Friday, May 29, 2020
Fri-Yay: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Continues to Delight and Improve; Remembering Richard Herd of Seinfeld
by Vincent

The past few weeks, I've gotten the chance to catch up on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a show that I really enjoy, but sometimes forget to watch for a bit, so I wind up having a long string of episodes to catch up on. In a way, I like it that way, because Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the type of show whose upbeat, cheerful world I like to get lost in for a while, and the world of Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been a constant source of joy in these trying times. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a show that has been so good for so long that it's easy to take its consistent for granted. But we should remember that a comedy being great for so long is certainly not the norm. By Season 7, most comedies have shown signs of wear and tear. Instead, Brooklyn Nine-Nine just keeps getting better.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine was a really solid show in its early seasons, but it didn't necessarily rise to the level of "great" in its first couple of seasons, seeming content at being an entertaining workplace comedy without much depth. But slowly but surely, the show began to quietly really focus on developing its characters, and by Season 4, the characters had grown past their original archetypes and become something more real. That has made the show even more rewarding as it enters its later seasons, as the relationship between its characters - such as Jake and Amy, which started out as a typical will they/won't they but accelerated in a way that they feel like a truly real couple. It's really rare for a show to give its characters more depth as it progresses, but that's what's happened with Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and it's truly a joy to watch.
Actor Richard Herd, who appeared as George Costanza's boss Mr. Wilhelm in Seinfeld, has died. He died from cancer at his Los Angeles home on May 26. Mr. Herd was 87.
Herd starred as Captain Dennis Sheridan in the police drama T.J. Hooker. Captain Sheridan was the by-the-books superior at the fictional Lake City Police Department (LCPD) Academy Precinct. He was the father of Officer Stacy Sheridan (Heather Locklear). Herd was a regular in the first two seasons before becoming an occasional guest star in seasons three and four. The series aired on ABC for four seasons from 1982 to 1985 before moving to CBS for the final season from 1985 to 1986. It also starred William Shatner, Adrian Zmed (1982-1985), Lee Bryant (1982-1983), April Clough (1982) and James Darren (1983-1986).
He played John, the Visitors' Supreme Commander, in the 1983 NBC sci-fi miniseries V and 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle. He starred as Admiral/Secretary General William Noyce in the NBC sci-fi series seaQuest DSV from 1993 to 1994. He appeared as Mike the in the short-lived 1994 NBC drama Winnetka Road.
Herd appeared as Mr. Wilhelm, George Costanza's (Jason Alexander) baffled boss, in 11 episodes of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld from 1995 to 1998. Matt Wilhelm was George's supervisor at the New York Yankees. He later leaves the Yankees to become head scout for the New York Mets.
Some of his sitcom guest appearances included M*A*S*H in 1980, The Golden Girls in 1989, Grace Under Fire in 1996 and Caroline in the City in 1998.
He played Admiral Owen Paris, the father of helmsman Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), in three episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. Some of his many drama guest appearances included Kojak, The Rockford Files, The Streets of San Francisco, Starsky and Hutch, Dallas, Hart to Hart, Falcon Crest, Matt Houston, The A-Team, Knight Rider, Hardcastle and McCormick, Dynasty, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Beauty and the Beast, Simon & Simon, Matlock, Knots Landing, China Beach, Murder, She Wrote, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, ER, Walker, Texas Ranger, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Pacific Blue, JAG and CSI: Miami.
Herd's first major film role was in the thriller The China Syndrome (1979) alongside Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas, where he played the character Evan McCormack, the corrupt Chairman of the California Gas & Electric Board. Some of his other film credits included Private Benjamin (1980), Lovely But Deadly (1981), Trancers (1985), Summer Rental (1985), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Gleaming the Cube (1989), Get Out (2017) and The Mule (2018).
Mr. Herd was a very good character actor. He was mostly known for his dramatic roles, but he showed his comedic chops in Seinfeld as Wilhelm. He will be greatly missed.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, September 23
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 22)
Tuesday, September 23
- Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Catch Glen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Regina is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Bobby Cannavale (Angie Tribeca/Will & Grace) - Bobby appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) and Bowen Yang (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Matt and Bowen are Day Drinking on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Helen Hong (The Thundermans/The Unicorn) and Jay Mohr (Gary Unmarried/Action/Camp Wilder) - Helen and Jay are guests on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jane Krakowski (Schmigadoon!/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/30 Rock) - Jane appears on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - Zachary is a guest on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Jane Lynch (Angel from Hell) - Jane appears on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Brett Goldstein (Shrinking/Ted Lasso) - Brett is telling Drew about his new movie All of You on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Erika Alexander (Run the World/Living Single/The Cosby Show) - Erika talks about her new podcast ReLiving Single and shares an EXCLUSIVE first look at the new season of Invasion on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Kym Whitley (Act Your Age/Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) - Kym pitches all the reasons why eligible bachelors should date her bestie, Sherri, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Tembi Locke (Like Family/Raising Dad/Claude's Crib) - Tembi talks about Someday, Now: A Memoir of Family, Reclaiming Possibility, and One Sicilian Summer on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry chats about his children's book Detective Duck: The Mystery at Emerald Pond on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
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