Of Funerals and Fish first episode, is referred to as Harold; when the character went on to appear in the series, he would be called Wally. Of Funerals and Fish "Of Funerals and Fish" is the pilot episode of the world's longest running sitcom, "Last of the Summer Wine" (1973–2010), written by Roy Clarke. It was first aired on 4 January 1973 and became the first of 295 episodes. It was aired as a "Comedy Playhouse" episode. The plot involved the trio going around discussing life and death. It starred Bill Owen, Peter Sallis and Michael Bates. This also was the first appearance of
Pilot (The Cosby Show) Pilot (The Cosby Show) "Pilot" (also known as "Theo's Economic Lesson") is the pilot and the first episode of the of the American sitcom "The Cosby Show". "Pilot" originally aired in the United States on NBC on Thursday September 20, 1984, at 8:00 PM Eastern time. This episode debuted the week before the official start of the 1984–85 United States network television season. The confrontation with Theo in this episode is seen again in a flashback in the series finale "And So We Commence". The episode was directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson.