View source for Lookwell

{{Short description|American television pilot}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Lookwell.jpg
| caption = Title screen featuring Adam West
| runtime = 22 minutes
| creator = [[Conan O'Brien]]<br />[[Robert Smigel]]
| writer = [[Conan O'Brien]]<br />[[Robert Smigel]]
| executive_producer = [[Lorne Michaels]]
| producer = [[Conan O'Brien]]<br />[[Robert Smigel]]<br />Ron Frazier
| director = [[E. W. Swackhamer]]
| starring  = [[Adam West]]<br />Ron Frazier<br />[[Todd Field]]<br />[[Bart Braverman]]<br />Brian Bradley
| composer = [[Jack Elliott (composer)|Jack Elliott]]
| company = [[Broadway Video]]
| country = United States
| network = [[NBC]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1991|7|28}}
| last_aired = 
| num_episodes = 1
}}
'''''Lookwell''''' was a [[television pilot]] written and produced by [[Conan O'Brien]] and [[Robert Smigel]], the latter of whom would become a primary creative voice for O'Brien's [[Late Night with Conan O'Brien|late night show]].{{sfn | Rabin | 2004 | loc = par. 1}} It starred [[Adam West]]. Despite being a "personal favorite" of [[NBC]] chairman [[Brandon Tartikoff]] (who had left that position by the time the pilot aired and was replaced by [[Warren Littlefield]]), the pilot was not picked up as a series.  It was broadcast on [[NBC]] on July 28, 1991, in a summer weekend timeslot reserved for [[burning off]] pilots which the network had passed on.

==Plot==
A washed-up TV action hero—who at the peak of his career was ceremonially deputized by local law enforcement—falsely believes he can solve crimes in real life. His student Jason becomes his sidekick.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
*[[Adam West]] as Ty Lookwell
*[[Todd Field]] as Jason
*Ron Frazier as Detective Kennery
*Ann Weldon as Hyacinth
*[[Bart Braverman]] as Alberti
*[[Deborah Richter]] as Miss Royster
*Brian Bradley as Alex
*Jeff Austin as Desk Sergeant
*Chris Barnes as Rental Agent
*[[John Capodice]] as Phil
*Molly Cleator as Casting Director
*Brixton Karnes as Actor #2
*Sal Lopez as Manny
*[[John Riggi]] as Ben
*Steve Schubert as Policeman #1
*Audree Chapman as Receptionist
*Sip Culler as Pimp
*Tom Dahlgren as Partygoer
*Jack Yates as Racing Official
*Ami Rothschild as Suzanne
*Stephen Prutting as Doorman
*[[Rif Hutton]] as Policeman #2
*[[Michael Milhoan]] as Policeman #3
*Terry Beaver as ???
*[[Daniel Roebuck]] as Cop (uncredited)
{{div col end}}

==Production==

===Development===
[[File:Adam West 1989 crop 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|right|Adam West was enthusiastic for the part of protagonist Ty&nbsp;Lookwell]]
The pilot was filmed as a [[single-camera setup|single-camera]] comedy, which was uncommon for the time it was being developed. Writer Robert Smigel later expressed doubt that the project could sustain itself as a full-fledged television series, questioning if "viewers would really want to view that every week? I'm not so sure they would have."{{sfn | Sacks | 2009 | p = 255}}

Smigel recollects main star Adam West being enthusiastic for the role, despite poking fun at his acting style: {{blockquote|I remember one day he ran into our office, and he was wearing shorts and a straw hat—but not as a gag. [...] And he announced, "I've got it!" He was dancing on air. He told us that he had been walking on the beach and he'd thought about everything and he finally understood the part. He had cracked the code, kind of like [[Batman (TV series)|Batman]] would. He knew exactly what we wanted to do and he was exuberant. He was like a kid.|sign=[[Robert Smigel]]|source=''And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on Their Craft'', p. 255}}

===Initial reception===
The pilot was scrapped, despite NBC chairman Brandon Tartikoff taking interest in developing the pilot. O'Brien jokingly stated that when the pilot aired, it "was the second-lowest rated television show of all time. It’s tied with a test pattern they show in Nova Scotia."{{sfn | McNerthney | 2013 | loc = par. 18}} Nielsen rated it 92nd out of 92 shows (2.3 million homes) for the week July 22–28.<ref name="Associated Press 1991-07-30">{{cite news | url=https://apnews.com/bbb3cee86232e216d5c8df236a7a765a | title=List of Week's TV Ratings | date=1991-07-30 | work=Associated Press News | location=Nexis UK}}</ref>

Smigel expressed his opinion on pitching for television in an interview with ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', in that a "pitfall that you always face when you do any project for television, or in movies ... [is that] if it takes any amount of time to develop, there's a good chance that the person who put it in motion is going to get fired, or quit, and the next person isn't going to want to do it."{{sfn | Rabin | 2004 | loc = par. 12}}  West expressed disappointment with the network's decision, and would bring up resurrecting the pilot over the years.{{sfn | Sacks | 2009 | p = 255}} In an interview with ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'', West said that he has done "like 12 pilots, and ''Lookwell'' is really my favorite ... It’s the funniest pilot that never got sold."{{sfn | McNerthney | 2013 | loc = par. 21}}

==Cult status==
The episode has been described as having an "[[internet phenomenon|underground following]]" over the years,{{sfn | Sacks | 2009 | p = 255, 258}} and was popular on [[eBay]] for a time before being made available as a video file, due in part to the resurgence of [[cult following|cult popularity]] for Adam West. The version in general circulation on the Internet is not the original as-aired episode. It comes from a later showing on [[Trio (TV network)|Trio]] (a [[cable television|cable station]]) which, for unknown reasons, has a few cuts and a few alternate jokes/takes inserted. One major difference may be due to music rights issues. A version of the original episode as aired on NBC was known to be circulated by tape traders. However, due to the age, high-quality copies are difficult to find.{{citation needed|date= May 2016}}

In a 2016 appearance on late night talk show [[Conan (talk show)|Conan]], actor and comedian [[Jack Black]] stated that Conan was "one of the most kick ass writers in Hollywood" and encouraged the audience to check out Lookwell because "it was funniest thing ever".<ref>{{Citation |title=Jack Black & Jackie Chan Finally Met After 10 Years Of Working Together {{!}} CONAN on TBS | date=29 January 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6SqsB3OsBE |language=en |access-date=2022-06-12}}</ref>

According to ''The A.V. Club'', "''Lookwell'' has since earned a reputation in comedy circles as one of the all-time great failed pilots, a brilliant premise too damn weird to ever make it to series."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wilkins|first1=Alasdair|title=The Grinder realizes the impossible premise of Conan O'Brien's Lookwell|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/grinder-realizes-impossible-premise-conan-obriens--233233|access-date=May 16, 2016|work=The A.V. Club|date=March 14, 2016}}</ref>

==Live screenings==
Smigel's preferred version of ''Lookwell'' (with Adam West busting through the police tape at the beginning) has also screened at [[The Other Network]], a festival of un-aired TV pilots, featuring live and taped intros by Smigel and an extended interview with O'Brien, produced by [[Un-Cabaret]].<ref name="Johnson 2003-09-01">{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/09/01/network-uncovers-more-unseen-pilots/ | title=Network uncovers more unseen pilots | work=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=2003-09-01 | access-date=2013-08-26 | last=Johnson | first=Steve}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==References==

===Books===
* {{cite book | last = Sacks | first = Mike | title = And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on Their Craft | publisher = Writer's Digest Books | date = 2009-08-25  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tNpgbXZh_GoC | access-date = 2013-08-25 | isbn = 978-1-58297-988-5 }}

===Interviews===
* {{cite news | first = Casey | last = McNerthney | title = Adam West: ''Lookwell'' pilot by Conan O'Brien was his favorite | date = 2013-03-01 | url = http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2013/03/01/adam-west-lookwell-pilot-by-conan-obrien-was-his-favorite/ | work = [[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] | access-date = 2013-08-25 }}
* {{cite news | first = Nathan | last = Rabin | title = Robert Smigel – Interview | date = 2004-08-04 | url = http://www.avclub.com/articles/robert-smigel,13881/ | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120629191111/http://www.avclub.com/articles/robert-smigel,13881/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = June 29, 2012 | work = [[The A.V. Club]] | access-date = 2013-08-25 }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last1 = Terrace | first1 = Vincent | title = Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012 | publisher = [[McFarland & Company]] | date = 2013-01-01  | page = 172 (listing no. 2699) | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XxTx1xK-q14C | access-date = 2013-08-26 | isbn = 978-1-4766-0249-3}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0196712|title=Lookwell}}

{{Conan O'Brien}}

[[Category:NBC television specials]]
[[Category:Television pilots not picked up as a series]]
[[Category:1991 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:Works by Conan O'Brien]]
[[Category:Films directed by E. W. Swackhamer]]