Moo Moo (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
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"Moo Moo" is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
series ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
'' and the 84th episode of the series. It was written by Phil Augusta Jackson and directed by
Maggie Carey Maggie Carey (born ) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actress. She has directed comedy shorts for television, and she wrote and directed the 2013 film '' The To Do List''. Early life and education Carey was raised in Boi ...
. It aired on
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
in the United States on May 2, 2017. It features guest appearances from
Desmond Harrington Desmond Harrington (born October 19, 1976) is an American actor. He made his film debut in 1999, playing Jean d'Aulon in '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc''. His later credits include '' Riding in Cars with Boys'', '' The Hole'' (both ...
and
Mary Holland Mary Holland is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Early life Holland was born and raised in Galax, Virginia. Career After graduating from college, she began performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She is a cast member of ...
. The show revolves around the fictitious 99th precinct of the
New York Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and the officers and detectives who work there. In the episode, Terry experiences
racial profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the offender profiling, selective enforcement or selective prosecution based on race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimination against minority pop ...
when he is nearly arrested just for walking near his own house at night. He then consults with Holt regarding the right thing to do. While Terry works to solve the problem, Jake and Amy babysit his daughters. The episode was seen by an estimated 1.72 million household viewers and gained a 0.6/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. It received acclaim from critics and audiences, who praised Terry Crews' performance and the subject matter; many deemed it one of the series's best episodes.


Plot

In the
cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...
, Boyle appears in the same outfit as Terry and asks his colleagues who pull off the look better. To his dismay, they unanimously agree Terry does. Terry (
Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former professional American football, football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/The CW Television Network, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which air ...
) decides to apply as a city council liaison for additional responsibilities. To give him time to complete the paperwork, he has Jake (
Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, musician, writer and producer. He is a member of the comedy music group the Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. ...
) and Amy (
Melissa Fumero Melissa Fumero ( Gallo; born August 19, 1982) is an American actress and television director. She made her professional debut in 2004 in the recurring role of Adriana Cramer in the television soap opera ''One Life to Live''. Following several ...
) pick up his daughters. During the trip, Cagney's blanket, "Moo Moo", is accidentally thrown out of the car; on learning this, Terry heads out into the night to find it. After he finds the blanket, Terry is stopped by Officer Maldack (
Desmond Harrington Desmond Harrington (born October 19, 1976) is an American actor. He made his film debut in 1999, playing Jean d'Aulon in '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc''. His later credits include '' Riding in Cars with Boys'', '' The Hole'' (both ...
), who snarls at him for daring to be outside at night and nearly arrests him, backing off only when Terry is finally able to identify himself as a cop. While discussing the incident of
racial profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the offender profiling, selective enforcement or selective prosecution based on race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimination against minority pop ...
with the uniformly shocked and angry precinct (even Hitchcock is furious at how Terry was treated), Terry decides to meet with Maldack. Maldack apologizes for his behavior, but only because it turns out Terry was a fellow officer. Terry tells Maldack that he targeted him for being black and asks for an apology, but Maldack refuses, claiming that stopping Terry was "doing his job". Terry decides to file a complaint and asks Holt (
Andre Braugher Andre Keith Braugher ( ; July 1, 1962 – December 11, 2023) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) and Captain Raymond Holt in the ...
) to submit it. To his surprise, Holt suggests that the complaint isn't the best idea. While babysitting Terry's daughters, Jake and Amy explain Terry's problem to them and discuss being a minority in America. When Terry confronts him, Holt explains that he doesn't want to submit the complaint because the fallout from doing so might affect Terry's career. Instead, he tells Terry that he should continue to rise through the ranks so he can help change the system. Terry then explains to Holt that as an overweight child, a cop saved him from bullies, and the gratitude and respect he felt for the cops was the exact opposite of how Maldack made him feel. Holt decides to support Terry and submit the complaint. The next day, Holt tells Terry that his application for the liaison job was denied, most likely due to his complaint—but they both feel they did the right thing.


Reception


Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Moo Moo" was seen by an estimated 1.72 million household viewers and gained a 0.6/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. This was slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.88 million viewers with a 0.7/3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.6 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With these ratings, ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' was the third highest rated show on FOX for the night, behind '' The Mick'' and ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...
'', seventh on its timeslot and sixteenth for the night, behind two episodes of ''
Great News ''Great News'' is an American sitcom television series created and written by Tracey Wigfield, and executive produced by Wigfield alongside Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment, Little Stranger and Universal Televi ...
'', ''The Mick'', ''
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, ...
'', ''
Imaginary Mary ''Imaginary Mary'' is an American live-action/animated fantasy sitcom television series created by Adam F. Goldberg, David Guarascio and Patrick Osborne that aired on ABC from March 29 to May 30, 2017. The series is executive produced by the ...
'', ''Prison Break'', ''
The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
'', ''
The Real O'Neals ''The Real O'Neals'' is an American single-camera sitcom that aired on ABC from March 2, 2016, to March 14, 2017. The series, based on an idea by Dan Savage (who also served as an executive producer), was picked up to series on May 7, 2015. The ...
'', '' NCIS: New Orleans'', ''
American Housewife ''American Housewife'' is an American television sitcom created and written by Sarah Dunn and executive produced with Aaron Kaplan, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener, and for the pilot only Ruben Fleischer. The show, which premiered on ABC on October ...
'', '' The Middle'', ''
Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...
'', '' Chicago Fire'', ''
NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...
'', and '' The Voice''.


Critical reviews

"Moo Moo" received acclaim from critics. LaToya Ferguson of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' gave it a "B" grade and wrote, "After last week's hilarious faux goodbye to the Nine-Nine, the possibilities were endless for where ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' could go. I can't personally say an episode about police profiling against one of the Nine-Nine's own is where I thought the show would immediately go—especially not with the episode title 'Moo Moo' —but it's quite a way for the show to kick off May sweeps and get the Nine-Nine back in the groove after weeks of worrying about closing up shop."
Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
of ''
Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...
'' wrote, "Fortunately, the serious half of 'Moo Moo' felt honest and real without undercutting the show's usual goofiness, and it felt like a good way to take advantage of both the inclusiveness of the cast — if Terry Crews was the only
lack Lack may refer to: Places * Lack, County Fermanagh, a townland in Northern Ireland * Lack, Poland * Łąck, Poland * Lack Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, US Other uses * Lack (surname) * Lack (manque), a term in Lacan's psychoanalyti ...
regular on the show, this story plays very differently — and the varied skill sets of the ensemble." Andy Crump of ''
Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...
'' gave the episode a 9.3 and wrote, "That doesn't change in 'Moo Moo,' really, but 'Moo Moo' is, perhaps, the fourth season's best beneficiary to date of ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine''s longstanding character developments: Here, the amount of time we've spent investing in its cast pays off with astronomic results, even if there aren't many belly laughs included in those results. Maybe the idea of reduced funny stuff in ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is anathema to you."


References


External links

* {{Brooklyn Nine-Nine 2017 American television episodes Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 4 episodes Television episodes about racism Offender profiling Black Lives Matter art