The Good Guys

Finally a cop show I can sink my teeth into!!! Bradley Whitford has finally found his niche.. again! After the West Wing I thought it was over for Brad, but as Detective Dan Stark it's pure comedy gold. Conlin Hanks is genius as the by the books Detective Jack Bailey. This show is great for those who enjoy simple plot lines and witty comedy. Be prepared to have to follow the time jumps but it's worth it! The writing on this show is truly amazing, though I am afraid the premise will get old quickly. I would recommend this show for older views! If you don't enjoy humor such as the Princess Bride then you probably won't enjoy the comedy found in this show. I've been trying to find a great show to watch during the summer and finally it's here! You'll fall in love with The Good Guys! Let's go bust some punks!

My wife summed it up best when she said, between guffaws,"I am embarrassed to admit that I'm laughing!" And laugh we do. The flashback schtick was off-putting for the first ten minutes and then became just one more hilarious aspect of "The Good Guys". Bradley Whitford is even more irritating than he was in "The West Wing" but now he is purposefully comical. Colin Hanks is even funnier: he is so completely straight, so intentionally naive, so dull, so gormless that he is even more laughable than Whitford's overacting, if that be possible. Of course it is an odd buddy cliché but it works so very well! Straight Arrow and a time-challenged refugee from the '70s or '80s, complete with a Magnum PI moustache. Diana Maria Riva is strong as the poor boss out of her depth dealing with the madness of our oddball "heroes". It certainly helps that Jenny Wade is so sweetly pretty that I had better not complete this sentence as my wife is sitting here. If you can forgive yourself a guilty pleasure, laughing at something this preposterously silly, give yourself a treat and watch "The Good Guys". Just don't tell anyone if you want to keep your reputation intact.

Yes, this show shows promise, which means it will be off the air in a week. Still, Malcolm in the Middle lasted for a while, and this show really reminds me of that show, but with cops and shooting. First, wow does Colin Hanks look, speak, talk and act like Tom Hanks. So if you're not into Tom Hanks you probably won't be into this show. Second, for a while I thought the direction was a little too frenetic and Tarantino-like, but in a bad way. As if there was a good way. But eventually the captions, cutting and the non linear time lines stuff grew on me, like a fungus. Last, "Good Cop, Sick Cop"? That was funny, yes it was also stupid, but it's a treat to see Bradley Whitford act like a moron after so many straight roles. I'll watch this again.

Based on this program's pilot episode, I will plan to keep tuning in to see if an already strong ensemble continues to gel and the convoluted comic antics continue to make me laugh out loud. *Burn Notice* creator Matt Nix and company have managed to pull off the parody of the buddy cop show without making the characters seem idiotic or the crimes they find themselves in the middle of seem irrelevant. Good plotting, good narrative, good characters. It's the Burn Notice formula (with a less driven Michael-like character, an even funnier Sam stand-in, and a Fiona-like foil in the guise of the boss) applied to the Dallas Police Department (which is, in itself, a nice change of locale and a potential mine of comic gold). This has the potential to be one of the great buddy cop movies (48 HRS, Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon, etc.) transferred to the small screen and made to fit just right. It is a pilot, so it's potential could either fizzle or be fulfilled, but as a stand-alone program, I feel it deserves 8/10, which means it's an excellent pilot. Once the series hits the streets, I'll adjust my rating upward or downward accordingly.

As other reviewers have stated; this is a classic buddy cop show. It's funny and well executed. Don't over think the irreverent subject matter and you will have a good time. Bradley Whitford plays "bad" cop Dan Stark so well he makes you want to smack him. Stark is sexist, stubborn, arrogant and of course, clueless. Colin Hanks character, Jack Bailey, just needs a hug. Bailey attempts to reign stark in but instead gets caught up in the crazy. It is a very funny dynamic that is played out well. It all comes together in a show that has a vintage feel with a pop-culture edge. Standard characters, written for today's audience. Each episode has gotten better so, with only three in, I'm looking forward to the next. It looks good visually too and it's cool to see a show NOT set in L.A.,NY, Chicago etc...