How Smiling Friends Made a PERFECT Pilot Episode

In this video essay, we dive into the Smiling Friends Pilot “Desmond’s Big Day Out“ scene by scene to gain some understanding of how it works. How does it succeed as a pilot, or first impression, in leaving the viewer with an urge to watch more? I like to look at the first episode of Smiling Friends as a conversation between Optimism and Hopelessness. From this angle, we can see how the writers challenge cynicism, nihilism, and hopelessness. I’d love to hear your perspective on the episode. How do you see things? What about it works for you or doesn’t? 0:00 So many things to watch 1:02 Fever dream 1:14 What is a perfect pilot? 2:21 Scene 1 - Smiling friends 2:45 Scene 2 - Mr. Boss 3:01 Scene 3 - Desmond’s house 6:52 Scene 4 - Alan on the hunt 7:18 Scene 5 - Family is rank 1, right? 8:40 Scene 6 - Friends, failure, & rejection 10:27 Scene 7 - Try new things! 10:42 Scene 8 - Alan vs the cheese thieves 11:31 Scene 9 - What