Pilot (Madcaps)

The pilot episode of Madcaps, also known as "Pilot" or "Madcaps", was written and directed by Kirby Lauren, and premiered on RKOx on June 11, 2010. The episode introduces the titular "Madcaps", the series' four main characters who live in and run their own restaurant: Laurie Deegan (Julie Morkel), Serena Marsh (Sabrina Samson), Dominic Pearson (Nathan Webber), and Simon Quimby (George Grayson).

The show was pitched in 2008 to the RKO Network, which was concerned by its mature content and handed it over to RKOx. The pilot was originally filmed in the fall of 2009 using cameras on a $2,800 budget and then presented to RKOx's top executives, who ordered a full-length season.

Plot
The Super Malibu Bar & Grill in continues struggling to make money. Co-owners Laurie Deegan, Serena Marsh, Dominic Pearson, and Simon Quimby are considering moving to and finding "alternative" methods of making ends meet in the city's criminal underworld when Dominic suggests throwing a party at the restaurant. Simon and Laurie reluctantly support this idea, but Serena expresses uncertainty, fearing that the place will be destroyed by partygoers. None the less, she remains outnumbered, and the party plan moves forward.

At the start of the 24 hours leading up to the party, Simon goes to the house next-door where his neighbors— and his wife —live. After waiting for Greg to leave, Simon sleeps with Brenda. Meanwhile, Serena contemplates selling lawn ornaments she stole from her neighbor. Dominic contacts Laurie seeking advice on how to talk to women, but her only tip is "Don't fuck up." Laurie later drives to low-level Super Malibu chef 's house, where lies in his bed naked awaiting her arrival.

On Friday afternoon, Serena criticizes Dominic for hanging "tacky" decorations behind the bar before rushing into the restroom to vomit last night's liquor. Simon fires Victor, the group's last remaining employee, for showing up late. Laurie scolds Simon for the firing. Dominic introduces his friends to a social media account he made for Super Malibu. Mr. Weatherly abruptly shows up at the restaurant asking if anyone has seen his lawn ornaments, after which Serena suddenly decides to head home.

At the party, more guests show up than anticipated, and extreme spatial accommodations are made as a result. Serena downs a bottle of vodka and drunkenly hooks up with an 18-year-old boy named Mario who thinks he is a vampire. Brenda shows up and makes out with Simon, but Greg secretly follows any then scolds Simon for attempting to "steal" his wife and challenges him to a fistfight out back, which Simon wins and is thus called a "madcap" by his peers. Dominic meets a woman named Alessandra, awkwardly flirts with her, and randomly says, "I'm not fucking up, am I?" Alessandra leaves the party. And Laurie falls in love with a man named Eduardo and also flirts awkwardly, but both are shy and accept each other's feelings, later sharing a kiss. Dominic tells Laurie that her advice was "a big blunder", but Laurie tells him he "just did it wrong". Annoyed, he goes outside to watch Simon fight more men, comes back in, gets drunk, and takes Serena behind the restaurant.

After the party, Simon tells the group that he wants them to be known amongst locals as "the Madcaps" and rename the restaurant Madcaps Bar & Grill. They except the former but object to the latter; nonetheless, Simon authoritatively chooses to rebrand the restaurant. Dominic walks in after waking up behind the building naked with a blanket on him no memories of the past 12 hours, Serena also realizes she does not remember much of what happened at the party. Laurie then shows them a video posted online of the two having sex, after which Serena decides to move to Los Angeles and join a gang.

Reception
The episode was met with mixed critical reception. Jonathan McMichael of The Orlando Times viewed the show as "very naturally jocose in nature" and "satisfyingly adroit in its handling of the story and main cast". Teresa Muir-Jones of XYZ News noted that "[w]hile the show isn't exactly the greatest contemporary sitcom, it certainly isn't the television equivalent to ", and described the show as "rather in the character department". Florence Antonelli of S.com praised the show's "noticeable comedic ingenuity".

Christine Petersen of The Worcester Beacon was less positive, praising the performances of Webber and Morkel but criticizing Grayson and Samson's "wooden" acting and Lauren's "unbalanced mixing of plot and humor". Preston Quarry of MoonJump called the pilot "so many different degrees of mediocre" and was especially critical of the "amateur" actors, "shoddy" cinematography, and "forced" humor.