The Party (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
"The Party" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The episode was written by Gil Ozeri & Gabe Liedman and directed by Michael Engler, and aired on Fox in the United States on February 4, 2014. The episode was the seventeenth to be produced but the sixteenth to be broadcast.
| "The Party" | |
|---|---|
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 16 |
| Directed by | Michael Engler |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | |
| Cinematography by | Giovani Lampassi |
| Editing by | Cortney Carillo |
| Production code | 115 |
| Original air date | February 4, 2014 |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
In this episode, the gang is invited by Holt's husband (Marc Evan Jackson) to his birthday party in his house. However, their immature personalities end up taking over, despite Terry Jeffords's (Terry Crews) efforts to prevent it. Meanwhile, Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) meets a woman (Marilu Henner) at the party whom he is immediately interested in. The episode was seen by an estimated 3.22 million household viewers and gained a 1.4/4 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Marc Evan Jackson's guest performance, the cast and the writing as highlights.
Plot
The gang receive an invitation from Raymond Holt's (Andre Braugher) husband, Kevin Cozner (Marc Evan Jackson), to attend Holt's birthday party at their house. Before the party, Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) instructs the squad to act mature during the party and tells them what not to do.
An the party, Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) tries to impress Kevin by citing many of his interests, including feigning knowing a story from The New Yorker. Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) tries to interact with Holt and bond over their different furniture, but he shows no interest. Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti) becomes the subject of an investigation by a group of psychiatrists due to her talking. Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) meets Vivian Ludley (Marilu Henner), an older woman who works as a food author. They end up making out in a closet.
Peralta and Santiago go to Holt and Kevin's bedroom to find information when they are scolded by Jeffords. They then hide in the bathroom when Holt and Kevin arrive, revealing that Kevin only invited them because Holt told him to do so. They are exposed when Santiago's allergy to dogs blow their cover, and the squad is kicked out of the house. The next day, Peralta visits Kevin at his university where he finally understands his reasons for not wanting to invite them: Kevin hates the police due to Holt's suffering insults from homophobic police officers years ago. The gang then arranges a dinner for them to compensate for ruining the party.
Reception
Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "The Party" was seen by an estimated 3.22 million household viewers and gained a 1.4/4 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was a 30% decrease in viewership from the previous episode not counting the Super Bowl, which was watched by 4.55 million viewers with a 1.9/5 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] This means that 1.4 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 4 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With these ratings, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was the third most watched show on FOX for the night, behind Dads and New Girl, fifth on its timeslot and ninth for the night, behind Dads, New Girl, The Goldbergs, Person of Interest, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Biggest Loser, NCIS: Los Angeles, and NCIS.
Critical reviews
"The Party" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Roth Cornet of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.8 out of 10 and wrote, "'The Party' placed the Nine-Nine crew firmly outside of their collective comfort zone with hilarious results. This episode, like so many on this series, was all about team bonding, but the fish out of waterness of it all proved that they don't need a case to find a reason to come together, act insane, and do a little detecting."[3]
Molly Eichel of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "If 'The Party' does one thing, it's demonstrate how monumentally confident Brooklyn Nine-Nine is in its short run, especially when it comes to its ensemble. This is an episode that's completely based on fully-formed characterization (Terry's love of the French New Wave will never die!), rather than plot. In fact, there's little plot to propel the narrative here, other than the world expansion via Kevin's introduction. Seriously, Peralta spends most of the episode looking for a magazine. This is not thrilling stuff. But that's okay."[4]
Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine is at a point where it's mastered its tone and the strengths of its ensemble. I think there's still room for it to get even funnier, but if it stays at this terrific level, I'll have no complaints."[5]
References
- Gorman, Bill (February 5, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'NCIS', 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' & 'The Originals' Adjusted Up; 'NCIS: Los Angeles', ' The Goldbergs'. 'Supernatural' & 'Trophy Wife' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- Gorman, Bill (January 22, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'The Originals' & 'New Girl' Adjusted Up; 'Trophy Wife' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- Cornet, Roth (February 4, 2014). "Brooklyn Nine-Nine: "The Party" Review". IGN. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- Eichel, Molly (February 5, 2014). "Brooklyn Nine-Nine: "The Party"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- Sepinwall, Alan (February 5, 2014). "Review: 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' – 'The Party': Upstairs, downstairs". HitFix. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
External links
- "The Party" at IMDb
- "The Party" at TV.com