TV Verdict

I usually spend my Friday nights with Adrian Monk, Shawn Spencer and Bruton Gaster…er…Burton Guster? I’ve heard it both ways. I was disappointed when Psych went on hiatus until January. Fortunately, the USA network decided to give me Neal Caffrey to make up for it. I have not been disappointed.

If you don’t know who Neal Caffrey is then you haven’t been watching USA’s new hit show White Collar. I command you to drop all your plans for Friday night and give this show your attention. We are already three episodes into the season so if you need to get caught up you can find full-length episodes at Hulu.com.

The show is about genius con artist, Nick Caffrey (Matthew Bomer), who is released from prison into the custody of FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim Dekay). Caffrey is to work as a “consultant” for the FBI. Who better to track criminal masterminds than one of the best criminal masterminds?

To make this odd partnership more interesting, Burke is the agent that hunted Caffrey for years and ultimately caught him and put him behind bars. There is obvious respect between the two, despite having spent so many years on different sides of the law. They are easily and quickly forging a friendship.

KING CON

Nick Caffrey is attractive, charismatic and can basically get whatever he wants simply by charming people. But he doesn’t rely solely on these skills. He is also smart and talented in the world of forgery and Bomer makes it all look so easy.

Peter Burke, on the other hand, does not know what it is like to have things just fall in his lap. Dekay does a good job of making this character likeable. He is hardworking and somewhat straight-laced. But Dekay plays him in a way that keeps him from coming across as too stuffy.

To round out the cast we have Tiffani Thiessen as Burke’s wife, Elizabeth. I recently read where someone said she was just your “typical TV wife”. That is a very flat and completely false description. Either someone wasn’t paying enough attention when they were watching the show or they were in too much of a hurry to offer a better analysis on a supporting character.

Elizabeth Burke is an event planner and is an extremely supportive wife. This is saying something considering her husband is an FBI agent that has his mind consumed with cases 99% of the time. She is intelligent and has, on more than one occasion, been a part of bringing down the bad guy. Whether it is staging a fake party full of super models, offering her opinion on a plan, or offering insight into her husband’s psyche, she has proven to be an important element in what her husband does.

We also see Willie Garson in the role of Mozzie. Mozzie is a remnant of Caffrey’s life as a con artist. He is, for all intents and purposes, Caffrey’s mystery sidekick. Burke hasn’t met him but suspects he exists and is assisting Caffrey. Mozzie helps Caffrey by doing a lot of legwork since Caffrey’s leg happens to be wearing a GPS tracker that has him confined to a two-mile radius.

Mozzie’s other job is to help Caffrey hunt down leads concerning the disappearance of his girlfriend. In the pilot episode it appears that she dumped him and took off, not wanting to be found. As the series progresses, Caffrey, with the help of Mozzie, is realizing the situation is more sinister than that. They are slowly discovering clues left by the girlfriend that show she didn’t leave of her own accord and she does want to be found.

White Collar is that perfect blend of intrigue and humor. It offers mystery, action, engaging dialogue and interesting story lines that keep you guessing. Mostly it offers an attractive criminal mastermind who you’re allowed to feel sympathetic towards because he is now working for the good guys. Caffrey’s charm extends from the television to those watching and I’m hooked.

Watch White Collar Fridays at 10:00 on USA

WHITE COLLAR — “Promo” — Pictured: (l-r) Tiffani Thiessen as Elizabeth Burke, Tim DeKay as Peter Burke, Matthew Bomer as Neal Caffrey — USA Network Photo: David Giesbrecht