Scripted series outshine reality shows this summer

Forget the latest "Bachelorette," the next troublemaking houseguest on "Big Brother" and whatever "America's Got Talent" manages to dredge up. I have seen the breakout star of the summer, and it resides on Bradley Whitford's upper lip.

Without that glorious relic of a mustache, "The Good Guys" (sneak preview at 8 p.m. Wednesday, KVVU-TV, Channel 5) is a depressing tale of washed-up Dallas cop Dan Stark, who has been busted down to property crimes where he tracks down a stolen humidifier while reminiscing about his glory days in 1985 when he and his then partner saved the governor's son and became the subjects of a TV movie.

With the mustache, it's a raucous, over-the-top romp in which Stark still attacks his police work the way he did 25 years ago, jumping "T.J. Hooker"-style onto the hood of a speeding car or saving the day in a T-top Trans Am while AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" blares in the background.

Honestly, that mustache deserves, if not its own paycheck, at least an executive producer credit. No cluster of hair has been more vital to a show's enjoyment since Keri Russell's luxurious locks on "Felicity."

After its sneak preview, "The Good Guys" will return June 7 in its regular 9 p.m. Monday time slot. But, unlike during many summers, it will have plenty of competition in the form of original scripted series.

NBC will roll out the romantic comedy "100 Questions" and "Persons Unknown," a drama about seven strangers held prisoner in a deserted town.

ABC will offer "Scoundrels," a comedic drama about a family of petty criminals; "The Gates," a drama about a seemingly idyllic community with dark, supernatural undercurrents; and "Rookie Blue," a drama about young cops.

And CBS, which hasn't announced its summer plans, will have episodes of the Canadian cop dramas "Flashpoint" and "The Bridge" at its disposal.

But I can't imagine any of them being more fun than "The Good Guys."

Thanks to the 'stache, Whitford is no longer the guy from "The West Wing" who always looked as though he came out of the womb wearing a necktie. That soup strainer enables him to fully become Dan Stark, who's equal parts swagger and stagger as he slurs and stumbles his way through a shift -- he keeps a cooler of beer in his locker and downs bourbon on the way to interview a suspect -- while struggling valiantly to pronounce the word "humidifier."

As evidenced by his lip whiskers, Stark clearly hasn't kept up with the times. That extends to his police work, as he mocks the crime scene results from the lab. "I'm not sure I believe there's little things in your blood floatin' around carrying so-called DNA."

Tasked with baby-sitting Stark is Jack Bailey (Colin Hanks), who's working property crimes because, as his assistant district attorney ex-girlfriend (Jenny Wade) reminds him, he "pissed off damn-near everyone in the department."

As with any good buddy cop pairing, Stark and the by-the-book Bailey's styles clash as powerfully and violently as some of Stark's outfits. When their investigation -- beginning with the humidifier, it grows to involve drugs, millions of dollars in cash and international assassins -- turns up a phone number on a scrap of paper, Stark pounces: "Let's hit the streets, see if anyone recognizes the number." "Or, I could just put the number in the district computer," Bailey sarcastically counters. "Be a whole lot quicker than just asking random people on the streets."

And, as the members of these odd couplings are wont to do, Stark and Bailey eventually learn to play to each other's strengths. Take "good cop, sick cop," in which Stark vomits all over a crime scene so Bailey can have the evidence to himself.

Whitford is clearly having a blast playing Stark, who comes off as equal parts dirt bag and daredevil. If he isn't trading on his fading celebrity to sleep with crime victims, he's charging headfirst into danger. When Bailey calls for backup during a shootout, Stark's only response is a testosterone-fueled "Tell 'em I said hi" before barreling after the gunman.

It all makes for a silly good time.

Granted, none of it feels real. And you don't believe Stark is a living, breathing person for a second.

But while that might be a problem in the fall or even the spring, "The Good Guys" is airing during the summer, when all anyone wants to do is relax and have a good time.

Except for that mustache.

Aside from whatever that is on Donald Trump's head, it's the hardest working hair in show business.

Christopher Lawrence's Life on the Couch column appears on Sundays. E-mail him at clawrence@ reviewjournal.com.