Should 'The Good Guys' Get a Reboot or Just the Boot?

'The Good Guys,' Fox's procedural cop comedy, seemed like a perfect storm from the start. It had a fresh, funny take on one of television's most storied, copied and cloned genres and made it a hard sell for audiences who crave change as much as they crave a TV that requires them to get out of their chairs to change the channel.

Sure, audiences love new concepts and bright ideas, but TV is still a very passive medium and shows that require your full attention like 'The Good Guys' -- with its unique ability to jump forward and backward in time to throw new twists into the plot -- usually don't make it to the finish line (in their case, two episodes shy of the checkered flag).

This doesn't mean the show is down for the count, though. Deadline reports that Fox still hopes to save the show by giving it a major retooling for the fall season. It's a show worth saving. Here's how they're doing it -- and whether it might work.

Right now, the focus is on adding more characters to the canvas, which seemed relatively small from the beginning. Some interesting villains and partners-in-crime-stopping have wafted through the series, but they didn't stick around for long, which left all of the heavy lifting to stars Colin Hanks and Bradley Whitford.

So far, plans include introducing another hot police tamale to the cast who works in criminal science to create a more interesting love triangle between Hanks and Jenny Wade, which should give her more to do other than look cute and scold the boys for making her job harder. It would also be nice for the show to take a few shots at 'CSI,' television's current cop serial giant, which needs be taken down a peg or two (or three).

Also, Julius, played by RonReaco Lee, will join the principal cast as Stark and Bailey's criminal insider, a smart move since the three episodes he starred in were among the best of the season.

However, casting should make even bigger changes. One of the biggest drawbacks of the show is it doesn't explore its space nearly enough. Most of the action, particularly in the police station, takes place at the dingy property crimes desk way back in the corner. The show practically ignores the other 90 percent of the station and the characters and obstacles it could provide. It's amazing to me that the show hasn't introduced a pair of police rivals for our main 'Good Guys,' whom Stark and Bailey can show up with their clearly superior albeit crazy policing skills.

It also wouldn't hurt if each case didn't resolve itself by the end of every episode, which feel more wrapped up than a Christmas present covered in duct tape. Since 'The Good Guys' is a time-shifting show, a couple of continuations into next week's episode could keep my attention longer and make me want to tune in the following week. It also wouldn't hurt if the bad guys won a couple for reasons other than criminal law procedure or legal technicalities.

Then, just maybe, the entire series wouldn't have to go out with its own downer ending.