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The Good Guys is Growing on Me

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Written by April Yorke   
Tuesday, 15 June 2010 13:36

FoxWhen I watched what I was pretty sure was the The Good Guys première, "Bait & Switch," last Monday (IMDb is kind of confusing me about episodes and air dates), I wasn't too sure about this low key workplace comedy/procedural. Part of the problem is that I have no nostalgia for the 70s cops shows it is lovingly sending up because I wasn't around in the 70s. The other part of the problem is that I wasn't sure about the deployment of Bradley Whitford.

See, I love Bradley Whitford. I would like to see him optimally deployed at all times. Optimal deployment includes, but is not limited to, arrogance, loyalty, and being ensorcelled by Mary Louise Parker. I will, however, accept other Whitfords, largely because Whitford is an immensely talented actor. The Good Guys hits two out of the three (Dan has yet to be ensorcelled by anyone but himself).

To enjoy the show, you have to get down with its low-key vibe and humour. Its procedure goes like this: Jack (Colin Hanks) and Dan are assigned a minor level, possibly victimless crime to investigate, only to stumble onto a much larger crime. They then fumblingly, often amusingly, go about solving this larger crime and trying not to get killed in the process (there's a lot of gun violence in Dallas, it would seem).

It hits all the usual notes of mismatched partners, a put-upon supervisor, and a romantic subplot, but there's a nice rapport between Hanks and Whitford that sells the pair. I especially enjoy the way it doesn't seem to have dawned on Dan that he hasn't progressed or moved ahead in his career in any way. I'm also starting to enjoy the show's "rollback" conceit: we see the results of some particular action (last night, a hotel manger falling to his death in the courtyard of his hotel), then back up 28 minutes or 90 seconds to see the action immediately preceding the event.

Mostly, though, the show hooked me in "Broken Door Theory" last night by putting Dan in a motocrosss jacket. A clearly new motocross jacket. It's an odd thing to get hooked on, I know, but the idea that Dan is a throwback, old school detective obviously trying to live up to the very 70s cop shows that no doubt inspired him to join the force is very important to the show. It informs the way Dan talks, behaves, grooms himself, and dresses. So to see Dan in what appears to be a new, non-70s piece of clothing sends a signal to me that Dan's (and by extension the show) not just that. I may not root for Jack and Liz (Jenny Wade) to get back together or even understand what Liz does in relation to the police (apparently she's an A.D.A?), but I'm willing to stick around to see where it all goes.

Plus, I am kind of wondering how Dan is getting away with not understanding how to use a "computer machine." Doesn't he need to for work?

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April Yorke is a (Cult)ure Magazine contributor since Wednesday, 07 January 2009.

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