First Impressions: Brooklyn Nine-Nine ‘Pilot’ – Welcome to the Murder

Is it ironic – or the forces of yin and yang – that the worst comedy pilot of the fall is followed by the best? From the minds of Parks and Recreation comes Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the fall’s funniest, most diverse comedy pilot (at least, of those I’ve seen thus far – and the remaining ones don’t look so hopeful), taking the formula of P&R and transporting it to an upstart Brooklyn police department and their new boss, Ray Holt (Andre Braugher, doing his best gay Ron Swanson impression). Although it’s a little too familiar in both its construction and storytelling style, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s talented cast and setting give it loads of potential – potential that’s only starting to be tapped into with the first episode.

If there’s any weakness to the Brooklyn Nine-Nine, it’s in how familiar the cast construction is: there’s the ambitious female, the mostly useless supporting male, the arrogant and good-looking smartass, the Ron Swanson character, and the wiseass deadpan woman. But to be honest, it’s kind of a nitpicking complaint: each character, whether it’s Detective Santiago (who dreams of being captain one day, played by Melissa Fumero) or the nervous squad leader Terry (a slimmed-down Terry Crews), they’ve all got enough unique quirks to keep them from feeling like re-molded bits of clay placed on our television screens.

The pilot revolves around two story lines: a $6,000 ham that was stolen in a murder, and the arrival of Holt to the force. The former shows what the show will be like week-to-week, blending comedic elements into archetypal cop situations, often to point out their ridiculousness (Andy Samberg’s character Peralta tells everyone to get down, and gets completely ignored) in a very Reno 911! way (which Joe Lo Truglio was on, in the final season), just without the over-the-top ludicrousness of the Comedy Central series. In a way, the show reminds us how often cops are taken for granted – even in the episode’s climatic scene, when a maintenance woman pulls rank on the detectives as they hunt down their perp-of-the-week.

Holt’s arrival on the force allows the show to really establish the emotional foundations of the show, using Holt as a vehicle for exposition to be fed to the audience. But they take it a step farther, using Holt himself as an example to others on the force of what being “good poh-lice” (as Bunk would say it) really is: about professionalism and teamwork. When its revealed to Peralta (and the audience) that Holt is a gay captain, it’s not only a surprising and very welcome twist to the character (he does nothing remotely stereotypical for a gay man through the episode), but it holds an important weight in the context of his relationship with Peralta, the show’s most fertile comedic dynamic (though hardly the only one).

It all leads to a hilarious conclusion, which finds a way to make the “mission statement” every show has to sell itself with, without feeling like its being tacked-on superficially for the sake of bringing in an audience. It happens at the very end (and quickly) – and smartly, Brooklyn Nine-Nine doesn’t linger on it too long, reminding us that while kicking ass is awesome, it’s just another day on the job for these people (as Peralta puts it, “and looking good doing it”). Confident, subtly poignant, and funny (with a racially and sexually diverse cast, to boot) – what else can you ask from a comedy pilot? Definitely a show to watch – and one I’ll be covering throughout its freshman season.

Grade: A-

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Airs Tuesday nights at 8:30pm beginning 9/17

Created and written by Dan Goor & Michael Shur

Pilot directed by Phil Lord & Chris Miller