Editing Lookwell (section)

==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}}