BROOKLYN NINE-NINE: (L-R) Jake (Andy Samberg) and Captain Dozerman (Bill Hader) in the “New Captain” season premiere episode of BROOKLYN NINE-NINE airing Sunday, September 27 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2015 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: John P. Fleenor/FOX.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX, 8:30/7:30C) is a constantly delightful workplace comedy that seems unable to catch a break – it survives as much because of critical acclaim as anything else.
Season three opens with New Captain – introducing Captain Holt’s replacement; delving into the potential relationship between Jake Peralta and Amy Santiago, and giving us a look at Captain Holt’s new position in PR – and his nemesis.
Written by Matt Murray and directed by Michael Schur, New Captain begins where season two left off – with the new captain about to step out of the elevator.
He’s Captain Dozerman (Bill Hader) and his motto is, ‘Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency.’ Oddly enough, he and Jake (Andy Samberg) hit it off – at least at first). Meanwhile, Jake and Amy (Melissa Fumero) are deciding how to handle their brand new relationship and Captain Holt is learning he’s been assigned to PR by his nemesis, Deputy Chief Wuntsch (Kyra Sedgwick) – and he is not going to enjoy his time there if she has anything to say about (which, unfortunately, she does).
New Captain doesn’t have as many big laughs as some B99 episodes, but it has a lot of sly ones. The show continues to be smarter than most network fare (in any genre) and gives its talented ensemble a lot of great character moments (most of which are funny to some degree).
One of the better running bits is Charles’ (Joe Le Truglio) investment in the Jake/Amy relationship. The guy really doesn’t have a lot else going on. Then there’s the Dozerpads – tablets programmed to inform their owners when they’ve failed to complete a task in a timely manner (his idea of timely is somewhat different from theirs), and Holt’s first project with PR turns out be much less than the eight-point plan he is not being allowed to unveil…
Co-creator Mike Schur directs and he does a fine job of balancing his three main arcs. The final revelation of the ep will come as as huge a surprise to fans as it is to the detectives of the Nine-Nine.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine opens its third season with an episode that is confident and surprising – and rewarding – as ever.
Final Grade: A-