Animation
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
Netflix picked a fitting name for ‘Splinter Cell: Deathwatch’: You watch people die a lot in this animated show.
The Department of Motor Vehicles.
Those words might send a shiver down your spine as you recall long wait times, sitting in uncomfortable chairs, hoping for that magical moment when your number is finally called.
Luckily, most of us don’t have to go to the DMV very often.
The same can’t be said for Colette, Gregg, Vic, Barbara, Ceci and Noa. As employees of a DMV branch in East Hollywood, their professional lives consist of driver’s tests, license plates and paperwork.
But they do their best to keep life interesting.
Barbara takes pride in her new position as branch manager, and she’s determined to keep things running smoothly. Colette has a massive crush on the new guy, Noa. And Gregg, Vic and Ceci love poking fun at her for it. So things could be worse for these DMV employees.
Unfortunately, things do get worse.
The government has hired consultants Dan Wilson and Kshitja Balakrishnan to determine which of the four Hollywood DMV branches should be shut down.
For the next year, they’ll be at the East Hollywood branch, observing and conducting interviews. And if Dan and Kshitja deem its performance inadequate, everyone there will lose their jobs.
After the grind of a 9-to-5 workday, droves of diligent office employees plop down in their living rooms to watch the shenanigans of fictional 9-to-5 employees. From The Office to Parks and Recreation, it seems everyone has their favorite sitcom imagining a much sillier version of their own workplace.
CBS wants DMV to be one of these television shows.
Hyperbolized situations and big personalities transform otherwise mundane DMV happenings into 20-minute episodes that CBS deems interesting enough to air.
And like the well-loved office sitcoms of the early 2000s and 2010s, DMV comes with content that would not bode well with an HR department.
Characters use profanity including “d–n,” “h—,” “a–” and misuses of God’s name, and there are a few instances of crude restroom humor. Most alarmingly, characters frequently make objectifying and often sexual comments about fellow coworkers. Gregg, Vic and Colette refer to one coworker as “Hot Kristin,” distinguishing her from “Regular Kristin.” Colette makes sexualizing comments about Noa’s body. And one character is seen in her bra.
But even though the content concerns are generally similar to other workplace comedies, to say DMV is just like other well-loved office sitcoms would be an overstatement.
Rather than waiting for viewers to build rapport with the new cast, DMV entreats audiences to like the characters immediately. And the plots feel familiar if not hackneyed. As a result, the show’s subject matter feels just as dull as its titular setting.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
It’s an important day at the East Hollywood DMV. Two consultants come to inspect the branch to determine if it should get shut down, and new manager Barbara scrambles to ensure job security for her employees. Meanwhile, Colette plucks up the courage to talk to her office crush, Noa.
When Colette looks longingly at Noa, Vic makes a jokingly sexual accusation toward her. Colette continues to flirt with Noa throughout the episode, including one incident in which she makes an objectifying comment about his body. A character makes a crude sexual reference. A man claims that the only reason is marriage is successful is because he rarely sees his wife.
Although the scene is not intended to be sexual, a woman takes off her shirt and is seen only in a bra. The entire office sees the woman without her shirt, and people discuss her body and the size of her breasts. As a woman climbs out of a window, her skirt rides up quite a bit, though nothing critical is seen.
Characters use profanity including “d–n,” “a–,” “h—” and six misuses of God’s name.
A ferret urinates in a man’s face. A woman is seen with a clean menstrual pad stuck to her skirt. A woman asks if her coworker has diarrhea, and she goes on to describe its effects on the office.
An older woman drives dangerously, nearly crashing the car. Coworkers can be rude to one another, and a customer angrily refers to a DMV employee as a “clown.” Characters discuss going to a bar.
Netflix picked a fitting name for ‘Splinter Cell: Deathwatch’: You watch people die a lot in this animated show.
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