More often than not, sitcoms need to take some time to establish themselves. Even when a pilot isn’t very funny, if there’s potential for good character comedy, there’s potential for the show to get better. That’s what we saw with a new Fox military comedy, written by the creator of Brockmire.
GOING DUTCH: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: “USAG Baumholder, Germany.” Scenes of Army personnel in training.
The Gist: Colonel Patrick Quinn (Denis Leary), decorated combat commander, arrives at Baumholder with his executive officer, Major Abraham Shah (Danny Pudi); they’re in their dress blues because Col. Quinn is convinced that he’s about to get command of the base, one of the best combat bases in Europe.
Instead, his commander, General Davidson (Joe Morton) tells him that he’s going to be sent to the Netherlands to command USAG Stroopsdorf, a service base that’s considered one of the least consequential bases in Europe. Why? A body cam video of Quinn profanely criticizing Davidson while on a combat mission is a big reason.
When he gets there, he finds out from supply sergeant Dana Conway (Laci Mosley) that the base is known for three things: making cheese, bowling and laundry. They also have a teen center, even though there are no teens on base. Quinn sees a chubby, long-haired soldier, Corporal Elias Papadakis (Hal Cumpston), bicycling around the base and almost loses it.
He finds out who the base’s temporary commander is, and he’s none too happy to find out that it’s his daughter, Captain Maggie Quinn (Taylor Misiak). She’s proud of what she’s done at Stroopsdorf, with a command style opposite of her father’s. For instance, the food in the mess hall is the best in the Army. After the base wins “Best Service Base in Europe (Small),” she rewards them with a silent disco session.
Their relationship has been tense for awhile, to say the least, and they fight almost as soon as Quinn gets there. He insists on making the speech at the town’s annual tulip festival, where for the first time the troops will participate in the parade, thanks to Maggie. But he eschews all her notes and blows his stack when he sees the one thing he expressly forbid on his first day in command: A huge bowling banner.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? While Going Dutch is essentially a workplace comedy, it also reminds us of comedies about ragtag military units, though it’s less like M*A*S*H and more like Private Benjamin or Enlisted.
Our Take: There’s potential in Going Dutch, though the pilot was less funny than we expected, given the presence of Leary and Pudi. Denis and Jack Leary are among the executive producers, with Joel Church-Cooper as the showrunner. Church-Cooper’s past series, with Brockmire being the most prominent, indicate to us that the potential we saw in this first episode is what is going to help it improve over time.
In the first scenes, where the old-fashioned, un-PC-but-trying Col. Quinn can’t seem to process how he landed at Stroopsdorf, we get mostly standard gags about the tough commander railing against the perceived “soft” troops he’s inherited. Then there’s a scene when Patrick and Maggie have an actual heart-to-heart talk about their relationship, and how Patrick acknowledges that they’ll have to mesh their respective styles, where the potential of this show reveals itself. Leary is especially good in this scene, recalling his best work in his best-known series, Rescue Me.
What we hope is that Church-Cooper can refine the show so that the “hard-ass commander vs. ragtag troops” trope becomes grounded more in character than anything else. There were a couple of chuckleworthy moments where we see soldiers making cheese and other non-military activities, but we know that for Going Dutch to succeed, we’re going to have to explore all the characters beyond what we saw in the pilot.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: The next day, the troops are out on a shooting exercise, obliterating bowling pins. Papadakis is actually great with a gun — until he starts shooting in the air to celebrate. “Where did you find the guns?” asks Maggie. “Under the Halloween decorations,” replies her father.
Sleeper Star: Catherine Tate plays a recurring role as Katja Vanderhoff, who owns a local brothel. It seems like Katja and Col. Quinn will have a flirtation, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the funny Tate does with this semi-silly role.
Most Pilot-y Line: While playing foosball, Private B.A. Chapman (Dempsey Bryk) asks Maj. Shah what “XO” stands for. Instead of saying “executive officer,” he straight-facedly replies, “Commander of hugs and kisses.”
Our Call: STREAM IT. The largely unfunny pilot of Going Dutch would normally lead us to give the show a “skip it,” but given the showrunner’s pedigree and the interpersonal potential of the father-daughter story, we’re giving the show a chance to improve.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Going Dutch’ On Fox, Where A Hard-Line Colonel Is Sent To Command His Daughter’s Service Unit In The Netherlands appeared first on Decider.
