The Closer: A Christmas Interlude

Kyra Sedgwick in The CloserIt's always fun to get a few extra episodes in November and December of The Closer during the holiday season. Last week's was terrific, but this week's, not so much. It's a double shame since "You Have the Right to Remain Jolly," was the 100th episode of the series, and guest starred perennial funny man Fred Willard.

For one thing, the show doesn't usually tip its hand in the first two minutes as to who the bad guy is. Last night, it did. I was surprised they bothered to wait so long for the big Reveal--I expected it to come out right away, and then to be expanded upon. Alas, it was not to be. Seems to me like the EPs said, "We need a Christmas episode that's funny and goofy and will make people enjoy the holiday season, and no one cares what the storyline is." I guess they forgot that the best (or even good) episodes of The Closer are puzzles the audience works out, whether the stories are funny and goofy or not.

Also, wow, this hour made every single guy on the squad look like a perv, which is rarely the case in other episodes. It got to the point where it was the opposite of fun; I was particularly embarrassed for JK Simmons, who had to make Chief Pope look like he hasn't gotten laid since he and Brenda split a zillion years ago.

Also, there was no Raydor, so that sucked.

We did get two good things: delightful lawyer Gavin got to reveal that Pope was not the one who paid Gavin to represent Brenda; the audience knew it was Fritz all along, but only last night did Brenda discover the truth. (We then got a stellar shot of Gavin dramatically flinging his scarf around his neck, which was worth a rewind or two.) We also learned that Brenda has been tracking and harassing rapist and murderer Phillip Stroh. He's the one baddie who got away from Brenda a few seasons back, and I've been waiting to hear about him for a while now. Here's hoping they resolve that storyline this summer.

In other news, I also watched Rizzoli & Isles. It was a reasonable way to pass 44 minutes, give or take. That's about all I can say about it.

I won't bother with an embed for last night's Closer--TNT's full episodes are now behind a subscriber wall, so you have to have a cable or satellite subscription, but not if you have Time Warner cable. (Meanwhile, Time Warner owns TNT. It all makes perfect sense, right?) If you missed it, look out for this one in reruns, or better yet, skip it and wait till next week when Brenda's parents return for some good times.