White Collar: Season 1

First of all, someone at USA Network, or whomever they farm out their DVD stuff to, should be given a big raise. Why? Because I had barely ever heard of White Collar before I saw the pilot episode on the Season Four DVD set of Burn Notice, another USA show. It was there, I had 45 minutes to kill, so I watched it. And ordered White Collar Season One on my next Amazon purchase. Genius, give people a taste of something, seemingly for free, and get them to spend some money later. Give that person/people a raise or a promotion. Or both.White Collar is another of those charismatic cop shows that have started popping up since The Mentalist came out. I would imagine that White Collar was in development before that happened, but you can't say that Simon Baker and company didn't grease the skids. The premise is simple: Neil Caffrey (Matt Bomer), a forger, theif and all around 'white collar' crook offers to help his FBI catcher, Peter Burke (Tim DeKay). The deal is this: Caffrey helps Burke with his cases, Burke keeps him out of prison. But Caffrey has another agenda as well, his missing ex-girlfriend Kate (Alexandra Daddario), who may or may not be under the control of elements in the FBI. His search for her, abetted by his friend Mozz (Willie Garson), tends to complicate his professional relationship with Burke, though Burke's wife Eleanor (Tiffani Thiesson) is in Neil's corner, mostly.Neil might just be the smartest TV cop there is, other than Simon Baker's Patrick Jane from The Mentalist (technically they're both consultants), and that's part compliment part problem, as both characters are geniuses whose personal obsessions are often their undoings. But they're right a bit too often and easily for realism's sake. Except that you like both of them so much that ultimately you don't really care. That's what Matt Bomer brings to the role, he's convincing as a crook with a heart of gold, and is so smooth that it makes me wonder why it took him so long to break out as an actor. He's got a ton of talent, this won't be his last star vehicle. Tim DeKay's Peter Burke tries to be the by the book FBI agent, but Neil is not the best influence on him, though they get the job done. As the season (14 episodes) goes on, he looks the other way more and more often, showing a nice gray area as the two of them become friends and learn to trust each other, a bit. What I didn't like about him was his constant threatening to Neil to put him back in prison if Case X didn't get solved. Memo to the writers: No FBI agent/team solves every single case in a couple of days, or else. DeKay seemed to overact at times, but I wonder if it was just the contrast to Bomer's smoothness, I'm conflicted there. Thiessen plays the loving wife, and her byplay with Neil and Mozz is hilarious when it happens. Mozz is the loyal best friend and wingman for Neil, and Garson plays him humorously, but not slapsticky. He gets most of the best lines, but that's his job.The episodes are part single stories, combined with the overall 'find out what happened to Kate' subplot that runs through each of them. The crimes are highbrow, given the title and theme of the show, and while murder is involved sometimes, it's not that kind of show. The season ended on......not a cliffhanger per se, but a 'What the......!??!' kind of moment that was not what I was expecting. That's a good thing by the way. Yeah, I'll be getting Season Two.Interesting plot(s), good, sometimes really good, acting, and a fast moving pace. White Collar is a winner, and while I had a couple of quibbles, it doesn't take away from a 5 star rating. Maybe more networks should put pilots of their newer shows on DVD's for their hits. Worked with me, my hard earned dollars are on their way to them.Five stars.

I love White Collar, I really, really love the show. The writing is consistently excellent, the photography is spectacular, and, well -- Matt Bomer. What's not to like? However, the DVD sets themselves...I discovered the show a bit late, but I'd already seen all of Season One on Netflix. I bought the DVD mainly for the extras. And they're nice enough, but I have to say: These people deliver the *lamest* audio commentary I've ever heard. Bomer, DeKay, Jeff Eastin and sometimes Willie Garvin and Tiffani Thiessan contribute to commentary on several episodes, and it's hard to credit how *boring* they are. It's like they keep getting caught up in the show as they watch, so there are long silences (thanks, guys) and then brilliant comments like, "Oh, this part is great. This was so fun to film." This does not, I feel, deliver much in the way of insights or extra information. There's some discussion of the locations, which is nice, and maybe as a New Yorker I'm undervaluing that for people from other places. Still, I maintain that the commentary tracks on the whole are lame.And frankly, it does not get better on the Season Two DVD or the Season Three DVD. In fact, each season seems to provide less in the way of extras than the season before. Certainly the number of episodes with commentary decreases steadily; in Season Three, there is only one. Obviously, I didn't think they did a great job with the commentary but it was better than nothing at all. The value in the DVD's for me *is* the extras; I can get the episodes streaming on Netflix for no cost over my family's membership. Or, they appear on Amazon Instant (for a price, natch) long before the DVD's come out. Or, you know, one can catch them on TV. :-)If you buy the DVD set for any season, I'd go with Season One. Unless I hear from a lot of people that Season Four's DVD set is substantially better than the last three, I won't be buying it.

This first season is first-class scripted entertainment. Every episode not only has the standard procedural story in the foreground, but there are several backstories progressing simultaneously for all the characters involved. Without giving away too much, I'll tell you this: the writers are absolutely stellar, and the actors bring their characters to vivid life in magical filmmaking by an obviously accomplished crew. Along the way, you'll learn a few tips to keep from being conned in real life, like how pick-pockets operate in a crowd, for example.The episodes also include interesting references to art, history, and such else. There is none of the gory stuff that you'd see in a crime drama of the CSI: persuasion, and the language is very clean unless some character is actually intended to drive you to a particular conclusion. In other words, it's a classic blue-skies show.The overarching story follows four lead characters (suave con Neal Caffrey played brilliantly by Matthew Bomer, FBI Agent Peter Burker played equally smoothly by Tim DeKay, Mrs. Elizabeth Burke played by Tiffani Thiessen, and genius con Mozzie played by Willie Garson), and three recurring characters (Agent Diana Berrigan played by Marsha Thomason, Neal's landlady June played by Diahann Carroll, and Agent Clinton Jones played by Sharif Atkins). An assortment of guest stars make up each individual episode, which covers one crime at a time.The Blu-Ray has no differences from the DVD except for high-definition video, though. Which is somewhat counter-intuitive, since the network takes substantial pains to publicize this show online (including commentaries, creator's notes, promos, interviews, etc.), which could have easily been included here. Probably explains the reported lukewarm reception to the Blu-Ray release.

主人公はFBIが追い続けたインテリジェンス溢れる第一級窃盗プロ。宝石や絵画・美術品を盗んできた泥棒が敏腕FBI捜査官に捕らえられ、今度はFBIのために偽造や詐欺犯罪を暴くアドバイザーとして活躍していく。おおざっぱにストーリー紹介するとしたら、このような内容になるでしょうか。目を引くのは全編に渡る粋で小気味よいセンスと男性ファッション。NYの実際の景観もうまく取り入れつつ、友情や笑いをからめてドラマは進みます。際どい緊迫したシーンは多少ありますが、銃や爆弾・暴力や殺人などは少なく、知的なかけひきやトラップ・主人公の“人たらし”な魅力や人間力で場を解決へと導くのも作品の特徴かと思います。しかし、一歩間違えば単なるチープサスペンスになりそうな作品を、全くそうさせずに楽しめるドラマに仕立て上げている一番の要因は、何と言っても主役のMATT BOMERにあります。何だか完璧なハンサム・茶目っ気あり・人なつこくてチャーミング。頭脳派の犯罪者なのに優しい・お人好しでノーと言えない・でも本心は悟らせないクールな眼差し。この人たらし天才犯罪者役を、全く違和感なく軽やかに演じています。相棒のモジー役のWILLIE GARSONも相変わらずちょっとヘンチクリンで、でもおもしろい役どころでいい味だしています。その他FBI捜査官役のTIM DECAYやその妻役のTIFFANI THIESSENなど、皆よい俳優で安心して観られます。軽妙洒脱。ドラマもキャストも良い感じです◎

La serie está bien me encanta y aproveché el descuento el único motivo de las 3 estrellas es que No está el idioma en español y en la descripción pones claramente que viene en tres idiomas Inglés español y francés y solo viene en inglés

秋に出る予定!?の日本版DVDを待ちきれなくて買ってしまいました。英語字幕でとても疲れましたが、辞書を片手に次々と見てしまい止められなくなりました。

I’ve only watched three episodes but Matt Bomer’s over cute characterisation leaves me cold. This is painting by numbers and the rapport between the two central characters seems non existent. Perhaps it will improve but it sure ain’t in the league of such similar series as The Mentalist. Thankfully I only purchased Season One rather than the complete box set.

This is an absolutely fantastic series, I loved every episode. The basic premise is a convicted fraudster teams up with the FBI agent who caught him and between them they go after all the 'white collar' crimes that seem to be happening in New York. The chemistry between Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay is excellent. They become friends who don't quite trust each other. There's usually one self contained episode, but also a few back stories that last longer. Easier to follow than Suits, and the characters, main and supporting, are more likeable.And if you feel like a read, I'd recommend these Cold Steel on the Rocks We Are Cold SteelCold Steel on the RocksWe Are Cold Steel