(Photo courtesy of CBS)While high concept television shows seems to be the current trend, sometimes it’s nice to see a network such as CBS go back to more familiar territory and air a weekly police procedural. Sure, it might not be a groundbreaking series, but there are no signs anywhere in its pilot episode that “Battle Creek” ever aims to be.
Created by "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan, “Battle Creek" was sold to CBS long before Walter White ever received his diagnosis. The series centers on Detective Russ Agnew (Dean Winters) who works for the town of Battle Creek, Michigan’s ramshackle police department. In a quiet city faced with a lack of jobs and impending globalization, the police department is the last thing on anybody’s mind. Only after a routine sting operation goes awry due to faulty equipment does the underfunded department get the help they asked for. Sort of.
Enter FBI agent Milt Chamberlain (Josh Duhamel), a good-looking, smooth-talking government agent who is tasked with introducing Battle Creek PD to modern police work. As Chamberlain takes the reigns, Agnew’s ego kicks in and he sets out to outdo his new partner, managing to get some solid police work done in the process.
The two characters are polar opposites of each other — Chamberlain is ahead of the game and familiar with the latest technology, Agnew is an old dog trying to be taught new tricks. However, watching them play off of each other made the pilot truly enjoyable. I look forward to seeing how the two’s relationship develops over the course of the season.
Unfortunately, seeing Agnew and Chamberlain together takes away from the rest of the show's exceptionally talented cast, headlined by Janet McTeer ("Damages") and Kal Penn ("Harold and Kumar"). While both actors are in the premiere, they are mostly swept to the side in order for Chamberlain and Agnew’s relationship to develop.
What separates “Battle Creek” from the other procedural dramas in CBS’ lineup is the striking chemistry between Winters and Duhamel. Watching their characters banter made the show’s introductory hour a pleasure to watch. Both personalities shone through while each character tried to outsmart the other.
Duhamel’s Chamberlain is a smooth-talking charmer and Winters’s Agnew is a scruffy hard-ass. Watching the two work together in the coming weeks should prove to be quite enjoyable, even if just to see how to two adjust to working together.
Also a standout was the show’s excellent pacing and subtle humor. The cold opening in which Agnew and Penn’s Fontanelle White are on track for a seemingly routine sting operation works quite well, only to be made into an off-kilter comedic affair. While it may not necessarily fit the show's largely serious tone, it works perfectly because of how well it shows the desperation of the Battle Creek PD and the direness of the situation.
While it may not push boundaries like Gilligan’s “Breaking Bad” was notorious for doing, the show certainly serves as an enjoyable offering from a network that has had a tendency to play things a bit safe lately. Though not perfect, “Battle Creek” definitely has the potential to shape into one of CBS’s best new shows in recent memory.
Contact this reporter at seweinst@asu.edu or on Twitter @S_Weinstein95.
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