The Failed Jack Black TV Show That Gained A Cult Following

It's not just comedy icons in front of the camera that make "Heat Vision and Jack" worth checking out. Ben Stiller directed the pilot episode with a script written by Dan Harmon ("Community," "Rick and Morty") and Rob Schrab ("The Sarah Silverman Program," "Monster House"). The finished product is every bit as surreal and wonky as you would expect with that team, opening with a monologue from Stiller himself lamenting the fact that "The Ben Stiller Show" got canceled while poking fun at "Star Wars" creator George Lucas for never having won an Emmy.

Normally, something surreal and silly wouldn't have a problem finding a home in this day and age. Everything from Adult Swim to Netflix has gotten incredibly stranger. Even a decade later, NBC's "Community" would bring meta-commentary to the masses. As it stands, "Heat Vision and Jack" was just a little too off-the-wall for its time, and Fox passed on bringing the show to series. But that didn't stop it from gaining a cult following, and you can watch the pilot in its entirety on YouTube, which has currently amassed well over 1.1 million views.

While "Heat Vision and Jack" may never come to fruition as a proper series, at least we always have these perfect 30 minutes of absurdity. Plus, audiences could see Black and Wilson team up on another Dan Harmon project, namely the episode "Investigative Journalism" of "Community," years later. When a match is meant to be, it's meant to be.