As I was nearing downtown Chicago on the Metra train this morning, my wife called me. Although I was on one of the “quiet cars” and couldn’t talk, I figured it was important so I answered the phone. I was right! She told me that someone was giving out free chips just outside the train station and someone else was giving out free coffee and donuts at Madison and Wacker. A daily double!
The company with the free chips is called Food Should Taste Good. They have handed out free samples of their chips at the train station several times this summer. Today it was their blue corn tortilla chips, which I think are very good. A couple of other times they gave away their sweet potato tortilla chips which were very tasty.
A block away, Fox TV‘s new comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, starring Andy Samberg, had a food truck giving away coffee, donut holes and bagels, as well as free pens and sunglasses promoting the show. The show premieres tonight on Fox. The shows web page describes the show as follows:
From Emmy Award-winning writer/producers Dan Goor and Michael Schur (“Parks and Recreation”), and starring Emmy Award winners Andy Samberg (“Saturday Night Live”) and Andre Braugher (“Men of a Certain Age,” “Homicide: Life on the Street”), BROOKLYN NINE-NINE is a new single-camera ensemble comedy about what happens when a talented, but carefree, detective and his diverse group of colleagues get a new captain with a lot to prove.
Detective JAKE PERALTA (Samberg) is gifted enough that he’s never had to work too hard or follow the rules too closely. Perhaps because he has the best arrest record among his colleagues, he’s been enabled – if not indulged – throughout his entire career. That is, until the precinct gets a new commanding officer, Captain RAY HOLT (Braugher).
Captain Holt believes in rules and regulations, two concepts that have long been overlooked by the detectives in the 99th precinct. Jake’s colleagues are a brilliant and capable bunch, but lack a certain level of discipline and leadership. They compete with each other, annoy each other, gossip and flirt, but at the end of the day, they have each other’s backs.
As the precinct’s honorary straight arrow, Detective AMY SANTIAGO (Melissa Fumero, “One Life to Live,” “Gossip Girl”) is thrilled with the leadership change. Having grown up with seven brothers, Amy is extremely competitive…about everything. She is hell-bent on collaring more criminals than Jake, and she’s keenly aware of how many arrests she needs to close the gap. Holt’s next-in-command is Sergeant TERRY JEFFORDS (Terry Crews, “Bridesmaids,” “Everybody Hates Chris”), a linebacker of a man who’s lost his nerve after his wife had twin baby girls – Cagney and Lacey – and he lives in fear of not seeing them grow up.
Also working cases in Brooklyn’s 99th is Detective CHARLES BOYLE (Joe Lo Truglio, “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Superbad”), who idolizes Jake and is the precinct’s workhorse; he’s not brilliant, he’s not physically gifted, but he tries harder than anyone else. Charles pines for the vocally opinionated Detective ROSA DIAZ (Stephanie Beatriz, “Modern Family,” “The Closer”), with whom he stands no chance at all. Rosa is simultaneously tough, sexy and scary as hell. Meddling in everyone’s affairs is GINA LINETTI (Chelsea Peretti, “Parks and Recreation,” “Kroll Show”), the eccentric and self-absorbed civilian office manager.
Together, they interrogate suspects, arrest perps and solve murders. But, ultimately, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE is a workplace comedy that’s not really about the job. It’s about the men and women behind the badge – singing karaoke, grabbing a beer, and dabbling in each other’s personal lives– all while protecting the fine people of Brooklyn.
All in all, a pretty good start to the day.
