It's good to see the Dallas skyline as the backdrop for a new tv show this summer. Fox's new series, The Good Guys, is a one-hour action-comedy starring Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks as a couple of Dallas' finest.
There have been countless movies filmed in Dallas over the years but we really haven't had a decent series filmed here since the likes of Dallas. Or Walker, Texas Ranger. Or Barney & Friends. I used to stand in front of my former office building on E. Las Colinas Boulevard in Irving and watch Chuck Norris speed past in a pickup truck. Funny, I never saw anyone chasing him.
Whitford plays Dan Stark, a Dallas cop who's still living in the 80s and has the mustache to prove it. To say he doesn't play by the rules is putting it mildly. "Being a cop is not about rules - it's about people ....being a cop's like ridin' a horse...." Stark says. Whitford's character is a combination of a little loco, a little cheesy and a little predictable, but maybe that's why he's so darn likeable. You gotta love a man who drives a 1980 Trans Am with a T-top. So far I think that Whitford is stealing the show.
His partner Jack Bailey, played by Hanks, is his by-the-book, frustrated partner. Hanks does a good job with his character -- but his character isn't nearly as interesting or funny as Whitford's. But the back-and-forth between Bailey and Stark is absolutely hilarious. The Good Guys takes the buddy-cop show to a new, entertaining level.
I get a kick out of the over-pronounced Texas accents -- mostly by the females on the show. I've lived in Texas all my life and I'm convinced that I don't have an accent. In reality, of course, I do. What I heard was the over-pronounced drawl -- but I didn't really hear the real Texan language -- the overuse of words like "y'all" and "fixing to do something."
A Dallas-based series is good for the local economy. Dallas had to edge out it's primary competition: Atlanta. Georgia's incentive program provides for a 30% tax credit, nearly double Texas' program. So be sure to set your Tivo for the series and keep the series coming back to shoot more episodes. And besides, it's a good show.
Despite the sluggish early ratings, I'm hoping that Fox has a hit on its hands because I need something to watch on Mondays this summer. I'd be interested to see what Dallas' finest has to say about the show. Set your Tivo now.
What: The Good Guys
When: 8 p.m. Mondays (Last Monday's episode will repeat at 8 p.m. Friday)
Where: FOX Channel 4
(Photo by Angela Patterson)
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