S01.E01: Pilot

[formerlyfreedom]

Detective Jake Peralta is a talented, but carefree police detective at Brooklyn's 99th precinct who, along with his eclectic group of colleagues, are used to having a lax captain around the office. However, when tightly-wound Captain Ray Holt takes over, he is determined to make this dysfunctional group of detectives into the best precinct in Brooklyn.

 

 

[formerlyfreedom]

Oh, I truly love this show. Highlights -

 

• This -- "What's the hell's going on around here?" "Er, Fire Extinguisher Roller Chair Derby?" "Oh-kay." -- will never not be funny.
• Scully, Hitchcock and Daniels - lousy cops, good coffee.
  Did we ever see Daniels again? I don't remember.

• Terry Crews and the 'departmentally mandated therapy sessions' - oh, I love this man!
• Overdoing it with the man-scaping!
• "Ma'am, could you get down? Or just ignore me and continue shopping?"
• Holt calling everyone into the evidence room to see Peralta in his skivvies - priceless.
• "Does he always talk this much?" "I just tune it out. It's like a white noise machine." " 'Kay, first of all, that's racist."

 

The introduction of each member of the squad was great. For me this show really started strong out of the gate, and I really think it held up throughout the year. I started watching at episode one, I'm not sure why anymore - it may have been Andre Braugher? I do know I was very leery of Andy Samburg, because he could really be overpowering on SNL. They found a great ensemble that shows in this episode. Every one has a role, Rosa, Santiago, Gina, Jeffords, Holt, Boyle, Peralta, they're all fantastic, and fit together perfectly here.

 

(BTW, I'm a fan!)

[thuganomics85]

It was interesting watching this again, since I remember thinking it was just "OK", when I first saw the pilot.  I do think having seen all the episodes now and knowing where everything goes, I enjoyed this more then second go-around.  I still thought Jake/Andy Samberg was a bit much at times and Holt wasn't quite as awesome has he will be in the future, but I there are other times where I felt like I might have been too harsh.  My biggest one was that I remember thinking Amy was one-dimensional, but this time around, I noticed that she actually showed lighter moments since the beginning.  Like when Jake started messing around with the nanny-cam bear, and she was smiling and clearly amused by him.  So, I was my initial judgment that she was a joyless buzkill when I first saw the pilot was clearly flawed.

 

Only issue I have is that, as awesome as their solo scenes were, I reminded how much I disliked the idea of Boyle/Rosa.  I really hope that is dropped for good.

 

I totally forgot that Holt and Terry used to serve together on another squad, during the "Fat Terry" days.  I really hope we get flashbacks of those two back then.  I know Terry will be fat of course, but I wonder if Holt was still rocking the afro and moustache, or if he had changed his looks by then.

 

Looking forward to the re-watch!

[formerlyfreedom]

Oh, and you reminded me, I like that they show a Holt flashback in the first episode. Andre Braugher going through a series of really awful, period specific costumes and make up, while keeping up the stoic Holt persona, that, my friends is good tv!

[Veruca Assault]

I watched the first episode when it first aired but was also hesitant due to Samburg. Loved it and like him more than I thought I would. The show makes him less obnoxious, somehow.

[Rinaldo]

Rewatching it, I can see that the pieces were in place from the start (and in fact, I liked it from the start, though not without a worry or two that have since been cleared away). Though stoic in demeanor, Holt has his sense of humor from the start, and shows it in his putting Jake on the spot about "robot noises" in two different scenes. Amy, though she gets impatient with Jake, can also be amused by him. I do think Andy Samberg hadn't quite settled into character yet -- and I say it with sympathy because in playing the maverick who's pleased with himself and thinks he's smarter and quicker than others, it's a fine line between the character doing that, and the actor coming off smug and amused with his own acting. There are a few moments where I felt I was seeing the latter instead of the former -- but the balance got corrected quickly, within an episode or two (coinciding with the writing understanding him better too), so no complaints here.

[possibilities]

I love this show.

 

I'm not sure if Samburg toned himself down, or if he works better here than in other places because he's surrounded by an entire ensemble of characters and actors who can hold their own in his presence without becoming caricatures.I think sometimes his over the top style leads others to compete with him for the asshole prize, but on B99 they've just given him a lot of awesome to compete with, and he seems humbler and more proportionate as a result.

 

Gina didn't annoy me as much in repeat as she did in original airing. I think if she didn't use that stupid affected tone of voice, she'd be mostly tolerable and possibly much funnier. As it is, she comes across like someone who's announcing her intention to be wacky, where the other characters just are wacky.

[Tabbyclaw]

 My biggest one was that I remember thinking Amy was one-dimensional, but this time around, I noticed that she actually showed lighter moments since the beginning.  Like when Jake started messing around with the nanny-cam bear, and she was smiling and clearly amused by him.

 

I like that moment because she's clearly trying not to be amused, but she can't help it, and since he's just done something good she sort of gives in and indulges him with an eyeroll and a smile. Another little character touch I like from the opening crime is her writing Jake's "24" on the bet board in tiny tiny numbers. I also like that she's left-handed, but that's just a personal kinship thing. :)

 

I liked all the little establishing moments from Terry's briefing of Holt, but I think Boyle's reaction to getting his own tie as a "reward" from Jake was an even better summation of the character than the bit with the muffin. His character would be an unbearable sad sack were it not for the way he so often reacts with unwarranted cheer and optimism.

 

• This -- "What's the hell's going on around here?" "Er, Fire Extinguisher Roller Chair Derby?" "Oh-kay." -- will never not be funny.

 

Just for the record, I'm pretty sure Rosa won that by a hair.

 

One of the things that caught my ear about this show before I started watching was the buzz about it having a gay main character who was neither a joke nor a walking Very Special Episode, and the pilot set the tone for that nicely. The immature, goofy character finds out that someone he knows is gay, and instead of responding with "ack, I was in my underwear around a gay dude" or "all my preconceived notions about homosexuality have been shattered," he just goes, "I should have picked up on that. Sorry people have been awful to you about it." And even the acknowledgement that law enforcement isn't the most gay-friendly profession ever isn't belabored, it's just referenced and then moved on from.

[dusang]

I will never not love that, when finally coming to the realization that Holt is gay, the first "clue" is a framed article about Holt being gay.  It just sets the stage for the slo-mo "Maaaaanscaaaaping" flashback to work perfectly.

[April Bloodgate]

Doing a re-watch to hold me over this summer. I'm surprised at how well the pilot holds up. 

[hendersonrocks]

We started a series re-watch last night to get ready for the NBC premiere (and maybe to help keep us sane during the holidays?!), and it really does hold up quite well. I think Rosa is the character most changed from the pilot and initial episodes from what I can tell thus far, while Holt and Terry and Amy have maybe remained truest to their current selves. It's really fun to revisit the 99 from years ago; I'm really excited to spend the next few weeks with them!