''Heat Vision and Jack'' is a 1999 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

created and written by

Rob Schrab Robby Christopher Schrab (born November 12, 1969) is an American comic book creator, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is the creator of the comic book '' Scud: The Disposable Assassin'', co-writer of the feature film '' Monster House'', c ...

and

Dan Harmon Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC sitcom ''Community (TV series), Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast ' ...

, directed by

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...

, and starring

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing and acting credits on the films '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and ''T ...

, and

Ron Silver Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor, director, producer, radio host, and activist. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best ...

. The pilot was originally ordered by

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, which ultimately did not order it to series. While the show was not picked up, the pilot became a cult classic and gained an online following.

Plot

The pilot opens with Ben Stiller talking about the cancelled '' Ben Stiller Show'', the Emmy Award he won for the show, and sarcastically criticizing

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

for having not won an Emmy. After a short

sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

, ''Heat Vision'' then opens with a

title sequence A title screen (also called an opening screen or intro) is the method by which films or television show, television programmes present their title and key filmmaking, production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often an op ...

explaining how Jack gained his new powers, and how Heat Vision came into existence.

Cast and characters

Main

as Jack Austin, a former

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

. He was exposed to inappropriate levels of

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

, giving him

superintelligence A superintelligence is a hypothetical intelligent agent, agent that possesses intelligence surpassing that of the brightest and most intellectual giftedness, gifted human minds. "Superintelligence" may also refer to a property of advanced problem- ...

. He appears to lose this intelligence at night, requiring only Earth-normal levels of daylight to reactivate it. His catchphrases are "I know EVERYTHING!" and "Knowledge is power... for real." *

as Heat Vision, a talking

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

. He was created when Jack's unemployed roommate Doug was shot by an experimental ray gun, causing him to merge with his motorcycle. He is capable of speech and can fight by ramming into opponents. He is unable to use doorknobs and is unable to right himself if pushed over. *

as himself, the main villain. He works for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

, and will stop at nothing to capture or kill Jack Austin, but he also dabbles in acting, perhaps as a diversion, perhaps as a cover. He appears to be invulnerable, shrugging off the threat of being shot and later displaying great annoyance but no injury or pain when he is actually shot.

Guest

Christine Taylor Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She has played Marcia Brady in '' The Brady Bunch Movie'' and '' A Very Brady Sequel'' and appeared in '' The Craft'', '' The Wedding Singer'', '' Zoolander'', and '' Do ...

as The Sheriff *

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan sy ...

as Frank, a cook who becomes possessed by an alien broadcast and thereafter calls himself Paragon *

O-Lan Jones O-Lan Jones (born May 23, 1950) is an American actress. She is best known as Rose on '' Harts of the West'' (1993-1994) and from her work with Tim Burton. Early and personal life Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. Her first name comes ...

as Patrice *

Sy Richardson Sy Richardson (born 1941) is an American film and television actor. Also a two-time screenwriter, Richardson wrote the screenplay for the 1993 film ''Posse''. Early life and education He was born in Cincinnati and grew up in Chicago. He attended ...

as Doctor

Legacy

''Heat Vision'' was featured as a part of the

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

'' Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness'', only stating that the character of "Jeff Portnoy" played the role of Jack Austin. In a March 27, 2007 interview, Rob Schrab stated that a script for the ''Heat Vision and Jack'' feature film was in the works.

References

External links

*
Heat Vision and Jack - Behind the Scenes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heat Vision and Jack Fiction about the Sun Television pilots not picked up as a series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Unaired television pilots Television shows set in Austin, Texas Television series created by Dan Harmon Works about astronauts Television series by Red Hour Productions