Plot; The star of a long cancelled detective show uses his ceremonial deputy status to help the police solve crimes.With the passing of Adam West yesterday, I had planned to watch a two-parter of his classic Batman in tribute. But in reading about West I stumbled across an unsold pilot he starred in that was written and produced by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel. Over the years it's gained a cult status and is frequently mentioned as one of the best failed pilots of all-time. The pilot is called Lookwell, and if it's the glove, Adam West is the hand.In the last 24 hours, much has been said about how deft West's portrayal of the Caped Crusader was. With material that plays on several levels, he gives a virtuoso performance that we're only now really beginning to appreciate. That touch is on full display in this consistently amusing and intermittently clever pilot with a premise that seems tailor made for a man of West's talents. Playing the loveably oblivious Ty Lookwell, he gets to don a variety of getups and is clearly enjoying himself.This would've been a tough premise to keep up on a weekly basis, but we were sadly denied the opportunity to see Adam West display his unique talents in this equally unique show.

"Lookwell" is a 23-minute live action short film that was initially intended as the pilot episode for a new series, but never got picked up. The star here is probably writer Conan O'Brien, even if the director and co-writer both also have a history with the Emmy. Lead actor is Adam West many years after starring as Batman in the cult television show. Here he plays a former television star who apparently learned a lot about being a detective and about crime while he acted in his series. However, now unemployed and not getting new work in front of the camera, he becomes an actual detective and starts solving cases with the knowledge he acquired. This is probably 75% comedy and 25% drama, but to me it did not really work so well for both areas. I cannot say that I really laughed while watching this. This is also why I am a bit baffled by the short film's rating here on IMDb. Not recommended.

Some time ago, the cable network TRIO aired the pilot for LOOKWELL as part of its "Brilliant But Cancelled" series. I TiVoed it and have watched it many times since.Ty Lookwell is the role Adam West was born to play, which is good as it clearly was written for him. The writing plays to West's strengths as a comedian, particularly his surreal delivery of lines that no one else could say without cracking up.It might have been exhausting to keep this going week after week, but I sure would have liked to see them try.Someone should assemble a "great unsold pilots" DVD series; LOOKWELL could certainly headline the comedy edition.

My husband saw a clip from this on the Adam West Bio andhunted it down on eBay. It was worth every cent, and actually getsfunnier every time I watch it. It's obvious, if you know andappreciate Conan OBrien's sense of humor, that he had a goodhand in the writing. Adam West is perfectly cast and for those ofyou who thought he had no sense of humor about himself...justwatch. Words can't do it justice... down to the last detail, this pilot ishilarious and if I think for too long about the fact it didn't get pickedup, I wnt to bang my head against the wall (or bette yet, bang somenetwork exec who makes these genius decisions against a wall).I defy anyone with a sense of humor to sit through this withoutgiglling uncontrollably in the first 5 minutes (at least once).10/10 stars. Hunt it down or wait till it's on Trio again...it's worth it,trust me.