Pilot episodes

The pilot episodes are the first installments in the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu series and are succeeded by the mini-movies and Season 1. Kai is the focus ninja and mascot character, Lord Garmadon serves as the main antagonist, and the Skulkin are the villainous faction of the episodes. It introduces us to the four original ninja (Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane), Nya, Sensei Wu, and Lord Garmadon.
==Official description==
Long before time had a name, the NINJAGO world was created by the First Spinjitzu Master by using the Four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu; weapons so powerful, no one could handle all of their power at once. When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them, but the oldest, Lord Garmadon, was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them all. A battle between brothers broke out. Lord Garmadon was defeated and banished to the Underworld.https://web.archive.org/web/20210617035944/https://www.lego.com/en-us/campaigns/kids/ninjago/season-9
==Story==
"Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master, by using the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu: The Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Shurikens of Ice, and the Sword of Fire. Weapons so powerful, no one can handle all of their power at once. When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them, but the oldest was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them. A battle between brothers broke out, and the oldest was struck down and banished to the Underworld. Peace returned, and the younger brother hid the weapons. But knowing his older brother's relentless ambition for power, he placed a guardian to protect them. And for fear of his own demise, a map for an honest man to hide." - Sensei Wu in "Way of the Ninja."
Young blacksmith Kai joins the ninja team in an effort to rescue his younger sister, Nya while retrieving the Golden Weapons. Under the tutelage of their wise sensei, the four teenagers band together to face Samukai and the Skulkin army, led by Wu's evil brother, Lord Garmadon.
==Cast==
*Cole - Kirby Morrow
*Garmadon - Mark Oliver
*Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
*Kai - Vincent Tong
*Kruncha - Brian Drummond
*Nuckal - Brian Drummond
*Nya - Kelly Metzger
*Samukai - Michael Kopsa
*Wu - Paul Dobson
*Zane - Brent Miller
==Episodes==
Season Ep #	Series Ep #	Image	Episode name 	Airdate
1 	Pilot 	 	"Way of the Ninja" 	January 14, 2011 (US)
2 	Pilot 	 	"The Golden Weapon" 	January 14, 2011 (US)
3 	Pilot 	 	"King of Shadows" 	January 14, 2011 (US)
4 	Pilot 	 	"Weapons of Destiny"	January 14, 2011 (US)
==Sets==
Kai was the mascot ninja, and the box art depicted a variety of locations. The Golden Weapons were the collectible items.
One of the largest waves, this group of sets depicts dragons, Skulkin vehicles, locations, and training stations/battle grounds. With spinners depicting almost all of the ninja in both their and variants, the Skulkin are also associated with each of the four elements (Earth, Ice, Fire, and Lightning), despite not having Elemental Powers in the show.https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/890916370933833728
*2258 Ninja Ambush
*2259 Skull Motorbike
*2260 Ice Dragon Attack
*2263 Turbo Shredder
*2504 Spinjitzu Dojo
*2505 Garmadon's Dark Fortress
*2506 Skull Truck
*2507 Fire Temple
*2508 Blacksmith Shop
*2509 Earth Dragon Defense
*2516 Ninja Training Outpost
*2518 Nuckal's ATV
*2519 Skeleton Bowling
*2520 Ninjago Battle Arena
*2521 Lightning Dragon Battle
===Spinners===
*2111 Kai
*2112 Cole
*2113 Zane
*2114 Chopov
*2115 Bonezai
*2116 Krazi
*2170 Cole DX
*2171 Zane DX
*2172 Nya
*2173 Nuckal
*2174 Kruncha
*2175 Wyplash
*2254 Mountain Shrine
*2255 Sensei Wu
*2256 Lord Garmadon
*2257 Spinjitzu Starter Set
===Miscellaneous===
*4617163 Ninjago Eyes Sticker
*4636204 LEGO Ninjago Promotion
*Cole Articulated Figure
*Bonezai Articulated Figure
*Garmadon Articulated Figure
*Kai Articulated Figure
*Krazi Articulated Figure
*Nuckal Articulated Figure
*Samukai Articulated Figure
*Wu Articulated Figure
*Zane Articulated Figure
==Trivia==
*Although it was called "Masters of Spinjitzu" on LEGO.com,https://web.archive.org/web/20160731021027/http://www.lego.com/en-us/ninjago/museum/pilot-season-masters-of-spinjitzu/season-0 Tommy Andreasen said that the pilot season does not have a name, but they have referred to it as "Way of the Ninja."https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1268580923962011655
*Depending on the source, the episodes are either two 22-minute parts or four 11-minute parts.
**The Hageman Brothers' original beat sheet for the episode divided the story into four parts, referring to each as a chapter.https://twitter.com/brothershageman/status/938136860152360960 However, it was written to be either two 22-minute episodes or one 44-minute special, not four 11-minute episodes.https://twitter.com/brothershageman/status/1398876199271624705
**Though Tommy Andreasen prefers the 22-minute division, the episodes were required to be split into four 11-minute parts to allow for more broadcasting options.https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1386044865193070592
***He himself refers to the episodes as two rather than four.https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1021467166594326528https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1029365000220102657https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1297540227062542336
*These episodes was originally meant to be a standalone story meant to introduce the toy line, but fan enthusiasm allowed it to continue into a full series.https://twitter.com/brothershageman/status/890213846446522370
*In a concept for the original ending, the ninja followed Garmadon into a portal to the future.https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/870660507983896576
*The original Character Encyclopedia incorrectly refers to the pilot episodes as Season 1, and the actual Season 1 as Season 2.
**Amazon Prime Video also classifies the season incorrectly. It refers to the pilot episodes as part of Season 1. It also plays the audio for both episodes at a lower pitch, by half a semitone.
***In some other airings, the tune of the audio was a half - a whole full semitone lower.
*The only modern things that appears in pilot episodes are the electric wires in Ignacia, a phone on the wall in the blacksmith shop, the Skulkin Vehicles and Ninjago City in Jay's flashback.
*In the Japanese version, all 4 episodes are trimmed down into a single 23 minute episode, cutting out various scenes.
*A soundtrack album for the pilots and Season 1 was released in 2014.
==Focus characters==
===Protagonists===
*Kai was the focus ninja. The main storyline focused on how he became a ninja, especially his training with Wu. Kai initially does not want to become a ninja and instead be a blacksmith like his father, but is forced to do so to save Nya.
*Nya serves as a motivation for Kai. She was the primary cause of Kai's story and reason to become a ninja.
*The other three ninja play relatively minor roles.
**Jay loses his voice in the second half and suggests the Tornado of Creation. He takes a slight interest to Nya, which hints to their future relationship.
**Cole is shown as the leader of the ninja team. He is afraid of dragons but is forced to adapt when the ninja train their dragons to enter the Underworld.
**Zane is established that he does not have a sense of humor and is very serious. This story continues into Season 1.
*Wu was the first character to be seen in the series. His backstory was mentioned as well. He plays a major role as he trains Kai and the rest of the team.
===Antagonists===
*Lord Garmadon served as the main antagonist. His escape from the Underworld and quest for the Golden Weapons is the main threat to the ninja.
*Samukai is the secondary antagonist. He intends to betray Garmadon, but ends up dying due to the power of the weapons.
*Other important antagonists include Kruncha and Nuckal.
*The Skulkin were the villainous faction of this season.
==Gallery==
===Promotional media===
PilotWide.png|Wide posterhttps://www.ruutu.fi/ohjelmat/lego-ninjago-masters-of-spinjitzu
NinjagoPilotPoster.jpg
5d80de01-c3b3-4e55-8a53-49aed7b10247.jpg|Slightly different version of the poster
Ninjago pan adjusted.png
WuVsGarmadon2011PromoArt.jpg
Lego-Ninjago-color-small.jpg
PilotEpisodes-0.jpg|Mural
Better quality pilot.JPG|Final scene
Bg6.jpg|Art by AMEET Studio based on the final scene
PilotScript1.jpg|Original script
PilotScript2.jpg
Joshua Deck Pilot Poster.jpg|Poster by Joshua Deck included in 71741 Ninjago City Gardens
Wu scroll2 masteryninjago.png|From Journey to Mastery
===Character posters===
Ninjago Kai Poster.jpg|Kai
Ninjago Kai Poster Textless.jpg
Lego Kai DX Discord.png|Kai 
Jayofficial.png|Jay (note: Jay is the only ninja without a DX character poster because he does not have a DX spinner set)
Col.jpg|Cole
ColeDX.png|Cole DX
Zane Ninjago.jpg|Zane
ZaneDX.png|Zane DX
Ninjago-nya.jpg|Nya
Sensei.png|Sensei Wu
GarmadonArt.png|Lord Garmadon
ScreenHunter Jun. 21.jpg|Kruncha
PerfectBoi.png|Wyplash
Frakjaw1.png|Frakjaw
ChopovHD.png|Chopov
Krazi.png|Krazi
Bozaaaa.png|Bonezai
==Videos==
Ninjago2009-0|Early concept
The Beginning - LEGO Ninjago - Original 2011 Trailer
Ninjago Pilot - Work in Progress|Short clip of the very first 3D blocking of the TV series. The scene is from the start of "Way of the Ninja."
Ninjago pilot 2011 - early 3d blocking|Early 3D blocking of the sequence where the ninja meet. This film features Kai's original bad hair and his scar, along with the first draft recording of Paul Dobson's Wu, which was later re-recorded.
Blooper Reel - LEGO Ninjago
==References==
de:TV-Spezial
ru:Пилотный сезон
uk:Пілотні серії
es:Piloto
pl:Sezon Pilotażowy
fi:Pilottijaksot
Category:Pilot episodes
Category:Seasons
Category:2011