S02.E08: Clean Cut

[WendyCR72]

Airing on November 17, 2019:

Officer Nolan kicks off his birthday by babysitting a crime scene at a law office; Officer Bradford and Officer West are set to receive special awards; Sgt. Grey rides patrol with Officer Harper after she requests an early annual evaluation.

[rhys]

An I the only one thinking that Elroy was a criminal at first? 

nice to see Sara Rue. Love her.

Officer West-- wow! Don't ever try cocaine or speed . That was pretty funny.

[mxc90]

Should West have backed up/stood watch behind Lopez as she was putting on the cuffs instead of searching the car? They could have put him in the back seat of the patrol car and then searched his car.

If the girl had fallen and cracked her head on the wall, how much trouble would Nyla be in?

The show could have had the girl mentioned her story earlier to Nyla and Grey instead of having her be a drunken fool/joke for most of the episode.

The entire FSU team/detectives should be fired for missing the blood, body and the vent. Ellroy Jetson wasn't aware of their sloppiness?

Now that Jessica is out of the picture, we can now get Grace out if the hospital and involved in other situations? It's like they need to come up with medical issues in order to get her on the show.

Bradford wouldn't have hit the car if Chen didn't distract him. How convenient they rear ended the scammers, had their car towed to the police garage to inspect, which leads to an arrest and Bradford is cleared/ the hero.

Totally stupid for the criminals to just return to the crime scene not knowing how many police are there? Did those two inhale the same drug that got Wes? 

Add matchmaker to Nolan's resume.

Edited November 18, 2019 by mxc90

[Brian Cronin]

Obviously, Fillion and Tudyk have excellent chemistry, but holy shit, the show tried to cram, like, ten episodes of character development into Ellroy and it just got ridiculous after a while. We could like Ellroy and not want him to die without them throwing in all that extra detail. "I was cool with Ellroy getting killed, but then I learned that his proverbial first crime scene was his own sister's suicide, so now I care whether he lives or dies!" 

Also, not a big deal, but once Nolan had set off the alarm, wouldn't it have made more sense to just fortify the door with even more stuff? Only one way in and backup was obviously going to be there pretty soon. 

[Sweet Tooth]

5 hours ago, rhys said:

An I the only one thinking that Elroy was a criminal at first?

I kept waiting for that reveal, especially after the sister thing. Nolan being all nice and kind to him. And then when Rue knew him, I was confused, until he talked about his crush on her, and I figured it was some kind of stalker situation.

And yes, cramming a ton of backstory made me think all of that would be important later.

I'm glad he wasn't. 

[tracyhmcd]

Great to see Alan Tudyk, and I too thought he might be the bad guy at first.  Glad they didn't go there.

[crowceilidh]

At first I was just annoyed by the casting stunt, but then I thought it was entertaining how many Wash-like lines they gave Alan to deliver, but because he was playing Ellroy as some sort of autism spectrum disorder <?> person, he delivered them flat instead of sarcastic like Wash would.  

Unfortunately, since Firefly, Nathan has learned a really cutesy un-Captainy straight guy face - I flinched the couple of times he pulled it with Tudyk.

No matter how stupid it was, everything about this episode was 500x less stupid than the last episode, so thankful for that.

The writers' rush to get Grace and Nolan together is indecent and has been since her first appearance.  Why?  I am not at all looking forward to it.

[femmefan1946]

Every time Alan Tudyk acts, he is an entirely different person. Wash, and the squire in A Knight's Tale, Alpha, the stoned boyfriend in Death at the Funeral, Hei Hei, Tucker, and now Elroy.

He's good.

Nice to see that Grace is now tying back her hair when treating patients.

[iLoveNny]

I am no dummy I get that shows have paid product placement but with how thick they were laying on the showcase of the Toyota Tacoma? /Tundra? I'm shocked the didn't have Nolan mention specs to his son.

Honestly the way they were showing it off I thought Nolan was trying to get his son to notice his new truck.

[eel21788]

15 hours ago, rhys said:

Officer West-- wow! Don't ever try cocaine or speed . That was pretty funny.

I laughed so hard when he tried to photocopy his thoughts that the cat in my lap went flying across the room.

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, rhys said:

An I the only one thinking that Elroy was a criminal at first?

Nope.

10 hours ago, Sweet Tooth said:

I kept waiting for that reveal, especially after the sister thing. Nolan being all nice and kind to him. And then when Rue knew him, I was confused, until he talked about his crush on her, and I figured it was some kind of stalker situation.

Rue's a dispatcher, I think? And Ellroy did mention he knew her from the telephone - I imagine he got calls from her to go clean up scenes. So they knew each other by phone as semi-colleagues.

I loved seeing Tudyk again, I love him. Firefly may have introduced me to him, but I've loved him in anything I've seen him in.

I'm surprisingly okay with the quickening romance with the doctor. I've always disliked this actress, but I'm kind of liking her here.

I liked the chemistry between Sgt. Grey and the new cop. They didn't exactly soften her up, but she's moving into more or less likeable territory, which I wouldn't have guessed when she was introduced.

Edited November 18, 2019 by Clanstarling

[crowceilidh]

Quote

I liked the chemistry between Sgt. Grey and the new cop. They didn't exactly soften her up, but she's moving into more or less likeable territory, which I wouldn't have guessed when she was introduced.

I'm not familiar with the actor who plays Grey, but so far I really really like him.  I think they're moving too fast with taming the new actress - although she and Grey were super interesting to watch together, so thumbs up to that.  So far, I still liked Talia's character better.

[tkc]

5 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

Every time Alan Tudyk acts, he is an entirely different person. Wash, and the squire in A Knight's Tale, Alpha, the stoned boyfriend in Death at the Funeral, Hei Hei, Tucker, and now Elroy.

...and of course King Candy, K-2SO, and the unforgettable Duke of Weaseltown --Weselton!

Was anyone else worried that at some point Ellroy was going to say, "I am a leaf on the wind..."

[femmefan1946]

Speaking of product placement, I have a thing about who sponsors programmes, because they are the ones keeping shows on the air.

And as a Browncoat....

I started keeping a list at the halfway point:

Jamieson Vitamins

Capital Direct (loan company) x2

Enbridge (gas/energy)

The Brick (low end furniture) x 2

Fibe (no idea what they were advertising)

Toyota

Chromebook

Tide

Fortis Gas

Disney on Ice (Is Mal a Disney Princess?)

Sleepeze

Polysporin

Best Buy

KalTire (x3)

KIA x2

Gaviscon

Plus the Grey Cup next week (Canadian football), The Good Doctor, Local News, The Mandalorian (Disney +)

Which is something like one a minute.

These are on CTV here in Canada, but it is interesting that in Season Two there are fewer  ads for other network shows than I think there were last season.

Since the advertisers are buying our eyeballs, who does this list indicate they think we are?
Tense (Gaviscon, Sleepeze), low budget (The Brick) home owners (Capital Direct, utilities), who might have small children (Tide, Polysporin, vitamins, Disney on Ice) ?  Thoughts?

[Emma9]

19 hours ago, rhys said:

An I the only one thinking that Elroy was a criminal at first?

Same. I didn't realize there was a casting gag going on, so I couldn't fathom the point of him getting so much screentime unless Nolan was going to end up in trouble for allowing him access to the crime scene.

[Clanstarling]

30 minutes ago, femmefan1946 said:

Since the advertisers are buying our eyeballs, who does this list indicate they think we are?

Tense (Gaviscon, Sleepeze), low budget (The Brick) home owners (Capital Direct, utilities), who might have small children (Tide, Polysporin, vitamins, Disney on Ice) ?  Thoughts?

Tense, yeah, that's pretty much everyone these days. I'll cop to being a few of those. But I watch on Hulu ad free, so the only one I saw was the truck - and I have pretty strong blinders when it comes to in show product placement, so I didn't even notice it until I got to the forums.

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, tkc said:

...and of course King Candy, K-2SO, and the unforgettable Duke of Weaseltown --Weselton!

Was anyone else worried that at some point Ellroy was going to say, "I am a leaf on the wind..."

Can't forget Dangerboat, a queer male boat on the Tick. 

Duke Weaselton in Zootopia cracks me up. 

[mojito]

Quote

I am no dummy I get that shows have paid product placement but with how thick they were laying on the showcase of the Toyota Tacoma? /Tundra? I'm shocked the didn't have Nolan mention specs to his son.

I fast-forwarded through the beginning because I thought it was a Toyota Tundra commercial! That is some heavy-handed product placement. First an isolated profile of the truck so we could see the make and then a good look at the tailgate so we could see the model. And like every contractor's work truck, particularly the black ones, it was clean and shiny. Nice shots of the console and closeup of the tow haul button.

I think that was a bit much.

Cute episode. I liked the Nolan-Ellroy escapade. Know nothing about either actors' pasts,  although I've seen them both before, so all the above references went over my head. I thought Lopez should've handcuffed West to a hospital bed, was glad to see her remove his ammo and leave him with his gun to cover for him. 

Chen (to Bradford): It is a big deal. "Light of the City" award? I thought you'd be happier. I planned my emotional day around it.

I liked that.

[VegetasMom]

11 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

Every time Alan Tudyk acts, he is an entirely different person. Wash, and the squire in A Knight's Tale, Alpha, the stoned boyfriend in Death at the Funeral, Hei Hei, Tucker, and now Elroy.

Also the German (gay, I think?) dude in 28 Days with Sandra Bullock.  

[BlakesMomma]

12 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

Every time Alan Tudyk acts, he is an entirely different person. Wash, and the squire in A Knight's Tale, Alpha, the stoned boyfriend in Death at the Funeral, Hei Hei, Tucker, and now Elroy.

He's good.

Nice to see that Grace is now tying back her hair when treating patients.

Alan Tudyk is a highly underrated actor in my opinion. He's very talented! He and Nathan play off each other so well. I like that the director of the episode said he tried to just get out of their way and let them do their thing. 

I'd love to know how many of their lines were improvised.

[FinnishViewer]

Quote

I thought Lopez should've handcuffed West to a hospital bed

That would have raised questions, if other cops / people see him.

[Rambler]

On 11/17/2019 at 9:56 PM, mxc90 said:

Totally stupid for the criminals to just return to the crime scene not knowing how many police are there? Did those two inhale the same drug that got Wes? 

Up until that point I was thinking that this was going to be a nice, quiet episode where they didn't need to rely on having a shootout-of-the-week, but I guess it was just not meant to be.

[paigow]

Gina Torres should have been Nell.....

[Dbolt]

I also noticed the prominent display of the brand of cereal that Chen eats too. 
 

count me as another, Elroy is the criminal at first. just how long was Nolan at that Crime scene?  Shouldn’t he have been relieved at some point?  Also, how long does it take for detectives to come back to a crime scene when another body is found?  
 

I would think accidentally exposure to drugs is a common enough occurance that there would be a more standard protocol. I am also no expert but I think the danger of PCP having reoccurring episodes would require more than the small amount West could have ingested. 

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Dbolt said:

I also noticed the prominent display of the brand of cereal that Chen eats too. 

So the Christmas episode will have all the rookies working crowd control at Rise Of Skywalker premiere????????

[iLoveNny]

5 hours ago, paigow said:

So the Christmas episode will have all the rookies working crowd control at Rise Of Skywalker premiere????????

Chen: "Everyone here basically has a weapon that hit each other with crowd controls gonna be a nightmare!"

Nolan: "They are just toys and besides it's just a bunch of kids."

Chen: "What about those guys?" *gestures to group of guys in their late 30s-early 40s*

West: "Nolan those aren't just toys they are screen accurate replicas! You know like the ones you can purchase for a very reasonable fee at "Galaxy's Edge" at "Disneyland"!"

Nolan and Chen: "Now that you mention it they do look very well put together *turns toward camera staring straight down the barrel*and whatever the cost how could any family put a price on a memory  

Edited November 19, 2019 by iLoveNny
Word

[ketose]

On 11/18/2019 at 3:05 PM, iLoveNny said:

I am no dummy I get that shows have paid product placement but with how thick they were laying on the showcase of the Toyota Tacoma? /Tundra? I'm shocked the didn't have Nolan mention specs to his son.

Honestly the way they were showing it off I thought Nolan was trying to get his son to notice his new truck.

Obviously, it wasn't enough advertising if you don't remember which model it is.

So there's Alan Tudyk (Firefly) Adam Busch (Buffy) and Enver Gjokaj (Dollhouse) a few weeks ago. It's like a Whedonverse reunion.

[femmefan1946]

You left out Sean Maher (Firefly) and of course Little Nell was in A Series of Unfortunate Events, although that wasn't Whedon -- but if you push it Captain Hammer was and .... stop stanning. Stop it. STOP!

[Raja]

On 11/18/2019 at 12:05 PM, iLoveNny said:

I am no dummy I get that shows have paid product placement but with how thick they were laying on the showcase of the Toyota Tacoma? /Tundra? I'm shocked the didn't have Nolan mention specs to his son.

Honestly the way they were showing it off I thought Nolan was trying to get his son to notice his new truck.

I was thinking that parking enforcement would be making Bat-turns to ticket him for no front license plate.

[paigow]

Since Harper got the SUV, did Nolan get the 1986 Chevy for the crime scene trip? Or did he have to drive his truck with 100 lbs of grout powder and fancy Italian marble tile?

[iLoveNny]

Since it seemed like the middle of the night and overtime I could potentially see a scenario where it's his vehicle.

Though more likely he had to check in at the station and to another shop

[femmefan1946]

11 hours ago, Raja said:

I was thinking that parking enforcement would be making Bat-turns to ticket him for no front license plate.

Not every jurisdiction uses the front plate.
Quebec doesn't for example, and many people use them for advocacy. Lots of Marriage Encounter for some reason. And family or personal names.

Don't most people with huge trucks have an "everyday" vehicle?

[Moose135]

8 minutes ago, femmefan1946 said:

Not every jurisdiction uses the front plate.

California does.

[Raja]

17 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

Not every jurisdiction uses the front plate.
Quebec doesn't for example, and many people use them for advocacy. Lots of Marriage Encounter for some reason. And family or personal names.

Don't most people with huge trucks have an "everyday" vehicle?

Well it is a LAPD based show , and a few months ago California even started issuing front and back temporary plates for newly sold vehicles instead of relying on a small temporary registration in the window of the car. With the old system some people never replaced the temporary piece of paper thus no traffic camera tickets could get them.

As with overly tinted windows while LAPD and CHP probably won't pull you over unless they need to manufacture a cause for a stop, the different cities parking enforcement aggressively go after missing plates as the city gets a portion of the fine revenue. City of LA Parking Enforcement is so aggressive that you might think that their officers get part of the bounty themselves.

The truck is often the primary vehicle of one in a family. Very few single people own more than one vehicle and it is often a pick up, or SUV although electric cars have been gaining more market share. I wouldn't expect any of the single police officers to have a second car unless they were a collector and was working on something vintage for fun. I will admit you see fewer big trucks on the road during times of the year when local gas prices spike particularly high. But after the change over in the blend of gasoline or actions in the Persian Gulf die down you start seeing those trucks on those daily 30 mile commutes.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Raja

[Black Knight]

Gentle reminder: We now have a Small Talk thread. Discussion of gasoline prices in various places can carry on there.

[HurricaneVal]

Oh, I did love this episode.  I'm going to get a little Whedon-meta here:  I died laughing when Warren's (the loser who killed Tara) intended victim was wearing a Buffy-bot wig.  That had to be intentional!

I thought Alan Tudyk's character was sweet, as were his interactions with Nolan.  I'm glad he wasn't a bad guy.  I hope he turns up again.

Bradford's stony look of horror after rear-ending that car was awesome.  You could literally see him kissing any imminent career advancement goodbye.  But he knuckled down and did his job.  He is a complex and interesting character.  "High-as-a-kite" West cracked me up as did that very exasperated Lopez trying everything she could do to protect him.

What was in the box?

[Moose135]

13 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

What was in the box?

[WendyCR72]

2 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

And a holiday tie-in, too! I applaud this.

[Loandbehold]

7 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

What was in the box?

I was going to say the briefcase from Pulp Fiction, but I like Moose135's answer better.

[cathmed]

On 11/19/2019 at 9:43 AM, paigow said:

Gina Torres should have been Nell.....

Since her show has been cancelled, don't be surprised if you see her!

On 11/20/2019 at 9:23 PM, Moose135 said:

California does.

Ohio, too

[UnknownK]

On 11/18/2019 at 12:42 PM, femmefan1946 said:

Every time Alan Tudyk acts, he is an entirely different person. Wash, and the squire in A Knight's Tale, Alpha, the stoned boyfriend in Death at the Funeral, Hei Hei, Tucker, and now Elroy.

He's good.

I seen him in Doom Patrol and Powerless.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 11/18/2019 at 3:05 PM, iLoveNny said:

I am no dummy I get that shows have paid product placement but with how thick they were laying on the showcase of the Toyota Tacoma? /Tundra? I'm shocked the didn't have Nolan mention specs to his son.

Honestly the way they were showing it off I thought Nolan was trying to get his son to notice his new truck.

Well, ABC did have the son mention watching Lady and the Tramp with his fiancee, which I assume is sly product placement for the new live-action version newly available on Disney+, since Disney owns ABC.

On 11/19/2019 at 11:47 AM, paigow said:

So the Christmas episode will have all the rookies working crowd control at Rise Of Skywalker premiere????????

Good idea!

On 11/18/2019 at 12:56 AM, mxc90 said:

Now that Jessica is out of the picture, we can now get Grace out if the hospital and involved in other situations? It's like they need to come up with medical issues in order to get her on the show.

Directly after Grace says that HIPAA regulations will prevent her from disclosing that she tested West, Bradford asks her about the civilian he rear-ended and she tells him the results of her scans!

[bros402]

That was an interesting episode - although they had a lot of Alan Tudyk with no payoff - is he gonna recur?

I saw him at New York Comic Con two years ago. It was an hour of Alan Tudyk just talking. It was so good. Amazing guy, very personable, seems to love the fans.

[paigow]

Note to Nolan: Before maxing out your credit cards at Home Depot, stop at Walmart for a phone charger.....

[ItCouldBeWorse]

20 hours ago, paigow said:

Note to Nolan: Before maxing out your credit cards at Home Depot, stop at Walmart for a phone charger.....

Or check an uncordoned-off part of the office you are guarding. Someone must have a compatible charger on their desk, and as long as you return it before you leave, it should be fine to borrow it. It might be handy to have a working phone in case bad guys shoot up your radio communication device.

Edited December 1, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[bros402]

17 hours ago, paigow said:

Note to Nolan: Before maxing out your credit cards at Home Depot, stop at Walmart for a phone charger.....

8 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Or check an uncordoned-off part of the office you are guarding. Someone must have a compatible charger on their desk, and as long as you recruit before you leave , it should be fine to borrow it. It might be handy to have a working phone in case bad guys shoot up your radio communication device.

Or get one of those portable charging packs!

[ketose]

Considering the number of situations Nolan gets into, he needs to carry a microwave transmitter with a nuclear power pack connected to a dead man's switch.

[jabRI]

Did Nolan even ask for ID when Ellroy strolled up with the cart?

[SnarkySheep]

On 11/18/2019 at 3:50 PM, Clanstarling said:

I liked the chemistry between Sgt. Grey and the new cop. They didn't exactly soften her up, but she's moving into more or less likeable territory, which I wouldn't have guessed when she was introduced.

Her previous role was on Chicago Med, so now every time I see her, I picture her hallucinating and swinging a baseball bat at absolutely nothing in her boyfriend's apartment.

Re: Harper's evaluation - A, who gets to have one early? Generally an employer does them at a certain time and that's that; and B, in Harper's case, "early" means even less time for Grey to know her. She's been at their precinct for, what, a month now? I get that she had a reason but it doesn't seem very likely to me.

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

Re: Harper's evaluation - A, who gets to have one early? Generally an employer does them at a certain time and that's that; and B, in Harper's case, "early" means even less time for Grey to know her. She's been at their precinct for, what, a month now? I get that she had a reason but it doesn't seem very likely to me.

Early is a bit unusual, I agree. But in my years of working, the "certain time" has been a rough target at best. Once I didn't even have one the whole year, and currently it tends to  be a month or two later.