Does The Good Guys remind anyone else of Keen Eddie?

Maybe I’m still just mourning the greatness that was Keen Eddie, but I just can’t seem to stop writing about it. First the CliqueClack Flashback, and now this. As I was watching tonight’s episode of The Good Guys, I couldn’t stop noticing the similarities between the two shows.

Even back in the pilot, we got a scene where the DA is chewing out Jack and Dan for costing the city so much money. Sure, they caught the bad guys, but had millions of dollars worth of property damage. Cut to Keen Eddie and his superintendent, having the exact same conversation. It was a thing, and now it could be a Good Guys thing too.

OK, I know you all think non-linear storytelling was invented by Bays and Thomas, but Keen Eddie did it long before that (and probably they didn’t invent it either). The Good Guys is utilizing the noon-linear storytelling very much the same way Keen Eddie did, with the countdowns, the flashbacks (when we got to see what Julius had been though) and the very short flashbacks. Like tonight, when we got to see what happened just one minute earlier, just before Dan sent Jack’s car bursting into the warehouse. That was a very Keen Eddie thing to do.

The bad guys on The Good Guys remind me of Keen Eddie too: they were often blundering caricatures of bad guys, in a good way, because they balanced out the violence with humor. There’s nothing like an angry bad guy doing something stupid then shooting someone. It works every time. The world’s second greatest assassin, Nigel the car thief … either of those could have fit right in on Keen Eddie, along with their mentally-challenged sidekicks.

Then we have Julius. After the pilot, Michael (and I) had a feeling that we’d be seeing more of him, so it was a happy occurrence that he was back so soon. I can’t help but be reminded of Rudy’s character on Keen Eddie. He was a criminal (and I think informant) who turned out to blunder and help out with Eddie’s cases, much like Julius has done with Dan and Jack.

Finally, the Jack-on-girl fight tonight, when Kirsten pulled the gun on him in his apartment? That happened to Eddie several times, I’m sure, or totally could have. It’s funny when girls beat up the tough guys. Matt Nix likes that too, with Fiona always clocking Michael in Burn Notice, and even Sam getting his ass kicked by a biker chick in the premiere last week. We’ll probably see more of it on The Good Guys, but it will always make me think of Keen Eddie.

Other observations:

• Dan’s term “computer machine” crack me up.
• I love the lame cases Dan and Jack get sent on, like the rock through the window of the girls’ apartment, and how they always lead to a real case.
• Dan in bed with the victim, discovering the broken street light, was awesome.
• The bad guy’s henchman giving love advice … good stuff.
• The theme music and opening credits are so much fun.
• Methinks I caught a glimpse of the Matt Nix subtitles tonight … wonder if they’re going to make that a thing.
• Sometimes I need a translator for British accents too, Dan. You’re not alone.

So what do you think? Keen Eddie fans out there, weigh in — are you seeing the similarities too?

Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Jun 07, 2010 @ 22:00 EST5EDT