Stiller, Black and Wilson

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How many people saw that 30-minute pilot for Ben Stiller's Heat Vision and Jack seven years ago on Fox? Penned by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab, it was about an astronaut named Jack Austin (Jack Black) and his pet motorcycle (voiced by Owen Wilson) hiding out from the dreaded Ron Silver -- the actor playing himself as a dual-identity villain -- and his evil NASA bosses.

Fox blew it off, but it's pretty damn clever and funny....a satire of gimmick superpower shows in the vein of "Captain America"or "Knight Rider." In any event, here it is on YouTube.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 13, 2006 at 11:43 AM

comment #1

moises says ...

A friend showed this to me a few years back and I was immediately convinced that if a full season of it existed, it'd be the #1-requested DVD Series set of all time.

Posted by moises at July 13, 2006 12:05 PM

comment #2

Sean says ...

I disagree. Much like Lookwell, the Adam West pilot on whose strengths Conan O'Brien left SNL (at around the same time as Heat Vision & Jack), they would have been lucky to squeeze six episodes out of the premise.

Posted by Sean at July 13, 2006 12:08 PM

comment #3

moises says ...

I'm saying people would buy it for the brand of BlackStillerWilsonCo, not quality. Same reason people are buying godawful stuff like The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.

Posted by moises at July 13, 2006 12:14 PM

comment #4

Rich S. says ...

You have to love Stiller's condescending intro. When he talks about giving America what it wants and knocking it on its "coal mining asses," he sounds like Jeff on a tirade!

Posted by Rich S. at July 13, 2006 12:18 PM

comment #5

Colin says ...

Hmmm...well I'll definitely have to check that one out when I get the chance.

I also have a special affection for 2 superhero pilots that never went anywhere. The first is "Chameleons," which aired in 1989. IMDB lists the plot as:

In this failed TV series pilot from the mind of Glen A. Larson, Shelley, a slightly-crazy heiress, discovers that her eccentric millionaire uncle Jason Carr was rather more eccentric than even she had thought--he was a costumed superhero in his spare time, half of a duo calling itself "Captain Chameleon and the Paraclete of Justice." Now Shelley must find out exactly who murdered her uncle, with the help of her uncle's mysterious and handsome partner in fighting crime.

It seemed cool when I was 13. I wonder how it would hold up.

And then, there's "The Greatest American Heroine," which was supposed to be a spin-off from "The Greatest American Hero," but it never aired, although, FX, I believe later aired it when they were showing old episodes of the show. It was pretty bad.

From the looks of it, the WB/CW's "Aquaman" pilot should soon join the ranks.

Posted by Colin at July 13, 2006 12:20 PM

comment #6

Jon says ...

Have had a copy of this for years. It's an MPEG with pretty good resolution.

But yeah, if Stiller, Wilson and Black got together and said we wanted to make this, some studio would back them.

There was talks about a movie a few years back, but nothing came of it. Read it from Rob Schrab's website. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on Rob Schrab's part.

Oh, and I believe Schrab is the one who did the brainwashing sequence in Zoolander... pretty funny guy.

Posted by Jon at July 13, 2006 12:24 PM

comment #7

nobdy says ...

If god himself had saw it, he would condem the whole cast to hell for eternity.
and I love Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson/Jack Black type stuff, but this time it's too much.

Posted by nobdy at July 13, 2006 6:24 PM

comment #8

Rich says ...

There's some good stuff in there, most notably Ron Silver and Owen Wilson, but, honestly, I thought the (similar) live action Tick with Patrick Warburton was funnier and did more with its premise. Jack Black is very funny, though, when the sun is going down and he's trying to explain what to do with the tape.

BTW, is that Shatner doing the opening voice over?

Posted by Rich at July 14, 2006 4:49 AM

comment #9

Chris H. says ...

Harmon and Schrab are all over Channel101.com too. Harmon made Laser Fart, which Jack Black guest starred in for an episode. It's about a guy who eats a burrito that was cooked in a malfunctioning microwave and gains the ability to fart lasers out of his ass. Riveting stuff.

Laser Fart was pretty lame, but he also made Most Extraordinary Space Investigations, which is one of my all-time favorite channel 101 shows (and starred Sarah Silverman). It's right up there with The Bu and Yacht Rock.

Posted by Chris H. at July 14, 2006 8:29 AM

comment #10