Plot: When an ambitious, buttoned-up US Marshal inherits a big unruly dog, he soon realizes the dog he didn’t want may be the partner he needs. Turner & Hooch stars Josh Peck as Scott Turner, son of Detective Scott Turner portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 1989 film of the same name.
Review: Of all the movies from the 1980s that could have gotten rebooted for Disney+, Turner & Hooch is both the last one I would have thought of and the most logical choice. The original 1989 film was produced by Touchstone, the mature branch of Disney, and starred Tom Hanks as a cop with a rambunctious dog who becomes his partner. The film was firmly a PG endeavor with a pretty dark ending. I remember watching it fondly as a kid and never found much need to revisit it. The new series serves as a sequel to the original film and follows the same beats while keeping things clean enough for mass audiences. That means plenty of gunplay and explosions but no profanity or truly mature content. In short, this is a sanitized and safe effort that fits right into the Disney brand. And, like the feature film, it is harmless and forgettable entertainment.
Developed and written by Matt Nix (Burn Notice, The Gifted), Turner & Hooch follows all of the conceits and cliches of network cop shows. There is a safe soundtrack of generic rock songs, slow-motion walks, panning shots of cityscapes, and bad guys who are easily spotted a mile away. The U.S. Marshals at the center of the series take down stereotypical bad guys who are primarily involved in bribery, extortion, drug trafficking, and other organized crime. In the current political climate surrounding law enforcement, Turner & Hooch stays as far away from any contentious racial content as possible which means almost all of the criminals are Caucasian while the police are as diverse as possible. With the first episode directed by McG (Charlie's Angels) and subsequent episodes helmed by Robert Duncan McNeil (Chuck) amongst others, there is very little cinematic flair to this series.
Having watched the three episodes made available for review, I found nothing remotely original about this series. Josh Peck doesn't have nearly the appeal that Tom Hanks did but still fares admirably with the material provided. In the second episode, which pays homage to Die Hard in both plot and the appearance of Reginald VelJohnson (reprising his role from the original Turner & Hooch), Peck manages to make it through some goofy scenes involving babysitting a young girl while wearing the trademark John McClane undershirt and echoing iconic lines and scenes from that film. It is cute for a few minutes before the series returns to the formulaic setup that each episode follows.
The structure of each episode follows the challenges that Scott Turner faces with the rambunctious Hooch which makes his career goals harder to achieve. While his partner Jessica Baxter (Carra Patterson) and coworker Xavier Wilson (Brandon Jay McLaren) support him, Scott is looked at disdainfully by his boss (Anthony Ruivivar) and golden boy Senior Marshal Trent Havelock (Matt Hamilton). Scott regularly turns to dog trainer Erica Mouniere (Vanessa Lengies) who offers just enough aid that helps solve each weekly case. It also just so happens that Erica is infatuated with Scott even though he never realizes it. Each episode focuses on a case that Hooch is integral in solving which redeems the pooch for another day and strengthens his bond with Scott.
Each episode is also connected by an ongoing narrative thread that supposes that Scott's father died under mysterious circumstances while investigating a massive case. Scott's sister Laura (Lyndsy Fonseca) becomes obsessed with ulterior motives around their father's death which may somehow be connected to Hooch. The family connection to Tom Hanks' original character is a nice way to tie the series back to the movie (and drive viewership of the movie which is also available on Disney+) but it makes this story feel even more redundant. Having seen just the first three episodes, there is still a chance things could turn around but I doubt it.
With a ton of PG-13 content on Disney+ currently, it is somewhat surprising that this family-friendly show is full of explosions and bullets and yet you never see a single character die on-screen nor get hit by a gunshot. The violence is played mostly for laughs but is incredibly safe. The stakes of Turner & Hooch never feel real with every episode neatly wrapped up with no real consequences. Cop and dog disagree, dog solves the case, bad guys get caught, good guys prevail, and owner and pet reconcile. No amount of slow-motion can really save this series from being a safely generic piece of programming. Fans of the original may mine some nostalgia from this new take on the story but beyond that, this series should end up in the pound.
Turner & Hooch premieres on July 21st on Disney+.