Forever and a Dog
Another week, another reboot. This time we’re turning our hand to the small screen as Turner and Hooch sees our trusty canine team up with a new detective, Turner’s son no less. Episode 1 begins with a very brief overview of clean freak Scott Turner, a detective who teams up with very-pregnant Baxter to arrest and apprehend a man known as Lester Chao. The pair make a good team, and with Agent Long overseeing proceedings they’re given a new task. They need to get involved in witness protection for Larry Gluck. With the man in witness protection, Scott heads home and ends up lumped with Hooch, his Father’s dog. Following his death, the dog has been passed down to him. Not only does the canine trash the house, Turner finds himself stuck as his Mother encourages him to keep the pooch indefinitely. With little other choice, Turner heads for work with his canine. Only, he gets a call from Jessica with urgent news. The safehouse has been hit, Larry is in a bad way, and three bad guys have taken off in a silver car. A car chase inevitably ensues when Turner finds the car, but unfortunately he also loses his suspects. Turner manages to avoid the car blowing up, thanks in part to Hooch, but this case is far from over. A chance encounter with Erica Mounir, a woman at the station, could well be Turner’s ticket out of this situation. It turns out Hooch is actually well-trained, able to roll over and do various different tricks. The pair rearrange to meet this Thursday to further discuss handing Hooch over. However, a chat with his nephew back home helps Turner open his eyes. After all, dogs see what’s there whereas humans tend to jump to conclusions. So with that in mind, Turner heads back to the station with new ideas about the kidnapping. He believes it may actually be an inside job. However, the botched car chase leads to both he and Baxter taken off the case. That doesn’t stop Scott heading back to see Erica with more questions about Hooch though. Given dogs can pick up on behavioral changes, Turner believes that the barking could well be linked to Agent Long being a crooked cop. It all adds up too, especially if he was the one who was masked. The same mask, as it turns out, that Hooch found in the alleyway. On the back of this, Baxter, Hooch and Turner all go on a stake-out. Armed with this newfound information, they prepare to take down Larry. As a shootout ensues, it’s Hooch that manages to turn the tables, charging in bravely and helping Turner and Baxter. Long blows up the warehouse as the trio are forced to leave. Hooch and Turner save the day, stopping Long and being called in to see the Chief after their big win. Erica is there too, and she helps to encourage the Chief to get Turner and Hooch promoted up to the K-9 unit. This means spending a lot more time with Erica too! As the episode closes out, Lucy rings Turner, confirming that their Father was working on something big. He has a whole stack of files hidden out in his closet and that could well be part of a much larger organized crime drive.
The Episode Review
Turner and Hooch barks onto Disney+ today, channeling some decent family vibes and some genuinely funny moments. However, this also comes at the expense of rushed characterization early on and a series that feels like a pale imitation of what’s come before. For newcomers to the series though, this should be a compelling and enjoyable enough watch. The combination of light and dark moments works quite well while the chemistry between Erica and Scott leans into that awkward 90’s couple dynamic which feels quite nostalgic – albeit a little cliched too! Despite being a remake of an old movie, the show does have its own vibe and its clear to see Disney are intent on using this same formula for all of their old IPs. It’s still early days though and the characters are interesting enough to stick with for the time being. It seems as if each episode is going to tackle an individual case while leading into an overarching story about Turner’s father and what he was working on. This sets the series up nicely for a family friendly slice of drama to ensue. It’s not perfect, but there’s enough here that families should enjoy.
