Pilot

Pilot is the first episode of Season 1 and the first overall episode of Kenan & Kel. It aired on July 15, 1996. It was written by Kim Bass and Dan Schneider and directed by Alan Rosen.

Synopsis
Kenan wants to buy a car, but he's too young to drive. Despite this fact, he buys one anyway, but the car he bought was stolen. So now Kenan and Kel enlist the help of the police to catch the car thief.

Introduction
Kenan appears in front of the audience and introduces himself, but Kel is nowhere in sight and wonders where he is. As he is looking for Kel, Kel appears from behind the curtains and gives a card to Kenan for him to read. As Kenan is reading the card, he introduces Kel, who dubs himself as the "Master of Funk", the "King of Cool" and the "Lord of Love". Kel finally makes his grand entrance with roller-skates and a firecracker, but Kenan grows impatient and ends his entrance, telling him to carry on with the show. The duo begin to talk about how a young man will eventually grow up and realize what is important in life, like family, love, friendship and (according to Kenan) getting a car. Kel is confused by this and asks Kenan what he means, but Kenan dismisses the question and explains he's late of work before leaving the stage. Kel tells Kenan that they can't drive, then yells out his catchphrase and leaves the stage too.

Storyline
The episode begins at Rigby's Grocery Store with Chris sorting out the fruit section outside the store. Kenan arrives and Chris complains on how Kenan is always late for work. Kenan explains he has a problem with his car and Chris replies by saying that he doesn't have a car - which turns out to be the problem. Chris tells him that he has to get used to it as he is not old enough to drive.

Inside the store, Kel brings his old supplies and asks Kenan how that will help them raise enough money for a new car. Kenan reminds Kel that he has $400 and will sell those items to get more money. Kel sees this as a bad idea for they could get in trouble for buying one. Kenan explains that the car can help them by not waiting for the bus, driving to school on snowy days and going out on dates with girls. Kenan and Kel unveil the items, which includes Kenan's old teddy bear that he retrieves. A customer comes in the shop and Kenan racks up the groceries she picked. When her son wants to open up a Google Puffs cereal box, the woman reveals that her son only wants to open up the box to win a golden monkey, which results in winning $10,000 as well. This revelation causes Kenan and Kel to open up all the Google Puffs cereal boxes they can to win the prize.

After opening seven hundred boxes and failing to find a golden monkey, Kenan and Kel sit down dejectedly on the Google Puffs they spilled. Chris comes from the back and asks Kenan to help him unload the melons, but is stunned to see the mess that is front of him. Kenan comes up with an excuse that an earthquake took place, but Chris tells him that earthquakes don't occur in Chicago. He angrily tells Kenan to clean up the mess and fires Kel despite the fact that Kel isn't an employee before Chris starts twitching and angrily leaves the room. Kenan complains that after wasting two million Google Puffs, they only won twelve super bowls, four packs of removable tattoos and some circus tickets. Chris calls Kenan excitedly as he stumbles upon a couple of old comic books and wonders where the duo got them. Kel reveals they were his father's comics before he gave them to Kel when he was a child. Chris reveals that the comics are about a half-human and half-skunk superhero called Skunkator. He also reveals that they're the first scratch and sniff comic books to arrive in the U.S. and cost thousands of dollars. The boys are stunned about this and ask if they can surely get thousands of dollars by selling those books. Chris tells them that they can and mentions his uncle as a comic book dealer, who would surely buy the comic books. Kenan asks Chris to sell the comics for whatever amount he can and he'll receive five percent of the profits made.

Later on at the Rockmore residence, the boys are in Kenan's room, where Kel is communicating with Chris on the phone as to what time he can give the boys the money. He tells Kenan that Chris will them the money at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The boys start searching for a car online when they hear a thud in Kenan's closet. As Kenan opens the closet, Kyra falls out and Kenan concludes that she was spying on them. Kyra attempts to flirt with Kel, but Kenan stops this and asks Kyra if she heard anything in the closet. Kyra tells him that she hasn't heard anything, but proceeds to ask why he wants to buy a car. Kenan tells her not to tell anyone about what's going on, even going as far as blackmailing her, but doesn't budge. Knowing her crush on Kel, Kenan decides to use Kel to end the situation. After getting rid of Kyra, Kel asks what's going to happen next, with Kenan telling him that he'll post a message about him buying a car, then the sellers will pitch up with their cars for him to compare. After Sheryl calls Kenan and Kyra for dinner, Kel asks what Roger and Sheryl will say about people showing up in their house on Saturday. Kenan then thinks of an idea to get his parents out of the house for the day.

In the dining room, the Rockmore family and Kel are sitting down, having dinner when it seems there's a commotion between Kel and Roger. To end it, Sheryl asks the kids how school was, with Kyra ratting Kenan out on him being sent to the principal's office, much to Roger and Sheryl's shock. Kenan wonders how Kyra knew about that, with Kyra explaining that she just guessed it out. In an attempt to initiate their plan, Kenan subtly instructs Kel to go to the kitchen, but doesn't take the hint until Kenan makes it blatant. With Kel leaving the living room, Roger asks Kenan if he's ready to talk to them about being sent to the principal's office. Kenan reveals to the family that they had a substitute teacher and he glued her butt to her chair. Roger orders Kenan to apologize to the substitute teacher first thing in the morning and Sheryl adds that he's getting too old for that type of stuff. Just then, the Rockmore telephone rings and Roger answers the telephone. He receives a phone call from a radio station, explaining that if he answers the next question correctly, he wins a couple of free tickets to the circus. It is revealed that Kel is the radio station and calls from the kitchen. The question he asks Roger is "What time is it?". When the Rockmores give their answer (which is 7:43), they "win" the tickets to the circus with Kenan having a suspicious look on him as he is eating his dinner.

It's Saturday, and Kel enters the Rockmore house, with Roger asking if the doorbell was broken. Thinking that Roger was practical on his question, Kel rings it continuously until Roger stops him. Afterwards, Kenan and Kyra arrive downstairs in a matter of seconds. As Roger, Sheryl and Kyra head to the circus, Kenan and Kel start talking about their hopes of getting a car and soon the boys pretend to drive a car and listen to beats from their "car" when the doorbell rings. Hoping that it's Chris, the boys quickly rush to the door only to find a potential seller waiting for them. He explains to them that the car is in good shape and that it's worth $6,000. However, the boys are not confident about this since Chris is not yet around. A couple that wants to sell their car enters their house with the boys wondering how many people will show up before Chris arrives.

Soon, the living room is full of people who want to sell their cars to the boys as they still anxiously for Chris. Chris finally arrives at the Rockmore house and Kenan and Kel ask if he got the money from the comic books. However, Chris made them worthless by overdoing it with the scratching and sniffing and as a result, couldn't get them sold. Upon hearing this revelation, Kel accidentally yells that they don't have money, which aggravates the potential sellers. Just when things couldn't get any worse, the rest of the Rockmore family arrive from the circus, only to be shocked by what's happening inside the house.

At Rigby's, Kenan and Kel talk about how Roger ground them both for six months (despite the fact that Kel isn't his son). Kenan wants to come up with a new plan to buy a car, but Kel tells him to forget about it. A man approaches the two after listening in on their conversation and asks if they want to buy a car. Kenan confirms this, but tells him he's short of cash. He tells the man that he has $400 and begins negotiating with him. The man tells him that his mother is getting too old for driving and offers to sell Kenan the car for $400 (even though it is worth a lot more than that). Kenan agrees to this, but only pays half of the amount as the other half is in his underwear drawer for security reasons. The man agrees to this and takes the $200 dollars and will collect the rest of the money tomorrow, with Kenan receiving the keys of the car. Kenan and Kel celebrate their accomplishment when Chris arrives and asks them what they've done. They explain to Chris about buying a new car, but when Officer Friendly enters the store, the boys hand the car keys to Chris and they're underage to drive a car. Friendly then reveals that the car is stolen, leaving Kenan, Kel and Chris in a state of panic.

After telling Officer Friendly about the deal, Kenan and Kel notify him about the car thief returning to the store tomorrow. Friendly makes a deal with the lads, telling them that if they manage to nail the thief, he'll let them off the hook and get Kenan his $200 back. The boys nervously agree to this deal.

The next day, Officer Friendly brings a colleague, Officer Mike, with him and assists Kenan in wearing a wireless microphone so that they can hear what he says. Chris asks what his task will be. Knowing that Chris is not required for this mission, Friendly instructs him to buy some Chinese food for them as lunch. Kenan asks what the plan is like and Friendly explains that when the thief hands the boys the title to the car, Kenan has to call them by saying the code line "the chipmunk has pneumonia". In an effort to remember the code line, Kel rephrases it, leading to a false alarm as the officers vigilantly enter the store.

Later on, Kenan is shown to be pretending to work while waiting for the car thief. As the thief enters the store, he tries to tell Kel, but the thief approaches Kel before, spooking Kel in the process. The boys seem to be nervous at this point and struggle to maintain their composure in this case. As soon as Kenan and the car thief exchange the money and title, the boys struggle to remember the code line. In an attempt to stall the car thief, Kenan tells him to count the money, which the thief prefers not to. This results in the money flying all over the store. As the car thief collects the fallen notes, Roger, Sheryl and Kyra enter the store. Kenan asks what they're doing in the store, with Roger and Sheryl explaining that Kenan's aunt, Bertha, has pneumonia, so they're collecting some supplies for her. The word pneumonia causes Kenan and Kel to remember the code line and they scream it out loud to alert the police, however, Roger thinks they're calling Aunt Bertha a chipmunk and tells them to stop it. As the police officers enter the store, the Rockmores stand inside, confused while the car thief tries to make his getaway, but accidentally bumps into Chris as he enters the store with the Chinese food he was instructed earlier to collect. After apprehending the thief, Officer Friendly tells Kenan to try not to buy a stolen car next time, much to their parents' disappointment. The episode ends with Kenan collecting the needed supplies for aunt Bertha while Kel tries to run away from an annoyed Roger.

Conclusion
The boys come out of the curtain with a box of Chinese food and Kenan tells the audience how things didn't turn out so bad, though Kel objects, stating that they don't have a car, they lost $200 and Roger grounded them till they're thirty years old. Kenan finds a consolation in the Chinese food they salvaged earlier and the car keys the officers forgot to collect. As Kenan is boasting about his "victory", Officer Friendly angrily takes the car keys and the Chinese food from the boys. However, Kenan sees that he doesn't need a car and tells Kel he has a better idea before leaving the stage. Kel tries to stop him, but seeing that there's no stopping Kenan, he yells out his catchphrase before following Kenan.

Cast
Main Cast
 * Kenan Thompson as Kenan Rockmore
 * Kel Mitchell as Kel Kimble
 * Ken Foree as Roger Rockmore
 * Teal Marchande as Sheryl Rockmore
 * Vanessa Baden as Kyra Rockmore
 * Dan Frischman as Chris Potter

Recurring Cast
 * Chris Edgerly as the Car Thief
 * James Zelley as Officer Friendly

Minor Cast
 * Michael Egan as Officer Mike (uncredited)
 * Denise Lecce as Rigby's Customer (uncredited)
 * Greg Neff as a Car Seller

Gallery
The gallery for this episode can be found here.

Transcript
The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Trivia

 * In some regions, this episode is unofficial.
 * This is the first episode to show both Rigby's Grocery store and the Rockmore residence.
 * The structure of the Rockmore house and Rigby's is slightly different in this episode as compared to other episodes.
 * The dinner table used in the dining room is used in the kitchen in future episodes.
 * Rigby's has fewer shelves than usual.
 * The door handle of the Rockmore main door is also different.
 * The curtains used on stage do not have a golden trim below.
 * The cereal, Google Puffs, is a parody of the Coco Puffs cereal.
 * The line "mama se mama sa mama coo sa", said by Kel when trying to stall the thief, is used in Michael Jackson's song "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".
 * This is the first episode where all the main characters appear at the same time.
 * Other episodes of this occurrence are Mental Kel-Epathy, Merry Christmas, Kenan, Pair-Rental Guidance, The Lottery, Freezer Burned and The Graduates.
 * A scene from this episode is shown in Tales from the Clip.
 * A blooper from this episode is shown at the end of Mo' Sweater Blues.

Goofs

 * Residential houses normally use one telephone number regardless of how many phones are in the house, so it is unknown how Kel managed to call the Rockmore residence from their kitchen.