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When Comedy Central’s Reno 911! emerged on the scene in 2003, it seemed like a fresh, subversive breath of puerile air. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, think Police Academy crossed with the reality show COPS, and you’ll have a good sense of the insanity involved. The central conceit of the show is that we’re watching a reality show that follows the daily routine of a unit of Reno, Nevada’s police department. If you’ve seen COPS, then you’ll recognize that show’s trademark shaky, handheld camerawork, spontaneous chase scenes, and unruly convicts. All these familiar conventions are wrapped into each 22-minute, mostly improvised episode of Reno 911! The characters, as you can probably guess, are an assortment of law enforcement misfits (Thomas Lennon’s short, short-wearing, gay lieutenant, Jim Dangle, is a standout—if you’ll excuse the pun), and the dialogue is peppered with crudity, expletives, and sexual innuendo. So what’s not to love?
Now, with the fifth season released on DVD, we have more of the same politically incorrect humor and energetic improvisation (fans of this series, I’m sure, have become desensitized to the shock value that the show continues to try to elicit). However, these “pushing the boundary of good taste” traits are also the show’s weakness. In 2003, Reno 911! was original, ribald, and tightly performed. Now, four seasons later, we have a case of “same old, same old.” The improv, which was previously so much fun, has become hit or miss—it feels too self-consciously improvisational. The actors seem to be playing for the joke and not for the character or the story. Don’t get me wrong—there are still some wonderfully funny moments in this season (like the ransom note that the officers steam open, accidentally ungluing the message inside, or the S&M sex worker who distributes her business flyers at a local farmers’ market). But one has to wade through some flat to middling material before the gems are revealed. The show has become just one long piece of sketch comedy. And that’s a shame.
I have to say that Reno’s first season was politically incorrect and outrageously hilarious. I haven’t seen seasons two through four, so I’m not sure how far a slide this series has taken (or if it’s “Jumped the Shark”—just a little in-joke for those who have watched this season already on Comedy Central). But if the creators have any sense of justice, they should move on and stop milking this scenario dry. We get it.
So, despite some great moments, the fifth season of Reno 911! is not as arrestingly funny as it could have been.
Special features include some entertaining talent commentary on selected episodes, interviews with the officers (still in character as they go through a psychological evaluation—again, the improvisation here is hit and miss), and a few extended scenes. The package really needs some real actor interviews—and it’s definitely crying out for a blooper reel.
