FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Episode 1.07 48 Hours
When Jake makes an arrest with a lot of proof, he only has 48 hours to collect evidence, or else the "perp" will be released. After his unsuccessful interrogation of the suspect, Jake forces his co-workers to spend their weekend helping him crack the case. Meanwhile, Charles judges a pie contest between Gina and Rosa, and Holt helps Terry look better in the eyes of his in-laws.
When I looked it up, it didn't really surprise that "48 Hours' was one of the first episodes produced. This episode felt off because it didn't seem like the show had a strong comfortability with its characters and the stories they could tell. It felt rigid and just bouncing from plot point to plot point or joke to joke. And yes, it did make me laugh frequently but it didn't feel like the cast gelling as well as they did in the two prior episodes - "The Vulture" and "Halloween."I also never believed for a second that Kid Cudi's imprisoned suspect was innocent - for two reasons. First, the show has made it a big point that when Jake has a gut feeling about something, then it tends to be correct. And second, the show never presented a legitimate alternative who could have done the crime. The show only has a little more than 20 minutes of screentime to tell an investigation story - as opposed to dramatic procedurals which have double that and thusly can have multiple suspects. But the show also revolved most of this story around the other detectives anger towards Jake about staying and working over the weekend. The case itself had very little details which ultimately didn't make me feel excited while Jake and company were investigating it or when Jake finally put it all together.
Some more thoughts:
- The subplots have often been the most humorous aspects of the show - and the two in "48 Hours" were as well. But they didn't have the time to actually grow into something fully-rounded.
- But any physical gag revolving around Terry Crews is going to be funny. Especially when he's making yawning faces or when he's next to his character's brother-in-law.
