Backstrom “I Am A Bird Now” has no idea what it wants to be as an episode. I’m going to refrain from saying the show as a whole is terrible as it’s far too early to call, but I do feel as if Backstrom has no real identity. The show just doesn’t know what it is and tries to take elements from too many genres and mush them all together.
Sarah Chalke guest stars this episode as Backstrom’s ex-fiance, Amy Gazanian who is heading up this oversight committee into the actions taken by Backstrom in a previous case that lead to the death of a suspect. The pressure of being in front of the committee and having to cover for his actions lead to Backstrom having a mini heart-attack before he can finish his testimony.
Backstrom, while still on a gurney from his apparent heart attack (we find out later it’s panic attack caused by covering his lies) and his team at the Special Crimes Unit are called into investigate the murder of a prominent member of Portland’s LGBT community. During the initial investigation Backstrom declares the murder a hate crime to get himself out of testifying in front of the Civilian Oversight Committee as a hate crime takes precedent in the eyes of the law.
The investigation takes an unsuspected turn when Backstrom’s roommate, Gregory Valentine, becomes a suspect in the murder. “I Am A Bird Now” follows the standard format for a police procedural, but tries to inject copious amounts of humor throughout at the expense of the LGBT community. It’s a hard line to walk with this humor and Backstrom more often than not falls flat and comes of as hateful.
The problem is that Backstrom just isn’t a likable character. I know the whole idea is to dislike the man and respect his skill as a talented investigator, but the show fails to show him in a good light. His team blindly follows him and will back him, even in his lies, and we have yet to get the sense the Backstrom is even that great of an investigator. In fact, it felt like the secondary cast did most of the work and Backstrom came to conclusions by pure luck in-between his dated jokes.
What really ruins this episode is the humor, or lack of it. The shows tries to come off as a Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but with more serious undertones. This is where things falter as it just isn’t that funny hearing the same joke(s) at the expense of the LGBT community. It’s not that these jokes couldn’t work, it’s just that they feel childish in this episode and nobody ever questions, or calls out Backstrom for his behavior.
On top of everything the very jokes that litter the first part of the show just suddenly stop mid way through and the show veers into a more serious nature. It feels as if the first half of “I Am A Bird Now” is a straight police comedy while the second half is a drama.
Backstrom is a show without an identity and if it can’t find its flow soon we are going to see it be a victim of the FOX cancellation hammer. The stories that the show is trying to tell are genuinely interesting, but the way they tell them leave a lot to be desired. Here’s to hoping next week Backstrom finds its footing.
Pros:
- The secondary cast is great
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Dennis Haysbert steals the show
Cons:
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Humor falls flat
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Pacing and identity problems
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Backstrom is still unlikable
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I’d rather watch a show based around the character Dennis Haysbert plays than Backstrom
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