Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season 2)

By: Robert Murphy

Most shows take a little time to snap back into things when they leave their first season and the way things were left at the end of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's first season you would expect the same. However, Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) wastes no time in returning to his old ways and his old precinct after leaving to go on an undercover assignment at the conclusion of the last season. New cases and perps come crawling out of the woodwork but not only that the relationships within the precinct get much more complicated.  

One of the things that I loved most about the first season for Brooklyn Nine-Nine was how well that all the characters fit into their roles and the on screen chemistry that each of them had with one another. Andy Samberg, Terry Crews and Joe Lo Truglio of course are veterans of on screen work whether it is movies or TV so it is hard not to see good things from them but the rest of the cast were virtually unknown to me but all became fast favorites. The relationships they all share only prove to be strengthened further in this season as well. Jake Peralta may be the shows center but things do not focus entirely around him and that is a good thing, plenty of the stories for this season delved into the lesser known actors and actresses stories as I mentioned. I was particularly fond of Rosa Diaz's (Stephanie Beatriz) storyline this time around, her character was already the tough bad girl with quite the serious edge to her but things get more complicated when she begins to date Captain Holt's (Andre Braugher) nephew. It lends to a more lighter side to her character and some interesting episodes as Captain Holt and Rosa are the most stoic characters in the show and now they must interact on a personal level. 

There are also some shake ups in the dynamic for some of the characters. Jake and Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) have always been the precincts bromance and no matter what Charles backs Jake up with his most idiotic decisions and problems. The "Stakeout" episode proves to shake this relationship to it's core as the two decide that they can pull off a two week long stakeout together without a single problem. This time together would prove a little too much as even Boyle begins to see fault with his best buddy Jake. 

The same classic comedy also makes it's return this season. Jake is perhaps one of the most hilarious aspects to a show like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and of course he should be since he is the main character. But, what makes much of what he does so hilarious is because he is playing a role that I think the real life Andy Samberg would actually take part in. Jake acts like a kid in a candy store most of the time and has a very romanticized idea of what it is like to be a cop. In the show he is an excellent detective but at the same time he relishes the car chases, the idea of possibly dressing up and staking out mob guys at the local docks and other Hollywood cop movie gimmicks. What is even more wonderful is the show gives Jake the opportunities to live out many of these fantasies, the first episode of this new season, "Undercover", Jake was disguised in full track suit style clothing as he worked undercover to try and take down a mob network. We then have the episode where he got to run along the rooftops of cars to try and chase down a suspect and the episode simply entitled "The Chopper" where Jake, Boyle and Captain Holt lived out Jake's dream of riding in a helicopter to catch an escaped bad guy. 

I may give plenty of praise to Samberg but one of the funnier characters to blossom even more this season would have to be Captain Holt. Andre Braugher plays the stoic captain that often appears quite robotic but this plays perfectly into his serious brand of comedy for the show. His rivalry with Deputy Chief Wuntch (Keyra Sedgwick) is what particularly makes him so hilarious this season, she has an obvious attraction for him despite knowing he is married and gay, she will take the opportunity to frisk him for wires or even still an intimate kiss. Captain Holt however takes it all in stride and tries to do his best to thwart her with his brand of humor by making jokes such as "Wuntch time is over" as he receives and on stage reward from her and proudly says "no regrets." 

All the cast continue to present their own unique brands of humor to the show. Charles and Gina (Chelsea Peretti) end up spending a lot of on screen time together despite Gina's obvious disgust for Boyle. At the end of the first season we see the two hook up after a heavy night of drinking and Charles ending his relationship with his fiance. The two end up entwined for a few episodes but what gets worse is when their parents get involved together. Joe Lo Truglio is complete ridiculous and has no shame or filter for what comes out of his mouth and states things like "our sex led to this" and other gems that would make normal people uncomfortable. We then have Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) who brings his large buckling humor to the show. The very first episode he put Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) through a training exercise where he acts like a seven year old boy and you can probably guess how good it gets from there.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine continues to be sharp and funny well into it's second season. I am a little worried where the show may be headed as the final episode set up for an odd cliffhanger. However, as long as the group dynamic continues to work as well as it always has, I can see no reason why I won't enjoy going into a third season. 

Good:

- The second season continues to be smart and funny

- Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher are hilarious in their roles

- Plays into the cop cliches but for humor and not effect

Bad:

- Cautiously entering the third season, no spoilers, but I do wonder what lays in store

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season 1)

By: Robert Murphy

Many of us have been around the block a few times when it comes to TV and their love for work place comedies like Parks and Recreations or The Office but with Brooklyn Nine-Nine we get something we haven’t seen, a comedy about working in a police station. The show follows the detectives of the 99^th precinct as they do a somewhat romanticized job of an every day detective on the streets catching bad guys and solving murders. The shows forerunner is Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) who plays a cocky/goof off character but one who is an extremely gifted detective who now must deal with a new straight laced captain Ray Holt (Andre Braugher) that won’t be letting him get away with acting up. Alongside Jake are his other detectives such as Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) who is a bumbling but hard working detective as well as Sergeant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) a muscle bound man who has been put at a desk job due to a “unique” on the job incident. These characters and more make up the cast for this hilarious take on what it means to be a cop.

Now right off the bat I had a lot of hope for Brooklyn Nine-Nine because of the cast list alone, Terry Crews is perhaps one of my favorite actors of this year and he himself is popping up all over the place in movies and television. Then we also have Andy Samberg and Joe Lo Trugilo who each have names for themselves as comedians, Joe having been around a little longer obviously but the two make for great chemistry on screen. The cast also introduced me to some names I hadn’t heard before but who made great additions to the show such as Melissa Fumero who plays Detective Santiago a straight laced and by the book character who butts heads with Andy Samberg’s character in quite a few episodes. Also we have Stephanie Beatriz who plays Detective Rosa who is a smart but tough and very scary police officer who has a short fuse and lets it loose frequently when she is frustrated. All the characters react incredibly well together on screen and just seemed to fit almost immediately, even more so as we learn more about each of them as certain episodes hash out these characters more and more.

As I mentioned before though, Brooklyn Nine-Nine does give a romanticized notion of what it means to be a cop and what I mean by that is when you’re a kid and you think how cool it is to be a cop and catch bad guys, that’s what the show pretty much makes it look like. But this is understandable because you can’t really make the actually job of a policeman funny because it is a hard profession to be a part of and its more serious than anything, also it’s Brooklyn and it would probably be pretty hairy out there if it was real. This is done to lighten the mood though as many of the cases are petty things for example one episode is about a tagger who is spray painting cop cars. And even when there is a murder it usually takes place after the fact and it doesn’t show up much, it’s replaced with banter about how it happened or in one case the episode revolved around solving the case before someone takes the case away from the Nine-Nine. So I feel this is all okay because the show is a comedy and if you want something more cop-like well then try Cops or Law and Order.

Surprised, is the word that I’d use to describe Brooklyn Nine-Nine because that’s genuinely what it is, the show catches you with just how witty and funny it can be with its one liners and characters. Andy Samberg has had his feet in the water a couple times and he doesn’t always hit high notes but here is a shining moment for him as an actor as he plays the role of childish Peralta perfectly. The rest of the cast as well are brilliantly placed and casted in my opinion as it doesn’t take them much time to fit into their characters and make them work just right. I hope to see the show back for another season this Fall as it was one of my favorites to watch this past year.

Good:

-Well casted characters

-Quick witted with one liners and banter

-Andy Samberg does an excellent job as the shows main character

Bad:

-A little fluffy with its cases but I can’t really fault the show for that it is a comedy

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10