Reno 911!
Episodes 601 and 611 / Comedy Central
Review by Dan McIntosh

Ever since the Keystone Cops, police work has been ripe fodder for comedy. And Reno, the biggest little city in the world, is the perfect setting to explore an inept crew of law enforcers. These two preview episodes of Reno 911!’s 2009 season are filled the kind of behavior that may make you want to forget that 911 emergency, forever. Ah, but it’s all in fun.

The first episode, 601, opens with Lieutenant Jim Dangle, played by Thomas Lennon, announcing, “Holy poop, I thought we got cancelled.” But of course, those crazy cops at Reno 911! are back, only to be caught in more embarrassing situations. The premise for this program obviously a comedic take on Cops, which is a reality show far too depressing to watch. We all know there is a sickeningly sad criminal element out there in our world, but do we really need to watch it on our televisions? However, Reno 911! is so outlandish, it’s hard not to get caught up in all the silliness. Clearly, there is no reality in this sort of television.

Lieutenant Dangle is the leader, and sometimes narrator, of the action for these two Season Six episodes. After giving us a tour of the facilities, with a brief update on what’s changed since the last season, we first peek in on a squad morning meeting. The topic of discussion is a so called “serious” one, as Dangle sternly warns his underlings not to run out to catch the ice cream truck when they hear the musical announcement of its arrival. The last time that happened, a local news crew, which just happened to be in the neighborhood, caught these uniformed men and women chasing frozen sweets, like a bunch of excited elementary school students. So in this staff meeting, it is calmly decided that one officer alone is to represent the squad and make daily ice cream truck purchases -- even though the whole separate change thing might cause some confusion. Nevertheless, when the ice cream truck’s arrival is suddenly heard over their talking, three officers race each other for the door, as though they are attempting to escape a burning building. It’s just that sort of nincompoop squad.

The cases these Nevada buffoons are called on to investigate make Cops episodes seem mundane. And that’s really saying something because the unwitting participants on Cops are crazy. For instance, the 601 episode also includes a crack head dressed as a cow, who is accused of harassing goats; a suspected fired employee who will not leave his office, and a Ku Klux Klan winemaker. There is also a most unhelpful public service announcement that introduces a police department suicide prevention website.

The 611 episode features, among other things, a doctor who is discovered badly injured after an auto accident. Shockingly, he asks the officers arriving for his rescue to operate him right there at the scene. And in a spoof of all those TV shows where babies are delivered by emergency personnel, this segment showcases a seemingly more serious medical operation. Yet the fact that Lennon left his cell phone inside the man after sowing him up is considered only a minor mistake by these scary rookie surgeons.

But in the end, it doesn’t really matter what professional name these characters go under, whether law enforcement or medicine. You would simply never want to call them for help. But if what passes for reality television sickens you, however, this comedic fantasy television might just be the cure.

-- Dan MacIntosh

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