#better bureau
PREMISE: Bob Wallace and Lisa Friedman are the best agents the FBI has ever seen: they’re courteous, considerate, and always follow proper protocol. Rookies want to be them, and veterans want to partner with them. Whenever they’re faced with a tricky situation in the workplace, they always know just what to do, and always set a good example for their fellow agents. When you’re a federal agent, fighting crime is only half the job–the other half is making sure that you understand all internal FBI guidelines and regulations.
Better Bureau focused exclusively on explanations of FBI protocols and never showed Wallace and Friedman investigating any crimes, because the show was actually a series of FBI human resources training videos. Better Bureau’s “producers” stole the tapes from the FBI, passed them off as an original police procedural for years, and used the production budget they received from the network to line their own pockets.
CHARACTERS: Wallace and Friedman may not actually solve any crimes, but they bring as much energy and pep as they can to the dry work of human resources education. Wallace is passionate about summarizing core concepts, and nothing gets Friedman’s blood pumping like an opportunity to make sure that everyone understands their health benefits. Though the two sometimes butt heads, they’re brought together by their mutual love of looking straight into the camera and addressing the viewer directly. If there’s a question these two can’t answer, refer to the handbook, rookie.
NOTABLE EPISODE: When an agent doesn’t know if it’s legal to terminate an employee who is on leave, Wallace and Friedman swoop in with the answers. The episode ends with a thrilling set of bullet points explaining what to do if you discover evidence of gross negligence by an administrative employee on maternity leave (S02.E04 – “HR Tape 293: How to Legally Terminate Employees on Leave”).
CATCHPHRASE: “Please insert the second tape to continue.” / “Discuss in small groups.”
TRIVIA/MISCELLANY: The reason the show was taken off the air was actually addressed in one of the episodes (S04.E12 – “HR Tape 673: Improper Use of Proprietary FBI Training Materials”).
