Old School (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
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Episode 8
| "Old School" | |
|---|---|
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Beth McCarthy-Miller |
| Written by | Gabe Liedman |
| Cinematography by | Giovani Lampassi |
| Editing by | Cortney Carrillo |
| Production code | 109 |
| Original air date | November 12, 2013 |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Old School" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It is the 8th overall episode of the series and is written by Gabe Liedman and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 12, 2013. It was the eighth episode to be broadcast but the ninth episode to be produced.
In the episode, Peralta meets an idol from his childhood, police journalist Jimmy Brogan (Stacy Keach), whose book The Squad made Peralta want to be a cop. However, his recklessness ends up threatening the precinct's reputation. Meanwhile, Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) and Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) coach Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) on her courtroom demeanor. The episode was seen by an estimated 3.26 million household viewers and gained a 1.4/4 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Keach's performance as well as Jake's character development.
In the cold open, the squad members steal Scully's smelly shoes from him while he's asleep and blow them up outside, only for the explosion to make the smell worse.
Jimmy Brogan, a former journalist and author of police novels in the 1970s, is visiting the precinct to research an article on how the NYPD has changed since the 1970s. Jake Peralta is a big fan of the books; they inspired him to become a detective. However, he fails to impress Brogan, who shows no interest in the modern environment and the new route the precinct has taken, disparaging Peralta and Amy Santiago as "hair bags". Meanwhile, Rosa is scheduled to give testimony in an assault case, and Terry and Charles are concerned about how she comes across to juries. They try to change her demeanor to make her less abrasive in court but are unsuccessful.
Despite Captain Holt's admonishment that the "good old days" that Brogan writes about were rife with sexism, homophobia, and racism, Peralta continues to try to win Brogan over. The two spend a night getting drunk at Shaw's, and the next day, an extremely hungover Peralta discovers that Brogan has plans to use quotes from their conversation in his article, including criticism of Holt that may damage the captain's reputation. Peralta meets with Brogan to try and convince him not to publish the offending remarks, and returns having punched him in the face.
In court, Rosa struggles to appear less confrontational, but finds it difficult in the face of a particularly provocative defense attorney. Charles tells her to go to a 'happy place', which works, and she is able to give convincing testimony that results in a conviction. Later, when she reveals her 'happy place' was imagining a graphically violent encounter with the defense attorney, Terry schedules her for a psych evaluation.
Holt is furious with Peralta for his assault on Brogan, and nearly suspends him. Later, however, Santaigo tells him the whole story: Brogan agreed not to publish the quotes, but when Peralta was complimentary towards Holt, Brogan called Holt a homophobic slur, at which point Peralta punched him out. Holt softens at this and implicitly lets Peralta know that he is okay with what happened. Having seen Brogan's true colors, Peralta stops admiring him, and the Nine-Nine blows up Jake's prized copy of Brogan's The Squad the same way they blew up Scully's shoes earlier in the episode.