![A scene from the pilot episode of 'Lost.'](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/WPENQJWPXFF5TJ5GI3PWAUX7VI.jpg?auth=3ecdb1cef613ca0f5a3269b6b89ba0d7aa795411a57b3b2dc786366bddef7dae&width=414&height=233&smart=true)
The pilot episode, an American television tradition in danger of extinction
Free-to-air channels have gone from producing hundreds of test episodes to almost none, a phenomenon that reflects a change in an industry more concerned with cutting costs than originality