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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, October 7, 2016 2 By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media I 'm not sure any of us saw this coming, but two of Fox's most popular comedies have reached that zenith of television: the crossover epi- sode. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense — not yet anyway — but all will presumably be made clear on a very special 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 conceivable reason is there for these char- acters 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 antici- pated "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 Deschanel, "500 Days of Summer," 2009), Nick (Jake Johnson, "Let's Be Cops," 2014), Winston (Lamor- ne Morris, "Barbershop: The Next Cut," 2016), Schmidt (Max Greenfield, "Veronica Mars") and Cece (Hannah Si- mone, "Flock of Dudes," 2016) travel to New York and meet the men and women of Brook- lyn's 99th Precinct, which in- cludes Det. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg, "Saturday Night Live"), Det. Amy Santiago (Me- lissa Fumero, "One Life to Live") and Capt. Ray Holt (An- dre Braugher, "Homicide: Life on the Street"). It's to be as- sumed that, as a fledgling cop, Winston gets wrapped up in some of "Brooklyn Nine- Nine's" typical police action. Hijinks, presumably, ensue. "The crossover episode has historically 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 everyone." Indeed, the mashing togeth- er of two established series isn't a new concept. Some- times it makes sense, like when the cast of "Grey's Anatomy" reunited with the docs of its spinoff, "Private Practice." Or, sillier but still technically mak- ing sense, when the "Happy Days" gang enjoyed a cross- over trifecta with its two spinoffs, "Mork and Mindy" and "Laverne 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 Boston, so OK), or, in a particularly saccharine televi- sion 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 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the Ninja Turtles have also popped up in an Archie comic, but we won't get into that). The "New Girl"/"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" episode may fall somewhere in the middle — there's no obvi- ous 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 cross- over world, either; last year's "Bones"/"Sleepy Hollow" crossover earned both shows their best ratings for the sea- son, 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 — Musi- cal or Comedy and Best Actor — Television Series Musical or Comedy for Samberg) as well as three consecutive Emmy nods for Braugher. Plus, with Jake and Amy now together, it's good to give fans some- thing 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 room- ie-centric comedy is six sea- sons 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 — sel- dom 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 compatible," Fox exec Dana Walden said at this summer's Television Critics Association 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." And who knows, maybe it will even get fans of just one show on board with the other. The one-hour crossover event begins with "Brooklyn Nine- Nine" and wraps up immedi- ately after with "New Girl." Check it out Tuesday, Oct. 11, on Fox. A/Bulls Head Inn B/Laura Reyda 2 x 2 coverstory 'New' in New York Jess and co. cross paths with the 99th Precinct By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Will the series "Cedar Cove" be returning to the Hallmark Channel soon? A: Sadly, it won't be returning at all. The third season of the Hallmark Channel original series (the channel's first) was can- celed last winter, just before the end of its third season. The show ended with some questions unanswered, which is frustrating for fans. And though it was based on a series of books by prolific romance author Debbie Macomber, the show often went its own way plot-wise, so those questions generally aren't answered in the books. But the show's real appeal came not from its plot, but from its characters and setting — the opportunity it gave for view- ers to spend time in the little town of Cedar Cove. In that sense, the books can go a long way to help grieving fans. There's enough there to last fans for a while: There are 13 novels in the series so far, plus a cookbook for the truly devot- ed. But though I say "so far" here, it seems like that may be the end of it — the most recent book in the series was published in 2011, and they'd been coming out at least one per year prior to that. Q: What happened to the new show "Shooter" on USA Network that was supposed to air in July? Is it ever coming on? A: That is an excellent question, and it seems like USA Net- work itself doesn't have an answer. For those unfamiliar with the bleak saga of "Shooter," the drama centers around a former sniper with the U.S. Marine Corps who is "coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president," according to the USA Network synopsis. It was originally slated to premiere July 19, but was pushed back a week after the tragic Dallas shootings. A few days later, it was bumped again, after the shootings in Baton Rouge. At that point, the network would only say it was delaying the show until "the fall," and that's still the closest thing we have to a premiere date. Having already been delayed twice due to events outside the network's control, people have been wondering whether the show will ever air. Hollywood Reporter TV critic Daniel Fienberg acknowledged such questions, but dismissed them for financial reasons. "'Shooter' now presents a huge problem for USA. There's too much money in the show for it to go away entirely, so it's eventually going to air." Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Losie's Gun Shop 1 x 4

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