Worth an hour of your life a week

TV Review
Whiskey Cavalier
Thursdays, 9 p.m.
Warner TV
LET’S face it, Whiskey Cavalier isn’t the most imposing code name for a special agent, in fact, the moment this writer heard the name I thought, “that’s an awfully romantically cheesy name for an FBI special agent” and then after I watched the pilot, I realized that his code name fits him to an absolute T and it’s hilarious.
The action “dramedy” Whiskey Cavalier, which premiered in the Philippines on Feb. 28 on Warner TV, is about an FBI agent and a CIA operative fighting bad guys while also fighting their attraction for each other. But what makes the show funny is how Will Chase (played by Scott Foley, most recently of Scandal) — Whiskey Cavalier of the title — is such a romantic and is so in tune with his emotions that it often makes him an ineffective agent, but his protagonist halo still lets him save the day.
The way he acts and deals with his missions are so unlike the legendary fictional special agents of yore like James Bond — an aloof, almost sociopathic agent with limited emotional attachments. In fact, the first time we see our cavalier, he’s moping around in his sweats in a rented Paris apartment eating junk food because his fiance broke up with him a few days before.
This is a special agent who gets distracted by a couple getting engaged and gets shot during a chase scene. It was amazing.
In contrast, we have Frankie Trowbridge or Fiery Tribune (played by Lauren Cohan formerly of The Walking Dead) who exemplifies the James Bond shtick — tough-as-nails and hates emotional connections of any kind.
People who watch NBC’s Brooklyn 99, one of the best police procedural comedies around, would see that show’s Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) and Frankie Trowbridge would absolutely be best friends as they are cut from the same cloth: smart, with a take-no-prisoners attitudes.
The hour-long pilot episode of Whiskey Cavalier sets up the premise perfectly and gives viewers insights about each character’s hang-ups as they go on solving a bio-weapon case. And since it’s a show that pokes fun on the usual spy genre tropes, the tongue-in-cheek comedy lands just right — although there is a tendency to repeat punchlines too much.
But it’s still a show worth watching, especially if it remains consistent throughout the season. It might not be groundbreaking but it still is enjoyable and worth one hour of your life every week.
Whiskey Cavalier airs every Thursday, 9 p.m., on Warner TV (SKY Cable channel 34 and Cignal channel 235). — Zsarlene B. Chua