The Legend of Neil is an online sitcom distributed by Comedy Central's partner Atom.com.[1] The series follows Neil, who was playing The Legend of Zelda when he masturbated to the fairy in the game while drunk and strangled himself with his NES controller. Somehow he was transported into the game and is subsequently mistaken for the game's hero, Link. The series, "full of self degrading, foul humor"[2], is written by Sandeep Parikh and Tony Janning; Parikh also directs. It stars Janning, Mike Rose, and Felicia Day. Day also stars in The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog; The Legend of Neil includes a musical episode that pays homage to the latter.[3]
The first season was released in 2008. According to Fox Business before the premier of the second season, "With nearly one million plays, the hit Web series by creator Sandeep Parikh built one of the Web's most enthusiastic fan bases in 2008." In the run-up to the August 2009 premiere of the second season, MTV2 planned to air the complete first season.
The series was nominated for multiple Streamys at the 1st Streamy Awards in 2009
The Legend of Neil was a Web Winner for Acceptable.TV and can be viewed in the June 11th Video Podcast.
Characters and cast[]
- Neil (Link) - after getting fired from a gas station by his brother, a drunken Neil was transported into a Nintendo game, The Legend of Zelda. He then unwillingly plays the role of the game's main character, a forest elf named Link. Neil as Link contrasts with many of the characters views of Link, while Link is honest and brave, Neil is lazy and will use any tricks he can find to get out of the game. He is so much the opposite of Link that he tends to befriend the monsters whose sole purpose is to kill him. Neil is portrayed by co-writer of the series, Tony Janning.
- Old Man – Link's in-game mentor, loosely based on the old man in the first Zelda video game who gives the player a wooden sword before the first level. Old Man is portrayed by Mike Rose. Old Man has a twin brother O-old Man (a change in emphasis in pronunciation) who is left-handed, a better potion maker, and has Tourette syndrome. Usually only one of the twins speaks to Link, but on occasion—such as in Season 2, Episode 3—they appear simultaneously. Both of the Old Men are generally helpful to Neil, often in an sarcastic or condescending manner.
- Fairy – a fairy who replenishes Link's health. In the series she does so by having sex with Link, and she becomes emotionally and sexually obsessed with him. Fairy also seems to be emotionally unstable, often taking Neil's compliments as insults and vice versa. In the series, the fairies are hunted for their dust, which is used as a drug, a fate which befalls Fairy in Season 2, Episode 1. Fairy is portrayed by Felicia Day of Dr. Horrible and The Guild fame.
- Wikipedia:Princess Zelda – the title character from the video game. Zelda's parents were killed by Gannon and she herself was captured and imprisoned. She appears to Neil in visions, alternately pleading and enticing him to continue to rescue her. Neil was initially surprised by her ethnic appearance, expecting a lighter skinned princess from the video game graphics. Zelda is portrayed by Angie Hill. Dr. Horrible co-creator Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon provides Zelda's singing voice in the musical episode.
- Gannon – the leading antagonist of the game and series. Gannon is played as an incompetent authority figure, impervious to the suggestions of his adviser Wizzrobe. Gannon never seems to leave his shadowed throne until the end of season two. He seems to enjoy singing and is a patron of stand-up comedy. Gannon's ineptness extends to his attempts to woo Princess Zelda at a 'romantic' dinner. In the Season 2 Finale he reveals to Zelda that his parents are trapped in some "vortex." Gannon is portrayed by Scott Chernoff.
- Wizrobe – Ganon's right-hand man. He first appears after Neil has met Fairy and steals Neil's clothing to lure him to the Level 1 Dungeon. He frequently observes logical inconsistencies within the game that are recognisable to fans, such as the maps and keys that are left in the dungeon for Link to find. Whenever he suggests changing the policy to Ganon, he is abused for his presumption, forcing him into the role of a fawning toady. Wizrobe applies Ganon's makeup before his 'big date' with the captive Princess Zelda, prompting Ganon to insinuate that Wizrobe is homosexually infatuated with him, prompting unconvincing denial. Wizrobe is portrayed by Eric Acosta.
- Dark Nut – A powerful dark knight (nonsensically renamed by Ganon to conform to The Legend of Zelda terminology) introduced by Wizrobe as an invincible opponent to Neil. He is seemingly unfazed by Neil's sword blasts, and was able to knock him unconscious with a single blow. Dark Nut is portrayed by Jeff Winkler.
- Octorok -In Season 1 Neil was often plagued by the Octorock creatures. In the show they are depicted as thin men wearing loin cloths and masks. They announce their presence with an odd ululation, and throw rocks at Neil. They occasionally speak to Neil -usually to mock him or try to deceive him- but generally stick to the ululation.
Plot[]
Season 1 (2008–2009)[]
| Title | Writer(s) | Director | Original airdate | # | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Beginning" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 1 | |
| Neil (Tony Janning) wakes up hung over and naked in a forest. A giggling fairy flies over him and drops elf clothing on him. After getting dressed, he enters a cave, where he finds an old man named 'Old Man'. Old Man tells him he is Link, who is on a quest to defeat Lord Gannon and save all of Wikipedia:Hyrule, and gives him a wooden sword. Neil leaves the cave and gets stuck in a looped map. | |||||
| "First Blood" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 2 | |
| Neil is attacked by an Octorok throwing a rock. Neil kills the creature, whose corpse disappears, leaving a cookie in the shape of a heart. Prodded by Old Man, he reluctantly eats the heart cookie, which refills his heart meter on his arm and allows his sword to shoot lasers. He is then surrounded and attacked by a group of Octoroks. | |||||
| "The Fairy's Obsession" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 3 | |
| Neil, badly beaten by the group of Octoroks, has a vision of Princess Zelda, then falls beside a fairy pond. Fairy comes out and begins to heal Neil, but then starts getting neurotic and fickle. She forces Neil to tell her he loves her, then she mends his wounds him with sex. Wizrobe, one of Gannon's minions, steals Link's clothing and throws it into a cave marked "Level 1". | |||||
| "The Skeletons in Link's Closet" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 4 | |
| Wizrobe suggests that it would be easier to kill Link if they dropped him into a harder level than Level 1. Gannon smacks him for his insolence. Neil is attacked by bats and skeletons with German accents. After collecting a key from the skeletons, he uses it to open a door and is attacked by more bats. | |||||
| "Map Questing" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 5 | |
| Gannon is shocked by Link's progression in level 1. Neil discovers a map of Level 1 and a bow. He defeats goblins and collects a boomerang. Wizrobe questions why Gannon left such useful items for their opponent, and Gannon explains that the purpose is to help his minions if they get lost. Neil runs into Old Man, and is shown that there is a hidden room on the map; Neil had not noticed that the map was incompletely unfolded. He leaves as Old Man warns him of the boss of level 1, a dragon with a unicorn horn. | |||||
| "Who's the Boss" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 6 | |
| Neil is knocked out by the dragon and dreams of being in bed with Zelda (and Gannon). After he recovers consciousness, Neil finds the one part of the room that the dragon can't get to, and the dragon complains that it's not fair. The dragon and Neil commiserate and become friends, and the boss begs for Neil to kill him. Neil collects the first Triforce of nine. | |||||
Season 2 (2009)[]
| Title | Writer(s) | Director | Original airdate | # | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "A Link To The Past" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 1 | |
| The episode begins with a flashback to Neil's failing real life a week earlier. After the flashback, Neil awakes next to the sleeping fairy. He gets up and is attacked by Octoroks. After vanquishing them, he is attacked by a Moblin, who injures him with an arrow. As he flees, Old Man appears to him with a clue about how to get a candle and a bigger shield. Link escapes into a store and the Moblin captures Fairy in a jar. | |||||
| "Death In Store" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 2 | |
| Neil meets the merchant, who quotes prices far beyond Neil's means. When Neil persists, the Merchant lets Neil into the back room, where he can play Money Making Game. Neil quickly loses, and is about to have his eyes confiscated when the Elf Cop breaks in to raid the illegal gambling den. The Elf Cop allows Neil to take the goods he couldn't buy. | |||||
| "The Musical" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 3 | |
| The episode opens with the Moblin examining his collection of fairies, including Fairy and a Male Fairy. The Male Fairy tries to cheer up Fairy with a happy song, and Fairy joins in with singing about her love of raunchy, abusive sex, nauseating the Male Fairy. Meanwhile, Neil fights the level 2 boss and collects the second Triforce. Gannon and Wizrobe are astonished at Neil's accomplishment, but are sure that the next level will destroy him. Neil meets the Old Men, who make fun of him and give him a potion. Zelda, imprisoned, sings of her faith in Neil, while Neil, defeating more monsters, tries to get drunk on potion and wishes he were home. Neil defeats the level 3 boss, stimulating further consternation in Gannon's council. After a grand finale, Wizrobe whispers a new plan to Gannon and Neil discovers a Pub. | |||||
| "Gettin' High in Hyrule" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 4 | |
| Neil, disregarding Old Man's warnings, sneaks into the Pub. He finds a bulletin board with wanted posters for Link, the mass murderer of Hyrule. Disguising himself with a Moblin helmet, he joins the Moblins in the Pub, whose main conversational topic is ways of torturing and killing Link. After a long carouse, Neil's helmet falls off and he is recognized as Link. He pleads with the Moblins, who are the only friends he has found in Hyrule, but they still want to kill him. Neil runs away and is captured by the Secret Moblin, who misdirects the pursuers. | |||||
| "The Secret Moblin" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 5 | |
| Neil wakes up in the cave of the Secret Moblin, who has fully replenished Neil's heart meter. The Secret Moblin describes his elfin studies, and his need to suppress his base instincts of killing elves. He teaches Neil how to use his "inventory" by holding his items above his head, and he tells Neil of a magic whistle in Level 5 that can send Neil anywhere he wishes. Neil leaves the Secret Moblin's cave and travels through the desert to find the waterfall that hides the White Sword. However, upon spying the waterfall, he is shot by an arrow in the left arm by the Moblins from the pub. | |||||
| "The Fairy Strikes Back" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 6 | |
| After many tries, Neil pulls his bow and arrows from his inventory. Neil defeats the Moblin holding Fairy who has sex with Neil to replenish his heart meter. Neil then dispatches the other Moblins before entering the cave behind the waterfall and attaining the White Sword from Old Man. Meanwhile, Wizrobe introduces Gannon to Dark Nut. | |||||
| "A Date With Destiny" | Tony Janning and Sandeep Parikh | Sandeep Parikh | -- | 7 | |
| Neil fights his way through the enemies in Level 5 on his way to attain the Magic Whistle. On his way to grab the whistle, however, Dark Nut ambushes Neil and knocks him unconscious. Gannon tries his best to court Princess Zelda who says Link will come to save her. Gannon reveals Neil tied up and beaten. Neil reveals that he does not love Princess Zelda and would not die for her. Gannon then stabs Neil through the chest with the White Sword. Neil awakens in his apartment where he was playing the Legend of Zelda. The game provides him the option to continue or quit. | |||||
References[]
External links[]
- Official Website
- Official website of The Legend of Neil on Atom.com
- The Legend of Neil on Effinfunny.com
- Facebook Fan Page