Brooklyn Nine-Nine – “Beach House”

Season Two, Episode Twelve

Grade: B+

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After the break, we don’t get any new crimes that need to be solved. Instead, we get the whole gang vacationing at a beach house as a part of their time to blow off steam and relax from the day-by-day stress of keeping the streets of Brooklyn safe. Good thing for us, these guys are hilarious.

I’m wondering if the episode would’ve actually been funnier if Captain Holt didn’t crash the party, but then that would’ve robbed us of some of the funniest scenes of the episode. Anyway, everyone’s looking forward to this getaway when Peralta softens up when Holt tells him how he was always left out of these sort of gatherings and was jealous of the comraderie shared at these events. Once again, we see the sensitive side of the usually goofy, childish Peralta. In addition to inviting Captain Hold, Peralta wants to make sure he has a good time. In fact, everyone walks on egg shells around him because he is the boss.

The side-story that I truly enjoyed was seeing Santiago getting drunk, drink by drink being pressured by Gina because she wants to know what six-drink Santiago is like. Melissa Fumero usually has to play the by-the-books, good character unlike the other silly characters on the show, so it was nice to see her let loose and have fun during “Beach House.” Plus, her dance moves are just hilarious. I’d love to see her in any situation where she can show off those dance moves.

Eventually, everyone turns on Peralta for inviting Captain Holt, but he proposes an idea that they could have two parties at the same time. One fun party in the basement and one not-so-fun party with Captain Holt. The idea works out for a little while, but eventually falls apart when Holt realizes what’s being done. This reminded me of the Friends episode when they throw two separate parties for Rachel because she doesn’t want her divorced parents to be in the same room.

We do get a lot of interesting interactions throughout the episode. The Gina/Amy story-line is fun, not only because we get to see Amy get drunk and act a fool, but because we get to see the sensitive side of Gina as well as she takes care of Amy when she drinks too much. Then there’s the Boyle/Rosa story-line that once was a weird romantic plot, but now it’s Boyle helping Rosa text Marcus Holt without scaring him off. The two share a good chemistry with each other in the odd-couple, reversed role sense. Joe Lo Truglio is always capable of stealing the scenes he’s in and he does just that in this episode.

While this wasn’t a typical episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I completely invite the situation-comedy of “Beach House.” It’s good to take a break from all of the workplace comedy the show provides week-after-week. Sure, it might’ve served a better purpose to not have shown this episode right after a break, but nonetheless it’s a breath of fresh air for an already great comedy. Oh and last but not least, the cold opening with Peralta accusing Captain Holt of sitting in his office with no pants on was hilarious.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Season One

Grade: B+

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The new workplace comedy on Fox is from creators Michael Shur (Parks and Recreation) and Daniel J. Goor (The Daily Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien), and the two have created something so insane and whacky that I cannot believe that it works. But it does work very well. Leading the 99th precinct in Brooklyn is the new Captain Holt (Andre Braugher), a gay African American whom the rest of the crew can’t ever decipher if he’s in a good or bad mood.

The eccentric group of detectives is lead by Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), who is a great detective but frustrates Captain Holt with his immaturity. Playing his love interest is Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), a stickler for the rules and a teacher’s pet to Captain Holt. The two occasionally get along but usually engage in constant teasing and bad-mouthing. Sergeant Terry (Terry Crews) leads the detectives unconventionally with his newly-discovered soft side due to the birth of his baby girls. Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) is Jake’s best friend who loves anything feminine, while Rose Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) is as tough as they come. Rounding out the precinct are Detective Hitchcock and Detective Scully, the dumb and dumber combo of the crew, and Gina Linetti, the wildly bizarre assistant to Captain Holt.

Like every comedy, it takes a little while for Brooklyn Nine-Nine to start rolling, but once you familiarize yourself with the characters, every episode is better than the last. Some highlights of the first season includes:
– Jake’s bets with Captain Holt (stealing his Medal of Valor) and Santiago (who makes the most arrests).
– The detectives and their mutual hate towards the Vulture.
– Charles taking two bullets in the butt.
– The detectives attending Captain Holt’s birthday party.

Like all good comedies, the cast of characters have a great chemistry with one another towards the middle of the first season. Also, the romantic interest between Peralta and Santiago is an intriguing one, but certainly one that’s fun to follow and root for. Another thing that impressed me with the first season was the depth of the characters. No one is one-dimensional, even though they all have consistency in their motives. Terry can be the Ebony Falcon when he focuses, Peralta can be mature, Rosa can be apologetic, Gina can be ethical, Boyle can be masculine and Holt can be hilarious. That’s just how the show is able to keep you on your toes every episode.

Overall, this is a stand-out new comedy that everyone can enjoy, especially for the college and young adult demographic. It’s on the same line with The Office and Parks and Recreation, without the interviews. If you don’t mind Andy Samberg too much, then you’ll enjoy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. As for the future of the show, it’ll be interesting to see if they give us a season-long case that the crew tries to solve on top of the small cases they solve every episode. That and I can’t wait to see how the writers explore the Peralta/Santiago love interest. They’re the least likely couple to work out, but in this show anything is possible.