Dozerblast!
By Matt Fowler
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow…
FOX’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine kicked off its third season with Holt banished to NYPD’s lame, slow-working Public Relations department and the precinct getting the insane, efficiency-obssessed Captain Seth Dozerman (Bill Hader) as their new leader. A character a bit too hyper and heightened for the show, but one who was also rather short-lived as a heart attack tease during the opener eventually lead to a real heart attack mid way through, taking Hader out for real.
So did Hader’s arrival appropriately pay off the Season 2 finale cliffhanger, where the squad, awaiting their new captain, watched as the elevator doors opened? Not really, to be honest. Because not only was Dozerman a temporary fix (possibly setting us up for a handful of episodes featuring rotating captains until Holt returns), but his shtick, while certainly loud, wasn’t the funniest part of the episode.
In fact, after a few cackling quips from Dozerman (including him calling Amy “numbnuts” – hah!), I was kind of hoping his first collapse was real and that his tenure as the boss of the Nine-Nine would literally last 30 seconds. And honestly, even though he wound up not making it through the episode, a quick exit like that probably would have even been funnier. Though, to be fair, then we wouldn’t have gotten to hear Rosa’s “Dozerpad” wail whenever she shoved up in the ceiling or poured hot coffee on it.
Dozerman was just dressing though. The true core of “New Captain” involved Amy and Jake trying to figure out how to move forward with their relationship. And me trying to figure out whether or not I actually wanted them to exist as a real couple. Granted, this type of coupling is inevitable on sitcoms and the two of them have been kept apart for two seasons. But now the real test would begin. Could the show be funnier, or even just as funny, without the unrequited love? It’s a fairly standard sitcom hurdle. When is it a good time to officially pull the trigger on a romance?
Helping viewers ease into this new Amy/Jake era, however, was Boyle, who was truly hilarious here. I’m still giggling at his “Did you French?” question, followed by his gasp and hand-over-mouth. What an absurd and brilliant moment. Likewise, Boyle’s insistence that no one likes Terry’s body, in front of Terry, was great. So I was happy Charles was able to provide a lot of the levity here since Jake and Amy’s string of awkwardness wasn’t the best. Though Jake’s “title of OUR sex tape!” realization was marvelous.
Meanwhile, the Holt/Wuntch feud continued (meh) as Raymond was forced to not only name New York’s official police force pigeon mascot, but also don the costume for a group of kids. There wasn’t much to chew on here since Holt wound up on the losing end of all of this, with no silver lining in sight except for Gina (the “human form of the one hundred emoji”) and his determination to persevere, so I’m hoping he comes up with a plan to turn the tables quickly.
Though his absence did allow for a nice return from Dean Winters as Detective Pembroke – aka “The Vulture” – who popped up at the end as Dozerman’s replacement. Much to the chagrin and ire of Jake, whose rage over the news was quite funny. Because he didn’t even bat an eye over crazy Dozerman, who constantly called everyone morons and idiots.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine returned with a funny episode, though one that – like Amy and Jake – was trying to figure out a way into a new dynamic. One where Jake and Amy no longer competed with/teased one another. Where Holt and Gina were both gone. It was a tricky shuffle. Thankfully, Joe Lo Truglio’s Boyle was there to rescue a lot of this. As was Rosa’s disdain for her “Dozerpad. “
