Pilot (Person of Interest)

Last updated
"Pilot"
Person of Interest episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 1
Directed by David Semel
Written by Jonathan Nolan
Featured music Ramin Djawadi
"Angel" by Massive Attack
Production code296807
Original air dateSeptember 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)
Running time45 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
—		Next →
"Ghosts"
List of episodes

"Pilot" is the first episode of the crime drama television series Person of Interest . It originally aired on CBS in the United States on September 22, 2011. The episode was written by series creator Jonathan Nolan and directed by David Semel.

Contents

Reviews for the episode were largely positive. In the United States, the series premiere achieved a viewership of 13.33 million. [1]

Plot

John Reese (Jim Caviezel), a former CIA Agent and United States Army Special Forces soldier-turned homeless alcoholic, has a struggle with a group of hot-headed teenagers on the subway in New York City. After this, he is extracted from police custody before New York Police Department Homicide Detective Joss Carter (Taraji P. Henson) can confront him on his links to previous killings discovered through analysis of his fingerprints on the police system.

Reese is brought to a mysterious and secretive billionaire, Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), who eventually reveals that he is the creator of a powerful AI known simply as "The Machine". After 9/11, Finch developed a computer program that can sift through enormous amounts of data, looking for patterns of behavior or activity that would predict another attack. It also provided information about individuals who could be in danger; it can predict the identity of a person involved in a premeditated crime that will happen at some point in the future – however, Finch's back-door link to the Machine only provides the Social Security number of the person, and offers no clues to their involvement or when the crime will take place.

Finch, who feels a need to do something to help these people, enlists Reese to aid him in preventing these crimes. Finch offers Reese employment, as well as giving Reese a purpose following the death of his girlfriend, Jessica (Susan Misner) (which is the source of his depression).

The first on his list is Diane Hansen (Natalie Zea), an Assistant District Attorney currently working on a major prosecution of a prominent drug killing. Reese agrees to help and begins watching her. Reese soon learns that Hansen is not the victim, but the perpetrator, running a ring of corrupt police officers and planning to kill a fellow DA, Wheeler (Brian d'Arcy James).

Reese intervenes in the attempted murder of Wheeler, in the process saving two other intended victims (an ex-con they'd been planning to frame for Wheeler's murder, and Wheeler's young son who happened to be with him that day) but also killing Detective Stills (James Hanlon), the leader of the corrupt gang of cops.

To wrap up the case, Reese sneakily reveals Hansen's corruption to an open court. He also blackmails one of the corrupt officers, Detective Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman), by linking him to Stills' murder in a way that ensures his cooperation (forcing Fusco to hide the body), into become Reese's source of information inside the NYPD.

Though Finch offers Reese the opportunity to quit at this point, Reese decides to continue working for him. He agrees to continue preventing violent crimes.

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Pilot" was seen by an estimated 13.33 million household viewers and gained a 3.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. [1]

Critical reception

David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "Person of Interest separates itself from the gimmick pack, not only because of superbly nuanced characterization and writing but also because of how it engages a post-9/11 sense of paranoia in its viewers." [2] David Hinckley of the New York Daily News gave the pilot four stars out of five, commenting on Caviezel's and Emerson's performances, saying Caviezel "brings the right stuff to this role" and Emerson "is fascinating as Mr. Finch." [3] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times stated that in regards to the pilot, "the notion of preventing crimes rather than solving them is an appealing twist... The surveillance graphics are very cool." [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Person of Interest</i> (TV series) 2011 American science fiction crime drama television series

Person of Interest is an American science fiction crime drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2011, to June 21, 2016, with its five seasons consisting of 103 episodes. The series was created by Jonathan Nolan; executive producers were Nolan, J. J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Greg Plageman, Denise Thé, and Chris Fisher.

<i>Person of Interest</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American television series Person of Interest premiered on September 22, 2011, and ended on May 17, 2012. The season is produced by Kilter Films, Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. Television, with Jonathan Nolan, Greg Plageman, J. J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk serving as executive producers and Plageman serving as showrunner.

John Reese is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the CBS crime drama television series Person of Interest. Reese is portrayed by actor Jim Caviezel. He works with billionaire Harold Finch to help residents of New York who are potentially involved in violent crime.

"The Devil's Share" is the tenth episode of the third season of the crime thriller drama Person of Interest, which aired on CBS on November 26, 2013. "The Devil's Share" is the last part of a trilogy of episodes that began with "Endgame" and "The Crossing," the eighth and ninth episodes of the third season.

"Ghosts" is the second episode of the first season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 2nd overall episode of the series and is written by Greg Plageman and series creator Jonathan Nolan and directed by co-executive producer Richard J. Lewis. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on September 29, 2011.

"Firewall" is the twenty-third episode and season finale of the first season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 23rd overall episode of the series and is written by Greg Plageman & Jonathan Nolan and directed by Richard J. Lewis. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on May 17, 2012.

"The Contingency" is the first episode and season premiere of the second season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 24th overall episode of the series and is written by Denise Thé and Jonathan Nolan and directed by Richard J. Lewis. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on September 27, 2012.

"Endgame" is the 8th episode of the third season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 53rd overall episode of the series and is written by Nic Van Zeebroeck & Michael Sopczynski and directed by Sylvain White. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on November 12, 2013.

"The Crossing" is the 9th episode of the third season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 54th overall episode of the series and is written by supervising producer Denise Thé and directed by Frederick E. O. Toye. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on November 19, 2013.

"Provenance" is the 14th episode of the third season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 59th overall episode of the series and is written by Sean Hennen and directed by Jeffrey Hunt. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on February 4, 2014.

"Last Call" is the 15th episode of the third season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 60th overall episode of the series and is written by Dan Dietz and directed by Jeff T. Thomas. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on February 25, 2014.

"Most Likely To..." is the 19th episode of the third season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 64th overall episode of the series and is written by producer Melissa Scrivner Love and Denise Thé and directed by Kevin Hooks. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on April 1, 2014.

"Panopticon" is the 1st episode and season premiere of the fourth season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 69th overall episode of the series and is written by producer Erik Mountain and executive producer Greg Plageman and directed by Richard J. Lewis. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on September 23, 2014.

"Wingman" is the 3rd episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 71st overall episode of the series and is written by co-executive producer Amanda Segel and directed by Frederick E. O. Toye. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on October 7, 2014.

"Point of Origin" is the 8th episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 76th overall episode of the series and is written by Tony Camerino and directed by Richard J. Lewis. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on November 18, 2014.

"Guilty" is the 14th episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 82nd overall episode of the series and is written by co-executive producer David Slack and directed by Kate Woods. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on February 10, 2015.

"Terra Incognita" is the 20th episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 88th overall episode of the series and is written by producer Erik Mountain and supervising producer Melissa Scrivner Love and directed by Alrick Riley. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on April 14, 2015.

".exe" is the 12th episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 102nd overall episode of the series and is written by executive producer Greg Plageman and supervising producer Erik Mountain and directed by Plageman on his directorial debut. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on June 14, 2016.

"return 0" is the series finale of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 13th episode of the fifth season and is the 103rd overall episode of the series. The episode was written by series creator Jonathan Nolan and executive producer Denise Thé and directed by executive producer Chris Fisher. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on June 21, 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 Gorman, Bill (September 23, 2011). "Thursday Finals: 'Big Bang Theory,' 'The X Factor,' 'Parks & Recreation' and 'Whitney' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  2. ↑ David Wiegand (September 21, 2011). "'Person of Interest' and 'Prime Suspect' reviews". San Francisco Chronicle . p. E-1. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  3. ↑ Hinckley, David (September 22, 2011). "'Person of Interest' review: John Reese and Mr. Finch partner up in ultimate mystery CIA operatives". Daily News . New York. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  4. ↑ McNamara, Mary (September 22, 2011). "'Person of Interest': TV review". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 25, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.