White Collar: In the Red by Claudia Charles

The opening sequence with Peter, Diane and Jones was kind of funny. Peter is definitely always about trusting his gut when he's investigating and Jones bet against him that the jewel thief would be an insider. This opening was quite interesting because from what was occurring you would think that this was going to be all about thievery but instead we have an adoption scam gone bad for Katherine McMillan. She is a mother who is trying to keep her child from being taken away and turns to nefarious means in order to achieve this. I thought it was rather touching that Neal tried to get her to not follow through because he saw that she had her child in the car.

Mozzie breaking into Sara’s apartment seemed like a good idea but did they really think that Sara didn’t know that envelope wasn’t there? This seemed very implausible that they would not have taken that into consideration before breaking into her apartment. The scene with Sara having Neal submit to a polygraph was rather annoying. Can one thwart a polygraph so easily by using a thumbtack? I don’t know how accurate that was. Sara was rather annoying if not dogged in her pursuit of Neal this week. However, the resolution of this situation hit the spot as Sara was able to connect with Neal in his desire to know what happened to Kate.

Luke Donovan was played to perfect sleaziness by John Larroquette who seems to be sporting the “I haven’t worked in a while” beard. Donovan is the international adoption lawyer who shakes down his clients because of his gambling debts. His prowess with gambling seems to be limited because his huge losses are drawing the attention of the Czechian mob.

We learned in the episode that Mozzie was in foster care and was never adopted. He really gets rather heated about the fact that Donovan is scamming adoptive parents. This does give a little insight to some of Mozzie’s issues and quirks.

Loved Diane and Jones going undercover. You know that I love any time that they use these two in more of the story. They did make a very rich looking Hamptons couple. Diane insisting they adopt a little girl was in character for her. Loved it.

The gambling scenes were pretty standard fare. I did feel that Neal played up to Donovan a little too quickly. It seemed rather obvious what he was trying to do. Donovan’s tell that Peter was able to identify through his gut work played out very subtly.

I enjoyed how Peter enlisted the help of the Czechian mob by letting them know that Donovan was exploiting Czechian children. It seemed rather simplistic but it was an effective argument and since the FBI was not technically after the other shady dealings it worked. I wonder if the real FBI would cut such a deal.

I feel that season 2 is progressing quite well and that the writers have been doing an excellent job of finding situations that are new and different to use Neal as a con-man. I enjoyed the first season but I felt that it was somewhat repetitive at times. Glad to see that they have learned from this and have upped their game. I have been reading that Tiffani Thiessen is back to work so here’s hoping that we are almost done with the fake San Francisco back drops.

Random Thoughts

John Larroquette has played some wonderful roles in the past. He is another actor who needs to find a home in a series. For me his most notable role is when he played "Dan Fielding" on Night Court. I loved that show growing up and loved to hate the sleazy lawyer that Larroquette played. His acting chops have always been impeccable.

White Collar: Unfinished business by Claudia Charles

This was a solid episode of White Collar. I enjoyed the opening sequence between Peter and Neal with Neal waxing poetic about going to this restaurant where they employ molecular gastronomy. I have to confess here that the only reason I am aware of what molecular gastronomy is from my years of being a Top Chef viewer. So I found it to be totally cool that I understood what Neal was talking about.

The introduction of Sara Ellis, a self-proclaimed White Collar Bounty Hunter, played by One Tree Hill’s Hillarie Burton, was snarky from the beginning. Obviously the history between the two was rather contentious and this is played out to varying degrees of annoyance and then to some satisfaction throughout the hour. I enjoyed the fact she is one of the few people who is truly suspicious of everything about Neal.

Neal’s ongoing investigation into Kate’s death really progressed this week. Matt Bomer effectively conveyed how much he really cared about Kate. We saw this throughout the episode and it resulted in Neal needing to cozy up to Sara in order to gain access to her apartment to retrieve the voice data recorder from the FAA. Watching Neal having to finesse himself around Sara, a woman who is quite astute and sees through many of Neal’s charms was fascinating. The fact she was vulnerable from being displaced and declared “dead” played into her not seeing through Neal’s ruse in shifting towards being very nice to her.

Loved Neal’s look as Mr. Black. His slicked back hair made him look more menacing but in a very sexy way. A sign that things were not going their way was that the limo jammed Neal’s communication signal. Definitely a sign of the level of sophistication of the big bad for the episode. So Neal knows a thing or two about guns. I was a little surprised by that because I seem to remember that he has not been in favor of their usage in previous episodes.

The introduction of the latest big bad took about 30 minutes. In some ways, the person needing a take down this week was just incidental to the introduction of Sara Ellis. This week’s villain was played by John Pyper-Ferguson. The mystery of the week was basically identity theft taken to a higher level.

The scene between Peter, Sara and Neal was a lot of fun and demonstrated that each of them had been doing some bonding. Nice twist at the end with the actual Mr. Black having been released from custody in Canada and was now going to complete his mission.

Random Thoughts

The actor playing Roy, the FAA investigator, Robert Clohessy, is very recognizable from his myriad of past roles including being on one of my favorite series, Oz. It’s a surprisingly small role for him. But no matter. It seems like he’s going to be part of HBO’s upcoming much-anticipated series Boardwalk Empire.

John Pyper-Ferguson recently played a very significant role in the Syfy series Caprica. He's Eric Stoltz’s business rival who is turning up the pressure on the rivalry.

White Collar: By the Book by Claudia Charles

This week on White Collar we were granted a Mozzie-centric episode. I will say it was enjoyable for the most part but there were a few annoyances. As usual, Willie Garson is excellent as Mozzie and he gives the character just the right amount of quirkiness and eccentricity. I do think that a little bit of Mozzie goes a long way so there were a couple of times I felt that it was just too much.

The beginning of the episode starts with Mozzie and the ever-so-handsome Neal walking down the street with Neal seeming to be pestering Mozzie about wearing an ascot. Mozzie appropriately fields his friend's comments with pointing out that he has all the freedom in the world while Neal's hampered by a specific radius dependent on his tracking device. We then jump to Mozzie’s true destination, which is to enjoy breakfast being served by his crush, Gina De Stephano played by Diane Farr.

Thank goodness they wrote Elizabeth out for an episode. Hopefully that means we can have Tiffani Thiessen back on the show in person sooner rather than later. Please no more bad editing to splice her in!!! Of course, Peter’s ability to always detect when Neal is up to something interfered with the lunch but that’s the way it usually goes. It doesn’t take him too long for him to be on Neal’s heels to determine what he was getting himself into.

This week’s big-bad was Christoper Navarro (Jacinto Taras Riddick) whose claim to fame is that he is a Colombian who has moved on from drug dealing to weapons and racketeering. Navarro had the menacing look of a person that would have taken Neal out before he would have had a chance to even try to charm his way out. Loved the way Peter barged in and saved the day for Neal.

Mozzie’s near panic attack at having to come into the belly of the FBI was hilarious. The fear on his face was palpable as well as his panic that they would cart him off to prison for his many misdeeds. Gina was perfect for Mozzie because she engages in a lot of the same little games and quirks that he engages.

Peter developed his plan of action but he left Mozzie and Neal out of the equation for good reason but we all know that this won’t be the way things will develop. Once Mozzie and Neal came up with their own plan, they enlisted Jones to play a part of their ruse.

Mozzie sabotaging Gina’s boyfriend was rather funny. He knew this guy lacked character and knew he didn’t have the follow through needed to complete the job of getting his girlfriend back. Mozzie really stepped it up in order to save his lady love.

The Perfect Exchange: a great hypothetical plan that unfortunately couldn't be perfectly executed. Peter recognized the flaw in the plan and took action. The moments between Peter and Neal are always the best.

Great chemistry between Willie Garson and Diane Farr. They wrote Gina out at the end of the episode but I hope they bring her back.

This was a solid episode. I am wondering if by the end of the season will Mozzie have an official role with the FBI too? Season 2 is progressing quite well. The stand alone episodes have been varied and engaging. They have really stepped up the creativity on ways of showcasing Neal’s skills.

Random Thoughts:

• Sharif Atkins (Jones) is a solid player on White Collar and they should use him more. He needs some backstory.
  
• Carlos Leon played one of the goons. He's better known as the father of Madonna's first child, Lourdes.
  

White Collar: Copycat Caffrey by Claudia Charles

I was a little mixed on this episode of White Collar. The opening scene was pretty fascinating because we saw that although Neal is now helping the FBI, he still has the heart of an excellent thief. That’s what they need from him but there still seems to be that genuine desire to complete the perfect theft that Neal seems to crave. The banter between Peter and Neal continues to be enjoyable. They are becoming almost yin to each other’s yang. The bromance continues.


Alex returns in this episode. Don't know if you remember but Alex (Gloria Votsis) came in during the end of the first season as one of Neal’s con-man friends. She seems to have a lot of feelings for Neal but because he was in love with Kate, they never got together. I wish I saw better chemistry between these two actors but I really don’t. Thankfully, her return engagement was more about wrapping up her storyline and then providing a missing piece to the music box angle of the story.


I have to say I found Neal being so proud of his very own copycat a bit annoying. I felt like they overplayed this aspect throughout the episode and that was part of the reason I felt mixed about enjoying it. However, I liked that they continued to deal with Neal’s dubious scholarly past. Peter seems to be intrigued with the fact that the con artist doesn’t have any education but has managed to get himself to where he is in his life.


I particularly enjoyed the introduction of Aidan Quinn as Professor George Oswald teaching the criminology course. I would have loved for him to be my professor. I don’t think I would have missed a class. A trio of students made themselves quite evident from the beginning of the scene. It did leave me wondering though that if they are studying Neal Caffrey, is it not common knowledge he is now working for the Feds?

I wish the professor's minions had been more compelling to watch. Eric came off exactly the way he was supposed to but it didn’t hold my attention. As for Neal, he set up the Professor and his minions quite easily. Although I love that Oswald got the jump on Neal and stole the Krugerrands himself.


The scene with Peter being a representative of the Detroit mob was fun. Mozzie cuing him on what to say was hilarious. Peter seems to be having trouble not laughing while he was playing his role. Love Tim DeKay!!

Overall, it's a decent episode but it isn’t my favorite. I will note that in this episode they did have the perfunctory scene with Peter talking with Elizabeth with a totally fake background. Hopefully they will realize that this doesn't work and will wait until Tiffani Thiessen is able to return.


One More Thought

• I enjoyed seeing Michael Boatman in this episode. His character (Russell Smith) was looking into Alex because of the music box. His role seemed surprisingly small, however. Michael has been around along time. In everything from Arliss and Spin City, I'm glad he found his way onto White Collar.
  

White Collar: Need to Know by Claudia Charles

Let me start off by saying I love, love, love this episode. From start to finish it's a great episode. It’s looking like the writers are becoming more innovative with ways for Neil to go undercover. Bringing in Marsha Thomason this season is a resounding success. Natalie Morales didn’t work for me in terms of chemistry with Matthew Bomer. Tonight’s episode really illustrates what they can accomplish now that Marsha is on the job.

The opening banter between Neil and Peter reveals quite a gem about Mozzie, played oh so well by Willie Garson, that I missed during my first viewing. Apparently Mozzie, a conspiracy theorist as well as quite shady, does vote and vote often. That slipped by me but I find it very amusing. The new case has Neil going undercover portraying an under-the-table media consultant to politicos in trouble. While prepping we learn Neil never graduated from high school, a fact that stuns Peter. This makes me wonder more about how Neil grew up and what turned him into the con-man/thief he became. With all of his charm and sophistication, he may have had some humble beginnings. I wonder if we'll meet any of Neil’s relatives in subsequent seasons.

The villain-du-jour, Gary Jennings (played with perfect smarminess by David Alan Basche), has a straw donor scam going. He's receiving money for his campaign and is cooking the books to hide it. Peter goes in to start their con by being that overconfident, grandstanding FBI agent that usually gets portrayed in most movies. Tim DeKay does an excellent job setting the bait for Jennings so Neil can swoop in as the cocky media consultant, Benjamin Cooper, who's going to get their mark out of this jam.

Once again Peter's holding things back from Neil but this time, it’s more for his own good. I feel like we've already been there/done that from the first season but now Diana's in on the deception.

I have a bone to pick with the director here. I understand that Tiffani Thiessen is on maternity leave and they had to do some creative things to have her in at least one scene each episode but the CGI backdrop in San Francisco seriously?!? Maybe they should have just used her voice on the phone if they did not have good enough special effects to do this scene. I can’t wait for her to actually be physically present on the show again.

The whole sequence with Diana and Neil is fantastic. I love seeing Neil go to Diana’s rescue when he realizes she's going to have to pick up a john. In the scene in the hotel room, we learn more about Diana having grown up as a diplomat’s daughter and traveling the world. Neil and Diana share even more when Diana reveals her bodyguard while she was growing up died in the line of fire for her. This seems like it had a profound effect on her and she tries to work on Neil’s survivor guilt with losing Kate.

Peter and Mozzie together again. I love bringing these two together and how exasperated Peter gets with Mozzie’s paranoia and quirks. I get the feeling Mozzie made the scavenger hunt even more outrageous just to get to Peter more irritable. Loved it!!!

"Need to Know" is a great and very solid episode of White Collar. I especially love them revealing the picture of Peter with a mustache. The show has gotten into a groove and it seems the writers are finding the voices of each character quite well. Can’t wait to see how the season progresses.

Preview for next week: Aidan Quinn is doing television? I know I haven’t seen him in any movies lately but I was surprised to see that he is guest starring on White Collar.

White Collar: Withdrawal by Claudia Charles

First off, I want to start by saying I loved the first season of USA Network's White Collar, especially the banter between Matthew Bomer and Tim DeKay. They were able to establish a very good groove early in the season that they maintained well. However, there were some elements I found rather lacking and fortunately they remedied that by killing off Kate in the season one finale. I’m hoping that for the most part the Kate storyline is resolved. Neal is focused on finding out who killed her but I hope they don’t go the “Kate is not really dead” route. That part became tedious and bogged the episodes down.

"Withdrawal" opens up with Peter being asked to answer for the events that occurred in the season finale. Peter is being called on the carpet. Meanwhile, consider me beyond happy that Marsha Thomason (Diana) is now part of the cast! I thought she was great in the pilot episode and then she wasn't present for the rest of the first season. I never understood that so I'm glad she's back. The other FBI female agent they used had no chemistry with Neal Caffrey.

I have to say I found the first part of the episode mildly tedious because we were back to having to establish Neal once again working for the FBI. Thankfully the action very quickly moved to Neal breaking into a bank. White Collar star Matthew Bomer continues to spread his charm and is very convincing in his methods of gaining entrance to the bank.

Peter's concerned about how Neal is coping with Kate’s death. I love that Peter is interacting directly with Mozzie, Neal’s slightly shady sidekick from his old life. Willie Garson of Sex and the City fame excels as Neal's buddy – his paranoia and covert actions are hilarious.

Diana and Neal's working relationship is refreshing and thankfully for us they establish a camaraderie very quickly. Particularly interesting is how Peter seems to be feeling left out of their chumminess. They continue to riff on Peter not being that cool but there is a part of him that would like to be.

The introduction of Tim Matheson as the episode villain is quite fascinating. They show him as a powerful businessman at the top of his game who seemingly has the world at his fingers. His character quickly puts Peter and Neal in their place. This definitely establishes the character as the alpha male. Neal seems to have his buttons pushed by the interaction with the architect.

The scene between Peter and Elizabeth seemed rather off to me. The background looked a little fake so I found it rather disconcerting. Tiffiani Thiessen is pregnant so I’m aware that they are going to have be creative with shooting her but I wasn’t sure why this scene seemed a little off. Watching a second time, it seems like they were not shot together. I wish it didn’t seem so obvious.

I have to say it did seem rather obvious that the bank security officer was in on it. The interchange between Peter and the architect was very interesting. I loved that he was rubbing the failure in their faces but you also know that this is not where the episode will end and in the end the good guys prevailed. Overall, this was a solid episode for White Collar. I'm looking forward to see what they'll do with Diana now that she has joined the fun with Peter and Neal.

Random Thoughts:
• I love Marsha Thomason and love, love, love that she's a series regular. I loved her on Lost as Naomi and actually would have liked for them to do more with her character before Locke killed her.
• Tim Matheson continues his directing duties on USA shows with his appearance as the villain-du-jour on White Collar. He recently made an appearance on another show I enjoy Burn Notice.
• Great to see Diahann Carroll. She's awesome as Neal's landlady.