2008 Woodie Awards
TV Review: Lookwell! showcases the very best of Adam West, Conan O'Brien
Stephen Greenwell
Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 2 next >
12/07/06 - Television executives sure are confusing. Dreck like Caroline In The City lasted four seasons and the extricable Wings survived for eight. It is utterly pathetic and inexcusable that such mediocre shows lasted so long, as their meager ratings generated consistent if unremarkable profits.
Meanwhile, quality fare like Lookwell! can't even get picked up, which is a travesty. Lookwell! is a 1991 comedy pilot starring Adam West, written by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel (Saturday Night Live's "TV Funhouse" cartoons, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog). A major network did not pick it up, but it can be seen on YouTube or downloaded via Bit Torrent.
Lookwell! stars West as Ty Lookwell, a former television detective. Unfortunately, despite his show's cancellation, he still thinks he can be a detective.
Lookwell was also turned down for a part in a Happy Days sequel. Since he is an unemployed actor, this leaves him plenty of time for detective work.
With the help of the acting class he teaches, Lookwell tries to solve mysteries with elaborate disguises.
The show is carried by the strength of West's "acting." For the uninitiated, West was the star of the cheesy 1960s edition of Batman and is featured prominently on Family Guy as Mayor Adam West. He is well known for his overacting, such as extended dramatic pauses and long-winded soliloquies, all delivered in his tremendous baritone,
At this point in his career, West is almost a caricature of himself, and in Lookwell! he is clearly exaggerating for effect. Everything about his performance is intentionally exaggerated.
For example, Lookwell asks his maid for some hairspray, at which point she tells him that the store doesn't make that brand anymore. After a dramatic, two-second pause, Lookwell mutters, "Those fools."
Lookwell believes he is a legitimate detective because at the height of his show's popularity, he was made an honorary deputy by the Los Angeles Police Department. He even kept his honorary badge, which he keeps encased in glass and whips out whenever someone questions him about his credentials.
Meanwhile, quality fare like Lookwell! can't even get picked up, which is a travesty. Lookwell! is a 1991 comedy pilot starring Adam West, written by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel (Saturday Night Live's "TV Funhouse" cartoons, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog). A major network did not pick it up, but it can be seen on YouTube or downloaded via Bit Torrent.
Lookwell! stars West as Ty Lookwell, a former television detective. Unfortunately, despite his show's cancellation, he still thinks he can be a detective.
Lookwell was also turned down for a part in a Happy Days sequel. Since he is an unemployed actor, this leaves him plenty of time for detective work.
With the help of the acting class he teaches, Lookwell tries to solve mysteries with elaborate disguises.
The show is carried by the strength of West's "acting." For the uninitiated, West was the star of the cheesy 1960s edition of Batman and is featured prominently on Family Guy as Mayor Adam West. He is well known for his overacting, such as extended dramatic pauses and long-winded soliloquies, all delivered in his tremendous baritone,
At this point in his career, West is almost a caricature of himself, and in Lookwell! he is clearly exaggerating for effect. Everything about his performance is intentionally exaggerated.
For example, Lookwell asks his maid for some hairspray, at which point she tells him that the store doesn't make that brand anymore. After a dramatic, two-second pause, Lookwell mutters, "Those fools."
Lookwell believes he is a legitimate detective because at the height of his show's popularity, he was made an honorary deputy by the Los Angeles Police Department. He even kept his honorary badge, which he keeps encased in glass and whips out whenever someone questions him about his credentials.