Episode Title: "Partners"
Writer: Ben Wexler
Director: Stephen Surjik
Previously on "The Good Guys":
Detective Jack Bailey (Colin Hanks) is stuck with a washed-up and frequently drunk partner, Detective Dan Stark (Bradley Whitford) on the lowest rung of the Dallas police department — "routine investigations." Together, they often uncover some of the biggest crimes in Texas.
Story:
At lunch, Jack and Dan notice a customer running out on his bill. Naturally, Dan jumps through the restaurant's window to chase the suspect, but quickly runs out of breath. Jack's own pursuit is ended when he collides with a pedestrian. Back at the police station, the newly promoted Deputy Chief, George Jenkins (Chris Klein) — Jack's first partner — makes the rounds and insists upon celebrating his success with Jack later. Dan immediately hates George and insists that he knows why Jack does too, despite his denials. Later, the two drag Samantha (Angela Sarafyan) out to serve as a sketch artist for the waitress back at the diner and notice an ATM machine that may have gotten a clear view of the suspect.
In flashback, we learn that a mobster named Jimmy Nichols (Joe Cortese) murdered an informant who was speaking with A.D.A. Liz Traynor (Jenny Wade) — who is also Jack's girlfriend — at the same time as the dine-and-dash. Back to the present, Jack catches up with George over beers while Dan shares the news that the '80s TV film based on his most famous case — "Savage & Stark" — is being screened. To mark the occasion, Dan's old partner Fred Savage (Gary Cole) agrees to comes out to the screening. After leaving the bar, Jack drops off George; who is upset to find Nichols waiting for him. Nichols reminds George that he's in his pocket and demands that the informant's murder be blamed on someone else.
Unable to secure a subpoena for the ATM footage, Dan gets an ID on Samantha's sketch from his favorite C.I., Julius (RonReaco Lee). However, as Jack and Dan arrive to arrest their suspect, George gets there first with a large contingent of cops. George also states that the man killed Liz's informant. Jack notes that since he and Dan were chasing their suspect at the time, he couldn't have killed the informant. But George blows him off. At the "Savage & Stark" screening that night, Dan and Fred are put out when the audience howls with laughter and they walk out. While drinking themselves into a stupor, they get arrested for destroying the screening's "Oddities of the '80s" sign.
Since Jack is close to the truth, George arranges for the suspect to be killed in prison. Awakening in custody, the cellmate of Fred and Dan tells them that the suspect was killed by another prisoner on orders from Nichols. Back with Jack, Samantha hacks the ATM footage and confirms that their suspect couldn't have killed Liz's informant. Samantha also discovers that the suspect's blood was stolen from the crime lab and planted at the scene. They alert George, who comes over to hold them at gun point. He gives Jack a chance to work with him, but Jack only pretends to cooperate before fighting his old friend.
Realizing that Jack is in trouble, Dan and Frank shoot up the CSI lab and get George to waste his ammo trying to kill them. Jack ultimately takes down George, reunites with Liz and gets the credit with Dan and Fred for bringing down Nichols and George. After Fred departs, Jack and Dan get a call to investigate a stolen toaster, which will probably lead them to a bigger bust as their cases almost always do. Together, they ride off towards their next adventure.
Breakdown:
It's been several months since I've seen an episode of "The Good Guys," but I knew that it was likely to be canceled and I wanted to see how it went out.
I don't think that this series ever found its voice and there were a few changes that were clearly made to make the show more appealing; like the introduction of the lab girl, Samantha and bumping up Julius to a recurring character. Unfortunately, Julius is wasted here, despite often being the funniest character on the show. Mark my words, RonReaco Lee is going to be a major star someday. This guy is very funny and steals almost every scene that he's in. At some point, he's going to hit it big.
Samantha, on the other hand, wasn't as well conceived and she seems tacked on to the show. Angela Sarafyan is likable in the role, but her character just seems to exist as way to get Jack and Dan more access to information than usual and to create someone to pine over Jack, now that he's back with Liz. That's not the best way to build up a character.
The best part of this episode was the "Savage & Stark" TV movie footage, done in the '80s style with different actors stepping in for Whitford and Cole. The callback at the end where Dan and Frank recreated the window shooting scene from their movie (down to the pensive stares between them!) was another brilliant moment of humor that "The Good Guys" occasionally had. If there were more comedic sequences as well realized as that one, maybe the show would have lasted longer.
In terms of resolution, there isn't any to be had here. Dan and Jack are finally recognized for being great cops, but they're not really rewarded in any traditional sense. Regardless, the episode (and the series) ended on just the right note, leaving Dan and Jack together for whatever cases await them. I won't miss "The Good Guys" the way I will some of the other recently canceled series like "Terriers," but I enjoyed riding with Dan and Jack enough to come back one more time.
And if by some miracle, the show returns for another season, I'd be up for that too.
Crave Online Rating: 8 out of 10.
