Reno 911! — which ran on Comedy Central for six seasons and 88 episodes; and in theaters for one film — may well be one of the greatest comedies of this century. Playing on the success of Cops, Reno 911 is a documentary style series about cops who are sworn to serve and protect Reno, Nevada. In keeping with the spirit of the “unscripted” premise, most of the lines were improvised, giving you a really good reason to show Reno 911 ample respect. Another good reason? The show’s cast, which included Thomas Lennon, Cedric Yarborough, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney, Niecy Nash, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Carlos Alazraqui, Mary Birdsong, and a host of guest stars and insane recurring characters. In fact, the recurring criminals may have been the best part of the show with those appearances introducing the world to people like Jim Rash and Nick Swardson. So in celebration of that, here are some of the best recurring guests on Reno 911.
The Truckee River Killer – Kyle Dunnigan
One of the big storylines from Reno 911‘s second season was Wiegel’s new boyfriend (played by comedian Kyle Dunnigan) who resembled a serial killer who’d terrorized Reno in years past. The crew, realizing who Wiegel’s boyfriend was, lead to a noteable episode and a long, awkward barbecue of improv excellence. The original season two DVD actually has an extended version of the barbecue where you get to see everyone just riff off of each other for damn near an hour. While the original story was great, Dunnigan’s magic came through during his conjugal visits with Wiegel.
Andrew – Jim Rash
I’m so glad, in my soul, that Oscar winning writer and Community co-star Jim Rash is now a universally beloved Hollywood personality because I’ve loved him for more than 10 years. This scene, from season one, speaks to Rash’s commitment and ability to transform into a raving iddiot as he plays “Andrew,” a frequent brothel visitor who comes unglued due to the absence of an “Employees Must Wash Hands” sign in the bathroom when he goes to wash off his lovemaking “juices.” Rash made 15 appearances on Reno 911 but it’s a shame that he wasn’t on even more.
Terry – Nick Swardson
Terry is probably the most famous recurring criminal in Reno and the “Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos” bit about him putting pubes in tacos has something to do with it. Also, it’s a bonus to watch all the scenes where Swardson can barely hold in his laughter. Scratch “barely” because he would often break out in full laugh riots during episodes.
Dungeons & Dragons Guy – Patton Oswalt
So, remember how Patton Oswalt blew up the Internet with the uninterrupted rant on Star Wars that he did for Parks And Recreation? Well, he mastered that art form on Reno 911!. Oswalt played an insane Dungeons and Dragons gamer who would commit a crime then go on these crazy spiels about the game. If you catch the extended versions, you’ll see him go on uninterrupted for minutes. This is a master craftsman at work here, people. Appreciate the greatness.
Big Mike – Toby Huss
Toby Huss is an insane comic genius. He played the perfect crystal meth addict this side of Breaking Bad. Reno 911! had scenes that were uncomfortable for how, just bizarre they were and Mike’s were right in that wheelhouse. He was maniacal and challenged the other people on camera to keep up. In one scene, he can go from open-mouth kissing cops to figuring out how to get arrows out of his head.
Pedophile Magician – Jack Plotnick
If you want to talk about scenes that pushed that envelope, the pedophile magician’s scenes always toed that line. In one of his first appearances, he encourages kids to reach behind the curtain to grab a growing snake that’s conveniently also in his pants. I have no clue how they got away with these jokes, but they did and I feel like a worse person for laughing so hard.
The Bike Vandal
The Bike Vandal was actually not a real character through most of the show’s run. We just knew that Dangle would go to various coffee shops or cowboy boot retailers, come out and something random would happen to his bike. It’d either be locked to a pole, have a rabid dog on it or even totally disappear. In the end, we found out that Junior had taken the bike and put it on Craigslist, letting us assume he was doing all the pranks but I don’t think we ever got total clarity on it.
