You can't judge a series by its pilot

The new TV season is all up on us, which means that the networks are madly flinging pilots at us and looking to see what sticks. These days, networks are only too eager to pull middling-rated shows after as little as the first episode (latest casualty: Anchorwoman). For the most part, these are the irredeemably bad shows. At least, we assume they are – how do we know how the rest of the series takes off if we don't see the second episode? How do we know what the series is really like from week to week if all we see is the set-up in the pilot?

The pilot serves two purposes: to set the tone and to provide exposition, telling you what the show's going to be about. But it's the second episode that shows you what the show actually be. Once we've been introduced to everyone and the situation has been all set up for us – teenage private eye! SNL-like show! SNL-like show, only for serious! – the second episode is able to get on with the business of the show, and to put all those characters you met the week before into new and hopefully exciting situations. It'll give you a taste of what the show will be like, well, every other week, for the rest of its run.

This is why I always wait for the second episode before I decide if I like a show or not. Pilots aren't everything. You remember that great pilot for Studio 60? Yeah. That was a high-flying pilot, but the landing gear was stuck. Then there are the pilots clogged with too much "meet the characters, dammit!" that they forget to be entertaining or funny (sorry, Tina, but 30 Rock was like that – and hey, I grew to like it, didn't I? Also, you have an Emmy, so relax). Or the show is retooled following the pilot. Yeah, I know, usually it's a bad sign, but it happened with my beloved NewsRadio. Sometimes they just need an episode to figure out what they're doing. (And sometimes they need an entire season to figure it out. Ask a Blackadder fan, we'll tell you – first season isn't worth it.)

So please try to keep the networks from screwing us out of the next great show by watching beyond the pilot. It's okay to bail out after episode two if it still sucks – in fact, I encourage it, it'll save room for actually good shows, or repeats of good shows – but remember, even the greatest shows sucked sometimes. Except for Arrested Development.