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." West expressed disappointment with the network's decision, and would bring up resurrecting the pilot over the years. 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." Cult status The episode has been described as having an "underground following" over the years, and was popular on eBay for a time before being made available as a video file, due in part to the resurgence of 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 (a 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. In a 2016 appearance on late night 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". Comedian Bill Maher has also expressed how much he liked Lookwell. 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." 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. Notes References Books Interviews Further reading External links NBC original programming Television pilots not picked up as a series 1991 American television series debuts Works by Conan O'Brien Films directed by E. W. Swackhamer