Pilot (Gossip Girl)

Infobox Television episode
Colour = #B1E673
Series = Gossip Girl
Title = Pilot


Season = 1
(2007-)
Caption = Serena and Dan meet for the first time.
Episode = 1
Airdate = September 18, 2007 (CTV)
September 19, 2007 (The CW)
Writer = Josh Schwartz
Stephanie Savage
Director = Mark Piznarski
Production =100
Guests=Florencia Lozano (Eleanor Waldorf)
Sam Robards (Howie "The Captain" Archibald)
Connor Paolo (Eric van der Woodsen)
Nicole Fiscella (Isabel Coates)
Nan Zhang (Kati Farkas)
Prev =
Next = The Wild Brunch|

"Pilot" is the first episode of the CW television series, "Gossip Girl". [Gossip Girl Episode Listings http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch.aspx?id=gossip_girl&view=listings] The episode was written by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and directed by Mark Piznarski. The episode debuted as a free download available on ITunes on September 14, 2007, five days before the series' initial broadcast. It originally aired on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 on CTV and Wednesday, September 19, 2007 on the CW.

Plot

Serena van der Woodsen's (Blake Lively) mysterious return to Manhattan after a year-long stint at a boarding school becomes the talk of the town when the news of her homecoming is posted on a popular blog site published by an unknown character by the screen name of "Gossip Girl" (voiced by Kristen Bell). Serena's best friend, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), however, is less than thrilled to see her again, especially when her plans of losing her virginity to her boyfriend, Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), are interrupted when Serena arrives unexpectedly at a party.

In spite of their heart-to-heart talk together, Serena and Blair's re-ignited friendship is short-lived when Nate confesses to her that he and Serena shared a romantic evening together the night before she left, and although Blair forgives Nate, she refuses to forgive Serena.

Outsider Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) becomes smitten with Serena as soon as he learns that she has arrived back in town and, after trying to return Serena's phone to her, she asks him out on a date simply as an excuse not to go to Blair's "Kiss on the Lips" party. Dan takes Serena to his dad's band's concert, but they are forced to leave when his younger sister Jenny (Taylor Momsen) sends him a text message from Blair's party asking for help. Dan and Serena turn heads as they burst in on the party and search frantically for Jenny. They find her on the roof, where an egotistical sex-addicted Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) is attempting to take advantage of her. Dan punches Chuck and he and Serena leave in disgust, hand-in-hand with Jenny tagging along.

The apparent reason for Serena's abrupt return is revealed to be her younger brother Eric (Connor Paolo), who unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide but is now living in a psychiatric institution. Fortunately, not even "Gossip Girl" is aware of this.

In addition, the past affair between Dan and Jenny's father Rufus (Matthew Settle) and Serena and Eric's mother is brought to light when Lily (Kelly Rutherford) asks Rufus whether he is using son to get close to her again.

Production

Featuring nine regular speaking roles, the majority of the ensemble cast were assembled from February to April 2007. Blake Lively and Leighton Meester were the first two actresses to be chosen in February for the lead roles of Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf respectively. ["DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26", [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7308 The Futon Critic] ] Penn Badgley, Taylor Momsen, Chace Crawford, Kelly Rutherford, Connor Paolo and Florencia Lozano also auditioned successfully and landed roles in the series in March. ["DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: FRIDAY, MARCH 9", [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7320 The Futon Critic] ] ["DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14", [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7323 The Futon Critic] ] ["DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: MONDAY, MARCH 19", [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7328 The Futon Critic] ] Actors for the roles of Chuck Bass and Rufus Humphrey were found in April when Ed Westwick and Matthew Settle were cast. ["DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: FRIDAY, APRIL 6", [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7351 The Futon Critic] ] As rumors swirled about the impending cancellation of "Veronica Mars", it was revealed at The CW's 2007 Upfronts on May 17, 2007 that Kristen Bell had narrated the pilot, thus making her the title character of another show on the network. ["Sex and the City for the Younger Set: Gossip Girl Coming to CW", [http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/1893 The Cleveland Leader] ]

Reception

"Pilot" was the first television pilot of the fall 2007 season to be picked up by its network. [cite web |url=http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/10/11/11528/880/travel/Television+Travel:+Lie,+Cheat+and+Steal+With+%22Gossip+Girl%22 |title=Television Travel: Lie, Cheat and Steal With "Gossip Girl" |accessdate=2007-10-18 |format= |work= ] "Pilot" had mediocre ratings overall, but performed well in key demographics and is one of the most buzzed about new shows on the internet. Its digital video recorder ratings were high, increasing the shows profitability. The show has also been in the top five of iTunes sales. [cite web |url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/gossip-girl/the-cw-gives-gossip-girl-a-ful-12206.aspx |title=The CW Gives 'Gossip Girl' a Full-Season Order |accessdate=2007-10-18 |format= |work= ] Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret Morning News noted that "Gossip Girl" is milder than a lot of what's shown on MTV, but still warned parents of several scenes in the pilot. He said it includes "among other things, a teenage girl climbing on top of a boy and removing his clothes; drunken teens having sex; teens smoking pot; teens drinking in bars, in a limo and at a party; a teen boy getting amorous with a girl who fights him off; and that same teen boy essentially attempting to rape a freshman girl who is supposed to be, what, 14?" [cite web |url=http://deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695210904,00.html |title=Parents, pay attention to the content of 'Gossip Girl' |publisher=Deseret Morning News |accessdate=2007-10-18 |format= |work= ]

References

External links

*imdb title|0397442|Full Cast & Crew
* [http://cwtv.com/shows/gossip-girl/episodes Recap from Official Website]