“Breaking Bad” is ending, “House of Cards” is still months away and “30 Rock” has come and gone – now networks are premiering their new pilots. With so many options, it can be hard to decide what’s worth the study break.
Hatchet reporter Eric Robinson takes a look at some of the season’s most promising pilots.
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
Airtime: Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m. on Fox
Names you’ll know: Andy Samberg (SNL, Hot Rod), Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age, Last Resort)
Best one-liner: “Captain! Hey! Welcome to the murder!”
Watch if you liked: “The Office”, “Parks and Recreation”
Overall grade: A-
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has so much going for it. It stars popular actors, was created by the person responsible for NBC’s most critically acclaimed comedy shows, “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation,” and has a supporting cast that most shows can’t compete with.
The show follows detective Jake Peralta, a remarkably skilled but childish detective played by Andy Samberg, as he deals with the emergence of the newly appointed captain Ray Holt. The strict, no-nonsense police captain, played by Andre Braugher, makes it his mission to force Jake to grow up.
Samberg’s goofiness plays well off Braugher’s ultra-serious demeanor and the results are devastatingly hilarious. Samberg’s excitable personality allows seemingly ridiculous scenes to pass, such as when he consoles his boss with gelato after losing a suspect.
It also helps that Michael Shur and Dan Goor’s script is biting, funny, and unusually effective at allowing characters to exist beyond stereotypes. Somehow, the screenplay makes all the characters likable and interesting, where a less-skilled writer could easily make them seem flat and annoying.
Holt, who so easily could have been reduced to “mean boss” motivated by a hatred of Jake, has a backstory with surprising depth, brought out in his rare speaking lines.
The pilot’s main weakness is that it falls into the traditional pit of character meet-and-greet, leaving little time for joke set ups. Still, the few laughs that snuck in stuck, and promises it will at least be worth a second watch.
