Brooklyn Nine-Nine: "Tactical Village" Review

After Brooklyn Nine-Nine won multiple Golden Globes (including, unexpectedly, Best Actor), I realized I needed to get on that (somewhat sparsely populated) bandwagon and start watching the Andy Samberg fronted show. I am so glad I did! Despite airing on the network station I least frequently watch, Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine delivers a solid, quirky workplace comedy. I caught up a bit on Hulu, and now consider myself a fan of the show.

Tonight's episode, "Tactical Village," pitted the members of the 99th precinct against their fellow NYC cops in a sort of obstacle-course of hypothetical in-the-field police scenarios. An interesting set-up, to be sure, and ripe for the kind of character-pairing I always appreciate.

Source: facebook.com/BrooklynNineNine

While watching this episode, I finally figured out what Samberg's Detective Jake Peralta has got that makes the character so special - he's simultaneously a nerd, and the coolest, smoothest character on the show. I suppose this dichotomy makes him relatable. It was his nerdier side that rose to the surface in this episode. Maybe it was his fierce defense of Luke Skywalker or his childish eagerness to win a trophy. More likely, though, is the possibility that in his efforts to show up fellow detective Amy Santiago's suitor Teddy, we got a glimpse of a jealous, vulnerable Jake. It made him adorable in a whole new way. I can only hope that Jake's interest in Amy doesn't lead to any actual character pairing just yet. When it comes to TV, the audience really does prefer the tension over the romantic resolution.

Andre Braugher was also particularly strong in "Tactical Village." His character, the precinct's captain, became addicted to a game app called "Cwazy Cupcakes." And who would he turn to for help breaking this addiction if not his lackadaisical assistant Gina, played by the hilarious Chelsea Peretti? As the Captain himself acknowledged, it's hard to say "cwazy" in anger, which made for a great moment. It also resulted in many tweets from fans disappointed that the app is, in fact, not real.  Peretti, I should mention, is the most consistently funny part of the show in the episodes I've seen. That said, the rest of the cast seems to be jelling nicely, and I'm confident that Brooklyn Nine-Nine will find its place as one of the best sitcoms on network TV. Who knows? Come August, the cast and crew might even have some more awards to set on the mantel next to those Globes.