Laura Merrell
A&E Editor
I started with high hopes when I watched the first few episodes of the new fall comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Unfortunately, those hopes were soon dashed. What began as an interesting premise with exciting possibilities became a recycling of stereotypes and what can only loosely be considered a plot.
The concept of a comedy cop show is refreshing, considering the overwhelming number of gripping, dramatic versions already on the networks, but this one hasn’t delivered yet.
All the elements were there for Brooklyn Nine-Nine to be a success. Andy Samberg of SNL fame stars as the lead detective along with Terry Crews, who you might remember as that aggressive, buff guy in the Old Spice ads. As if that wasn’t enough, the show was created by the same people behind one of my favorite shows, Parks and Recreation. Maybe that parallel to an already massively popular show is the problem.
The main female characters fall under the category of the bitchy chicks with chips on their shoulders or the goody-two shoes who suck up to their bosses. Then you have the quirky, lovable male character with a healthy disregard for authority played by Samberg.
These are characters we have seen again and again in workplace comedies such as The Office and Parks and Recreation. Nothing has yet been done to recast these types to make it unique to this show, but there is always a slim possibility that the characters may come into their own as the series progresses.
I loved Jim’s antics in The Office and still laugh at April’s sardonic wit in Parks and Recreation, but now I want new characters to fall in love with, not a collection of recycled ones I have seen before.
The only romance on the show is between the bitchy detective played by Stephanie Beatriz and the shy, awkward cop played by Joe Lo Truglio. In a totally predictable turn of events, he keeps trying to ask her out and she keeps shutting him down. Hopefully, the writers will find a new and more exciting couple.
Leaving the issues of characters behind, I want to focus on the plot – or rather the lack of it. I understand this is not meant to resemble a typical cop show consisting of bad guys with an elaborate backstory, intricate clues and a thrilling denouement at the end of each episode, but there has to be some semblance of a plot to hold the show together. Attempting to taser a melon or wearing a speedo, both examples from the series, are not substitutes.
The second episode has already been a huge improvement in this category with the underlying storyline consisting of the son of the big police chief as a vandal who spray paints cop cars with penises. However, there is clearly room to grow here. The show still feels like an incredibly long SNL skit that needs to wrap up, not a T.V. show.
The one major saving grace of the show is the rapport between Samberg, the lead detective, and his boss, played by Andre Braugher. Their struggle for dominance continues to be enjoyable to watch, despite the other problems within the show.
I do not actively dislike the show, but rather, remain firmly ambivalent about it. However, I need something to tide me over until The Bachelor returns, so I guess I will have to keep watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the meantime in the hope of some improvement.