'The Good Guys' - 'Pilot' Recap (Series Premiere)

(S01E01) "There are no small crimes, there are only small cops. Put that in your computer circuit. Look, you wanna get rid of me? You wanna work on your career? Grow a pair! Crack some cases!" - Dan to Jack

I'm not usually one to go for police procedurals. For one thing, it's a lot of work keeping track of alibis, clues, witnesses, perps, and everything else. But I figured 'The Good Guys' would be different, and I was right. It's not so much a procedural as it is an action-thriller with plenty of laughs thrown in. Our own Danny Gallagher has been having a blast with it, too; check out his preview and interviews, and he even got to play an extra!

It's hard to describe 'The Good Guys,' but if I had to choose a few words, I'd go with quirky, funny, thrilling, and retro. I say retro because one of the main characters, Dan Stark (Bradley Whitford), is an old-school cop with a '70s 'stache and a penchant for muscle cars. I predict a big surge in people scouring Hemmings Motor News for 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams. I forgot how sweet they are until Dan practically had a 'When Harry Met Sally' moment after he saw one for sale. Of course, he ended up with the car, although it's not clear whether he actually purchased it. I'm thinking not. Dan's not one for rules.

Really, there were a lot of fun things and Easter eggs in this pilot, and I'll do my best to cover them. Colin Hanks, who plays rookie cop Jack Bailey, looks SO much like his dad (that would be Tom Hanks) at that age, it's like a freakin' flashback. Colin has the chops to become a breakout star a la Jim Parsons on 'The Big Bang Theory'; he's tidy, he's a stickler for grammar, and he likes to do things by the book. He's young, so he doesn't know any better.

Meanwhile, he's babysitting Dan, who's still on the force because he saved the governor's son 25 years ago. The whole premise could be a major cliche in buddy-cop shows because the two guys are polar opposites, there's lots of snappy banter, yada yada, but they have great chemistry and the show is well written. And what's wrong with a buddy-cop show anyway, as long as it's well done?

As for Dan, only a truly dedicated cop would scarf down ancient cottage cheese from the back of the fridge and wash it down with an alcoholic chaser, just so he could puke at the scene and create a diversion so Jack could make his move. I laughed myself silly when Jack went in with both guns blazing, only to miss the guy right in front of him. You've gotta be a really bad shot to accomplish that feat, and it was a nice little in-joke about shoot-out scenes. Nobody ever misses that bad!

The other players were gems, too. I was filled with glee to see Nia Vardalos as the witness whom Dan beds, and the plastic surgeon was played by Tom Amandes. You might remember him as Martin Posner on 'Eli Stone,' or if you're watching 'Parenthood' (and if not, why not?), he plays Dr. Pelikan.

While Dan seems to like playing it loose and fast with the ladies, I'm betting there might be some sparks re-ignited between Jack and Liz Traynor. Did you see the way she squeezed his arm at the end and told him he'd done a good job? Yep, they're not completely kaput yet.

Other fun stuff:

I had to laugh at the opening scene when Julius whined about the flat-screen TV during the break-in. When that fell and broke, of course he'd grab the next best thing -- a humidifer. I hope he's a recurring character.

Loved the scene where Jack and Dan were hunkered down behind a car outside the pawn shop. When the glass was shot out, Dan said, "Who the hell is that guy?" a la 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.'

Jack: "Hey! Where you goin'?!"
Dan: "I'm goin' in! Just cover me!"
Jack: "Are you serious? You drank a quart of bourbon in the car!"
Dan: "It was a fifth!"

Every cop should have a flask in his breast pocket to stop syringes or whatever else might be thrown at him.

"Being a cop is not about rules. It's about people. It's about being able to say to Eileen, 'Hey, we caught the punk who stole your humidifier.'" - Dan

There's probably a lot of guys who want to look like Erik Estrada, a.k.a. "Ponch."

It was sort of in the back of my mind that Jack might end up jumping out of the Firebird onto another moving vehicle. I just wasn't sure how it would play out. The ending was sweet, though:
Dan: "Nice work, partner."
Jack: "Yeah, I don't want to ever do that again."

"That's alright. He's better off as a snitch anyway." - Dan, on the fact that Julius got off scot-free

Any show that uses AC/DC in the soundtrack is ok by me. More, please.

Your thoughts on the pilot episode of 'The Good Guys'? Check out the full episode below.


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