"The Good Guys:" Another Fine Show Bites the Dust

"The Good Guys" is a rare well-made cop show comedy that is in grave danger of not surviving beyond its first season. If this show had aired on ABC, unquestionably the most cowardly of the broadcast networks, it would be easy to blame the network for the show's unfortunate demise. As it turns out, "The Good Guys" airs on the Fox Network, and they have been known to give a good show room to grow. Look at the excellent comedy, "Arrested Development," for example. It never, ever got good or even adequate ratings, but the critics loved it. As a result, Fox kept it around for three years, lousy ratings notwithstanding.

The sad fact of the matter is that "The Good Guys" faces the axe, not because the network was too timid, but because the ratings for its first season were abysmal. Even allowing for the fact that Friday night airings are going to trend a bit lower than the weeknights, they still finished dead last in their time-slot among the broadcast networks, almost every Friday night.

To a viewer who appreciates excellent writing and fine acting, especially in an area where dreck abounds, this is extremely frustrating. The plots and the dialogue for this show are, in all cases, superior, and, on top of that, it is very well-acted, from the stars, Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks, on down to the guest actors.

The plots of the various episodes feature such effective use of irony, one might tend to believe the writers somehow managed to channel O. Henry. This is TV comedy at its best. Most of these plot twists start with the running gag that rogue cop Detective Dan Stark (Whitford) is being punished, along with his wet-behind-the-ears partner (Hanks), for his ongoing neglect of proper police procedure. The punishment takes the form of their being relegated to "property crimes," supposedly the lowest of the low in terms of police work. Yet, as they bumble and fumble their way through even these simple cases (and they do bumble and fumble, make no mistake about it), they somehow manage to crack far bigger cases that turn out to be tangentially related to the petty thefts and vandalisms.

True, the portrait of the out-of-control, ethically-challenged cop might have become a cliché by now, but Whitford does not shy away from it; instead, he embraces it. As a result, you get an outrageous character whom you cannot help but root for, even on those several occasions when he comes off as a complete idiot. It would not be entirely unjust if he were nominated for an Emmy this year.

While Fox has not renewed the show for another season, they are airing the reruns of the first season (which ended this past December with 20 episodes) late on Saturday nights. Episodes are also available on Hulu, but not yet on Netflix. If you have any interest in speaking up for quality TV (and maybe doing yourself a favor in the process), you may want to check the show out. If you do find it enjoyable, you could send Fox an email, expressing your opinion. It is a remote possibility anything will come of it, but fan outrage over cancellations has brought other quality shows back from the dead.

Still, it is sad that people should have to resort to such a desperate tactic. Yes, the fault lies with the television-watching public, but consider this: all the major networks are absolutely awash with money. They make enough revenue from political attack ads during election season to finance two full seasons, in all likelihood. That being the case, could they not carry the occasional "loss-leader" of an underrated, top-quality show? Supermarkets, which operate of a far slimmer profit margin, seem to have no problem with the concept. So how about it, Fox?

Sources

Fox.com

Wikipedia

Imdb.com