Out of the Box
- Episode aired Mar 9, 2010
- TV-PG
- 43m
Alex Hunter finally teams up with Neil to steal the music-box, which she located in the Italian consul's safe, doubtlessly obtained illegally. Pete smells a rat but is kept at a distance, as... Read allAlex Hunter finally teams up with Neil to steal the music-box, which she located in the Italian consul's safe, doubtlessly obtained illegally. Pete smells a rat but is kept at a distance, as the plan requires entering a witness protection relocation to Canada, arranged by dirty a... Read allAlex Hunter finally teams up with Neil to steal the music-box, which she located in the Italian consul's safe, doubtlessly obtained illegally. Pete smells a rat but is kept at a distance, as the plan requires entering a witness protection relocation to Canada, arranged by dirty agent Garrett Fowler. An explosion changes everything.
Photos
- Pianist
- (uncredited)
- FBI Agent
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe painting Mozzie uses to cover up the plans was painted by a set decorator in 20 mins.
- GoofsWhen Fowler's associate frisks Caffrey in the garage for bugs, he doesn't check his hat. Rookie mistake.
- Quotes
Peter Burke: You said goodbye to everyone but me. Why?
Neal Caffrey: I dunno.
Peter Burke: Yeah, you do. Tell me.
Neal Caffrey: I don't know. Okay?
Peter Burke: Why?
Neal Caffrey: You know why.
Peter Burke: Tell me!
Neal Caffrey: [pause] 'Cause you're the only one who could change my mind.
- ConnectionsReferences Casablanca (1942)
Of course these shows need a background thing to keep the viewer beyond this and, in this case it is Neal's hunt for his ex and the wider mystery that comes with that. As one would expect it is all bundled together in a very slick package that never stops reminding you that it is in New York and that everything goes "swoosh" and "zam" in multiple slick camera cuts every five or so minutes. On the face of it the show should be really slick and easy to enjoy on a weekly basis while the bigger mystery acts as a regular reminder that there is a reason to stick with it – so does it manage to do it? Well the answer is "sort of" because season 1 of White Collar feels like it is not too far short of the mark in what it is trying to do but yet somehow is just lacking a consistent spark to a lot of what it does, limiting it and keeping it serviceable as a show but not as much of anything that it should be.
The weekly plots are the first area where the spark fades because too many of them feel forced. I thought several times during the season that some of the plots were really crowbarred in out of nowhere and this is not a good sign – if your concept cannot produce plots without utilising family members or some other weak device to get them started then the outlook is not good. Once the plots get moving then the slick delivery and quite fun development of each one is engaging enough but few of them really spark. This leaves the bigger mystery. Now this works better than I thought it would because it is not something that is only rolled out to close a season or boost ratings but rather is in each episode. It doesn't totally work though because, as it does in the pilot, it puts a lot of "seriousness" into it that emotionally it cannot justify and, while the various twists maybe hold the interest and make for some good episodes, it is easy to watch it without really caring all that much – which does rather rob it of thrills and prevents it engaging as it should.
And it does need these thrills and a sense of fun to make it reach its full potential but it just doesn't hit that mark with any sort of consistency. The interplay between the characters is the same – a case of close, but no cigar. Neal and Peter are both pretty good together but there isn't the magic that the relationship needs to make it work. They sort of have mutual respect, sort of have mistrust, sort of have comic interplay but it is all "sort of". Borner is slick and cool while DeKay is a solid but unremarkable presence but neither are brilliant – and the supporting cast don't do a lot to help. Garson's Mozzie is a nicely comic character and is always welcome in any scene (his "thinks he's Bruce Willis" bit was hilarious) but the FBI team of Morales, Rebhorn and Atkins are pretty bland – hopefully the return of Thomason will change it if she stays for season 2. Thiessen is a weird find and she is good in it although her character is mostly unnecessary.
Overall White Collar is a glossy and slick show that is easy viewing but doesn't ever deliver as it should and could. The plots are often forced (hurting their slickness and entertainment value) and the characters and dialogue just don't have the spark they almost have. A good undemanding view, but it needs to sharpen up in many areas if it wants to be more than that.
- bob the moo
- Mar 24, 2010
Details
- Runtime43 minutes
- Color