Brooklyn Nine-Nine, best cop comedy out there!

Of course, I can't think of any other outright cop sitcom on the air right now, but ... it's the best one, anyway. I was surprised that this FOX took the Golden Globe for Best TV Series and that Andy Samberg took the best actor award. Oh my. Here I thought the show was my own little personal guilty pleasure.

I had my reasons for initially tuning in back during the premiere --

• I like Brooklyn and shows about Brooklyn. As strange as it sounds, it's true. I think that dates back to Welcome Back Kotter. Yes, I'm that old.
• I like cop shows.
• I like cop shows set in NYC.
• I liked Andre Braugher as Pembleton in Homicide: Life on the Street. I realize that was not a cop show set in NYC, but in Baltimore. No never mind; it was good anyway.

You'll note that I didn't mention Andy Samberg in my list. That's because he's basically a bit of a non-entity for me. After the first decade and a half of SNL, I've only tuned in when I wanted to watch a specific host or musical guest. I stopped regularly tuning in well before Samberg's time on the show. Yeah, I've seen him. But it was only while waiting for the host to return or the musical act.

On with the show itself ...
I find it slightly reminiscent of the old Barney Miller show. Heck, if you can't laugh at some of the bizarreness of crime, cops and the general public, what kind of person are you? Dour much?



The ensemble cast is diverse. I mean ... who would have thought that Andre Braugher would be cast as a stoic, serious to the max, gay commanding officer? The basic premise is that Detective Jake Peralta is a goof-off joker detective who's actually quite capable in his job. But he's used to ruling the roost. Along comes Captain Ray Holt, a man on a mission to prove himself and a dedication to law and order within his own ranks.

There's Detective Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) who's becoming better and better each episode. He's a classic people pleaser kind of bumbling dude. Ah, but he's recently a hero, taking a bullet in the butt to save his unrequited love, Rosa. Terry Crews plays a sergeant with anxiety issues. There are women detectives -- Santiago (Melissa Fumero) and Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz); one is a perky over-achiever, the other is a possible volatile mystery woman. The administrative assistant, played by Chelsea Peretti, is almost a throwback to when Penny Marshall was Oscar Madison's Gal Friday, but with a modern more sardonic twist.

All in all, this show is working for me. Each week it seems to get even better. Have you discovered it yet?

Oh. There is one major drawback for me -- it's against NCIS and I can't go without my Mark Harmon fix, annoying soft focus filming or not.