Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Fun characters and exciting mysteries
Cons: None
The Bottom Line:
Fun
mysteries with
A great cast of characters
Make this a great show
"I Love a Good Art Heist." "Solving a Good Art Heist." "That's What I Said."
How do you describe White Collar? Fast paced.
Twisty. Funny. High style. Just plain fun. All that and more work for this USA Network
original, and its second season didn't disappoint.
The show revolves around the unlikely partnership of Neal
Caffrey (Matt Bomer) and Peter Burke (Tim DeKay). Neal is an art thief, counterfeiter, forger -
your basic white collar criminal. Peter
is the FBI agent who caught him. Instead
of serving the rest of his sentence, Neal and Peter have worked out a deal
where Neal works with Peter for the FBI catching criminals. Each week, the two take on a new case. There's a bank robber hitting the best banks
in New York . Neal takes on a corrupt politician. Neal goes undercover and finds out that he's
been hired as a professional assassin.
Peter goes on the run to prove a fellow agent isn't selling witness
locations. And the pair even free a
diplomat's son accused of a crime in Burma ,
all without leaving New York .
Each episode features the case of the week that is resolved
before the end of the episode. But each
episode also features the next bit in an ongoing story involving Neal's
past. In some episodes it is more in the
forefront than others, and much of it is resolved by the end of this season,
although the final scene will leave you quite anxious to see what happens in
season three.
While the outcome of each episode is rarely in question, I
am often hooked trying to figure out just how Neal and Peter will get their
man. The episodes contain several twists
that always seem to take me by surprise.
Yet this is very much a character driven show. At the heart of each episode is Peter and
Neal's relationship. Despite their past,
or maybe because of it, they actually have a deep respect and trust for each
other. Yes, every so often something
happens that causes them to doubt each other.
Even then, they still act very much like brothers. In fact, some of their dialog contains some
fun barbs at each other. I just love the
wit of the show. Especially fun is the
episode where they wind up impersonating each other. The digs they manage to get in are hilarious.
This is very much Peter and Neal's show, so it falls to Matt
Bomer and Tim DeKay to carry it. They do
it perfectly. Their characters are very
well developed, and they never falter in hitting those notes. The chemistry between them is absolutely
perfect to convey the friendship between their characters.
But they aren't the only regular cast members, and I
certainly don't want to take away from them.
Tiffani Thiessen plays Peter's wife Elizabeth. They are that rarity on TV, the happily
married couple. Tiffani was actually out
for much of the first half of the season because of her pregnancy, and I missed
her scenes in those episodes. Willie
Garson plays Mozzie, an old friend of Neal's with a shady past and a distrust
of the FBI. He gets some of the best
laughs. On the FBI side of things,
Marsha Thomason comes on board full time as agent Diana Barrigan while Sharif
Atkins guest stars in every episode as agent Clinton Jones. They are both fun characters in their own
right who help out in each case.
Season two consisted of sixteen episodes, which are included
in this set on four discs and their original wide screen and full
surround. Extras include a spotlight on
Mozzie, a behind the scenes tour with Matt Bomer, and a gag reel. The creator of this show and Burn Notice are
friends, and there are often jabs and good wishes at each other on
Twitter. There are some extras devoted
to that friendly rivalry as well.
White Collar is pure escapist fun. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite
shows on TV. If you are already a fan or
haven't seen an episode yet, you'll find season two well worth owning.
Season 2 Episodes:
1. Withdrawal
2. Need to Know
3. Copycat Caffrey
4. By the Book
5. Unfinished Business
6. In the Red
7. Prisoner's Dilemma
8. Company Man
9. Point Blank
10. Burke's Seven
11. Forging Bonds
12. What Happens in Burma
13. Countermeasures
14. Payback
15. Power Play
16. Under the Radar
Agree entirely but have to add the cinematography is innovative and elegant- makes NYC look gorgeous with surprising angles taken at odd time of day, reflections in windows, and film speed changes that capture the spirit of the city in better times.
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