S04.E08: Skyfire Cycle

[formerlyfreedom]

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When famous author DC Parlov receives death threats, Jake and Terry take the case, so that Terry can meet his lifelong hero. Back at the precinct, Gina forces her way into the Boyle clan of cousins in an attempt to choose the location of the annual Boyle family vacation. Meanwhile, Holt's anger peaks when Amy chooses Kevin's side in their argument about a math puzzle.

[Primetimer]

Little Terry: you better believe you made the cut.

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[bosawks]

Rosa's gleeful face when she told Amy her Dads had sex was truly a Kodak moment.

[peeayebee]

Andre Braugher once again reigns as comedy king. His scenes with Kevin were funny. His firing of Amy was funny. But nothing beats "BONE!!!!!!" Oh my word. That was hysterical.

Kevin's and Holt's back and forth about "Do I have to teach you...?" cracked me up.

Holt: Settle a little tiff that Kevin and I are having.
Kevin: Let's be honest, Raymond. It's not a tiff. It's a row.
Holt: And now it's a scene.

Amy getting so excited about the math problem while Rosa was bored was great. Even better was how flustered Amy got whenever Rosa brought up Holt and Kevin needing to bone. 

Loved the scene of Terry hesitantly coming out of the office toward the author. What a weird posture. 

Loved all the stuff with the Boyle cousins, too. "I love you" was very sweet.

I have to admit that when Jake told the story about meeting Patrick Ewing, I was picturing Patrick Duffy, having conflated his name with his character's name.

[bethy]

31 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I have to admit that when Jake told the story about meeting Patrick Ewing, I was picturing Patrick Duffy, having conflated his name with his character's name.

Same. It made me think I might be old.

[ShantasticBus]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Andre Braugher once again reigns as comedy king. His scenes with Kevin were funny. His firing of Amy was funny. But nothing beats "BONE!!!!!!" Oh my word. That was hysterical.

Kevin's and Holt's back and forth about "Do I have to teach you...?" cracked me up.

Holt: Settle a little tiff that Kevin and I are having.
Kevin: Let's be honest, Raymond. It's not a tiff. It's a row.
Holt: And now it's a scene.

...

I have to admit that when Jake told the story about meeting Patrick Ewing, I was picturing Patrick Duffy, having conflated his name with his character's name.

When he shouted "FULL BULLPEN!" at the end of the cold open, I cackled loudly. He really is the best comedian on this show. The 40-minute rant was awesome too. Lots of excellent Holt yelling this ep!

Add a "Me three" for conflating Patrick Duffy and Bobby Ewing, despite being in preschool when Dallas aired. I spent a good 90 seconds wondering why the lead actor from Step by Step was Jake's hero.

[thuganomics85]

Glad to see Kevin again!  And, of course, a fight between him and Holt would still come off way calmer and more professional then most, but you can tell that they were so in a rut.  Of course, Amy would obsessively think that showing Holt why Kevin was right about the math problem would solve everything, while Rosa knew the real truth: they just need to "bone."  Ha!  Holt's reaction to when she said that was the best.  Followed by any time Amy freaked out over the idea of her two "dads" doing it.

Bored with the Gina/Boyle stuff, because I knew Gina was going to win since she always does (or 9 times out of the 10, at least), but at least it ends up being that Boyle wanted her to, so she could bond with his cousins now, so, in a way, she kind of looses, I guess. 

Not too surprised that Terry would be obsessed with a Game of Thrones-like type of series, because he is always full of surprises.  Fred Melamed was great as the author.  While I get they were having Jake's "never meet your heroes" by accidentally depantsing various Knicks players, be used for laughs, the whole concept about being disappointed by them actually reminded me of the episode, "Old School", from way back in season one, where Jake had actually met one of his heroes; a crime writer played by Stacy Keach; who ended up disappointing him after he discovered he was a major homophobe.

The cold opening ending with Holt actually celebrating with Jake over completing the slide was hilarious.  I love the moments when Holt actually enjoys whenever someone else does something silly or crazy.

[tennisgurl]

I let out a tiny squee when Amy gave Jake a good luck kiss before going for the full bullpin. I swear, this show is turning me into a 14 year old who just discovered LiveJournal in 2004. Also, loved that Holt was so pumped at the end, and even one of the criminals in lock up was cheering Jake on. I love when the people they arrest end up getting involved in their shenanigans. 

I actually liked the Boyle and Gina story, mainly because it seemed like the whole thing was a plot by Boyle to get Gina to bond with his family. Way to go Boyle! I also really want to call my own cousins and have a council of the cousins! 

Nice seeing Kevin again, and he and Captain Holt having their very dignified fight that was just an excuse for some BONING!!!

[Traveller519]

Fun light episode!

It's great how they are letting the characters breathe. I was down on Amy last season, it seemed like we were getting dangerously close to her neurosis and ass-kissing being the only things that defined her outside of her relationship with Jake. While that's all still present, she's much more rounded. Even just the standing up for herself with her Dad and Jake last week, or her siding with Kevin over Holt help a lot.

Jake is growing too, and while his man-child ways will never truly disappear he acts with so much more maturity and empathy now.

[iMonrey]

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I have to admit that when Jake told the story about meeting Patrick Ewing, I was picturing Patrick Duffy, having conflated his name with his character's name.

Oh good, not just me! Sorry, I don't follow the sports.

"Little Terry" calling himself "Little Terry" had to be the highlight for me, I did a spit-take because I was eating something. But I also enjoyed seeing Andy Samberg dressed up like a dorky teenager for the flashback. Yeah it looked silly but I still got a kick out of it.

[peeayebee]

Jake and ska. I loved that too. Were those platform sneakers?

[Rinaldo]

Alan Sepinwall reports that this episode was supposed to air earlier, but was bumped when the World Series ran long. And then because "Mr. Santiago" had to be the Thanksgiving episode, "Monster in the Closet" had to air before it to bring Pimento back. So "Skyfire Cycle," strictly speaking, aired out of order, though it doesn't really create any continuity problems (unless you think they should be more used to night shift, or done with it).

[Texasmom1970]

I so love this show. I would marry it and Andre Braugher if I could. Who knew someone yelling bone could be so funny!

[ItCouldBeWorse]

8 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

Alan Sepinwall reports that this episode was supposed to air earlier, but was bumped when the World Series ran long. And then because "Mr. Santiago" had to be the Thanksgiving episode, "Monster in the Closet" had to air before it to bring Pimento back. So "Skyfire Cycle," strictly speaking, aired out of order, though it doesn't really create any continuity problems (unless you think they should be more used to night shift, or done with it).

I was wondering about that, because they were clearly not on the night shift in the last few episodes.

[VioletMarx]

I feel like a loser asking this but how was Holt NOT right about the math equation? How does the probability go from 1/3 to 2/3 by changing your answer? You still have a 50/50 chance of picking the right door.

#dork

[Rinaldo]

There are tons of sites explaining the Monty Hall problem, some better than others. The main point is that while your original choice was random, Monty's opening of a door was not (he had to choose a losing door), and therefore the conditions are altered after that step -- you now know that one door is out of the question, and that makes a difference. Probability is a complex field of study, and sometimes counterintuitive.

The point hard to believe is that Holt, with his love for intellectual hairsplitting, had never heard of this one before.

[Slovenly Muse]

9 minutes ago, VioletMarx said:

I feel like a loser asking this but how was Holt NOT right about the math equation? How does the probability go from 1/3 to 2/3 by changing your answer? You still have a 50/50 chance of picking the right door.

Yeah, this is an old problem that I had a hard time wrapping my mind around too. Think of it this way: When you initially chose that first door, there was a 2/3 chance that you chose the WRONG door. Making a new choice when the odds are 50/50 improves your chances of winning.

[Danny Franks]

I was roaring with laughter at the cold open. The slow motion, the Starship, Amy kissing him for good luck, then practically swoons along with Boyle and the perps cheer Jake on. And then the inevitable reveal of Holt. Only for Holt to react like only Cold Open Holt does, and be as excited as the rest of them.

Terry's enthusiasm for the book series felt scarily close to home. I was so into The Farseer Trilogy and The Wheel of Time when I was a young teenager. Fortunately, I think I was more emotionally healthy than Little Terry. But books like that really can mean the world to people. Although I find it hard to believe that a guy who wrote a fantasy epic in the 80s not being either in his late 80s or dead. Parlov was way too young.

Also, “there are already enough girl characters, we don't need a third!” Heh. Some of these writers clearly know their source material.

Terry Crews is so good at physical comedy. Fanning his armpits and then stopping was brilliant.

“Boyles are not swimmers, we're burrowers.”

“Yes, I know. You're all earthworms.”

And also “it's like a beige of pigs.”

Seems like Gina only really makes me laugh when she's mocking Charles and his family.

I didn't even follow the maths question. It's like when University Challenge has maths questions, my brain just automatically stops processing the sounds, to save itself the effort. But of course Amy was into it.

I'm really enjoying Amy and Rosa as a pairing this season, they play off each other so well now they seem like genuine friends.

“See, what happened is your dads had sex.”

*While running away* “Okay, Rosaaa...”

[DearEvette]

6 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

I was roaring with laughter at the cold open. The slow motion, the Starship, Amy kissing him for good luck, then practically swoons along with Boyle and the perps cheer Jake on. And then the inevitable reveal of Holt. Only for Holt to react like only Cold Open Holt does, and be as excited as the rest of them.

This is about one of the top five cold opens for me.  This was brilliant.  All I could think of when the credits came on was that man, I love this show!

I also loved Amy "Get to the math!"  She was so ridiculously thrilled to do math.

And of course Hitchcock's hero would be Marie Callender. ha!

Honestly I wished that the Boyle cousins would have been too beige even for Gina to sway.  I hate that she seems to be a writer's pet. 

So happy to see Kevin!

[Rinaldo]

2 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Also, “there are already enough girl characters, we don't need a third!”

That's the line I've been trying to remember, that made my eyes pop open as I guffawed. Such a quick throwaway, and so true.

[jhlipton]

8 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Although I find it hard to believe that a guy who wrote a fantasy epic in the 80s not being either in his late 80s or dead. Parlov was way too young.

The 80's were only 30 years ago.  So if Parlov wrote it in his 20s, he'd be in his 50's now.  Math!

I really hate the "Monte Hall" problem.  I sort of get it now, but it still hurts my brain every time I think about it.

[biakbiak]

25 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

The 80's were only 30 years ago.  So if Parlov wrote it in his 20s, he'd be in his 50's now.  Math!

I really hate the "Monte Hall" problem.  I sort of get it now, but it still hurts my brain every time I think about it.

And Melmand, the actor is 60. George RR Martin has been writing professionally since the mid-70s and is only 68.

[AnnaRose]

I think of it like this:  Contestant has three doors to choose from and chooses door A.  Monty opens either B or C to show that it was the losing door.  Because of that, the door that Monty doesn't open has a higher probability of being the winner, because at that point Monty is only choosing between two doors (B and C) to show the losing one... so the one remaining out of those two has a higher probability of actually being a winner - compared to when the contestant was just picking a random door out of three possibilities.

Edited December 2, 2016 by AnnaRose
Edited for clarity. I hope.

[Danny Franks]

6 hours ago, jhlipton said:

The 80's were only 30 years ago.  So if Parlov wrote it in his 20s, he'd be in his 50's now.  Math!

Yes, but writing fantasy novels in the 80s wasn't a young man's game. Every author I can think of who would fit the Parlov profile was at least in their 40s when they started gaining recognition for big fantasy series. George RR Martin included. Many were quite a bit older. It's still not particularly common now for successful novelists to be younger than 40, but in the 80s, in a niche genre like high fantasy? It would have felt a more accurate skewer of the stereotype if he'd been older, to me.

Edited December 2, 2016 by Danny Franks

[biakbiak]

38 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

Yes, but writing fantasy novels in the 80s wasn't a young man's game. Every author I can think of who would fit the Parlov profile was at least in their 40s when they started gaining recognition for big fantasy series. George RR Martin included. Many were quite a bit older. It's still not particularly common now for successful novelists to be younger than 40, but in the 80s, in a niche genre like high fantasy? It would have felt a more accurate skewer of the stereotype if he'd been older.

George RR Martin was nominated for a Hugo award in the 70s for short stories but still one never knows what is going to catch in that genre.

[NutmegsDad]

On ‎11‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 3:00 AM, thuganomics85 said:

While I get they were having Jake's "never meet your heroes" by accidentally depantsing various Knicks players, be used for laughs, the whole concept about being disappointed by them actually reminded me of the episode, "Old School", from way back in season one, where Jake had actually met one of his heroes; a crime writer played by Stacy Keach; who ended up disappointing him after he discovered he was a major homophobe.

For a show that revels in shoutbacks and will set up punchlines months in advance, this is the most disappointed I have been with continuity. I know Rule of Funny for pantsing, Jake HAS met his literary hero before, and this should have been brought in.  Shame.

Other than that, the rest of the episode is quoteworthy and fantastic.

BOHHHHHHNE!

[DXD526]

What a great episode!! This one is right up there with "The Party" as maybe the best B99 ep of all time. The great cold open set the tone. Even Holt was excited by the Full Bullpen!

Jake was a ska fan in the 80s! I can empathize, I still have my rude girl outfit, skinny tie and all. And it almost fits!

Holt and Kevin are a great couple. I'm sure they had a laugh in private about boning. A nice, discreet laugh.

Amy and Rosa are almost as great a couple.

The huge, hulking little Terry shyly approaching his childhood idol was hilarious!

And of course, the Boyles and "Up high! Down low! Butts! Butts! Butts!"

God, I love this show...

[Loandbehold]

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Holt and Kevin are a great couple. I'm sure they had a laugh in private about boning. A nice, discreet laugh.

More like the beginning of a smile. Just the lips quirking up a tad. At least for Kevin. We all know how outrageously humorous Holt is.

As for whether the author was old enough, I don't have a problem with that. What surprises me is that he has had the same assistant for that long. And one who hates him that much.

I also believe Jake has blocked out Stacy Keach entirely.

Mythbusters did a nice segment on the Monty Hall problem. They came down with it's better to change your answer. Probability goes from 33% on your original choice to 50% after the reveal of the bad door when you do.

Amy and Rosa, together again! So much fun.

To quote NutmegsDad:

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BOHHHHHHNE!

[jah1986]

2 minutes ago, Loandbehold said:

 

As for whether the author was old enough, I don't have a problem with that. What surprises me is that he has had the same assistant for that long. And one who hates him that much.

I thought Parlov said that he had a lot of assistants and that he had fired that one.  

Such a great episode, who would have thought Rosa and Amy would make a good pairing. And I love that Rosa gets her without being mean to her the way Gina is.

[Loandbehold]

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I thought Parlov said that he had a lot of assistants and that he had fired that one.

I missed that. Still, that was his assistant back in the 80s, who wrote the note to Little Terry. Boy, talk about holding a grudge. The Hatfields and the McCoys didn't last that long.

[theatremouse]

I think the sitch was: had lots of assistants concurrently, some lasting longer than others. The assistant in question was both in the 80s until some not super long ago time, and fired not super long ago. Hence narrowed down to that one with the grudge, but I don't think they meant the grudge stood for that long.

[snarktini]

The part that confused me was how the author recognized the handwriting on the inscription immediately but didn't recognize it on the threat letters.

[biakbiak]

16 minutes ago, snarktini said:

The part that confused me was how the author recognized the handwriting on the inscription immediately but didn't recognize it on the threat letters.

He recognized it in the context of being an inscription that he knew one of his assistants from the 80's wrote, different than seeing it on a letter without that same context.

Edited December 10, 2016 by biakbiak

[Sandman]

On 11/30/2016 at 1:56 AM, ShantasticBus said:

When he shouted "FULL BULLPEN!" at the end of the cold open, I cackled loudly. He really is the best comedian on this show. The 40-minute rant was awesome too. Lots of excellent Holt yelling this ep!

I howled at that! And the sequence of

"They just need to bone."

"Ew! Rosa, those are our dads! Wait, I don't actually think that, Captain Dad is just my boss -- whatever, I'm teaching father the math!" had me laughing my way into a coughing fit.

On 12/1/2016 at 1:21 PM, DearEvette said:

This is about one of the top five cold opens for me.  This was brilliant.  All I could think of when the credits came on was that man, I love this show!

My reaction exactly.

[possibilities]

41 minutes ago, Sandman said:

All I could think of when the credits came on was that man, I love this show!

I think that almost every episode.

[Sandman]

Also: "Halitosis Frodo."