Robert P. Laurence

San Diego Television

'White Collar' on USA

By Robert P. Laurence
Posted on Wed, Oct 21st, 2009
Last updated Wed, Oct 21st, 2009

Yes, “White Collar” is implausible to the point of being ridiculous.

But the writers and actors know it and, good sports that they are, they’re willing to let us in on the joke. The result is a clever, breezy, tongue-in-cheek hour of odd-couple cops chasing robbers, set and filmed in New York City, a comfortable fit with what has evolved as USA’s stable of none-too-serious crime series. (See “Monk,” “In Plain Sight,” “Psych,” “Burn Notice,” Royal Pains.”)

As if intended as a signal of what’s to come, the pilot begins with a jail break. The fiendishly clever master criminal Neal Caffrey (Matt Borner, with blue eyes Paul Newman would die for, if he weren’t already dead) slips on a guard’s uniform and walks out of the prison where he’s been stored lately. Beginning a pattern that will be repeated, scores of questions remain unasked and unanswered, but never mind. (The pilot begins at 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, on USA, running until 11:30 p.m.)

Caffrey, we soon learn, is one of those really smart TV and movie criminals who know all sorts of esoteric stuff, from science to history to art and literature. Don’t ask how he knows, he just does. And don’t you know, he’ll soon find himself a really posh place to live, just by meeting a rich lady in a thrift shop. Happens all the time.

But I get ahead of myself. When Caffrey escapes, the FBI sends agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) to find him. It was DeKay who put him away, so he gets the job of catching him. He does, Caffrey returns to the lockup, and is soon released again in Burke's custody. He’s the only man anybody knows who’s smart enough to help Burke in his most baffling case. (I didn’t write this plot, I’m just passing it along.)

Caffrey is placed in a seedy, cheap hotel, but at a nearby thrift shop meets an elegant older woman (Diahann Carroll, looking fabulous) donating her late husband’s suits. She just happens to mention that she has an empty guest room in her mansion and Caffrey, charming con artist that he is, is soon ensconced therein. He can even get to her place without setting off his GPS ankle bracelet.

Not only a lucky guy but a fashionable one, Caffrey wraps himself in the late husband’s old duds – narrow lapels, narrow ties, narrow-brimmed hats – a look he describes as “classic rat pack.” His shaggy 2009 hair doesn’t quite go, but that’s a small matter.

What does matter in these affairs is attitude, and DeKay and Borner and their characters have it to spare. Borner, with his supermodel looks, gives Caffrey just the jaunty, cocky air he needs. DeKay, a decade or two older, in the role of Burke bears heavier responsibilities. He’s willing to keep the rogue around, but only at arm’s length.

They know each other well enough that Caffrey has to remind Burke that his wedding anniversary is coming up soon. And the two bicker often enough and long enough that it seems they are the long-married couple. Actually, long, expository dialogues are the only thing dragging the pilot down. Someone needed to trim the script a bit.

Eventually, the plot does get down to the tedious business of solving a case, something to do with suitcases of children’s books masking a plot to counterfeit “Spanish victory bonds.” Never heard of them? Not to worry, Caffrey will explain, even if he’s making it up as he goes along.

By the way, next week's episode takes place in San Diego (where Caffrey's runaway girl friend may be hiding), but was not filmed here. In a reversal of usual practice (How often has Montreal played the role of Manhattan?), New York will somehow be made to look like San Diego. I don't know where they found palm trees.

About the author: Robert P. Laurence was television critic at the San Diego Union-Tribune for 21 years. He previously wrote about politics, jazz, rock 'n' roll and all manner of news. He graduated in journalism from San Francisco State University, and earned an M.A. in political science at San Jose State. He's lived in San Diego since 1971.
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