White Collar (USA)

I will give it a go, but it seems a bit like it was designed by central casting based on a popular movie. It is not so much that it looks good, it looks like a pile of cliches, but with the right talent it could still be good--probably after the first half series cycles through all the obvious plot lines and the actors settle in.

I'm half and half on this one.

I do agree it looks like it's a pile of cliches lol

Rather than Thomas Crown Affair, I was reminded of Catch Me If You Can. Just because he's really smart (about the illegal stuff, anyway) and he's helping the police out. Maybe he'll try running away too? Lol

The preview calling the MC a flirt just.. kind felt weird lol Way too trying too hard heh

I'll probably watch it online. Or maybe live once Dollhouse is off the air in November (still uber not happy about that). Either way i'm going to watch it at some point.

So I thought the first episode was all right. The escape wasn't really that amazing but I thought the episode mystery was interesting. I'm not too fond of the whole girlfriend sidestory but I think this series could be worth watching.

I agree that the girlfriend thing is naff, especially if he is meant to be hitting in all these other gals whilst also pining for Lady Subplot. But it was better than I expected.

I hope they do away with her fast lol Maybe he'll find her and she'll tell him she really doesn't love him and he'll resist but finally let her go. I'm hoping for that rather than "sorry, I do love you but I had to leave because of [insert some problem she has]."

The show was better than I expected too, and I guess USA thinks people will/do really like it since they're pushing Psych and using WC to get through November sweeps.


Oh, was it just me or was the whole "getting a place to live by way of a loaded widow" kind of.. a cop out? lol I thought it was way too easy and fast.

I really enjoyed the episode. I thought it was sort of a mix of Leverage and Catch Me If You Can. I liked the escape at the beginning. I thought it was clever and the fact that he managed to fool so many people was great.

Reminded me a bit of Burn Notice too with him relying on his not-so-law-abiding friend. And who doesn't love Mark Sheppard in a show! Leverage, Warehouse 13, Firefly just to name a few. All great shows...he just brings the bad guy.

I actually think the girlfriend angle could be interesting. I'm more interested in the whole picture thing. The guy with the ring.

Watched about 5 minutes, none of the actors gelled with me, so I turned it off.

It was fun. Not groundbreaking or something I can imagine being avid about watching (like Burn Notice), but a solid program with good actors and decent writing. I'll probably catch it for Matt Bomer, who I find completely charming in and out of the show.

DagnyTaggart said:

YES - Catch Me If You Can is a better comparison. Like, what happens AFTER he is finally caught. I was always curious to see how their professional relationship worked out. This show is like a nice continuation of that.

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Actually a better comparison is "It Takes a Thief" (1968)

"Alexander Mundy - smooth, suave, sophisticated - is the world's greatest cat burglar. Finally arrested after years of pilfering, he strikes a deal with American agent Noah Bain: a full pardon if Mundy agrees to use his skills to steal for the SIA, an American espionage agency. Technically under house arrest, Mundy travels all over the world performing daring acts of thievery in the name of Uncle Sam."

I was watching It Takes A Thief (the one with Robert Wagner) and thought this looked like a newer version. I was hooked when Neil managed to get the awesome living space and Pete sputtered and said something about how in his position-(average working guy I guess) he wasn't supposed to have such a place. And Neal said "Why Not?"
It's less what was said and more HOW. It sounded like an honest I don't see why not-question, not the usual sarcasm. That's why I like it. Not so much the general story idea of former criminal working for the cops. That's not uncommon. It's just not so cynical and sarcastic. So many tv shows these days are so dark, its nice to have a fun one with twists that still leaves me guessing.

I am beginning to lose interest. It looks like the girlfriend subplot is going to be the main running story and it doesn't grab me.

Starting to get a little frustrated with the lack of real conflict. It seems like every time Caffrey wants to do something crazy, Burke lets him, and there are never any consequences. Even when Caffrey goes off on a crazy angle without getting permission, there are no real consequences. Burke made a comment this episode about Caffrey needing to re-earn his trust after stealing the painting and I didn't believe it for a second. Caffrey is never going to go back to prison or suffer any other consequences, no matter what he does, and that strips a lot of tension from the premise for me. I mean, straight-laced FBI agent vs con man sounds cool, right? Because of the conflict. Which we aren't getting.

I agree. Burke is just the "straight man" in the team and becoming a dull everyman-slash-niceguy.

I'll watch after the cast is Laid Off! LOL, real life ain't what it used to be.

What this show really needs, I think, is for Caffrey to come up with something crazy and Burke tells him no and means it, and Caffrey does it anyway and they send him back to prison. Then there would be tangible consequences other than a stern glare.

I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING. I was JUST thinking: "This mystery about who kidnapped Kate is pointless, because they're trying to make us think a certain thing, and they'll never have the nerve to actually -"

AND THEN THEY DID.

At least we only have to wait til January to find out what happens. Unlike sows like Glee and V that don't come back til March or April.

But last night's episode was really really good! I was totally suspecting the other guy at first (the OPR guy). Great misdirection. And the person that it really is, in a way makes sense. But only partly.

He is so freakin' cute!

Yes, Neal is always adorable and cute! But I wish we had another new ep next week and didn't have to wait til January!