White Collar Season One

This week, I finished watching the first season of White Collar on DVD. The show, which airs on the USA network, is filmed on location in New York City. This blog entry only is about the first season, as that's all of the series that I've viewed.

White Collar is primarily about two men, Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer, who daytime soap fans first met in his small role on All My Children as the boyfriend of Bianca's first girlfriend and later as Guiding Light's Ben Reade) and Peter Burke (Tim DeKay.) Neal is a professional criminal and con artist, who went to prison for forgery. Peter is the FBI agent who caught him. Neal escaped from prison to look for his beloved Kate (Alexandra Daddario), and Peter found him again. With his charm, Neal was able to convince Peter and the FBI to allow him to consult with the bureau. By doing this, he was in the outside world, but with a leash, as he had to wear an ankle monitor and could only go within a two mile radius unless on official business.

Neal's best friend is Mozzie (Willie Garson), in many episodes he helps Neal and Peter in solving the crimes. Unlike Peter, Mozzie and Neal can bend the rules to get things done. Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen) is Peter's understanding wife, who comes to like Neal. Elizabeth accepts Neal for who he is and understands that Neal isn't like them. Other characters at the FBI include Agent Jones (Sharif Atkins), Agent Cruz (Natalie Morales) and Agent Hughes (James Rebhorn, for once not playing a bad guy) who is in charge on the New York office. Diahann Carroll plays June, Neal's landlady, who accepts Neal and gave him her late husband's vintage suit collection.

Each episode had a main case, and then there was the overall story arc. Kate was being held, and Neal wanted to get her back, though sadly it wasn't meant to be. Neal got help to find the music box by a former girlfriend named Alex (Gloria Votsis). After turning it over to Agent Fowler (Noah Emmerich), a corrupt agent, he was to get his freedom. Peter postponed Neal from getting on the plane to be with Kate. As the first season ends, the plane exploded in front of their eyes with Kate sitting on board.

The tone of this show is pretty light for one that focuses on a crime story each week. That being said the mysteries are not done in jest. Peter is not make fun of for being by the book, and both sides are represented respectfully. Since the program is taped in New York City, along with being able to see the sites of the five boroughs, on occasion soap alumni are part of the guest cast. That is another reason why I enjoy viewing this show.