The Good Guys: Hunches and Heists

For several weeks now I've been pushing the theory that The Good Guys has been suffering for Fox's decision to air its episodes out of the original production order. The ratings seem to reflect that, too. Last week's episode had the lowest ratings yet, which means that people who were tuning into the show for the first few episodes weren't too keen to return. It's not as if The Good Guys has a lot of competition this summer. I doubt there's much demographic overlap between it and The Bachelorette. The Good Guys isn't a perfect show and it isn't even as great as it could be but it's still a lot of fun. It really shouldn't be struggling as much as it is and I think a big part of the disconnect viewers are feeling is due to the network's decision to ignore the subtle arch of its character development. There isn't a lot of serialized plot on this show but there's enough to warrant attention for the production order. Case in point, "Hunches and Heists" genuinely feels like it's seven episodes into the series and I wouldn't want it anywhere else in the airing schedule.

I've identified what on The Good Guys works and what doesn't. The banter between Jack and Stark is consistently good, the comically ineffectual villains are funny and refreshing, and the coincidental plots are best when they make sense. The show suffers from bad guest stars, uneven pacing and a tendency to embrace irony a bit too much. All this in mind, "Hunches and Heists" is The Good Guys in top form. The banter is especially strong since it revolves around a central theme (Jack learning to trust his gut), the episode's villain was pretty interesting and the week's guest star, the always welcome Dan Castellaneta, was apt as the world's worst getaway driver. As a bonus, the episode really played up the Texas landscape (cultural, culinary and otherwise), which is the unsung delight of the series.

"Hunches and Heists" begins with the Dallas PD buzzing with rumors of a bank robbery in the works, a scenario that ultimately finds Jack and Stark very nearly holding up a bank themselves. Along the way they meet an agile, saw-wielding "ninja" named Tommy who runs afoul of Dolph, the man who is planning the heist, as well as Castellaneta's dopey getaway driver who has gotten himself involved in one last score so he can provide for his daughter. There's also plenty of barbecue and the unfortunate shirt stains that come with it. Jack and Stark are assigned to a seemingly unrelated break-in at a local dry cleaning business, only to find out that it was phase one in a complicated jewelry theft related to the bank job.

What's special about this episode is that it's the first time in the series Jack and Stark don't catch the bad guys. They thwart the plan and all the crooks end up dead when they confront each other at their post-heist rendezvous, but Jack and Stark still look like fools on paper. This is always an important moment in any episodic series. Just like when the TV doctor first loses a patient or the star athlete fails to get the gold, the first time the detectives let the bad guys slip through their fingers is a major development in any crime series. For Jack and Stark it's just a matter of chewing on some beef ribs and learning what they can from the loss. In its way, this episode's ending was the most satisfying of the series.

Best Moment: It was an inspired bit of comedy to set this week's high-speed car thrills in an old station wagon.

Notes: The Jack and Liz plot got some progress in this episode. Hopefully we'll actually get to reap the benefits.

Episode Rating: 5/5- If every episode of The Good Guys put its pieces together as effectively as "Hunches and Heists" the series might be able to escape cancellation. For now, things are looking pretty grim.