Pilot (Life on a Stick)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Pilot
Series = Life on a Stick


Caption = Laz, Lily and Fred get back at Mr. Hut by deep frying items in his office
Season = 1
Episode = 1
Airdate = March 24, 2005
Production = 100
Writer = Victor Fresco
Director = Andy Ackerman
Guests = Frankie Ryan Manriquez
Maz Jobrani
Ryan Belleville
Episode list = List of Life on a Stick episodes
Prev =
Next = Liking Things the Way They Aren't

"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the television show "Life on a Stick". It was written by Victor Fresco, directed by Andy Ackerman, and first aired on March 25, 2005. It followed American Idol, with strong initial ratings which gave FOX its strongest numbers in six years. [cite web |url=http://www.littleindia.com/news/123/ARTICLE/1435/2005-04-05.html |title=Life Is A Lark |accessdate=2007-05-11 |publisher=Little India] "Pilot" was delayed one day in its debut. On March 22, American Idol provided its viewers with an incorrect voting telephone number. On March 23, "Pilot" was replaced with an American Idol re-vote episode, and finally aired on the 24th. [cite web |url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/TV_Shows/A/American_Idol/2005/03/24/971275-sun.html |title='Idol' revote bumps 'Life On A Stick' |accessdate=2007-05-11 |publisher=Jam! Showbiz ]

Plot Synopsis

The episode starts with Laz needing to find a job after leaving Yippee Hot Dogs, else he must leave his parents' house forever. He must also take his sister Molly under his wing, although why his parents consider him a good influence is never explained.cite web |url=http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/mar05/mar21/2_tues/news2tuesday.html |title='Life on a Stick,' dumb, dumb, dumb |accessdate=2007-05-11 |publisher=Media Life Magazine]

Laz returns to work at the "Yippee Hot Dogs" food court restaurant. He finds that working life is no different than high school with its cliques and power people. Laz and his friend Fred (also a Yippee employee) clash with their boss and attempt to start an employee rebellion, ultimately deep frying everything in their boss' office.

Reception

Lucio Guerrero of the Chicago Sun-Times described the pilot as "more like a Nickelodeon show than a Fox production." [cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20050323/ai_n13465735 |title=Best things in 'Life' recycled from better sitcoms |accessdate=2007-05-10 ] Nat Gertler noted that the main characters speak primarily in expository dialog, which can sometimes work, but felt that these actors are unable to pull it off. [cite web |url=http://www.gertler.com/nat/tv/?m=200503 |title=Nat’s TV or Not TV |accessdate=2007-05-10 ] Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine felt that "Pilot" was not funny, and that the second episode, "Liking Things the Way They Aren't," had a much funnier premise. "Pilot" debuted on the same day as the premier episode of the US version of "The Office", with the former attracting 9.2 million viewers and the latter 11.2 million viewers. [cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-03-29-nielsen-analysis_x.htm |title='Idol' gets a right number |accessdate=2007-05-11 |publisher=USA Today]

References

External links

* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0632116/ Pilot] " at the Internet Movie Database
* " [http://www.tv.com/life-on-a-stick/pilot/episode/409173/summary.html Pilot] " at TV.com