I started watching White Collar from the beginning. It sounded like an interesting concept and raised hope to see a modern Crime show with more interesting cases than the usual CSI murders and so on. I've seen all episodes in Season 1 and 2, but haven't started with 3 yet - and probably won't:
What sounded interesting at first turned out to be a less-than-average show unfortunately. It is about a young and handsome master-criminal (and believe me when I say that's all it really is about), who got captured repeatedly by a apparently extremely competent FBI agent. To avoid him fleeing from prison, they make a deal to help each other out.
The master-criminal, henceforth known as Neal, is not only young and handsome, he's also an expert in: history, art, jewelery, forging, finances, money laundering, fashion, conjuring and many many MANY more talents. Basically he is James Bond without his Walther, Indiana Jones without his Whip (but with a hat - occasionally!), and David Copperfield without a white bunny.
The FBI agent, though capable of capturing Neal twice, seems less and less competent throughout the show. Basically he is incapable of doing any investigative work, he has to call Neal for every trivial case.
His wife is really only there for her name, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, because her role does nothing besides being the supportive wife. Her roles usually are 30 second pieces to show that she exists.
Neal's best friend, the "geek" Mozzie, is even more cliché than whine-swirling criminal in the 10.000-dollar-suit and the down-to-earth yet super-important FBI-special-agent in the 100-dollar-suit. He of course is extremely paranoid, has absolute knowledge of everything that even remotely has to do with technology and is practically incapable in every other aspect of existence.
Then of course there is the obligatory agent Token who is allowed to help now and then, and the competent and successful female black agent who of course can hardly resist Neal yet stays professional.
The bad guys vary from petty-thief to sophisticated master-criminal (of course Neal is still way out of their league, without being as ruthless as them), to FBI conspirators.
Other than that there is a number of Neal's love interests that usually need to be saved.
All in all, the show could be described in one word: cliché The cases are generally as absurd as they are boring, if they are not totally absurd they are the more boring. The genre description says Action/Drama, but don't be fooled. There is no action at all (not even if they try, and they hardly do) and the drama part is just as poor. There are no funny moments either - and how should there? Half of the people are flawless and the other half unscrupulous. As a serial, there is generally a story line over the whole season - but it is unbelievably thin and usually not present except for a few brief moments. The characters are completely implausible, and the cases not better.
All in all, this show is incredibly overrated and, while not terrible, well below average. If you want drama, watch a proper drama (Breaking Bad et al.), if you want Action, try Burn Notice, and if you want a proper crime/detective/drama, Justified is the much better choice. You probably know all these, but before you try White Collar, check out some other shows, you likely will find a much better one.
What sounded interesting at first turned out to be a less-than-average show unfortunately. It is about a young and handsome master-criminal (and believe me when I say that's all it really is about), who got captured repeatedly by a apparently extremely competent FBI agent. To avoid him fleeing from prison, they make a deal to help each other out.
The master-criminal, henceforth known as Neal, is not only young and handsome, he's also an expert in: history, art, jewelery, forging, finances, money laundering, fashion, conjuring and many many MANY more talents. Basically he is James Bond without his Walther, Indiana Jones without his Whip (but with a hat - occasionally!), and David Copperfield without a white bunny.
The FBI agent, though capable of capturing Neal twice, seems less and less competent throughout the show. Basically he is incapable of doing any investigative work, he has to call Neal for every trivial case.
His wife is really only there for her name, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, because her role does nothing besides being the supportive wife. Her roles usually are 30 second pieces to show that she exists.
Neal's best friend, the "geek" Mozzie, is even more cliché than whine-swirling criminal in the 10.000-dollar-suit and the down-to-earth yet super-important FBI-special-agent in the 100-dollar-suit. He of course is extremely paranoid, has absolute knowledge of everything that even remotely has to do with technology and is practically incapable in every other aspect of existence.
Then of course there is the obligatory agent Token who is allowed to help now and then, and the competent and successful female black agent who of course can hardly resist Neal yet stays professional.
The bad guys vary from petty-thief to sophisticated master-criminal (of course Neal is still way out of their league, without being as ruthless as them), to FBI conspirators.
Other than that there is a number of Neal's love interests that usually need to be saved.
All in all, the show could be described in one word: cliché The cases are generally as absurd as they are boring, if they are not totally absurd they are the more boring. The genre description says Action/Drama, but don't be fooled. There is no action at all (not even if they try, and they hardly do) and the drama part is just as poor. There are no funny moments either - and how should there? Half of the people are flawless and the other half unscrupulous. As a serial, there is generally a story line over the whole season - but it is unbelievably thin and usually not present except for a few brief moments. The characters are completely implausible, and the cases not better.
All in all, this show is incredibly overrated and, while not terrible, well below average. If you want drama, watch a proper drama (Breaking Bad et al.), if you want Action, try Burn Notice, and if you want a proper crime/detective/drama, Justified is the much better choice. You probably know all these, but before you try White Collar, check out some other shows, you likely will find a much better one.