"Reno 911!"
10:30 p.m. April 1
Comedy Central
As if the Reno Sheriff's Department needed another distraction. The season premiere of "Reno 911!" boasts a sponsorship from, get this, Hooters-like chicks. Clad in ass-tight, bright pink hot pants the Hotty's Restaurants' girls serve up some finger-licking fun with some tasty treats (Wings!) and a side order of stupidity.
The half-baked bunch of cops – following their so-so silver screen debut – returns with the last half of season four's Comedy Central cheeseball improv-ish show. Like previous episodes, the premiere's theme resonates with a bang: Avoid these morons.
Unfortunately, Sandra and Keanu didn't get the memo. A "Speed"-esque intro goes wrong after fruity head-idiot Lt. Dangle (Thomas Lennon) misinforms a woman on how to diffuse a bomb on her bus. "Someone call the fire department," screams Dangle after it blows up. Deputy James Garcia (Cedric Yarbrough) replies, "Not it."
As the sidesplitting episode unfurls, the premise largely spotlights those raunchy women and everything pink. Pink police cruisers. Pink pocketed shirts. Pink hot pants. When the uniforms arrive, the police department's a bit weary of parading around in something so, um, gay looking.
"We're supposed to put that on and fight crime?" asks suspected-lesbian Deputy Cheresa Kimball (Mary Birdsong).
Without shame, Dangle prances into the office sporting the pink get-up. Surprising? Hardly. The gay leader is even given props from pregnant Deputy Trudy Wiegel (Kerri Kenney-Silver), whose later seen with her protruding belly pouring over her shorts.
"It looks nice on you, Jim," she unconvincingly tells him.
In between wing-munching (and there's a whole lot of them going in – and coming out), the incompetent "cops" attempt to inspect a noise complaint, ticket the Hotty's chicks for a 40-over traffic violation from (that ends in a threat) and confront totally-gay Terry (Nick Swardson).
The restaurant worker's interrogated when someone reports pubes-packed burritos. In typical Terry style, he denies putting pubic hair in the food during a hilarious confrontation that ends in Wiegel asking him for some comp tacos.
He, in fact, is baffled that someone would do something so disgusting and tells Wiegel and Kimball he'll report it to the police.
"Well, somebody already did," Kimball retorts.
As a TV series, "Reno 911!" works with its tasteless comedy and kooky characters. Unlike the film – with its fireworks ending way, way before the finale – the premiere was tighter than Dangle's asscheeks and a helluva lot funnier than most of the mediocre movie. The dim-lit Wiegel and gradually gayer Dangle still stand out in a cast that's as bright as their pink hot pants.
