Why do they call it a pilot?!
Question: Ok my daughter is driving me nuts, why do they call the first episode of a new series a pilot, anyone know?
Answers: Ok my daughter is driving me nuts, why do they call the first episode of a new series a pilot, anyone know?
A pilot is the same as taking something for a test drive. They're testing the public's reaction to whatever series that's being presented as a pilot. If the reaction is good, the "test" pilot will be turned into a regular series. It involves deciding whether or not to invest all the time, money and effort to do a permanent series.
They call it a pilot to see how many viewers watch the first show. They take a rating and with that rating if people like it they make more shows or a new series.
It's because pilot episodes are supposed to be "trial" episodes for a series. They call them pilots because pilot lights, which they are named after, provide a small flame for a bigger flame. They use pilot episodes to determine if the series is worth airing and lead to something bigger, hence the "pilot" episode. :)