The Russ role seems tailor-made for Winters, who came to prominence as "Mayhem" from the popular Allstate commercials. As a Battle Creek native, Russ is suitably cynical and rough around the edges. In the pilot, he not only battles his new partner but his commander as well, Guziewicz (Damages' Janet McTeer), who keeps denying his requests for new and better equipment. (This includes a fully functional taser, which would have saved Russ from getting beat up by one of his perps.) Again, Winters plays the part well here, particularly the sympathetic charm that's needed to keep his character from coming off like a total ass.
Meanwhile, Duhamel convincingly plays the "Dudley Do-Right" law enforcement officer, who's just been reassigned from Washington to the lowly Battle Creek. Milt considers his transfer a step down in his career, but that doesn't stop everyone else (besides Russ) from falling in love with him. In the premiere, Duhamel does a good job of assuming Milt's chipper facade and making sure to include a few moments of weakness for good measure. Those traits especially come out in Milt and Russ's back-and-forth, which is the highlight of first episode.As a pair, Winters and Duhamel are really good together. That's helped by Gilligan's dialogue (he wrote the pilot), which is quippy, fast-paced and clever. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the first crime investigation, and that's really where Battle Creek starts to feel like a typical cop show. Granted, there are moments where Gilligan subverts expectations. One notable example features a SWAT team getting ready to bust down a drug dealer's door, only for the dealer to come over the intercom and say, "Please, come in! That's a $5,000 solid maple door, and it's open."
That said, the majority of the case lacks originality and feels ripped from the pages of an old Law & Order spec. The clashing dynamic between Russ and Milt is substantially more interesting. Luckily, there's enough of the latter in "The Battle Creek Way" -- which was directed by Bryan Singer -- to keep it moving. That's not to mention the little bits of satire sprinkled throughout the story -- including Milt himself, who sometimes feels like a CSI character dropped in the middle of a real-life detective agency. (And I mean that in a good way.)Battle Creek also has a fairly large ensemble cast: Kal Penn (Det. Fontanelle White), Aubrey Dollar (Holly Dale), Edward Fordham (Det. Aaron Funkhauser), Damon Herriman (Det. Niblet), and Liza Lapira (Det. Jacocks). However, they're all underutilized in the pilot and barely skirt by with name introductions. The one exception here is Dollar's character Holly, who's set up as Russ's potential love interest, but her characterization falls pretty flat in the premiere. Hopefully, with time, these side characters will become more than gimmicky team players. (I'm looking at you, "Nibbles" Niblet.)