Pilot (Under the Dome)

Pilot is the series premiere of CBS's Under the Dome, which aired on June 24, 2013.

Synopsis
A bird swoops down from it's nest to the forest floor where Barbie is burying a man's body. Meanwhile Deputy Linda Esquivel awakens her partner and the County Sheriff Duke Perkins, who is sleeping in one of the cells. Linda tells him that Sam Verdreaux has reported hearing "some kind of a bang". Reluctantly, they both go to investigate.

In the Sweetbriar Rose, Rose Twitchell talks to Big Jim about the parade and that many of the emergency services and townspeople are attending the next day in West Lake, although Big Jim has decided not to this time. They discuss general town business before Big Jim leaves Rose a $100 tip claiming to be buying her next vote despite the fact that he always runs unopposed. He leaves with the statement "We're all in this together".

Meanwhile, Big Jim's son Junior is having sex with his girlfriend Angie McAlister after which he tells her that he loves her. She replies with "it's been a fun summer", much to his disappointment. He further reveals that he dropped out of college and that she is the only person who understands the real him, however Angie is reluctant and tells Junior that she can't be with him for that reason. As she leaves for work he grabs her wrist in frustration, she slaps him in retaliation and runs out.

Newspaper editor Julia Shumway, is called to the home of Andrea Grinnell, who has information about mysterious propane deliveries: six the previous week and four the current. They speculate about what the propane could be used for, and Andrea reveals that she has already contacted Sheriff Perkins about the deliveries and he checked it out suggesting that they are "emergency reserves". However, she suspects that Duke may be hiding something as he sounded unusually nervous. Julia promises to investigate and ensures that Andrea remains anonymous.

As Barbie finishes up in the woods he brushes a deep gash on his forehead before speeding away attempting to quickly escape the town. He talks to someone on the phone, regarding the man he just buried, before speeding past Duke and Linda's police car as they call in his licence plate (BAB162) while he passes them. As Barbie watches them drive away in his rear-view mirror he nearly misses some cows littered across the middle of the road and veers off onto some farmland, puncturing his tire.

The ground begins to shake and various people throughout Chester's Mill emerge from their homes. Notably, Duke grabs his chest as the Dome lands, his pacemaker momentarily malfunctioning. The Dome falls and Barbie watches as it slices a cow in two. He approaches the Dome and touches it's surface experiencing the intitial shock. He places a bloodied hand against the surface and steps back to see the print it left behind. Joe McAlister comes running out to ask Barbie what just happened and to see if he's okay; the damage the Dome has inflicted is clear to see.

Meanwhile, Linda and Duke begin to receive reports of fallen power lines throughout the town, Linda speculates that a twister is to blame. Joe continues to touch the surface of the Dome and speculates with Barbie that it may be an invisible barrier. Suddenly, birds begin to fall from the sky, Barbie inspects one to reveal that the birds broke their necks when they flew into the Dome. Moments later, they watch as a plane crashes into the surface of the Dome. Joe stands there shocked at what he just saw and doesn't notice that a piece of the plane is about to fall on him. Barbie dives into Joe to save him from the falling debris. Suddenly, a severed leg and a purse falls in front of them. Joe picks up the purse and reveals that a local bank accountant, Claudette Sanders was among those who were on the plane. As they inspect the plane crash, Barbie notices that a fire truck is approaching quickly and races to stop the truck before it collides with the Dome. As the firemen exit the truck, Joe realizes that they can't hear anything from outside the Dome. Barbie decides to write a message to one of the firemen and tells him to call the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and close down the surrounding airspace.

Meanwhile, Phil Bushey continues to present his radio show after Dodee Weaver manages to reset the generator. As he plays a track Dodee explains that they are the only radio station on air right now, despite every station nationwide having a generator. Phil simply believes that they have experienced a blackout.

Duke and Linda arrive at the plane crash site and greet Joe and Barbie who begin to explain what they just saw. Linda spots her fiance, Rusty Denton, and they attempt to run towards each other. They realize that they can't touch each other by touching the Dome and both of them both experience the shock from the surface of the Dome. Big Jim arrives as Duke begins receiving reports of further fatalities and the group realize that they are trapped inside the town. Julia arrives to investigate the scene and questions Barbie as Linda commandeers her vehicle.

Meanwhile at a local gas station, Alice Calvert, Carolyn Hill and their daughter Norrie are on their way to a correctional camp. They intend to stay for lunch so Alice can take her insulin until two police cars screech past and they decide to press on, unaware of the Dome.

Julia and Barbie inspect the Dome in the forest and contemplate the cause and future of the Dome. As Barbie explains that he was previously in the military they stumble upon a house sliced in two by the Dome and a woman whose hand has been amputated, they then rush her to the hospital.

Big Jim forces his way into the radio station to make an emergency broadcast which his son Junior hears on the radio just as he contemplates taking a knife to his wrists. Everyone in the town listens to his warning about stopping their vehicles except for Carolyn and her family who upon hearing the warning ignore it, until a van travelling in the opposite direction smashes into the Dome and they screech to a stop. As they inspect the Dome, Norrie collapses and has her first seizure, foaming at the mouth she repeats "Pink stars are falling in lines."

Meanwhile, Joe arrives home to find his sister Angie and they both realize that their parents are trapped outside the Dome, leaving them alone. At the clinic, hordes of injured people are arriving alongside Julia and Barbie. A orderly at the hospital informs Julia that her husband, Peter has not worked in weeks, Julia becomes shocked at the fact and goes to check if he is at her house. At one of the temporary roadblocks Linda gestures to the awaiting paparazzi that she cannot hear them through the Dome as the army arrives, accompanied by people in radioactive suits, and ushers the people away.

At the clinic, Angie approaches Barbie asking for a cigarette as Junior watches from his car flipping his knife. Alice and Carolyn arrive with Norrie and Angie takes her into the hospital. Junior stares at Barbie as he walks away from the clinic. Duke later returns to the town hall where he is confronted by Big Jim about enlisting more emergency police officers as some are trapped outside in West Lake, however Duke refuses not wanting to give authority to the untrained public or cause a panic. They enter into a heated conversation about the propane stockpile of which Duke claims to know nothing about, ending with Big Jim repeating "We're all in this together."

Meanwhile, Dodee manages to listen into small radio feeds from the outside world and discovers, via the military, that it is in fact a Dome that is encasing the town. Junior sneaks up on Barbie by his car and they get into a heated conversation before being interrupted by Julia who offers Barbie a place to stay after failing to find her husband.

Joe meets Ben Drake at a party on the bridge and they go to investigate a possible power source of the Dome. As Joe goes closer to the Dome he collapses in a seizure repeating, as Norrie did, "Pink stars are falling in lines" and foaming at the mouth as Ben screams for help. Angie arrives home where she is grabbed by Junior who holds a knife to her throat and in the tussle she is knocked unconscious. She awakes in, what Junior explains to be, his father's underground shelter where he suggests that the Dome is causing her to act strangely and that she will be safe here. As he leaves he is met by his father and pledges to help him, claiming the shelter to be flooded.

Julia arrives home with Barbie who, upon seeing the photograph of Julia and her husband on the mantlepiece, realizes Peter is the man Barbie killed and buried in the forest. Julia suggests that the town thinks that Peter is having an affair and that is why he is absent, but she insists that he will turn up. Upon returning to the crash site Linda questions why the Dome has sealed off Chester's Mill in particular to which Duke replies that they may be being punished for the dark secrets that he has tried to protect Linda from. Linda presses him for details, however, before Duke can reveal anything he touches the Dome causing an electrical surge to explode his pacemaker in his chest, killing him instantly as Linda watches in horror. Outside of the Dome, army personnel run around as news reporters explain that no one, not even the government or military, knows what the Dome is or what caused it.

Co-Stars

 * John Elvis as Ben Drake
 * Talmadge Ragan as Bloodstained Woman
 * Michael Rosander as Orderly
 * Kwajalyn Brown as Nurse
 * Josh Carter as Eric "Rusty" Denton
 * R. Keith Harris as Peter Shumway
 * John Casino as Fire Chief
 * Dave Blamy as Employee

Deaths

 * Chuck Thompson (Confirmed Fate)
 * Claudette Sanders Confirmed Fate)
 * Howard Perkins
 * Numerous unnamed residents of Chester's Mill.

Trivia

 * Filming for the series officially began in Southport, North Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, on February 28, 2013
 * One house in Wilington used during filming was also used in the drama series One Tree Hill.
 * The episode was watched by 13.53 million American viewers, with an 18-49 rating/share of 3.3/9.
 * First appearance of Dale "Barbie" Barbara
 * First appearance of Julia Shumway
 * First appearance of Linda Esquivel
 * First appearance of Angie McAlister
 * First appearance of James "Junior" Rennie
 * First appearance of Joe McAlister
 * First appearance of Phil Bushey
 * First appearance of Dorothy "Dodee" Weaver
 * First appearance of Carolyn Hill
 * First appearance of Howard "Duke" Perkins
 * First appearance of James "Big Jim" Rennie
 * First appearance of Alice Calvert
 * First appearance of Norrie Calvert-Hill
 * First appearance of Rose Twitchell
 * First appearance of Andrea Grinnell
 * First appearance of Ben Drake
 * First appearance of Eric "Rusty" Denton
 * First appearance of Peter Shumway
 * First Appearance of Paul Randolph
 * First Appearance of Freddy Denton