How to Make a GREAT TV Pilot

[@Crusty783]

What do you think the Ninjago Pilot episodes?

[@shardsoftime0952]

I love them

[@MatthewK122]

Best than season 1

[@Crusty783]

@@MatthewK122 idk if i agree with them being superior to season 1 but i love both installments

[@MatthewK122]

@@Crusty783 Because shorts show many skeletons characters have different personalities which I thought season 1 skeletons would have small factions to fight after fall of Samurkai and gone of Garmadon they would still attack ninjas for reveng3. But no they just come some events during snakes rising, Lloyd never wear og suit which is very disappointing which intro often shown in 1 and 2

[@wutrump4329]

I recently started thinking about how they could've made cole more interesting in the first seasons and I feel like if they switched his place with kai in the pilots story wise it could've really helped. But not changed his personality obviously

[@legendarycryptid2629]

Ah yes, back when Kai was just starting out, Jay's voice was deeper, Cole was the team leader, Zane looked more human than robot, Nya was the rescued sister, Garmadon was just evil, and most importantly, Wu had a 3D mouth...

[@Crusty783]

RIP 3D Wu mouth 😿

[@captnbluehat]

​@@Crusty783 3d mouthussy gone :(((

[@thematiuxt]

@@captnbluehat You didnt

[@squidge18]

@@captnbluehat 😭😭😭😭

[@SmileFlame3]

@@Crusty783 RIP😢

[@squidge18]

"Fatha would not want you to do this brotha" - Wu 2011 Truly the best line in media ever

[@Crusty783]

peak voice acting

[@samhbricks3353]

I like how the pilots don't overwhelm us with information about the world of Ninjago and it's characters. It gives us a simple plot and shows the character's personalties.

[@Crusty783]

exactly. its basic but that allows us to get a sense of the world and characters

[@bluropaque]

Yeah, it opens more opportunities to more seasons that could present even more information and secrets about the world. Y’know, like how we had no idea there were atleast 16+ realms at the time and we only knew about Ninjago and the Underworld.. Heck, I don’t even know if Ninjago was considered a realm on it’s own at the time.

[@miraculousninja5255]

Dude, Zane intrigued me so much in the old seasons! I was extremely interested in his six sense ability and his inability to understand humor. This guy is the definition of “Mystery”!

[@Crusty783]

i love how mysterious he was in those first 7 episodes

[@gamejitzu]

no kidding, one of his villains is even "Mr. E"

[@miraculousninja5255]

@@gamejitzu lol

[@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho]

Don't forget the "YOU were always his favorite" line from Garmadon. It laid the groundwork for Garmadon and Wu's fractured relationship (and with the context of "Tick Tock", it shows how his mind has been affected by the Great Devourer's corrupting venom).

[@TheSkides]

Honestly I like how the pilots started off, it wasn't groundbreaking or amazing, but it set up the status quo. For Garmadon, Wu, Nya, and the Ninja.

[@Crusty783]

I agree. They werent that complex but didnt need to be. They did a great job at laying the groundwork of this wonderful show.

[@alpha.raptor1076]

I loved how the world felt so… big in them.

[@Crusty783]

same! everything felt so new and fresh, with so much uncovered ground.

[@gamejitzu]

I never noticed there was a physical representation of the balance shifting, with the dark sky and lightning. That's really cool, it should happen more often. It also makes me wonder how "the balance" would manifest if it shifted too far into the light

[@Crusty783]

I would love to see Ninjago delve into a "too much light" story, akin to something like World of Light (Smash Ultimate). Would be a really fun spin on Ninjagos story

[@seematahir5970]

One thing I never hear talked about the pilots that I absolutely love is how Garmadon was handled, particularly his voice acting. I enjoy his later, more bombastic iterations, but pilot Garmadon is just perfect. A brilliant combination of menacing yet suave. It's a cold and calculating take on his character that had never been replicated since.

[@Crusty783]

I agree. I love how much of a schemer he is here, his shadow form is so cool

[@iswiftyfox8997]

I dont remember if this is true or not but i remember hearing that Wus voice was originally going to be a stereotypical mr miyagi type voice, but they decided against it later on and dubbed him over. So that is why sometimes he sounds like he normally does and sometimes we get "FATHA WOULD NOT WANT YOU TO DO DIS BROTHA!!" Because they forgot to dub over EVERY line.

[@LonerofGaming]

Ah the Ninjago Pilot, as a kid I remember this being my first impression for Lego as a whole and getting obsessed with Ninjago back then. Checking the official website, finding the shorts that followed the pilot, The Weeken Whip by The Fold, Kai being my favorite character. The younger me didn't understand what a pilot was so they considered this Season 1 with the next two seasons as the Season 2 lmoa. Kai's training montage, him pulling out the Sword of Fire, & Shadow Garmadon are things that I remember fondly. It was just a good simple introduction to the whole world. As a long off topic side note cause I want to talk a bit about my Ninjago as a whole, I stopped watching fully at Season 5 and was satisfied without seeing anything further as a kid, of course there are objectively really good things that came afterwards like Cole's development being the stand out but it's more or less something I just split from my original experience, add the things I liked to my own headcanon & throw out a lot of the Crystallized. Also gotta say, The Ghost Whip is probably my favorite remix of The Weekend Whip and it just feels weirdly right for a finale for me.

[@Crusty783]

The pilots were so wonderful. Also S5 is a pretty solid place to leave off Ninjago but I feel like in doing so you miss the OT which is a shame

[@playcoarmboy1836]

@@Crusty783 can you make a vidoe talking about how season 5 would've worked as a final season of ninjago, i mean we got sensie lloyd, nya becoming a ninja ,cole becoming a ghost we saw the future reflection, a season that focused on the first student of wu,season 5 really changed the status quo of ninjago and i feel like if the show ended with s5 i would've been satisfied

[@EadEditz]

It's a good start to the show, it isnt too overwhelming or boring. The writers just laid a good foundation for the show

[@Crusty783]

I agree

[@noobsysys]

I actually prefer the pilot episodes over season 3, crystallized and (maybe haven’t rewatched it in a long time) hands of time. They kinda give you some nostalgia, even if you didn’t start with them.

[@Crusty783]

same, Pilots are better than S3, 15 and 7 imo

[@GamerKid64]

I started with them, and have been a fan since

[@VampireQueen1665]

What if for April fools, crusty makes an entire video about how he absolutely loves crystallized and how it perfectly portrayed Nya and Lloyd’s characters

[@Crusty783]

this might be the play for april fools this year

[@CancerStars07]

Noooo

[@MasterHarmadonTheHarmyGuy]

​@@Crusty783 I wonder if it'll actually be the play

[@ZeroJump]

The long before time sceane is just so freeking iconic

[@Crusty783]

so so true

[@AlfonzoFrohicky]

Man I almost forgot the golden weapons were the reason why the whole ninja team was assembled in the first place. I think the pilots were great for setting up the whole show and some components of the show are still built off the pilots even though the producers only planned for ninjago to have 2 seasons. Pilots are a w

[@PToTheJay]

3:02 Slight mistake here: That line wasn‘t recorded by Paul Dobson, but instead by another voice actor whose name I don‘t recall. All I know is: He unfortunately isn’t alive anymore and one of his latest appeareances was an old man in one scene in „Master of the Mountain“. Please correct me if I got anything wrong.

[@wutrump4329]

One of the best things about roots was that the key was combining the weapons as it subverts our expectations based on rules from the pilots

[@pekar43]

Just started rewatching last week I am currently on episode 7 season 1 I really felt nostalgic watching the pilots, they are iconic 😍

[@Crusty783]

I love the early days of ninjago. they're so iconic and nostalgic

[@HOLDENPOPE]

Love how the balance between good and evil was later brought up during Season 2

[@Greek_Irene]

My sister and I rewatched the prolouge's awhile ago and laughed so hard at Garmadon's and Wu's voice acting cause THAT STUFF WAS SO FUNNY!

[@Crusty783]

Wu's voice acting was so scuffed lol

[@Luke_SkywaIker]

fAtHa WoUlD Naht WaNt YoU To Do ThIs BroTha

[@Greek_Irene]

@@Luke_SkywaIker WE MADE FUN OF THAT LINE SO MUCH OMFG

[@Greek_Irene]

@@Crusty783 Absolutley, I look back at it sometimes and wonder how they didn't just redo some of the lines

[@Im_Bad_at_Games]

when the 2 episode pilot season is better then the 30 episode season that is supposed to end the whole entire series

[@Crusty783]

when the 44minute long pilot feels less rushed then the 330 minute season

[@elementaljedi9335]

We need a good Kai season. He’s been getting disrespected past season 2.

[@Crusty783]

I agree, although 4, 5 and 11 were all great for his character there were huge compromises in those seasons that comparatively no other characters get. He deserves an indepth character focus season like Cole and Nya got

[@whatdoyoumeanbro4964]

season 7

[@PToTheJay]

0:55 „Detailwise it‘s pretty basic, but the colors here are really great and there is a beauty in this simplicity.“ That‘s my way of describing the pilots: They’re basic, but all the plot elements work and their simplicity is kind of charming.

[@isaacharvey451]

Almost twelve years ago, at my grandmother's condominium in New Jersey, USA, my older brother and I watched as the very first episode of Ninjago- and the beginning of a decade-long story- began. As a second-degree black belt now, I've grown up along a path parallel to the Ninjas'. Yes, Ninjago started off with a bunch of stereotypes- but it took its time to let them evolve to become understandable and relatable characters. From "long before time had a name..." and skeletons to "remarkable. Simply remarkable" and Oni and dragons.

[@ZeroJump]

3:00 It is a line used from the audition

[@Crusty783]

Huh I never knew that actually. Super interesting how the ended up making it in lol

[@NinetyLegos]

My favorite moment is when they get back and touch all the weapons together in celebration and get blown back. It is cemented in my head forever

[@iswiftyfox8997]

It’s such a shame u can’t find the pilots almost anywhere. Imagine a new person getting into the she on Netflix and they think rude of the snakes is the first episode they would be so confused At least on KZbin u can still get it as they combined it with season 1.

[@Crusty783]

ikr! they need to be more widely available. although the dvd is still an option i guess

[@ge3344]

have you tried ninjago media project?

[@adnanaboukewik4950]

Rip Michael korpsa VA of Samukai and Vex

[@Dodolord679]

It’s funny how the pilots were written to be just a standalone tv special type of thing since the work surprisingly well as actual tv pilots. Obviously a lot of stuff here has shown it’s age like the animation and voice acting still working out the kinks, but it gets the important stuff right, the characters and their dynamics and set up the lore and feel of the world. Not much more you can ask for.

[@Crusty783]

yeah, all things considered theyve aged very well

[@digitalcartoonsfm]

The microphone quality for the Pilots hit different

[@merp7174]

im so happy with myself that when i started watching ninjago RIGHT when the pilot came out, and i have been watching it ever since. I remember that one time nickelodeon has a count down timer for the hyped episode of the great devourerer, i had to set a timer to wake me up late at night to watch the episode on tv..... good memories the sad thing is, for those who are now starting to watch ninjago, they will most likely never see the pilot bc i can't find the pilot anywhere online through any streaming services. All the first episodes start of with Lloyd, which can raise some questions on how this whole group met, and you dont get those answers later on, its all in the pilot.

[@DaToxicJay]

Fun fact i started ninjago at episode 7 i beleive and instantly fell in love its only when we had netflix during s5 , in middle of the night i woke up to watch tv on netflix and saw some new ninjago stuff that i have never seen before and they were the pilots. I also remember watching s7 ep1 and being confused on how cole was not a ghost anymore lol.

[@jaredf.6532]

12 years? Damn. Its been so long. I never had cable at my house except my grandparents did. I went to their place every Friday since Friday was a early day for me at school and my parents both worked until 4pm. I remember watching the trailers and feeling depressed my chances of watching it wouldn't happen. Then low and behold. I managed to watch it on a Friday right when I got home from school. Both episodes. That was such a blast for me as a kid to see

[@astro-ko3cu]

You can't talk about the pilots without mentioning "Father would not want you to do this brother."

[@LaserAgentRyan]

2:25 reminds me of club penguin when they had the card game event making it a story

[@Matthew-xq8ml]

I remember watching the pilots and being blow away by how cool it all seemed. In my personal opinion the pilots have to be the best piece of ninjago simply because without them there would be nothing. No sets, no more season, no more books, specials, etc. I love the pilots and still occasionally go back and let the nostalgia back in

[@wutrump4329]

3:00 this part was actually his original voice that was deemed inappropriate but this line was left in on accident

[@alinerodrigues9761]

Fun Fact: this episodes were made only to sell the brand, never to introduce a series, but it made a sucess, and then, 16 seasons (counting with the Island)

[@maxwell6881]

I love how the final season failed so badly, they managed to sideline the literal second character ever introduced.

[@Crusty783]

yeah lol

[@ultradude25yt]

Can we talk about how when kai was like: guys we gotta save my sister. And jay was like: is she hot?

[@ansemthetrueseekerofdarkne2730]

Given how Garmadon gave Ansem vibes, it would have been much cooler if in the original KH game, Ansem appeared throughout the game as a shadow with red/yellow eyes to spook Sora and co similar to Garmadon in the pilots. This would have been much better and more in line with the early eerieness of the heartless than the simple brown robe in my opinion

[@RainSpinjitzuStudio]

This is my favorite Ninjago media and I see it as S1 with the 2 episodes being 15 episodes

[@bedrock_breaker]

There has not passed a single day where i didn't think about *that* jay line

[@Crusty783]

which one?

[@bedrock_breaker]

@@Crusty783 we're saving a girl? IS SHE HOT? That was the most wrong thing he could've said in that moment

[@MagicPotato06]

I love the Pilots, so nostalgic!!!

[@Crusty783]

same!

[@The_Psycho_Red_Ranger]

JUMP UP, KICK BACK, WHIP AROUND AND SPIN!!!!

[@Crusty783]

AND THEN WE JUMP BACK DO IT AGAIN

[@The_Psycho_Red_Ranger]

@@Crusty783 NINJAGO! NINJAGO!!! COME ON COME ON AND THEN WE'LL DO IT AGAIN......

[@superintendentoi6526]

One of my favorite episodes.

[@sabocharge]

3:01 bro that's hilarious

[@acronixwoodentrains3058]

Ninjago The Pilots Beginning of Ninjago was Really Great Love How Kai, Jay, Zane and Cole were Done really Great The Golden Weapons were Awesome to See Master Wu And Nya were Great Samukai and his Skeleton Army were Done really Great and the Cliffhanger at the End was Awesome to See 9/10 for Me Loved The Pilots Beginning of Ninjago

[@emuwashere9229]

I like how the thumbnail changed like 2 times LOL great video tho!

[@Crusty783]

Thanks 😅

[@yoda2114]

i love how they're canon,a lot of series make pilot episodes that have nothing to do with the series

[@purplespades9632]

I like how he doesn't mention Cole's character. Edit:Why does the comment section say 0 comments?

[@Crusty783]

I do mention him a few times

[@summersongs0]

i want to see more of the tornado of creation, it is used very little, along with air jujitsu once they learn it

[@horadetodososlegos]

But the real question from pilots to me is: why was nya captured in 1st place? Did garmadon know that kai would become the fire ninja and thought he could use her against him? Why didn't he capture Kai himself then? If he didn't know, what other reason would he have?

[@Crusty783]

to lure kai in whilst hes on his own and split up wus students whilst also getting him to pull the sword for him

[@horadetodososlegos]

@@Crusty783 but this was after Kai became a ninja, what happened only after and because Garmadon captured her

[@Crusty783]

@@horadetodososlegos yeah he captured her so he would become a ninja and that'd happen. its why hes so jazzed at the ninja learning spinjitzu in the first episode

[@iswiftyfox8997]

@@Crusty783 that’s a good point it would make sense, he knows their parents obv as they were part of wu and his team, and he needed Kai to pull the sword. However as we learn In wrong place wrong time, this was a critical mistake

[@olasmocs7744]

This just came to my mind but does anyone think else think cole should have stayed a ghost for i really enjoyed it because he had to adapt to living as a ghost so i would i loved to have seen more of ghost cole but what does everyone else think?

[@Crusty783]

he probably should have to be honest

[@Inactivechannel-r6]

10:28 that made me laugh

[@Crusty783]

love that scene

[@MatthewK122]

Love pilot episodes, because characters different personalities and want to stop skeleton army. I always thought this first season because pilot feel episodes than season 1 bit of mess, yes some animation error but still classic.

[@noobsysys]

what?

[@MatthewK122]

@@noobsysys I said I like pilot episodes than season 1

[@Loayecr]

@@MatthewK122 i think u mean u preffer pilot over season 1?

[@gamejitzu]

Yeah, the Pilots + mini-movies felt like it was Season 1. And some places actually called Rise of the Snakes "Season 2"

[@MatthewK122]

@@gamejitzu Finally someone agree my answer

[@aids2k927]

The “father would not want you to do this brother” was a completely different voice actor who was going to be wus voice actor

[@thawkade]

No, it's the same VA, he was just attempting a different voice then.

[@ruben-uh9hm]

Your power is greeeeeen

[@daexhawn]

"FATHA WOLD NOT WAT U TO DO TIS BRATHA"

[@FirstnameLastname81206]

My only question is, where did you get the footage?

[@stefix5554]

i need to see you speak about the season where lloyd becomes golden ninja for the first time or the season where the boys fight the Great Devourer we need season analysis done by you

[@Crusty783]

I plan on getting to them all eventually, so stay tuned! :)

[@LeoLucisCaelum7789]

My first time watching ninjago is season 1

[@Crusty783]

same. for a while as a kid i honestly had no idea the pilots existed lol

[@LeoLucisCaelum7789]

@@Crusty783 same

[@thepigeon7468]

Me too and when that time travel episode came out in season 2 I was kinda confused as to what they were talking about.

[@oscarsullivan5983]

making Zane a robot felt very misguided to me, not that it ruins the character (far from it) but I know many neurodivergent kids at the time (myself included) felt a bit let down by the fact that this character they found easier to relate to wasn’t just someone like them who was just “different” but a robot, literally inhuman

[@oscarsullivan5983]

again, this doesn’t ruin the character by any means and I’m sure that this wasn’t something they accounted for or had even thought about but it’s still something I thought was worth mentioning

[@longkim8306]

@@oscarsullivan5983 I can relate

[@LitereallyNobody7]

I miss when the show wasnt the Lloyd 60% of the time

[@Pato-us5db]

8:12 lmao true

[@thefunydaino3991]

Ah yes, I've forgot how hairy Kai's chest was back then.

[@captainrex6137]

8:14 A fellow Kai fan too?

[@playcoarmboy1836]

the good old days when kai was the main character of the show

[@ElseAndrecool]

11:10 where did you get that image from?

[@Crusty783]

just searched halo on google images and scrolled for a bit

[@ElseAndrecool]

@@Crusty783 oh ok

[@playcoarmboy1836]

there is actuelly a third format to the pilots and that format is a 44 minute special

[@Crusty783]

there is? was not aware of this. do you know where i can find it?

[@playcoarmboy1836]

@@Crusty783 it actuelly aired as a 44 minute special in france same with the island but not in the usa,i remember as a kid watching the pilot in french

[@LeoLucisCaelum7789]

Amazing

[@Crusty783]

thank you! :)

[@Crusty783]

thank you! :)

[@LeoLucisCaelum7789]

No problem

[@johngentley5015]

This isn't relevant to the video but I just wanna ask: You said Hands of Time is no longer your second least favorite, so which unlucky season takes the spot now?

[@Crusty783]

rebooted probably

[@johngentley5015]

@Crusty783 that’s a shame, rebooted is one of my favorites, altho it is a interesting opinion

[@abdulelahaljehani458]

This video is quality

[@Crusty783]

ty! :)

[@LeoLucisCaelum7789]

I like dragons their so cool

[@Crusty783]

me too

[@LeoLucisCaelum7789]

Nice

[@oc11studiosOFFICIAL]

Who else has it on dvd?

[@joosie-boy]

I was literally working on a vid just like this and now I'm scared that if I upload it people will say that I copied this one

[@Crusty783]

if they do point them to this comment, you're fine to make ur vid :)

[@Hidrozlais]

its a classic !

[@Crusty783]

agreed!

[@lazulenoc6863]

Ah yes, a rare time that any ninja other than Zane gets physically hurt.

[@jase16]

If jay lost his voice for ever then it would not be entertaining

[@Tristler]

did my guy just gain 1000 subs in like 2 days

[@Crusty783]

yep

[@THE_DARK_RAY]

Bro how many times you gonna change the tittle or thumbnail 😅

[@LeoLucisCaelum7789]

You need watch dragon ball and dragon ball z is amazing series in my opinion and you play devil may cry series is amazing game

[@hendizzl7921]

I think the German Voices are way Better especially from Wu

[@epicdubs69]

The modern seasons have completely ruined jay in my opinion

[@Crusty783]

absolutely