Fall Tv Review Scedual

When fall shows start back up, I'll be ramping up my reviews from the measly two that Im currently reviewing from week to week. For some of these shows that Im about to list I'll review every week, and some of these shows will be every few weeks.
The shows are the following:

Monday
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Hawaii Five-O (CBS)
Castle (ABC)

Tuesday
Glee (FOX)

Wedesday
Modern Family (ABC)

Thrusday
Community (NBC)
Person of Intrest (CBS)

Friday
Fringe (Fox)
Nikita (CW)

There might be a few more shows that I shove into this schedule, but for now this is the rate at which I'll give a review my best shot.

White Collar Season 3 Episode 8

White Collar Season 3, As You Were

This week was a doozie of an episode, giving a nice pay off for those of us who watch this show from week to week. And the case of the week highlighted a well-deserved character, Jones, and gave a few moments of true excitement. But a surprisingly large chunk of this episode was devoted to the main arc for the season and that was the right choice.   

First for the progression that happened in tonight’s episode regarding the main story for this season. We get an immediate response from Sara, since she discovered Neal’s secret. She left him, since Sara isn’t that morally questionable. Neal learns that Peter still has the original ship’s manifest and needs to see it so he and Mozzie can know what is on the list. This leads Neal to finding a new safe key that Peter has and makes a copy of the key using his gum (very MacGyvery when he needs to be). Then Neal, the master of sensing a key moments of opportunity, breaks into Peter’s house. Just as Neal cracks and finds the manifest, Peter calls. Peter lends his shoulder out for Neal, since Peter thinks that Neal deserves to be happy. This pulls on Neal’s heart, epically since he is questioning if he should keep up with this entire U-Boat treasure or not. Neal has a huge moment of character development by lying to Mozzie about not having the manifest. Neal has chosen Peter for the time being and wants to have some hint of stability in his life by doing the right thing.

Then there is the case of the week, that almost took a back seat this week, but it revolved around Jones, who needs more character development. Jones was almost married, never knew that before. He was in the Navy, never knew that. Anyway a naval classmate of Jones’ has gone missing, and he needs to find him. This quickly turns into a White Collar case because the private security firm that the friend works for is involved in murders, smuggling and other illegal activities. Neal and Peter discover that all of this is to cover up the tax evasion that the firm is committing by smuggling bullets filled with a rare metal to avoid tariffs. Neal then goes into the firm undercover dressed as a naval admiral to determine where the kidnapped friend is being held.  Things go downhill and Neal is chased through the building by the deranged CEO armed with a crossbow. Jones and crew stop him from killing Neal (always a good thing) and the case is wrapped up.

This week was a rare gem for White Collar, putting the main story so forward and having a nice case of the week story to fill in the loose spots. So much happened this week, it was almost too much, but wound up being the right amount of story to push this arc forward. There are only two more episodes for the summer season, and Neal has made a huge change so far but there is time for him to slip back into his old ways. I hope that Neal can change for a while.

Rating: Watch

Original Air Date: 7/26/11

On USA, 9/8c  

The Closer, Season 7 Episode 3

The Closer, Season 7 “To Serve With Love”

Another one where Flynn and Provenza are involved with a murder and try to worm their way out of the case and still refuse to call the chief right away. I would have thought that their numerous run ins with unfortunate scenarios would have taught them to just man up and call the chief rather than having to deal with her wrath. But, I’ll have to admit that these guys are really fun to watch, watch them dig themselves their own grave and jump in said grave.

Anyway, the murder victim was an imposter who was posing as a FBI suspect, who was to go to trial within a week. Flynn and Provenza are doing some light moonlighting and drag Buzz along to help find this elusive target to which they need to serve some court papers to get paid. The story takes the normal twists and turns, very by the books, but the story breaks off back into the three amigos (Flynn Provenza and Buzz) that are suspended for doing unauthorized work. The chief takes this opportunity to use the amigos to track down the real FBI suspect that the chief couldn’t find through normal ways. The ensuing chase is worth one good chuckle, though it is a little too slapstick for me.

Flynn and Provenza again mess up by kidnapping the FBI’s target. Their grave just got a foot deeper. But the chief is able to use this fumble to turn the suspect’s daughter and 4^th wife against one another. The chief then has the three amigos replay the previous night in an attempt to lure the killer out of hiding. Go figure it was the lawyer that started this entire ordeal.

The episode was fun, but nothing more than that. Flynn and Provenza played their usual, fun selves. Having them star in a handful of episodes is hit or miss, since their humor / character really comes through in regular Closer episodes, but this time the case that Flynn and Provenza (and Buzz) got themselves involved in fell flat.

Rating: Pass

Original Air Date: 7/25/11

On TNT, Monday’s at 9/8c

White Collar Season 3, Episode 7

White Collar Season 3, Taking Account

White Collar takes on the international banking scene while staying put in cozy New York City. A mysterious hacker has hacked into a bank and stolen millions then sent a video listing his manifesto (this isn’t topical at all) while hiding under a mask sparks a priority alert from the While Collar division of the FBI. The thief turns out to be a big shot on the FBI most wanted list (for cybercrimes) known as “The Vulture”. Neal also has a personal stake in this, since Sara no longer has any funds and Neal feels the need to take her in until she has her money back. Neal made a classic “I’ve made a terrible mistake” (Arrested Development) face the moment Peter recalled when his wife just moved in for a few days. Team thievery (Neal, Sara and Mozzie) come up with the idea to steal the money that the thief stole from right under his nose to draw him out from the cyber rock he is hiding under. Of course, the three of them end up putting the stolen funds into a fake account that Neal has set up.

Neal and company go on a nice spending montage, with the insane purchase being added up as they spend more and more. It’s a nice, simple montage that gets the job done and the ball rolling from being bogged down by lots of repetition. Of course big bad Peter knows that Neal is behind the spending and stops their lavish spending. But Peter’s harsh attitude is quickly turned around, which is almost a letdown since Peter had fire in his belly in his convection of Neal stealing from a bank. Mozzie does his usual magic and gets a meeting with the vulture the next day. The Vulture (Sally) turns out to be a woman (was this really a twist?) but as she is being met by Mozzie, she is shot at by an unknown shooter. She is taking into custody and questioned by the FBI. From the interrogation, the FBI comes up with a different way to ketch the real thief, and Neal puts is best when he says that his way is more fun. Most things that Neal does are more fun compared to Peter.

Neal tries to get Sara to see his point of view in life and in a roundabout way, asks if she would like to be a part of Neal’s future life of wealth. Sara, being the morally ambiguous character that she is, refuses the offer on the grounds that she can’t see Neal of coming by wealth in any legal way. She has no problem helping Neal steal millions from a bank (though it is to find a thief) but objects to Neal’s idea? Her character needs to find a side and stick to it, especially since she is dating master thief and she is well aware of Neal’s past.

The FBI is hit by the thief from a virus that is implanted between lines of code in the video. The FBI needs the help of Sally to get bank footage of the thief, which leads to the team hearing an awkward conversion between Sally and Mozzie. Mozzie gets his groove back would have been a great secondary title for the episode. Anyway, Sally and Mozzie hack the entire train / bus station (on Peter’s request, which is fun) and quickly turn every person in there into an agent, which leads to a fast identification of the thief.  

This episode was a departure for White Collar, being very technical and precise in the case of the week. Not to say that this wasn't a bad episode, but normally the criminal that Neal and Peter are after don't pull off such elaborate schemes. And when they are elaborate, they normally don't rely so much on computer viruses.The characters acted like normally would, with Sara being the one who had a morality crisis during the episode, particularly with her finding the webcam of the treasure at the end of the episode. I would think that Neal would make sure his computer extremely secure. The addition of Sally is interesting, adding a love interest for Mozzie was needed and I hope that she will turn up again in the show. The thief ring that White Collar is building is growing, and I like the possibilities that the show could have from this new family. 

Rating: Watch

Original Air Date: 7/19/2011

Tuesdays on USA, 9/8c

The Closer, Season 7 Episode 2

The Closer, Season 7, Repeat Offender

“The King is dead, long live the Pope” sums up this episode. For a quick recap of the case for this week, a woman is found murdered while house sitting. The team turns their attention to the victim’s professor, who had been having a relationship with another student. But he was innocent the entire time, well not of cheating on his wife (the monitored conversation between him and his wife proved that) and it turns out the murder(s) were part of a high school thievery ring.

The case this week was lacking in physical action, but heavy on the emotional / backroom deals that will most likely fuel the core story of The Closer’s final season. It would have been nice to see some different breaks in the thematic content of the episode since it felt like one note rather than a well-conceived holistic episode (Iron Chef is really paying off here). But the episode did have some redeeming aspects to help save itself from falling into mediocrity. 

The backroom deals that happened this week weren’t on a conspiracy level, but will have consequences in this season. Pope was made interim chief of police since Delk died from the aneurism that ruptured in the shocking ending from last week’s episode.  Chief Jonson was shocked by Pope’s promotion, but she quickly asked him if the investigation that was started by Delk would continue, an investigation that could end her entire squads’ career. Of course Pope was interrupted just in time so he didn’t have to answer the question directly. Pope orders that Raydor continue her investigation and not tell Jonson that she is under direct order from Pope to finish her investigation. Raydor is stuck between a rock and a hard place and plays her role nicely with Jonson, telling her as much as she could. This episode helped Raydor come across more synthetic than previous episodes.

Ultimately, this week’s episode set the foundation for future conflicts that will emerge from Major Crimes and the relationship between Pope and Jonson, but the case fell flat.

Rating: Fans Only

Original Air Date: 7/18/2011

On TNT, Monday Nights 9/8c 

White Collar Season Three Episode Six

White Collar Season Three, Scoot Free

This is one of those extremely well done episodes that makes White Collar worth watching and makes me lust for this kind of excellence each week on White Collar. A nice mix of case of the week, relationships, character and the seasonal story made this a worthy episode. Just well done all around.

First the case of week, which involves a younger version on Neal, aka Robin Hoodie (or Scott, but the bad joke make by Neal that stuck). He is a brash baby thief who steals from the rich and makes a contribution to a charity in their name, and in most cases makes some kind of ironic choice in the charity (stealing a motorcycle and giving a donation to an organ donation charity). Neal feels put out by all the hype around Robin Hoodie and the constant comparisons that are made between the two of them. Neal is slightly impressed, but Neal nails it on the head when it really comes down to it about Robin Hoodie; that the young thief is in way over his head. Neal makes contact and tries to get Robin Hoodie to turn himself in, but there is resentence from Hoodie. So Neal ends up helping his young protégé get the target off his back by returning a stolen diamond incrusted garment. I liked that end the end, Robin Hoodie vanishes into the wind, leaving his story open ended and hopefully the show will revisit him since it gave the show a strange thief family.

On the character side of the episode, a lot more of Neal and Sara’s relationship and the amount the two of them have relations. To put it straight forward, they do it a lot. Like a lot. It’s nice to see a more romantic side to Neal, well one that is sincere rather than the numerous cons he has portrayed, the numerous false identities he has had to use in his life; this is a nice counter balance to the falsities in Neal’s life.  This leads to the next point in the episode, Neal and Mozzie making their escape and living their dream lives.

Mozzie found a guy who has grown identities for years by leaving a paper trail, which would make the perfect identity for Neal and Mozzie’s big escape. Neal was contemplating his future at the end of the episode when Sara showed up and Neal tossed his new passport into his picture safe but Sara found the safe still open and saw Neal’s possible new identity, which will lead to conflicts in the future of their relationship. Neal is going to have to make a choice, between his life of crime and making a life with Sara, something he told Robin Hoodie earlier in the episode. Neal seemed to be tired of always looking over his shoulder, but at the same time he told Peter that he hasn’t hit rock bottom yet in thievery.

Rating: Watch                                                                                                                                                                                    

The Closer, Season 7 episode 1

The Closer, Season 7 “Unknown Trouble”

The Closer really should think of making music videos as a side job, since this is one of the few times on TV that you’ll see a music video on TV. This was really a cold open, I had to make sure at least twice I had TNT on, but when Brenda Leigh Johnson came walking down a hallway in a blood spattered house, I knew I had the right show on. The last season premiere of The Closer that will star Kyra Sedgwick, and we were made well aware that she has the thought of leaving on her mind.

The case of week involved the seven, plus the pizza boy, deaths that was wrapped up in the rap / drug world in L.A. It was a large murder to be solved so neatly, but that was only the major flaw in the episode. Wrapping up an eight person homicide never seemed so easy. At one point, I felt like I was watching a stripped down version of The Wire. Drug trafficking, murder, wire taps really did feel like a less ruff show in comparison. The Wire will always be better, but I don’t think that The Closer was trying to be The Wire, but never the less there are comparisons between the two shows this week.

The show also started its finale seasonal story, as this is the last season to have the title The Closer (the theme of the show ending feels like it will never end on this show). It is interesting that the main cause of distress for major crimes involves a wrongful lawsuit that stems from last season’s finale where major crimes drops off a suspect (that got away with murder due to a plea agreement) and ends with him being surrounded by his fellow gang members. Chief Johnson had a feeling something could happen to him, but it wasn’t her problem. It was a dark, slightly disturbing end to the last season and it is nice to know that the show hasn’t let this slip into nothing.

This puts Captain Sharon Raydor and Chief of Police Delk as the opposition against Chief Johnson, applying an extreme amount of pressure on her to act within her means of being in charge of major crimes. On top of the lawsuit, Delk has restructured the police hierarchy, placing Pope in a dead end position and promoting Taylor as the Assistant Chief, above Johnson. The episode set the conflicts for the season, and added another twist at the end of the episode; Chief of Police Delk falls over at the end of the episode as he is giving a speech to Major Crimes. Things are going to change again, and like before there is no way of knowing what is coming next.

Rating: Watch 

White Collar Season Three, Episode Five

White Collar Season Three, Veiled Threat

The Bachelor / Bachelorette + The Hangover + murder equal this week’s episode of White Collar. I’m not sure how a black widow that targets millionaires lands on the desk of the FBI’s white collar division, but in this case it worked just fine. Seeing Peter trying to act in character is always a good laugh, and it was nice to see Peter be sincere with Elizabeth while under the false pretense of being in love with the black widow.

The speed dating phase of the episode was enjoyable, though predictable that Peter would be the one picked by the would be killer. Neal wasn’t horrible as a Texan on the hunt for his perfect woman, though being a jerk to everyone but the target wasn’t the best idea for him. Neal needs to be sophisticated; possibly acting above the intellect of the other women there would have been the better route. Jones was great in this bit; he is really a standout when it comes to humor in the show. White Collar really needs to take advantage of Jones, rather than the lack luster roles that he gets. Peter was trying to be something else; something that obliviously wasn’t working since Elizabeth could tell Peter was trying too hard. But Peter just being Peter was enough to get the widow’s attention. And that tango was extra spicy. Bravo Peter, bravo.

As the episode went on, it became more predictable than the first half (though that was mostly predictable as well). The complicating action between Peter and the widow went up, Peter had to act on his toes and all worked out in the end (Side Note, Neal’s apartment keeps getting better with each episode) It was interesting that there were three couples in the episode: Peter and the widow, Peter and Elizabeth and Neal and Sara. This led to nice coupling between Peter and Elizabeth and Neal and Sara. Peter would go out on his date and Neal realized that he needed to be more romantic with his girlfriend.

The Hangover segment of the episode came when Neal and Peter found out that the widow’s partner in her con turned out to be the organizer of the speed dating events. Neal gave Peter a bachelor to end all bachelor parties (he can really get these things together fast) and needed to get the info out of the target, so Peter and Neal go with the classic “let’s take shots to loosen up but in reality I’m poring them out” bit. After a crazy night, the FBI forces the widow’s hand to find the money and once she and her partner are caught, Peter shows off the pictures from the party Hangover style. Classy.

This episode was more fun than serial killer on the loose, but fun is still fun. Peter is always fun when he tries so hard to be someone else rather than himself, and this episode really hit home with that note. Also the icing on the cake was a lovely wedding reaffirmation between Peter and Elizabeth, with the ordained Mozzie providing over the ceremony.

Rating: Watch