Best Pilot Movies & TV Shows

An American pilot with a top-secret invention is kidnapped by foreign agents.

In attempt to find a non-violent alternative for reducing Hell's overpopulation, the daughter of Lucifer opens a rehabilitation hotel that offers a group of misfit demons a chance at redemption.

Bombardier Yossarian is stationed on the small island of Pianosa during World War II. In addition to the enemy trying to kill him, Yossarian also has to endure the bureaucratic SNAFUs of group leaders and the insane antics of other 256th Squadron members. Failed television pilot for a sitcom adaptation of Joseph Heller’s satirical black comedy novel Catch-22.

Is there any possible downside to accepting an invitation from Vincent Price to spend an evening in a creepy mansion that was built on something called “Haunted Hill?” If so, Mike, Kevin and Bill couldn’t find it! In fact they were so eager to join Mr. Price and his terrifying moustache that they riffed the film live, on-stage, and now you can reap the rewards from the safety of home with this live show DVD! Yes, horror classic House on Haunted Hill provides a mesmerizing walk down “people actually used to find this SCARY?!?” lane. Join the RiffTrax guys as they bring their special brand of rapid-fire comedic commentary to every skeleton-hanging-from-visible-wires, clumsy sexual overtone, and a stunningly inept test pilot whose “heroics” typically lead him to bloody his own nose after locking himself in a broom closet!

When a group of generals from the Pentagon notify General Halftrack that they want to inspect a model of the modern soldier, Beetle Bailey probably wasn't what they had in mind.

Robotech is an 85-episode adaptation of three different anime television series made between 1982-1984 in Japan; the adaptation was aired in 1985. Within the combined and edited story, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed giant robotic machines or mecha to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.

Captain Emma Fitzgerald receives a two year assignment at Nellis Air Force Base with the Thunderbirds team, the Air Force’s famed demonstration squadron. While there, her daughter Lucy becomes friends with Alice, the daughter of a civilian widower named Paul. The two girls hatch a plan to bring their single parents together, with Lucy hoping it will keep her mother from continuing to move around.

Agatha Christie was born in Torquay on England's south coast. In a career spanning over half a century, the prolific crime writer was inspired by the landscapes and character of her home country, much of which featured in her novels. This heart-warming documentary takes viewers on a literary tour of England - focusing on the most interesting locations featured in some of her best-known books.

Agent Melvin Purvis is placed in charge of running down notorious killer Machine Gun Kelly, and sets out to do just that.

Globe Trekker is an adventure tourism television series produced by Pilot Productions. The British series was inspired by the Lonely Planet travelbooks and began airing in 1994. Globe Trekker is broadcast in over 40 countries across six continents. Each episode features a host, called a traveller, who travels with a camera crew to a country—often, a relatively exotic locale—and experiences the sights, sounds, and culture that the location has to offer. Special episodes feature in-depth city, beach, dive, shopping, history, festival, and food guides. The show often goes far beyond popular tourist destinations in order to give viewers a more authentic look at local culture. Presenters usually participate in different aspects of regional life, such as attending a traditional wedding or visiting a mining community. They address the viewer directly, acting as tourists-turned-tour guides, but are also filmed interacting with locals and discovering interesting locations in unrehearsed sequences. Globe Trekker also sometimes includes brief interviews with backpackers who share tips on independent travel in that particular country.

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.

Dr. Steve Brule directs himself in the title role of a rejected sitcom pilot about a Myer's Super Foods bagboy who must decide whether or not to report a shoplifter.

Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and interviews with aviation experts.

Two siblings - an idealistic teenage boy and his naïve younger sister - are forced to pilot an abandoned Jaeger across a hostile landscape in a desperate attempt to find their missing parents.

A re-imagining of the original series in which a "rag-tag fugitive fleet" of the last remnants of mankind flees pursuing robots while simultaneously searching for their true home, Earth.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a joint Canadian-American horror/fantasy-themed anthology television series. The original series was a joint production between the Canadian company Cinar and the American company Nickelodeon. The episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" was aired as a pilot on the evening of October 31, 1991 in the USA and in October 1990 in Canada. Are You Afraid of the Dark? was aired from August 15, 1992 to April 20, 1996 on Nickelodeon's SNICK. The series also aired on the Canadian television network YTV from October 30, 1990 until June 11, 2000. A revived series with new directors, writers, and cast was produced by Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2000 and also aired on SNICK. The sole member from the original lineup to return for the sixth and seventh seasons was Tucker, although Ross Hull returned for the concluding miniseries, which notably broke from the show's established format by blurring the line between story and "reality".

A chronicle of the true top secret U.S. Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and ’60s, known as “Project Blue Book”.

After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop the nuclear strike.

Pen and Jake have to rescue Princess Bubblegum from the antagonistic Ice King.

Sherlock Holmes is awakened in modern times with a tale that he had invented a method of suspended animation that he had utilized on himself. Awakened by an earthquake, he is helped by Amy Winslow, who lives at 1994 Baker Street in San Francisco. There he is joined by a new group of Baker Street Irregulars led by Zapper. His battles lead him to the evil Moriarty clan led by James Moriarty Booth.

The remarkable story of Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained, is the subject of Senna, a documentary feature that spans the racing legend's years as an F1 driver, from his opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later.

Navy SEAL Commander James Reece turns to vengeance as he investigates the mysterious forces behind the murder of his entire platoon. Free from the military’s command structure, Reece applies the lessons he’s learned from nearly two decades of warfare to hunt down the people responsible.

At work, Chris is a hardboiled no-nonsense detective who's investigating a series of brutal murders of jazz musicians. At home, he's a family man straight out of sitcom who has to satisfy every whim of his wife and kids.

Welcome to Eltingville takes place in Eltingville, Staten Island, and focuses on the lives of four teenage boys: Bill Dickey, Josh Levy, Pete DiNunzio and Jerry Stokes, all members of "The Eltingville Club", who have shared interests in comic books and science fiction, among other things.

A brash, big-time investigative reporter, looking into the death of a call girl, uncovers her diary and tries to find her killer among the names contained in it.

Detective Ellery Queen has to solve a series of murders where the victims were killed in numerically descending ages, the male victims were strangled with blue cords and the female victims with pink ones.

A retired fighter pilot becomes the head of his alma matter military high school for two weeks with hilarious consequences. He shapes up the school and raises morale so that they are able to win the "brass-axe" competition versus another local military academy.

Random! Cartoons is a spin-off of the Nickelodeon animation showcase Oh Yeah! Cartoons. Produced by Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon Animation Studios for the Nicktoons Network, it premiered on December 6, 2008.

An adventurous young gambler searches for the owner of a mysterious fortune.

Gourmet Nero Wolfe interrupts his orchid-tending to take on the case of a lady tycoon who wants to know why she's under investigation by the FBI, only to find himself enmeshed in a puzzling murder-mystery. TV movie based on Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series.

Lost Worlds is a documentary television series by The History Channel that explores a variety of "lost" locations from ancient to modern times. These "great feats of engineering, technology, and culture" are revealed through the use of archaeological evidence, interviews with relevant experts while examining the sites, and CGI reproductions. These visual re-creations take the form of rendered 3D environments and photo manipulated overlays, allowing the "lost world" to be seen over its present-day state. The pilot episode "Palenque: Metropolis of the Maya" was first aired on April 4, 2005. It was followed by 12 more episodes in 2006, and a further 19 episodes in 2007.

Drama - When Laxmi, headmistress of a small orphanage in Nepal, is visited by a rich socialite attempting to fix her image through charitable acts, a chain of events is set in motion that affects everyone involved. Ajit, the western-savvy bush pilot, Colt, the American photojournalist and chaperone, and even Elizabeth, the spoiled British heiress, all discover their own reasons to ultimately change for the better. - Rachel Hurd-Wood, Gunner Wright, Suesha Rana

An ex-schoolteacher is asked by the police to help locate a missing heiress.

GO! Cartoons is a series of animated shorts created by Fred Seibert and produced by Frederator Studios and Sony Pictures Animation. GO! Cartoons is Frederator Studios' sixth cartoon "incubator" series since 1998, featuring unique voices in short animated films, meant to introduce original characters and animation creators.

A compilation of the best of Supermarionation in High Definition. Sit back and enjoy some rare treats on a journey through Supermarionationland. Parker, Lady Penelope and Brains are your hosts, introducing some of the very best episodes from the Supermarionation archive as well as news items, commercial breaks with tie-in adverts and much more. Stand By For Action! - Four Feather Falls: Gunfight on Main Street - Supercar: False Alarm - Fireball XL5: Space City Special - Stingray: Pilot - Thunderbirds: Terror in New York City - Captain Scarlet: The Mysterons - Joe 90: Hi-Jacked - The Secret Service: More Haste, Less Speed

Fugget About It is a Canadian adult animated sitcom created by Nicholas Tabarrok and Willem Wennekers for Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block. The show is rated 18A for sexuality, violence, and swearing. The show was created from the Pilot Project contest on Teletoon.

Two men running a carnival airplane ride are hired to fly to retrieve what they think are photos for a reporter. Actually, they are retrieving diamonds stolen from a noted gem dealer. As it turns out, their plane crashes on the very estate of the dealer. Thinking the duo are police officers, the dealer offers his home for their convalescence from the accident. Meanwhile, the diamonds have been snatched by a kleptomaniac dog and buried on the estate. When the smugglers track down the pair, they try to convince the dealer that they are officials from an institution from which the two have escaped. Before long, the carnival fellows, the crooks, the gem dealer and his family, along with a platoon of cops, are tearing up the grounds to find where the dog has buried the diamonds.

Princess Ariana fights for the return of her lost Kingdom and the liberation of her people. With the help of her mentor Taraka she fights the hordes of Xanthos and the evil sisters of Zurii.

A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.

Women's Murder Club was an American police procedural and legal drama, which ran on ABC from October 12, 2007, to May 13, 2008. The series is set in San Francisco, California and is based on the 'Women's Murder Club' series of novels written by James Patterson. Series creators Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain also served as executive producers alongside Patterson, Joe Simpson, Brett Ratner, and R. Scott Gemmill. The latter also served as showrunner, with Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts co-executive producing. The pilot was directed by Scott Winant.

Hattie, a queer African American woman, hangs out with her two straight best friends Mari and Nia, in Los Angeles as they try to figure out life, love and the professional world.

When Flight KA29 is hijacked during its seven-hour journey from Dubai to London, Sam Nelson—an accomplished corporate negotiator—tries using his professional skills to save everyone on board. Will this high-risk strategy be his undoing?

A secret, high-technology international agency called SHADO defends Earth from alien invaders.

The adventures of a new class of recruits as they get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to train alongside their heroes—original team members Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Allura—and learn to fly incredible robot lions. Bonds will be formed and friendships will be tested as the Voltron Force gels together as a team in an epic battle of good versus evil.

James Hunt has never been equalled. Could swashbuckling Hunt catch the scientific Lauda? Could Niki overcome an appalling crash to come back from the dead and fight James all the way to the last race of the season? This powerful story captures the heart of the 1970s - told through unseen footage and exclusive interviews with the people who were really there - the team managers, families, journalists and friends who were in the front row of the season that changed Formula 1 forever.

A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.

Initially, "Mulholland Dr." was to mark David Lynch's return to television. It is a retooling of a script originally shot as a 94-minute pilot for a TV series (co-written with TV screenwriter Joyce Eliason) for the channel ABC, which had approved the script, but chose not even to air the pilot once it was done in 1999, despite Lynch's labours to cut the project to their liking. It was left in limbo until 18 month later French company Studio Canal Plus (also producer of 'The Straight Story') agreed to pay ABC $7 million for the pilot, and budget a few million more to turn the pilot into a two-hour, 27-minute movie. The cost of the film doubled to $14 million as sets had to be reconstructed and actors recalled.

When Banagher Links meets the mysterious Audrey Burne, he inherits the Unicorn Gundam and is swept up into the battle for space colony independence.

The adventures of billionaire Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, their famous uncle Donald Duck, pilot extraordinaire Launchpad, Mrs. Beakly, Webby and Roboduck. Adventures and hidden treasures are everywhere, in their hometown Duckburg and all around the world.