When people talk about Alan Ritchson they usually talk about his muscles or his fight scenes, but they don’t talk about his sheer comedic presence. He first made his name as Thad in “Blue Mountain State,” a character whose high-pitched scream I can still hear any time I close my eyes. Thad was the standout character on that show, and it was a performance that led to Ritchson getting cast for one-off roles on sitcoms like “New Girl,” “Workaholics,” and the only funny episode of “Black Mirror” season 3. But Ritchson’s greatest sitcom role was his brief appearance in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” playing a character nobody saw coming.
The episode was season 6’s “Hitchcock & Scully,” which opens up with an intense flashback to 1980s New York City. Two suave young detectives beat up a couple of bad guys, save a damsel in distress, and look damn good doing it. After finishing up one of the smoothest action sequences in the whole show, the detectives introduce themselves as the young versions of Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller).
If you haven’t seen “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” before, it’s hard to explain just how cool of a twist this was. Hitchcock and Scully are deep in middle age at the start of the show, and they’re presented as two incompetent bozos who only care about eating food. To make things worse for them is that they’re surrounded by men of similar age, like Captain Holt and Sergeant Jeffords, so it’s not like the joke with them is that they’re old. No, these two are supposed to be uniquely uncool and incompetent, which is why it’s so shocking to realize they were once the two coolest guys in New York.
Scully used to be young and cool, so what happened?
Plenty of sitcom characters have a flashback episode showing their ridiculous origin story. With Barney Stinson from “How I Met Your Mother,” we found out he became the womanizing menace he is in the main show because a suit bro stole his girlfriend when he was 23. The “Big Bang Theory” extended universe would reveal that Sheldon only says Bazinga because he saw it in an ad.
As for Hitchcock and Scully? Well, we find out in this episode that they became who they are today because they were offered free wings at Wing Slutz. They loved the wings so much that they immediately gave up their diet and gym routine, and apparently dedicated the rest of their lives to unchecked gluttony. Ah, it’s tragic. But at least the characters themselves seem content with what their lives have become.
In the years after the episode aired, “B99” fans have often asked for more flashbacks to young Hitchcock and Scully’s time on the force. Some fans have even asked for a “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” spinoff series set in the ’80s. This’ll probably never happen for a lot of reasons; the big one is that Ritchson is already a decade older than he was at the time of filming this episode, and even more muscular thanks to his “Reacher” workout regiment. For this spinoff to work it’d have to take place before the big flashback we see in season 6, but the more time goes by the less believable Ritchson will be in the role. If they ever do attempt a “B99” spinoff, I’d say focusing on young Terry’s time in Japan would be the smartest bet.