I wasn't overly taken by the first season of White Collar (a fact that many fans have taken issue with me over – few politely) because I felt that it wasn't quite firing as it could do but, my girlfriend being a fan of easy television and a fan of the "case a week" genre, I ended up returning for the second season. What I found was a show that had stepped up its game in some regards but has not been able to shake off the core weaknesses that comes with this sort of show.
We return to this world to find Caffrey agreeing to let the FBI lead on the investigation into the events that ended season 1, while continuing to "assist" them as a consultant (albeit a consultant who has to wear a tracking bracelet on his leg). Of course on the side he has his own investigation going on but from week-to-week he has cases to help solve. So, essentially we have the same structure as last season and the same structure as many of this type of show – a story for the week plus a little bit to move the overall season (or series) long thread along and keep viewers feeling like they are watching something that is going somewhere beyond the day-to-day stories that start and end in 45 minutes. Season 2 does do a better job of covering the "big picture" thread so that it doesn't feel like it is only tacked on at the end of each episode or wheeled out for mid-season finales etc. Problem is that this is just what is still being done – the bigger picture is only there to give the show momentum, it never feels like it is a "proper" story being told. This impression is more or less confirmed at the end of the season where everything is rapidly, illogically and pointlessly brought to an end just for the sake of creating another "big picture" thread for the third season. To me it did feel like I was not watching a story that anyone wanted to tell so much as watching one that is being told for the sake of keeping things going as long as ratings stand up. I'm not sure of the direction for the third season (ie I'm not sure I like what it appears to be) but, as much as they improved integrating in this season, there is a lot of room for improvement to make it actually work as a thread, not a filler.
So what of the week-to-week cases? Well mostly these are quite enjoyable and deliver some distractingly entertaining stories which are merged well in with the bigger picture thread to mean that there is plenty going on. The slickness is improved and I did feel that the show had a bit more confidence to it. I still maintain that it isn't enough though and I never felt like I was watching something great or a show that would be remembered five years after it ends, but it seemed more "comfortable" on the screen, like at least it was happy doing what it was doing. The cast help this feel as both Bomer and Dekay work well together even if the script doesn't help them – the mistrust between them at the end is interesting in theory but would have been helped by not suddenly coming out of nowhere like it did. Garson continues to be an enjoyable comic support while the show benefits greatly from the looks and presence of Thomason, returned from being only in a few episodes of the first season. Thiessen is more of a distraction that a benefit to the show – she starts in terrible back-projections to cover her working from her new-born baby's bedroom for the first half of the season, while in the second half she just seems to be there because her character has to be there, no offence to her but less time for her would help the show.
White Collar is improved into its second season but it is still very much a genre show whose only aspiration is to keep enough people watching each week to justify its slot. I like its slick concept and presentation but I really wish I felt more involved and engaging in it – as it is it is hard to shake the feeling that I'm being sold a slickly packaged hour of programming, rather than really caring.
We return to this world to find Caffrey agreeing to let the FBI lead on the investigation into the events that ended season 1, while continuing to "assist" them as a consultant (albeit a consultant who has to wear a tracking bracelet on his leg). Of course on the side he has his own investigation going on but from week-to-week he has cases to help solve. So, essentially we have the same structure as last season and the same structure as many of this type of show – a story for the week plus a little bit to move the overall season (or series) long thread along and keep viewers feeling like they are watching something that is going somewhere beyond the day-to-day stories that start and end in 45 minutes. Season 2 does do a better job of covering the "big picture" thread so that it doesn't feel like it is only tacked on at the end of each episode or wheeled out for mid-season finales etc. Problem is that this is just what is still being done – the bigger picture is only there to give the show momentum, it never feels like it is a "proper" story being told. This impression is more or less confirmed at the end of the season where everything is rapidly, illogically and pointlessly brought to an end just for the sake of creating another "big picture" thread for the third season. To me it did feel like I was not watching a story that anyone wanted to tell so much as watching one that is being told for the sake of keeping things going as long as ratings stand up. I'm not sure of the direction for the third season (ie I'm not sure I like what it appears to be) but, as much as they improved integrating in this season, there is a lot of room for improvement to make it actually work as a thread, not a filler.
So what of the week-to-week cases? Well mostly these are quite enjoyable and deliver some distractingly entertaining stories which are merged well in with the bigger picture thread to mean that there is plenty going on. The slickness is improved and I did feel that the show had a bit more confidence to it. I still maintain that it isn't enough though and I never felt like I was watching something great or a show that would be remembered five years after it ends, but it seemed more "comfortable" on the screen, like at least it was happy doing what it was doing. The cast help this feel as both Bomer and Dekay work well together even if the script doesn't help them – the mistrust between them at the end is interesting in theory but would have been helped by not suddenly coming out of nowhere like it did. Garson continues to be an enjoyable comic support while the show benefits greatly from the looks and presence of Thomason, returned from being only in a few episodes of the first season. Thiessen is more of a distraction that a benefit to the show – she starts in terrible back-projections to cover her working from her new-born baby's bedroom for the first half of the season, while in the second half she just seems to be there because her character has to be there, no offence to her but less time for her would help the show.
White Collar is improved into its second season but it is still very much a genre show whose only aspiration is to keep enough people watching each week to justify its slot. I like its slick concept and presentation but I really wish I felt more involved and engaging in it – as it is it is hard to shake the feeling that I'm being sold a slickly packaged hour of programming, rather than really caring.
