JPTV: What I'm Watching Tonight; or, Convince Me, Kyra

By James Poniewozik | @poniewozik | June 18, 2007 | +

I should not admit this as a professional TV watcher, but there are some shows I simply do not get. One of these is The Closer, which back in its first season I decided got far too much credit for glomming the slightest bit of character development (Kyra Sedgwick’s crime-solver-with-issues basically amounting to Jane Tennison Lite) on to what was otherwise a by-the-numbers cop procedural.

But the nation’s TV audience disagreed with me, as they so often do, and turned The Closer into the biggest thing on cable not involving football or the ambiguous resolutions of Mafia dons. So I’ll be watching The Closer tonight, or at least my TiVo will be, in the spirit of giving it one last chance.

Are there layers to this show I’m not giving it credit for? Is it it just further proof that cable viewers love them some Law & Order, even if the procedural doesn’t actually have Law & Order in its name? Make your case, Closer lovers.

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Keith

I’ve never watched it, but the little lady seems to think it is a good program.
James Poniewozik

I think we need to hear directly from Mrs. Keith on this one!
Chaddogg

James – no love for “The 4400″? Sure it was on last night, but it’s not making an appearance on your TiVo/DVR home recording device? Or as a rerun tonight (or whenever it next replays on USA’s ubiquitous loop)?

I just love the show because it’s all sci-fi-esque and weird, but without the darkness of an X-Files…in other words, light and easy summer sci-fi, perfect for the TV season when we shut off our brains.
Intrepyd

In other news, Big Love was amazing tonight, but I wonder how accessible it is to new viewers. Those “previously on Big Love” segments must be incomprehensible to newcomers.
James Poniewozik

@Chaddogg, strangely enough The 4400 is yet another show I gave up on halfway into the first season. Intrepyd, look for a Big Love Watch coming up this morning.
p_lukasiak

I watched a bunch of Closer episodes yesterday during the pre-season premiere “marathon” — and the show is simply bad. This isn’t Prime Suspect lite, its Kyra Sedgewick channelling Calista Flockhart as Ally McBeal in a poorly plotted police procedural.

How did Sedgewick get a Golden Globe? Is there a statuette given in the “best actress married to Kevin Bacon” category? As Tennyson, Helen Mirren displayed more character depth and nuance in throwaway lines (like giving assignments to her detectives) than Sedgewick displayed throughout the four episodes I watched.
Karma

You should give 4400 another look James. Then again I may be as addicted to Science Fiction as Chaddog… Eureka anyone? Haha.
James Poniewozik

@Karma: I like sci-fi, but only if it works on the same character level as just-plain-fi… which is to say, I liked Firefly and Battlestar Galactica, but not most of the regular sci-fi dramas Sci Fi or USA have done.
Jen

I never got the show either, didn’t feel compelled to give it a chance, since there are SO many really good and interesting shows around.
Alex

Well, yes, its a procedural but those are not easy to make. The more a genre has been done, the harder it becomes to craft a good genre show. Take “Heartland” which debuted after “The Closer.” It’s a doctor show but about organ transplants. That seems to be the only original thing in this very by-the-numbers show. You feel nothing watching it becuase you’ve seen it countless times before. In this case the genre overwhelms the show.
But take “The Closer.” Its nowhere near “Prime Suspect” range, but the heroine grows on you. She may not be as flawed as Tennyson but she uses her Southern charm as a smokescreen for-as evidenced by last night’s simulated stabbing scene-some real brutal police tactics that give her a welcoming ferocious quality. Plus the show is paced well, the dialogue is not CSI and everybody seems to care about what they are doing. Yes, genre, but not bad.
Karma

Firefly, that brings a tear to my eye.