Season Six brings a number of changes to the Reno Sheriff's department. In addition to installing new lights that save 3-cents every 3 weeks on the department's electricity bill, the department gains two new members to replace "Clemmie" (Wendi McLendom-Covey), Kimball (Mary Birdsong) and Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui), who were killed in the taco stand explosion at the end of Season Five. The new recruits aren't as likeable as the fallen deputies, but add a different sort of unhinged to the mix.
Deputy Frank Rizzo (Joe Lo Truglio) comes to the department with a long service record in various law enforcement units around the country, but no recommendations. As the season plays out, we find out that Rizzo isn't the cleanest of cops and is banned from his hometown for reasons he completely accepts as his fault. Sergeant Jack Declan (Ian Roberts) is the department's answer to Police Academy's Tackleberry, only with a few undisclosed mental issues ("Everyone's a little ****'d up in the head.") and a short fuse.
Both of the new cast members are featured in the "Profiles of Valor" feature.
Season Six includes all 15 episodes uncut and unedited. If you think you've seen everything on Comedy Central, the DVD goes much further. As with previous seasons, episodes are based around two short plotlines bound together by short vignettes. Compared to the fifth season, the plotlines are a little better, though some overstay their welcome. One recurring plotline is the deputies having to dispose of dead prostitutes for the Mayor (George Lopez). As a short, the plotline works but it eventually mutates into a bland, overly done skit.
Other plotlines include the deputies giving the Pope's advanced scouting team a tour of Reno to ensure the Pope doesn't visit, repeated run-ins with a drug-addled touring company of "Jesus Christ Superstar" (guess who narcs out Jesus), dealing with the fallout of commandeering a tour bus for a high speed pursuit and a crack down on illegal Spongebob and Dora the Explorer knockoffs at kids' parties. Most episodes feature at least one guest star, including Jonah Hill, Rainn Wilson, Craig Robinson and Patton Oswalt. All are great though I'm still disappointed that Oswalt doesn't reprise Boozehammer of Galen, the city's resident medieval expert and D&D geek.
Several recurring members of Reno's rogues gallery show up during skits, including Terry, the roller-skating male prostitute, "Theoretical Criminal" and the department's adopted former sex slave turned office administrator, Cindy. With the exception of COPS-style ride-alongs and candid interviews, most of the shorts are brand new. The PSAs are replaced with commercials for the Reno Sheriff's Department's anti-suicide website (featuring games, hobby suggestions and word jumbles to keep your mind off killing yourself) and the deputies find time to visit local schools to monitor the metal detector and talk about "stranger danger."
8 of the 15 episodes include cast commentary. Since the show is mostly improv, its fun listening to the cast discuss what wasn't used and give some background on the deleted sequences. Most of the cast is made up of former cast members of the MTV show The State and various Improv groups. A lot of the dialogue is improvised on the spot, adding a sense of realism to everything but also allowing a few four-letter words to seep into the dialogue. Most of the dialogue is funny, though the f-bombs drop a little too much, which detracts from the otherwise witty banter.
Like every Comedy Central show, Reno 911! is something that will appeal to some and offend others. Although the language gets a bit out of control at times, every episode is funny and worth watching.
