Pilot

Episode aired Mar 4, 2001
43m

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

535

YOUR RATING

Comedy Drama Mystery Sci-Fi Thriller

The Lone Gunmen investigate the suspicious death of Byers' father, a top tier government agent, and discover a top secret plan for a false flag operation to crash a plane into the World Trad... Read allThe Lone Gunmen investigate the suspicious death of Byers' father, a top tier government agent, and discover a top secret plan for a false flag operation to crash a plane into the World Trade Center.The Lone Gunmen investigate the suspicious death of Byers' father, a top tier government agent, and discover a top secret plan for a false flag operation to crash a plane into the World Trade Center.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

535

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The pilot program, which first aired on March 4, 2001, concerned a government plot to crash an airplane into the World Trade Center and make it appear as a terrorist plot in order to justify more defense spending.

Goofs
In this episode, government terrorists attempt to remotely fly a Boeing 727 into the World Trade Center. The context in which this is displayed would not have been possible, as most 727s were built before the advent of digital Avionics systems. The analog computers inherent in most 727s would not have been able to be used to remotely control the aircraft.

Quotes
Guard: Full body cavity search!

Connections
Featured in The X-Files: Jump the Shark (2002)

Soundtracks
Cross the Line
Performed by Cuba

User reviews4

Review

Featured review

4/10

get your tinfoil hat out!

Okay, first things first. This series isn't that great. It's sorta fun at times, funny at others, but it's also poorly written with bad acting. I can totally see why this didn't last more than one season. I liked the Gunmen as oddball asides to Mulder & Scully's adventures in the X-Files; but they just can't hold their own solo.

Now, the pilot. Yes, it came out a whole six months before 9-11. Maybe they DID have inside info from someone? Maybe what happened at the WTC was bound to happen sooner or later no matter what? (It had been targeted before, and hijacked jets used as bombs is certainly not new to fiction,) Bottom line, if someone was trying to warn the American people of a planned attack, using an X-Files spinoff show pilot about, let's face it, nerds that most X-File fans could care less about, might not be the most obvious place to make your announcement. And, with the cat out of the bag, the "terrorists" still went ahead with the plan? Hmmm... seems doubtful. Makes for great discussion over beer though!

Now, I could be wrong, and maybe the whole 9-11 thing was a total inside job exactly as it was laid-out in The Lone Gunmen. Could be! However, surely, IMDb is not the place to discuss that!

Instead, we are discussing this television show and how it stands up as entertainment. It really doesn't stand too solidly, as I stated earlier. I will probably continue watching a few more episodes of this, but it's not half as engaging or entertaining as the X-Files. Too bad.