The Good Guys: Difference between revisions

{{quote|"The bad guys are a bunch of guys running around with guns. The good guys are a ''team'' of guys running around with guns."|Dan Stark "$3.52"}}

 

 

Dan Stark (Whitford) is a former brilliant detective who still works as if life were in [[The Eighties]], while Jack Bailey (Hanks) is his [[By-The-Book Cop]] partner. The show's tone is very much like [[Burn Notice]], but unlike [[Burn Notice]]'s adherence to [[Awesome Yet Practical]], The Good Guys runs on distilled [[Rule of Cool]]. Over-the-top shootouts and car chases are a regular occurrence, and in general, the show's writers seem to plan the plot purely around what's ''fun''.

Much like ''[[Glee]]'', ''The Good Guys'' tends to use its [[Troperiffic]] premise to build up subversions of the genre's conventions. And, also much like ''[[Glee]]'', this gives the frequent impression that the show doesn't know if it's a parody, a deconstruction, or a reconstruction at any given time.

 

* [[Adorkable]]: Samantha, especially in the first episode in which she's introduced.

** Lampshaded in the 20th ([[Needs More Love|and last]]) episode. "The oddly hot chick with the [[Family Matters|Urkel]] glasses."

* [[Affably Evil]]: Almost every bad guy there was.

'''Jack''': Yes, but until the day they rise up comes, they make a handy tool for law enforcement. }}

* [[Anachronic Order]]: [[Once an Episode|Every episode!]] A rewind effect is used to go back and explain things.

* [[Bland-Name Product]]: In the show, the local paper is called the ''Dallas Daily News''. The ''actual'' local papers in Dallas are the ''Dallas Observer'' and the ''Dallas Morning News''.

* [[Blatant Lies]]: In 1x03, {{spoiler|Dan is forced to put a toy gun to Gemini's head since his is in the car. Gemini holds up his hands, then looks in the anti-theft mirror.}}

'''Dan:''' {{spoiler|It's not! It's an '''orange gun'''!}} }}

* [[Brick Joke]]: Played straight... and literally, in the episode "$3.52". At the start of the episode Dan vows to take down the drug smuggling ring with the $3.52 in his pocket. Fast-forward to {{spoiler|the last minute of the episode, when everyone believes that the brick of Heroin is long gone. In comes Dan with a flashback to where he buys a brick for three bucks and a nougat bar for fifty cents, loses the two pennies somewhere along the line, and swaps the bricks.}}

* [[Buddy Cop Show]]: Either an [[Homage]], a parody, or [[Affectionate Parody|both.]]

* [[Buffy-Speak]]: A lot like in episode 4.

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Dan, despite his [[Cloudcuckoolander]] nature, is still good at his job.

** The Duke, a hitman who lives in his mother's basement, is skilled enough to outwit and overpower two U.S. Marshals [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and Dan]].

* [[Chronic Villainy]]: Walter DiParco.

* [[Clear My Name]]

* [[Cool Car]]: Dan and his old partner Frank had a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am back in the day, according to Dan. By the end of the pilot, Dan and Jack have one.

** Lots more show up in the second episode.

* [[Crazy Jealous Guy]]: Nigel.

* [[Curse Cut Short]]

* [[Da Chief]]: While not technically an actual chief, Ruiz fits most of the conventions of the trope.

* [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]]: The Duke, antagonist of episode 1x09.

* [[Grammar Nazi]]: Apparently, Jack got partnered up with Dan because he couldn't resist informing the captain that there's no "statue of limitations" while in front of the Chief.

* [[Guns Akimbo]]: Pedro is highly trained and very good at trick shots so he can pull this off. When Jack tries this it results in the [[Epic Fail]] of missing with every round from only a few meters.

'''Pedro:''' It's not as easy as it looks. }}

* [[Hello, Attorney!]]: Liz, the Assistant District Attorney and Jack's ex-girlfriend.

* [[Ho Yay]]: Some believe there's some of this between Jack and Dan.

** Invoked (sort of) in "Silence of the Dan", after Jack tells Dan {{spoiler|[[It Makes Sense in Context|he loves him]]}}:

* [[Hollywood Nerd]]: Sam, a new lab tech, is also [[Hollywood Homely]] due to a ponytail, coveralls, and thick glasses. And [[Nerds Are Sexy]] by pretty much any other standard.

* [[Hooker with a Heart of Gold]]: The one from episode 3. Averted by Zoe.

* [[Kavorka Man]]: Dan.

* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: The show is ''very'' self aware.

* [[Large Ham]]: Brad Whitford.

* [[Le Parkour]]: Done by a graffiti tagger who Jack and Dan are <s>chasing</s> [[Epic Fail|attempting to chase]] in the opening sequence of "The Getaway".

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]] / [[Sensitive Guy and Manly Man]]

* [[Rousing Speech]]

* [[Shown Their Work]]: Very accurate regarding North Texas geography and life. The working title, ''Code 58'', is the real Dallas PD code for "routine investigation."

* [[Sick Episode]]: Episode 3.

* [[Trash the Set]]: Dan's trailer gets blown up in episode 19.

* [[True Companions]]: The Georgians and Sasha.

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Buddy Haverton.

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Hodges' partner Lang who disappeared for many episodes. He said he was on vacation.

[[Category:The Good Guys]]

[[Category:TV Series]]