At some point in time, all TV shows feature an episode that takes the characters out of their normal environment — for example, “Mixology Certification” in the second season of “Community” and “Hunting Trip” in the second season of “Parks and Recreation.” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has attempted changing up the formula several times this season and in varying ways, but...
Before we get started dissecting “Stakeout,” it’s imperative we talk about the cold open. As the episode starts, Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) is excited to receive his medal for the Giggle Pig bust, but he’s even more excited that Madeline Wuntch (Kyra Sedwick) has to give it to him. I’m not sure how far in advance they filmed the...
“The Road Trip” is a strange episode of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” in large part because the main plot isn’t about police work. While this has happened before on the show, the non-police episodes were generally about the ensemble, and many of them were holiday-centric. “The Road Trip” takes Jake (Andy Samberg) and Amy (Melissa Fumero) out of their usual environment...
Even though it’s been consistently funny, this season of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has been up-and-down for me in terms of enjoyment. Luckily, “USPIS” is an upswing. It’s an episode that’s funny, but since that humor is rooted in character relationships, “USPIS” is well-rounded in a way that much of the season has lacked.
“USPIS” returns to Rosa’s (Stephanie Beatriz) drug task...
At the risk of hitting the point too hard, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” really needs to fix its problem with Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg). The fixation on Jake has been a theme throughout season two, and “Lockdown” is no exception, which is unfortunate because the episode brings the ensemble together in a way that we haven’t seen a lot of this...
This week’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” reminded me why in spite of my recent misgivings over the show’s seeming lack of interest in character development I ultimately trust these writers. “Jake and Sophia” could have been another Jake (Andy Samberg)-focused episode with little else going for it, but instead, the writers took the opportunity presented by Jake’s absence from the precinct...
Truth be told, I didn’t want “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” to be too funny this week because I had a cold and it hurt to laugh, but I also didn’t want it to not be funny. “The Mole” ultimately struck a good balance, but at first, there was a lot of exposition that slowed the episode down.
Since I didn’t like the...
It’s strange to me that two things I consistently like — Halloween and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” — just don’t seem to mix well together. Usually, I look forward to Halloween-themed episodes, but after “Halloween II,” I really hope “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” stays off that bandwagon for a good, long while.
“Halloween II” largely looks to repeat the same formula of last season’s...
After an Emmy-winning first season, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has returned with a second season that to date has been hilarious and just as good as its first. Since school started so late, we’ll be starting with episode three, “The Jimmy Jab Games,” but make sure you catch up on the first two episodes as well. They shouldn’t be missed.
The main...
Now, that was an episode of “Orphan Black.” Unlike last week’s episode, “Things Which Have Never Yet Been Done” was firing on pretty much every cylinder, and the writers managed to mix important character moments and important plot developments far more effectively than they did just one week ago.
Most of the mixing together of character and plot is able...