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White Collar


With the spring finales over, that means sun, sand and of course the summer TV series!  Over the past month, I have been watching the first 3 seasons of White Collar staring Matt Bomer who some might remember from a recent episode of Glee as Blaine’s older brother or from a departed too early show Traveler.  White Collar is centered around Neil Caffrey, an art thief who gets caught by FBI Agent Peter Burke and after lying in prison for a few years gets to come out early on one condition – he works for the FBI and has to wear a tracking anklet.  Neil gets into his fair share of sticky situations which lead him back to the question of who he is – is he an art thief masking as an FBI informant or is he an FBI informant masking as an art thief?
In the first season, Neil is trying to find his long lost love Kate while Peter hides secrets about Kate and the past that they share.  The second season focuses on the aftermath of finding Kate and the relationship between Peter and Neil.  Their relationship is so interesting because deep down neither one of them fully trusts each other yet but they have to – and Peter’s wife Elizabeth tries so hard to help Peter and Neil gain that trust from each other.  We get a little more into Neil’s back story before he was arrested with appearances by his former partners and enemies.  He gets pushed to the breaking point and finally comes face to face with the person who stole Kate – and this is where the 3rd season comes in.  The third season follows the repercussions of the meeting between Neil and Kate’s killer and Neil’s choice of being an FBI agent or an art thief for the rest of his life.  He toys with that all season, trying to decide where his heart lies especially after his relationship with Sarah Ellis – a person who testified against him at his trial.  Still with me? Good, let’s move on.
The fourth season started on July 10th with Neil running away to a tropical island after the head of the DC Art Crimes division told Peter that he wanted Neil to work for him, to keep him close and arrest him when he had enough evidence on him.  Neil was walking up to his hearing to see if he would be let off the anklet early when Peter (while talking to the division leader) saw him and slightly shook his head “no” so that Neil wouldn’t come near the building.  He got the message – he packed up his things, cut off his anklet and ran.  So the fourth season picks up there – Neil off in some distance tropical place with his trusty sidekick, Mozzie and Peter trying to look for him, as a friend. 
What makes this show so great is the writing – it reminds me of an older male version of Gilmore Girls. The banter between Peter and Neil is hysterical, there is no pause no thought to anything.  But where it differs from Gilmore Girls is that the banter doesn’t stop with Peter and Neil.  The supporting characters – Elizabeth, Mozzie, Jones, and Diana – are all part of the banter between Peter and Neil and they even get their own banter with them during the course of an episode. 
This show is pure entertainment.  USA has brought itself into the playing field with all of their original series – Covert Affairs, Necessary Roughness, Burn Notice, Psych, Royal Pains just to name a few.  They are smart, catchy, funny and serious when the story line calls for it.  The balance between the funny and the drama is so perfect because the viewer doesn’t get overwhelmed with either one.  I watched 3 seasons in the span of a month – that should make it clear that his show is worth watching if you haven’t already.
Plus, Matt Bomer is just so cute to look at J

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