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Not numbered in broadcast order, which is good for those new to the show. The pilot episode was the last to air in the original run. Fox really screwed this show over.

When the show aired, a couple of the original versions of the pilot leaked online. After having watched the first few episodes, I was intrigued enough to do my first bit of video piracy. I have to admit the pacing was slow, and I could see why Fox might've wanted it punched up a bit (neither had the Battle of Serenity Valley opening) - but they should've handled that problem earlier in the process so it could be ready on time, or just let it go through since it was so essential to set up a show so different than anything else people were used to seeing.

Regardless, despite this and other setbacks - like poor promotion prior to the show's premiere, scheduling it in the "timeslot of death" (Friday night at 9 PM when most of the younger audience that advertisers covet used to routinely be out drinking/clubbing/partying/whatever back when this show was released), and conflicts with broadcasting the baseball World Series caused the show to be broadcast at off hours in some markets - the show still consistently managed roughly four million viewers throughout its run. It didn't drop off like some show that was failing to get an audience, so obviously it had strong appeal to those who gave it a shot.

I think also there was an issue in that it was released not long after the Internet took off - which suddenly gave people tons more entertainment options, and network execs expectations may not have caught up to that reality yet. An audience of four million before the Web distracted people would've been considered a bit on the low side for an expensive new show, and that's the lens established execs may have been using to judge its success in part because the new post-Web reality wasn't nearly fleshed out yet.