The cinema vérité police documentary parody Reno 911! dispenses law and disorder during its first season on Comedy Central. The seasons unscripted, totally improvised episodes follow various members of the Washoe County Sheriffs Department going about their duties, under the guidance of Lt. Jim Dangle (Tom Lennon). It doesnt take long before the shorts-wearing Dangle is revealed as a closeted homosexual, nor to discover that former magicians assistant Deputy Clementine Johnson (Wendi Mclendon-Covey) may still not be totally weaned from her exhibitionist tendencies. In the series opener, Lt. Dangles new zero-tolerance policy backfires when he becomes the first person to be arrested in a fender bender. Later on, Detective Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui) wins a scavenger hunt by bringing in an inordinately tall, tattooed Jewish crack addict; Deputy Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) learns, to his surprise, that there are consequences to being racially oversensitive; conversely, Deputy Trudi Wiegel (Kerri Kenney) discovers the advantages of attempting suicide; the department falls over itself trying to impress the FBI, whove come to Reno to investigate a homicide; and an impending terrorist attack makes everyone paranoid, but not for the usual reasons. Season one ends with a cliffhanger, sparked by the Halloween eve death of Deputy Jones and his bizarre videotaped legacy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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