Review first published as BROOKLYN NINE-NINE Review on Seat42F.
Grade: 88%
Grade: 88%
After watching the premiere of the new
FOX sitcom BROOKLYN NINE-NINE and ruminating on it for a day, I am still
not sure if I truly believe it is a great series. There are funny
jokes, and it’s not predictable or rote, but it’s also a very odd tone
that is hard to pin down. There is a terrific cast assembled for it, and
the “Pilot” necessarily contains a lot of set up, so it seems to
deserve the benefit of the doubt for now, until more installments can be
viewed.
As the “Pilot” opens, the Ninety-Ninth
precinct gets a new leader, Captain Ray Holt (Andre Braugher, Men of a
Certain Age). Holt has an interesting back story, not revealed until
late in the half hour, but who Holt is and what he has endured informs
how he treats his new command, and the department, used to a different
style, reacts poorly to the change.
Well, at least one detective does. Jake
Peralta (Andy Samberg, Saturday Night Live) is a very effective, but
highly immature officer. He scoffs when Holt insists he wear a tie, and
has no problem goofing around at a crime scene. Yet, we also see how he
puts together the pieces of puzzles that others cannot, so we know he
has talent, and it does feel like a believable character, especially
able to get away with how he is given the past captain we are shown.
Jake and Holt are the two obvious leads
of BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, and the make for a very unusual pair. Even in the
first half hour, one can tell they are both looking for ways to
understand one another, and that will make them stronger. However, since
a lot of the comedy in the “Pilot” is their clash, and one presumes
that they will soon grow not to fight against each other so much, one
wonders what the rest of the show will be like. After all, Jake can’t
just grow up, or he wouldn’t be the character created here, but Holt
does see Jake’s talent, and already knows how to mold it, so can’t give
Jake too hard a time for too long.
Braugher is exactly what one would
expect from him, given his resume: cool, layered, and intriguing.
Samberg has kept the goofiness that has earned him a following, but
honed it into a less cartoonish character, someone who could exist in
real life, not as over-the-top as he has been. When his character does
cross that line in taste, the other players are there to make him feel
foolish, so it does come together nicely.
My favorite member of the main cast in
the “Pilot” is second-in-command Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews, The
Newsroom). Terry is a big, tough cop who shaped his fat into solid
muscle, only to suddenly grow very afraid of the job after fathering a
couple of adorable twin girls. This is something many a dad should be
able to relate to, but also seems unique, at least when taken to this
extreme, for a man who looks like Crews. Because Crews, as usual, has
perfect delivery and timing, Terry is a great character I am missing
whenever he is not on screen.
Jake’s partner is Amy Santiago (Melissa
Fumero, One Life to Live), a by-the-rules woman who has many brothers
and thinks she is better than Jake, even though Jake has a slightly
better record. In the “Pilot,” there isn’t much interesting going on
with Amy, who kisses Holt’s butt a lot, but still takes a back seat to
the central pair. One wonders if she will step up and hold her own, or
be a forgettable second banana.
The other two main detectives are Rosa
Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz, Short Term 12), a seemingly emotionless, scary
woman, and Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio, Burning Love), a wimp of a man
who is in love with Rosa. These two seem destined to be stereotypes,
milked for a laugh, at least for the foreseeable future. I like the
performances, Lo Truglio playing more earnestly than I’m used to seeing
from him, and Beatriz being a blank slate, but I can’t really get behind
the characters yet.
There’s also Gina Linetti (comedian and
writer Chelsea Peretti), who is a little bit obnoxious initially, but I
like Peretti’s stand up, so hopefully she will be able to channel some
of that into the role.
This strange combination of
personalities makes for an ensemble that is hard to figure out. With a
setting that allows for recurring parts, too, such as Scully (Joel
McKinnon Miller, Big Love), BROOKLYN NINE-NINE could paint a rich, full
world, making a successful cop comedy for the first time in a long time.
Or, it could be too inaccessible for a mass audience, scratching their
heads and wondering what they’re supposed to be laughing at. I cannot
predict at this time which is the more likely outcome.
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE premieres Tuesday, September 17th at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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