighting science fiction as a genre. Even today, Star Trek is still considered a masterpiece.
The Boys
The Show’s Twist Got Viewers Hooked Immediately
The Boys is the antithesis to all superhero movies, embodying the term “never meet your heroes.” For viewers who were new to the show and not familiar with the source material, the show was full of shocks that got us hooked. While the smaller-scale shock of Hughie’s girlfriend dying through A-Train’s carelessness was horrifying enough, The Boys was just getting started.
The Boys’ violence is unrelenting, and is often played as comedy as well as horror. Robin’s death was a first glimpse at the gore to come, and just as new viewers thought the show couldn’t go further, it did. The final reveal in which Homelander destroys an entire plane full of passengers was the perfect beginning for a show that is still unpredictable today.
Love, Death + Robots
“Sonnie’s Edge” Was The Explosive Beginning To The Cyberpunk Phenomenon
Not all episodes of Love, Death + Robots will appeal to everyone, as the show is an anthology of short stories, showcasing drastically different animation styles. That said, while even the best episodes of Love, Death + Robots have their critics, the series had the perfect beginning with the episode “Sonnie’s Edge.” The episode was aesthetically striking, with gore and a quotable final line.
The plot for “Sonnie’s Edge” resembles a violent version of Pokémon, in which characters fight genetically modified “Beasties.” Sonnie is better than her opponents, and the episode explores why this could be, with a shock twist at the end. While not all episodes of the show are as dark or violent, “Sonnie’s Edge” is a great indicator of the overall tone.
The Twilight Zone
The Desolate First Episode May Feel Familiar Now
The Twilight Zone is one of the most influential sci-fi TV series of all time, with many of its episodes inspiring movies and TV shows that have outshone the source material. The first ever episode of The Twilight Zone, “Where Is Everybody,” follows an unnamed character who walks around a seemingly abandoned town. It is a slower episode than many, but no less frightening.
The ominous scenes in which the character walks around the desolate space might feel familiar to horror fans, as it has been recreated many times, but most famously in the zombie movie 28 Days Later. The Twilight Zone changed the sci-fi genre forever, and its first episode captured the sense of unease that would become the show’s most defining feature.
Stranger Things
The Eerie Pilot Episode Set The Tone For The Show
Stranger Things is a modern phenomenon, and the 1980s-inspired sci-fi show has not had a single bad season yet. The series took several risks with its very obvious inspiration sources, which include the work of Stephen King and iconic 1980s horror movies. However, Stranger Things brought its own unique twists to the sci-fi genre, and ultimately feels nostalgic rather than derivative.
The first episode of Stranger Things set the tone for the show, introducing the central mystery surrounding the lab under the town of Hawkins, as well as the team setup. Within the first episode, Mike and his friends each felt distinct and different, while the show still illustrated where they fit in the group, setting up many of the conflicts in the later seasons.
The X-Files
The Pilot Episode Was Both Experimental And Disturbing
The X-Files did not begin its famous “monster of the week” formula until a few episodes into the first season. However, while the pilot episode might not have included a monster or even a single main villain, it perfectly captured the sense of unease that The X-Files was known for. The first episode introduced Mulder and Scully, showing their typical approaches to the unexplained.
From Mulder’s sarcastic humor to Scully’s skepticism, the pilot episode gave us a look at the potential conflicts between what has now become one of TV’s greatest duos. The episode dealt with alien abduction, including lost time and unexplained injuries. This was eerie enough, but what made this beginning so compelling was the shocking twist, revealing that those in power knew more than they appeared.
From
From’s Opening Episode Was Disturbing On Many Levels
From‘s first episode, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, is still one of the best episodes of From to air. The ominous opening sequence in which Boyd rings a bell and urges everyone to get inside works on every level, from sound design to visuals. The viewer might not know what is about to happen, but this scene shows that it is unlikely to be good.
From seamlessly blends sci-fi with horror, and the first episode shows this perfectly when we get a first look at the monsters in the town. The show has a 96% positive critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and while the pilot might not be the top-rated episode, it is one of the best for the way it introduces the town’s danger.
The Last Of Us
A TV Broadcast Perfectly Foreshadows What Is To Come
People familiar with The Last of Us videogame would have been aware of the horrors to come, but new viewers were in for a shock. The sci-fi show’s legendary opening scene was not an action-packed sequence, but something much more ominous. John Hannah played the scientist Dr. Neuman as he explained to an audience why the biggest threat to the living was fungus.
As The Last of Us was heavily inspired by the real-life cordyceps fungus, this moment explained exactly what was going to happen. In a different show, this could have been dismissed as unnecessary exposition, but Hannah’s performance carried the disturbing moment. We understand that something terrifying is going to happen, and this scene is the calm before the cordyceps storm.
The Mandalorian
The First Live-Action Star Wars TV Show Had A Perfect Beginning
The Mandalorian was one of the most ambitious sci-fi TV shows of all time, as it had so much to live up to. The Star Wars franchise is iconic, and The Mandalorian was the first TV show installment. The Mandalorian had to evoke the tone and themes of Star Wars and expand on the lore without being too “out there” or too derivative.
Din Djarin’s bar brawl is similar to the classic Westerns that inspired many of the best scenes in the Star Wars movies. Not only does the scene show that “Mando” does not mess around, but it then sets up the contrast when he meets Grogu. Their adventure adds some nostalgia for the original movies while introducing a new mystery and a post-Empire world.