Expectations can set you up for a really nice surprise sometimes. I was convinced to try the new Fox comedy series Going Dutch (also streaming on Hulu) after being completely turned off by the previews and the concept. I mean, Denis Leary on Fox playing a curmudgeonly old Army colonel who is forced to deal with Gen Z kids, while all the time railing about millennials—count me out. I’m all about tossed salad and scrambled eggs, but I skipped the poorly reviewed Frasier reboot for those exact reasons. But, somehow, Going Dutch managed to surprise me.
Much like A.P. Bio, which was also a pleasant surprise, the premise seemed hopelessly mired in uncomfortably out-of-date views about comedy, with a particularly mean spirit that doesn’t appeal to me anymore. Denis Leary, famed angry comedian of a bygone era, expects to receive a promotion to commanding officer of the combat base USAG Baumholder when General Davidson, who does not like Leary’s character Colonel Patrick Quinn, breaks the news that not only is he not being promoted, he’s getting transferred to a support base in Stroopsdorf, Netherlands, because of a scathing, profanity-laced video of Quinn laying into his superiors, including Davidson and the Joint Chiefs. It was an embarrassment to the military and it gave Davidson the opportunity to punish the loudmouth Quinn. Now, the Stroopsdorf base is a unique one. The main work they do there is laundry, supplying cheese to combat forces, and maintaining a bowling alley. The soldiers ride bicycles (as is the custom in the Netherlands, apparently; when I was in Amsterdam, they were everywhere), their uniform standards are lax, and they don’t carry any guns. For an old war dog like Quinn, this is practically torture. No combat, no enemy, kindly European villagers, and, worst of all, no guns at all.
But the real torture is revealed when Quinn meets the base’s interim commander who has been running the show ever since the old CO started working remotely: Quinn’s estranged daughter, Maggie (Taylor Misiak), a captain. It’s at that moment that Quinn realizes what Davidson’s real punishment is; it’s not just taking him out of a combat role and forever barring him from furthering his rank, it’s forcing him to reconnect with a daughter who hates his guts. Devious. Brilliant, really, in a way. I mean, underhanded, surely, but kind of brilliant. The reunion goes about as well as you can expect, and as Quinn inspects the base, finding fault with everything, especially the personnel, Captain Maggie, as she’s affectionately known by those in her command, grows increasingly frustrated with her father’s presence and attitude. One of the soldiers that particularly irks him is the tech guy, Corporal Papadakis, played by Hal Cumpston—having to grow up with a name like that, it’s no surprise he became a comedian and comic actor—who is the absolute standout star of Going Dutch. With his long hair, wispy tween-style moustache, and generous physique, he’s everything Quinn hates about the younger generation. He’s also overly familiar, very open emotionally, and not at all suited to a life of combat or the type of old school, John Wayne masculinity that Quinn values. But, luckily for the audience, Papadakis has an incredible sense of comedic timing and line delivery that will have you laughing out loud more per episode than I did in the entirety of the Night Court reboot’s first season. At one point, as a bonding exercise with Col. Quinn, Papadakis shows up with two feet of a formerly six foot hoagie (sub sandwich, if you’re not from around here) and tells the colonel that they need to “Lady and the Tramp it” as an act of camaraderie. In the pilot episode, when his hand is taken to show off how soft the soldiers at Stroopsdorf are, the distinct aroma of lavender is mentioned. He responds that they pick it in the afternoons, right before nap time. You can read this and it does the line no justice—even if I were to use a direct quote, there’s no way to replicate his delivery and timing in a written medium. He’s hilarious, relentlessly positive, and extremely wholesome, which was entirely unexpected for this show.
Papadakis isn’t the only one who gets laughs, either. Community alum Danny Pudi plays Major Abraham Shah, who is effectively Quinn’s valet, his body man. Completely different from Abed and his ultracapitalist diabolical character in Mythic Quest, Shah is buttoned down, a devoted assistant to Quinn, but the new surroundings start to affect him in uncomfortable ways—that is, he experience the pains of emotional growth and seeing the world differently. But, as you’d expect from comedy veteran like Pudi, this occurs with great comedic effect. Laci Mosley plays Dana Conway, the supply sergeant in charge of acquisitions; a slippery character, she also runs a sort of black market of fine goods, and reminds me more of Pudi’s ultracapitalist, but it’s funnier and more good-natured than Mythic Quest’s take on that kind of character. Taylor Misiak’s character, “Captain Maggie”, is constantly flabbergasted by her father’s behavior and the two butt heads often; it’s not just the fighting that is a source of tension and comedy, but it’s also one of the reasons this show turned out so surprising.
Despite the fact that Denis Leary’s living relic is the face of the show, he’s not strictly the main protagonist here, much like how the doctors in St. Denis Medical aren’t portrayed as the “hero doctors” you usually see in shows like that; rather they’re the butt of the jokes, Quinn is quickly shown the cons of being such a stodgy old stick in the mud, trapped in the toxicity of the past. He’s not the Frasier of the show—yes, he is fairly hopelessly out of touch and out of date, but it’s Maggie’s openness to her father that drives the show. With some prompting by Major Shah, Maggie realizes that while her absentee father was never there for her, he was still following her life, still proud of her, albeit in ways his generation didn’t have the tools to express. She realizes that he actually may have the capacity to change, given the proper guidance. After all, it’s easy a dig a hole, but without the right tools, it’s very hard to climb out of one. And this how the show actually won me over. Quinn isn’t the hero, triumphantly whipping the rest of the layabouts and scrimshankers into his vision of the military; he’s going to learn a lesson—painfully slowly at times—about being a part of the modern world and leaving behind the dead weight of past mindsets.
The fact that we’re just six episodes into the series and there’s already been palpable growth in not just Quinn, but other characters as well is a very promising sign for the show’s sustainability as it continues (if it continues; shows I like tend not to stick around and the 5.1/10 rating on IMDB shows that I’m in the minority here). Growth and change are natural progression beyond the story level and really necessary to avoid characters narrowing their personalities into caricatures of themselves, which we’ve seen happen to sitcoms that go on too long time and time again. Of course, this isn’t a guarantee that the show will continue to improve over time, but so far I’ve felt that each episode has built upon the last and that’s a good thing. Going Dutch could have been a mess of Boomeristic patting yourself on the back, but somehow, it’s a show about the ability to change if you open yourself to the idea of changing and are willing to put in a little effort. And that’s kind of nice in an increasingly and justifiably pessimistic time. No, this isn’t Ted Lasso on a military base. It’s definitely not perfect—the choice of Catherine Tate (The Office, Doctor Who) as local brothel owner and Quinn’s love interest is probably a misstep and I can’t speak to the cultural accuracy of a show where British and Icelandic actors are playing Dutch in a show filmed in Ireland, though reviews on IMDB do say that many aspects are more German than Dutch, there’s that. So if that’s something that bothers you (and maybe it should be something that bothers me too), it may take away from your enjoyment of the show. Not every joke lands, but I find myself laughing more often than not, which is more than I can say for many long-running, wildly popular sitcoms (I’m looking at you Big Bang Theory and its expanded universe, which feels really bad to say in a world where The Tick only got two seasons). But when it comes right down to it, I didn’t think I’d like Going Dutch, I didn’t want to like it, but somehow I do.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! And if you’re so inclined, this week I was a guest judge on the excellent culinary podcast No Bad Food, for my second Munch Madness episode, a yearly tradition where foods are pitted against each other in an NCAA-style bracket. It’s fun, it’s whimsical, and if you feel like you can handle a little more of me, I would love it if you checked it out! Host Tom Zalatnai is a delightful person, incredible to work with, and I’m thrilled every time they ask me back on the show. You can find it here on Apple Podcasts or here on Spotify.
