White Collar Needs More Color

Just like most of USA’s other original series—Monk, Psych, Royal Pains, Burn Notice—new entry White Collar (Fridays, 10pm) is three parts case-of-the-week, one part lighthearted romp, with a minor dollop of character on top in an attempt to keep things from getting too stale. Like those other shows, though, White Collar is also about as disposable as a paper towel, leaving viewers with no compelling reason to come back for more.

Sure, Matt Bomer (Chuck) works his good looks and natural charm for all they’re worth as Neal Caffrey, a white collar criminal who escapes from prison only to find himself strapped with an ankle bracelet and working as a consultant for the FBI in exchange for not going back behind bars. And Tim DeKay, who, in addition to a lead role on HBO’s short-lived marital drama Tell Me You Love Me, has guest-starred on everything from Seinfeld to The Practice to NCIS, holds a nice middle ground between loose and uptight as Neal’s captor and FBI handler, Peter Burke.

But as with so many shows that rely on this format, there’s no there there. Neal and Peter run around New York, using Neal’s inside intel and Peter’s law enforcement skills to catch forgers and counterfeiters. They banter with an easy chemistry (far better than that between DeKay and Tiffani Theissen, who plays his somewhat neglected wife), manage to get their man in the end, and, as ever, we get to watch them do it all over again next week. Where’s the substance? Unfortunately, there isn't much of it on display, but there are hints of a better show lurking in here somewhere: Diahann Carroll showed up in the pilot as a wealthy widow who gave Neal a place to stay, Willie Garson (Sex and the City) is an intriguing presence as an old friend of Neal’s, and there’s an ongoing story line involving Neal’s ex-girlfriend and his obsession with finding her. More time allocated to any of these things would be a welcome break from the crime aspect (two episodes in, I'm already bored with white collar crime).

There’s an irony to the fact that USA’s slogan is “Characters Welcome,” and yet the network seems to keep churning out the same show in different locales, ultimately putting character on the back burner to solving some kind of mystery. (To its credit, the network does allow its shows to spotlight their locations nicely, for example, the Hamptons in Royal Pains and Albuquerque in In Plain Sight.) How about giving us a show that actually puts character first and plot second? I’m not talking about some guy with a lot of quirks like Monk has, either; tics don’t equal character. I’m talking about an honest-to-God person, someone we can all relate to and care about, someone who doesn’t have to flash a badge or carry a gun to make themselves seem more interesting than they really are.