Watch Tequila & Bonetti

Tequila & Bonetti is a humorous American television series that aired on CBS in 1992. The show is centered around a tough and hard-nosed cop named Nick Bonetti (Jack Scalia), who is forced to team up with a streetwise, talking dog named Tequila (voiced by Charles Rocket) in order to solve crimes in Southern California.

In the show, Bonetti is a detective who is transferred from Chicago to Los Angeles as part of a deal to keep him out of prison. Bonetti has a troubled past and a sarcastic attitude, making him unpopular among his fellow officers. However, he soon finds his life turned upside down when he is partnered with Tequila, a stray dog who can talk to him. Tequila is the only witness to a murder and offers to help Bonetti catch the killer, which leads to an unlikely partnership between the two.

Tequila is a stray dog who is taken in by a young boy named, Martin (Justin Whalin) from Chicago. Martin's mother is allergic to dogs and wants to get rid of him, but Martin secretly hides Tequila in his room. During one of his strolls out in the neighborhood, he witnesses a murder, and this forms the beginning of a long and winding adventure across different towns and cities.

The partnership starts off as an odd couple arrangement, but soon evolves into the creative, problem-solving duo solving LA's worst crimes. Tequila's presence blends well with Bonetti's more aggressive attitude and soon becomes an incredibly effective crime-busting team. Tequila is able to understand human speech and communicates with Bonetti through internal dialogue while to others in the show, it seems as though he is merely barking.

Mariska Hargitay played Officer Angela Garcia, Bonetti's straight-arrows, and by-the-book partner. However, she is not very competent, and this makes Bonetti's life harder. The police chief, Captain Midian Knight (played by Richard Romanus), adds a stern police figure to the team, always reminding Bonetti that he is being monitored because of his unsavory past.

The show's comedic tone comes to the fore with the relationship between Tequila and Bonetti being the central plank of this show's comedy. Bonetti is often at odds with Tequila's antics, which include manning the car's equipment, providing surveillance and handy advice to his partner. His quips and off-the-wall insights often leave Bonetti frustrated but ultimately impressed by his four-legged partner's abilities.

As Bonetti interacts with Tequila and tries to solve the different cases, viewers come to see the changes. Bonetti starts to show admirable traits like compassion and empathy towards those affected by different crimes, and his overall attitude begins to soften. This is due in large part to Tequila's impact, constantly preaching that there is a different way life needs to be led; hence coining the show's catchphrase, “Life, it’s meant to be wagged.”

Tequila & Bonetti had a unique blend of humor and drama, which made it an enjoyable watch. The show was able to captivate audiences and leave them wanting more with every episode. The talking dog concept added some novelty to audiences, and the chemistry between the lead roles was excellent, making it one of the popular shows of the season.

Overall, Tequila & Bonetti was a fun, lighthearted show that found its unique niche. Combining crime-solving action, smart-ass quips from its leads, a talking dog's character, and some well-placed physical comedy, it was one of the network's top-performing shows of its time.