I figure if I don’t write this now, I’ll never write it at all. Giving my first impressions only serves some kind of purpose when the show is in it’s infancy, and I watched the pilot two weeks or so ago.
White Collar bills itself as “an unusual pairing of an FBI agent and a con artist”, but I don’t find it to be too unusual. Odd couple pairings like this are popular across all genres, the question is can it come off as fresh, and do the characters stand up on their own? For the most part, I’d say yes and yes.
Too boil it down to the simplest of elements, this is Catch Me If You Can meets 48 Hours served with an Ocean’s 11demi-glaze. When FBI agent Peter Bruke comes up against a dead-end in a forgery case, he has no choice but to recruit his most notrious nemesis (nemesis might be overstating the enmity between these guys, they really have more of the kind of Frank Abagnale & Carl Hanratty kind of relationship) to help him catch the culprit. Not original at all, right? Well, that’s where the Ocean’s 11 demi-glaze comes in. If this show is gonna get by on anything, it’s style. The music, editing & tone all reek of Soderberg’s Oceans vibe – very modern rat pack, and the splashes of the retro abound in some of the clothes, locations, anecdotes and oddball habits of the characters.
Chuck’sBryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer) plays our con man, and he is right at home having all eyes and lenses focused on him. I get the feeling that this guy is probably a douche in real life, but that kind of swarthy confidence that he oozes in both this show and Chuckworks so well for him. Opposite him as Special Agent Peter Burke is Tim DeKay - who is also well cast, but not because he’s a strong player. In fact, it’s for the opposite reason. He’s very understated and doesn’t throw off the balance between the two of them. See, they could have chosen a “bigger” actor for the father-figure mentor worn-out cop role, like a Chris Cooper or a Powers Boothe, but they went the other way, and the character doesn’t draw too much attention to himself, keeping the forward momentum going.
Tiffani Amber Thiessen’s presence was a little strange, but she actually seemed warm and wise – a welcome change. The other players all seem well placed, we’ll see how they do as the show matures and starts to lean on the peripheral characters a little more.
So this show has made it into my watching habits, but I’ll be wary of whether or not USA network can keep it on the air, and whether they can manage that without having to make any budget cuts.
