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2 • October 9 - 15, 2016 • Brainerd Dispatch By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media I 'm not sure any of us saw this com- ing, but two of Fox's most popular comedies have reached that zenith of television: the crossover episode. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense — not yet anyway — but all will pre- sumably be made clear on a very spe- cial Tuesday night, when the wacky gang of "New Girl" heads to the Big Apple to mix it up with the goofy law enforcers of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." What? Since when do these two shows exist in the same universe? What con- ceivable reason is there for these characters to cross paths? Do the shows even share the same studio? (They don't.) Who cares! It's going to be a good night of TV. Tune in Tuesday, Oct. 11, for the highly anticipated "Brooklyn Nine- Nine"/"New Girl" crossover, airing on Fox. So far, the powers that be have kept pretty mum about what actually takes place in the episode. What we do know is that Jess (Zooey De- schanel, "500 Days of Summer," 2009), Nick (Jake Johnson, "Let's Be Cops," 2014), Winston (Lamorne Morris, "Barbershop: The Next Cut," 2016), Schmidt (Max Greenfield, "Ve- ronica Mars") and Cece (Hannah Simone, "Flock of Dudes," 2016) travel to New York and meet the men and women of Brooklyn's 99th Precinct, which includes Det. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg, "Saturday Night Live"), Det. Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero, "One Life to Live") and Capt. Ray Holt (Andre Braugher, "Homi- cide: Life on the Street"). It's to be as- sumed that, as a fledgling cop, Win- ston gets wrapped up in some of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine's" typical police action. Hijinks, presumably, ensue. "The crossover episode has histor- ically been the artistic high point of any show that has dared to attempt it," quipped "New Girl" creator Liz Meriwether in a statement. "We know we have big shoes to fill, and we look forward to disappointing ev- eryone." Indeed, the mashing together of two established series isn't a new concept. Sometimes it makes sense, like when the cast of "Grey's Anato- my" reunited with the docs of its spinoff, "Private Practice." Or, sillier but still technically making sense, when the "Happy Days" gang en- joyed a crossover trifecta with its two spinoffs, "Mork and Mindy" and "La- verne and Shirley." Sometimes it makes hardly any sense, like when the cast of "St. Elsewhere" ended up in the "Cheers" bar (they're both set in Bos- ton, so OK), or, in a particularly sac- charine television event, when uber- nerd Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) trav- eled from "Family Matters" to "Full House" to help Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweetin) get on board with wearing glasses. And sometimes it makes no sense whatsoever, like when the Jetsons traveled back in time and met the Flintstones, or — even more absurd — the Power Rangers joined forces with the Teen- age Mutant Ninja Turtles (the Ninja Turtles have also popped up in an Ar- chie comic, but we won't get into that). The "New Girl"/"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" episode may fall some- where in the middle — there's no ob- vious reason for the two casts to meet, but why the heck not? Recently, CW has been all about blending its various DC Comics- based shows, and NBC has been known to merge its four Dick Wolf productions ("Law & Order: SVU" and the Chicago franchise). This isn't Fox's first foray into the crossover world, either; last year's "Bones"/"Sleepy Hollow" crossover earned both shows their best ratings for the season, so it's understandable that the network would have the same hopes for its two most popular comedies. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," now in its fourth season, proved a surprise hit for the network, landing two Golden Globes (Best Television Series — Mu- sical or Comedy and Best Actor — Television Series Musical or Comedy for Samberg) as well as three consec- utive Emmy nods for Braugher. Plus, with Jake and Amy now together, it's good to give fans something fresh to focus on and look forward to, lest the show be struck with the dreaded "Moonlighting" curse (when a series fizzles after the will-they-won't-they couple finally gets together). As for "New Girl," the roomie-cen- tric comedy is six seasons in and still going strong, with five Golden Globe and Emmy nominations under its belt. The show averaged nearly 3.7 million viewers last season, with its ratings up from season 4. It's made Deschanel — seldom more than a supporting actress on the big screen — a star in her own right, and put her castmates on the path to becoming the same. The series still garners loads of praise and doesn't appear to be in danger of losing steam any time soon. "The shows definitely feel com- patible," Fox exec Dana Walden said at this summer's Television Critics As- sociation press tour. "They came up with a really fun story for the cross- over. If it feels organic and it feels like something that can exist between two shows, I find that most creators these days are very open to anything that will 'eventize' their shows, make them stand out." Max Greenfield, Hannah Simone, Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson and Lamorne Morris star in "New Girl" Jess and co. cross paths with the 99th Precinct Cover Story this week 501 W Washington St, Brainerd 218-828-1823 Free loaner cars available with most services! www.heartlandtireservice.com SAVE ON SELECT GOODYEAR AND DUNLOP TIRES A POTENTIAL SAVINGS UP TO See associate for details. 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