Alrighty, here goes.
1x01 "Genesis"
8/10
There's no question, it's a strong start to the show. Well, almost, as that first scene with Al and the woman with the glowing earrings is just a little too ridiculous and cheesy for my tastes. Still, it's short, and it was the 80s, so it's not really their fault. Randomly glowing things were just what you had to throw in if you wanted to make science fiction back then.
Anyway, the meat of the episode is quite engaging. Sam's initial confusion and memory loss is played quite well, and I can't help but wonder if they might have drawn some inspiration from
Back to the Future. That scene where Sam spins around outside, absorbing the fact that he really is in 1956 reminded me of Marty in downtown Hill Valley when he first travels back in time.
On that note, the atmosphere was very, very good. They really sold it as 1956, and all of the guest characters were great. Al and Sam also seemed to have instant chemistry, which is great since they're the only two major characters that remain from week-to-week.
As for the episode's plot, I loved it. It felt like a bunch of deleted scenes from
The Right Stuff (those quiet scenes with the wives just listening every time the plane took off were
very effective), and even though I knew Sam would be okay, there was some genuine tension during his scenes in the X-2. I do wish, however, that the baseball plot at the end had been worked in a bit better. I understand that they had to establish that Sam didn't leap home, and the conversation with his father was excellent, but there was still something about it that felt tacked-on, like a half-finished second episode.
All that said, it didn't detract from the episode too horribly, though I did knock off an extra point for it. In all, a very promising beginning.
Who You Talking To?!: 1
Sam has a rather spirited conversation with Al in the bar, which is noticed by Peg and one of the other pilots.
Appearing\Disappearing Skillsets: 2
This is for whenever Sam doesn't know something major the original person should, or knows something they shouldn't. In this case, he doesn't know how to fly (since Tom is a test pilot, that's only slightly important), but since Sam has an MD, he knows how to stop Peg's premature labour.
Well listen to THIS!: 0
Nothing on this yet, just establishing the counter as
ToddKent suggested. Name taken from a line in BttF, of course.
Scott Bakula: 1
Okay, not an actual category. But some of you will know why I had to do it.
, but I'm going to enjoy this thread. 
