Agreed.  Smart reviews of comedy that neither betray tone-deafness nor wreck the humor of the work reviewed are hard to pull off (even around these parts at times), so Erik deserves kudos.  Nice work.

If you can get a hold of the DVD, check out the bonus features - there's an absolutely epic freeze-frame gag (about four minutes in length) that they filmed when they were trying to stitch several episodes into a feature.

If you can get a hold of the DVD, check out the bonus features - there's an absolutely epic freeze-frame gag (about four minutes in length) that they filmed when they were trying to stitch several episodes into a feature.

"Testimony of Evil" was apparently taken from the episode title of an old Untouchables.  I wouldn't be surprised if all the on-screen titles came from other cop shows - nice gag/homage if so.

"Testimony of Evil" was apparently taken from the episode title of an old Untouchables.  I wouldn't be surprised if all the on-screen titles came from other cop shows - nice gag/homage if so.

The Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century?  My mistake.  Writer's Guild strictures are a bitch.

The Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century?  My mistake.  Writer's Guild strictures are a bitch.

Another nice moment: his reaction when he suddenly finds a cigar in his mouth. In fact, there are enough great jokes in this episode that it's hard to believe that fucking Arli$$ wrote a bunch of them.

Another nice moment: his reaction when he suddenly finds a cigar in his mouth. In fact, there are enough great jokes in this episode that it's hard to believe that fucking Arli$$ wrote a bunch of them.

Another great line: "When I arrived at the morgue, my boss had already begun to investigate the physical evidence.  As was our custom in such cases, we began to talk."

Another great line: "When I arrived at the morgue, my boss had already begun to investigate the physical evidence.  As was our custom in such cases, we began to talk."

A thing that always bugged me: that gag was a major part of the TV spots for The Naked Gun, an ad that played at all hours with no apparent backlash or controversy.  And yet, when TNG made it to commercial TV, that joke was censored.  I guess it makes sense, in that no one would be afraid of offending sponsors if the…

A thing that always bugged me: that gag was a major part of the TV spots for The Naked Gun, an ad that played at all hours with no apparent backlash or controversy.  And yet, when TNG made it to commercial TV, that joke was censored.  I guess it makes sense, in that no one would be afraid of offending sponsors if the…

Oh heavens, the nightmares are coming back…

Oh heavens, the nightmares are coming back…

Oh, I dunno, I think he was acutely aware that he was whoring out his talents and opted to embrace it and take the handsome studio paychecks rather than waste energy tilting at windbags.  (His key quote about the experience is "I was a middle-level hack, a B-list screenwriter who made a very good living stamping out…

Oh, I dunno, I think he was acutely aware that he was whoring out his talents and opted to embrace it and take the handsome studio paychecks rather than waste energy tilting at windbags.  (His key quote about the experience is "I was a middle-level hack, a B-list screenwriter who made a very good living stamping out…

The pilot's not very good.  It improves measurably after that and gets pretty consistently good somewhere around the middle of the first season.  His more annoying tics never completely disappear, but he has a generally lighter touch here than in most of his other TV work, so it goes down painlessly.

The pilot's not very good.  It improves measurably after that and gets pretty consistently good somewhere around the middle of the first season.  His more annoying tics never completely disappear, but he has a generally lighter touch here than in most of his other TV work, so it goes down painlessly.

I'm a big fan, too.  It's a pretty strange show, really - not that I want every show to be like this, but it's such a cold program, it's positively bracing.  There's literally not a single admirable character in the whole thing (even those, like Karen Hines' producer character, who stand out for being basically…