Heat Vision and Jack (1999) (TV)

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers:

Dan Harmon (writer)
Rob Schrab (writer)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

As the result of a NASA miscalculation, Astronaut Jack Austin flew to close to the sun, the rays expanding...

Plot Keywords:

Frat Pack | Alien | Astronaut | Cult Favorite | Genius

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jack Black	...	Jack
Owen Wilson	...	Voice Of Heat Vision / Doug (voice)
Ron Silver	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Félix Castro	...	Pool Player #1
Stephanie Chao	...	Stripper
O-Lan Jones	...	Patrice
Clint Lilley	...	Pool Player #2
Sy Richardson	...	Doctor
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Frank / Paragon
Christine Taylor	...	The Sheriff

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Jack Austin: I know everything!

Movie Connections:

References Timecop (1994)

Hilarious in it's purposeful stupidity

Ben Stiller came to television with the Ben Stiller show, and despite great reception, it was canceled quickly. He went out and got famous in film, only to come back to television and get canceled again. Heat Vision and Jack takes humor out of it's ridiculous premise, bad dialogue and melodramatic acting, parodying bad television shows, mainly Knight Rider. Where Knight Rider took itself too seriously, Heat Vision and Jack takes nothing seriously at all. It's a stupid, but hilarious joke.

Jack (Jack Black) was formerly an astronaut sent into space on a special mission. When in space, his mind was expanded and now he knows everything. NASA wanted to take his brain, so he called his roommate Doug, who was vaporized into the motorcycle he was driving. At that moment, he ceased to be Doug and he became Heat Vision, the talking motorcycle. In this thrilling adventure, Jack and Heat Vision (voiced by Owen Wilson) are on the tail of a possessed gas station owner (Vincent Schiavelli) that can melt people with his eyes. Along the way, Jack and Heat Vision must avoid Ron Silver who's trying to kill them, and they meet a sheriff (Christine Taylor) who helps them on their journey. Can they survive the chaos? Well, unfortunately the pilot didn't last to become a show.

There really isn't anything wrong with this pilot. The performances are so purposefully bad. Jack Black gives his best serious performance, which ends up seeming like a bad Shatner imitation. Christine Taylor's delivery is late 80s/early 90s stuff, like one of the girls off of Baywatch. Owen Wilson has a good voice, and Ron Silver plays Ron Silver to perfection. Even Ben Stiller has a small role as a DJ. The direction and writing is terrible, but in the context of this spoofy material, it's great.

As long as you know this is a spoof, it's funny. If you somehow missed this....well, it's hard to imagine someone missing that.

My rating: Great show. 31 mins. Not rated, contains some mild sexual content.