Spring Break
USA's White Collar so good it should be illegal
Issue date: 11/5/09
In recent years, the number of investigative crime dramas on television has exploded.
Practically "how-to" guides to hiding your very own murder, they have monopolized network TV and given rise to an entire generation of savvy, copycat criminals.
Heavyweights like CSI and NCIS have spawned respectable, if predictable, spin-offs that dominate weekday television schedules. There is a certain twisted pleasure in watching these shows that is akin to observing your roommate get drunk and make-out with everything in sight - you already know the outcome, but you can not look away.
Here's an idea. Watch "White Collar" instead. A new drama backed by USA Network, this slick, charming show depends on the charisma of actor Matthew Bomer to win Friday night audiences away from "Law and Order" and "Ugly Betty."
This is not a particularly difficult task - one only asks what took so long. Whoever came up with the marketing campaign for "White Collar" is a genius. During the months prior to the airing of the pilot, ads for the show have been everywhere.
In each billboard, magazine and commercial, one thing has been the camera's focus: Matthew Bomer and his beautiful blue eyes. As advertising, the trick worked. Women tuned in on Friday, Oct. 23 to see Bomer play the part of a repentant con artist with a heart of gold.
Bomer breathes life into the terribly earnest, terribly good-looking con artist Neal McCaffrey. With only months left on his prison sentence, McCaffrey makes a somewhat unexpected escape, baffling the FBI. True to form, they then call in the agent who caught him, Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), to clean up the mess.
Burke, who has spent perhaps too much time in McCaffrey's head during the first pursuit, finds the thief at his old apartment. The duo eventually forges a working relationship reminiscent to that of Frank Abagnale Jr. and Carl Hanratty in "Catch Me If You Can" but between more attractive actors.
In addition to his day job, McCaffrey must also solve the mystery of his girlfriend's disappearance. After staying faithful to him for years, she suddenly disappears off the face of the planet, leaving only a bottle of wine to remember her by. He recruits his friend Mozzie (Willie Garson) to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and devotes his nights to discovering the reason for their break-up.
Where McCaffrey is slick, clever and charismatic, the plainer Burke adds a sort of old-fashioned wholesomeness to the shady world of rare technology and art extortion. A hard worker and loving husband to his wife, the character has a less flashy appeal than does the ex-thief and contrasts with the bright, vivid personality that carries the show.
The interplay between both characters has an indulgent father/wayward son dynamic. McCaffrey's prodigious charm certainly has the women swooning, but it also calls attention to him in unwanted ways.
For all his faults, though, Neal McCaffrey guides the FBI, and by extension the audience, through the intricacies of white-collar crime. Although only two episodes have been released, the formula for all subsequent installments is set: Week after week this unlikely pair returns to catch the bad guys through McCaffrey's insider knowledge backed by Burke's FBI pull.
What detracts from the overall package is the surprisingly unrealistic portrayal of Peter Burke. A one-dimensional character, the FBI agent gives the audience no illusion of depth; he is exactly what his role calls for - a perfect husband, a good agent.
But there is no character development to captivate the imagination, no spark and so the audience is left with a boring, stodgy good guy that no one really cares about. Episode 1: he forgot about his anniversary. Boohoo. Episode 2: He does not like the watch his wife gave him. What a joke. No wonder all the attention is on McCaffrey; at least his angst is interesting. Thus it is left to Matthew Bomer to carry the show.
Despite Peter Burke's uninspiring performance, all the elements of a new hit show are there - the writers just have to make sure those elements come together in an innovative way. Hopefully, as the season moves onward, Burke will pick up a personality and McCaffrey will continue being the smoking hot, epicurean opportunist that he is.
Watch "White Collar," Fridays at 10 p.m. on USA.
Practically "how-to" guides to hiding your very own murder, they have monopolized network TV and given rise to an entire generation of savvy, copycat criminals.
Heavyweights like CSI and NCIS have spawned respectable, if predictable, spin-offs that dominate weekday television schedules. There is a certain twisted pleasure in watching these shows that is akin to observing your roommate get drunk and make-out with everything in sight - you already know the outcome, but you can not look away.
Here's an idea. Watch "White Collar" instead. A new drama backed by USA Network, this slick, charming show depends on the charisma of actor Matthew Bomer to win Friday night audiences away from "Law and Order" and "Ugly Betty."
This is not a particularly difficult task - one only asks what took so long. Whoever came up with the marketing campaign for "White Collar" is a genius. During the months prior to the airing of the pilot, ads for the show have been everywhere.
In each billboard, magazine and commercial, one thing has been the camera's focus: Matthew Bomer and his beautiful blue eyes. As advertising, the trick worked. Women tuned in on Friday, Oct. 23 to see Bomer play the part of a repentant con artist with a heart of gold.
Bomer breathes life into the terribly earnest, terribly good-looking con artist Neal McCaffrey. With only months left on his prison sentence, McCaffrey makes a somewhat unexpected escape, baffling the FBI. True to form, they then call in the agent who caught him, Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), to clean up the mess.
Burke, who has spent perhaps too much time in McCaffrey's head during the first pursuit, finds the thief at his old apartment. The duo eventually forges a working relationship reminiscent to that of Frank Abagnale Jr. and Carl Hanratty in "Catch Me If You Can" but between more attractive actors.
In addition to his day job, McCaffrey must also solve the mystery of his girlfriend's disappearance. After staying faithful to him for years, she suddenly disappears off the face of the planet, leaving only a bottle of wine to remember her by. He recruits his friend Mozzie (Willie Garson) to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and devotes his nights to discovering the reason for their break-up.
Where McCaffrey is slick, clever and charismatic, the plainer Burke adds a sort of old-fashioned wholesomeness to the shady world of rare technology and art extortion. A hard worker and loving husband to his wife, the character has a less flashy appeal than does the ex-thief and contrasts with the bright, vivid personality that carries the show.
The interplay between both characters has an indulgent father/wayward son dynamic. McCaffrey's prodigious charm certainly has the women swooning, but it also calls attention to him in unwanted ways.
For all his faults, though, Neal McCaffrey guides the FBI, and by extension the audience, through the intricacies of white-collar crime. Although only two episodes have been released, the formula for all subsequent installments is set: Week after week this unlikely pair returns to catch the bad guys through McCaffrey's insider knowledge backed by Burke's FBI pull.
What detracts from the overall package is the surprisingly unrealistic portrayal of Peter Burke. A one-dimensional character, the FBI agent gives the audience no illusion of depth; he is exactly what his role calls for - a perfect husband, a good agent.
But there is no character development to captivate the imagination, no spark and so the audience is left with a boring, stodgy good guy that no one really cares about. Episode 1: he forgot about his anniversary. Boohoo. Episode 2: He does not like the watch his wife gave him. What a joke. No wonder all the attention is on McCaffrey; at least his angst is interesting. Thus it is left to Matthew Bomer to carry the show.
Despite Peter Burke's uninspiring performance, all the elements of a new hit show are there - the writers just have to make sure those elements come together in an innovative way. Hopefully, as the season moves onward, Burke will pick up a personality and McCaffrey will continue being the smoking hot, epicurean opportunist that he is.
Watch "White Collar," Fridays at 10 p.m. on USA.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
annonymous_man
posted 11/15/09 @ 12:22 AM EST
Overall, this was a good article and White Collar is a great show. Only 1 thing: I noticed a common typo throughout the article.. The name of the con man turned FBI consultant is Neal Cafferty NOT Neal McCaffrey as the author of this article suggests. (Continued…)
Ken
posted 11/16/09 @ 1:29 PM EST
No its Caffrey
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