Friday, September 7, 2012

Why "The Closer" is a Classic Television Series


Why The Closer is a classic television series.


One reason I believe The Closer is already a classic is the strong introduction, paraphrasing the leading actress, Krya Sedgwick, the opening episode was nearly perfect.  The lead character, Brenda (AKA as “The Closer” for her ability to get confessions that close murder investigations) appeared a fully developed character with an interesting back story presented in brief bits of dialog that did not interrupt the flow of the story.

Over the course of seven years the actors and writers developed their continuing characters until each person has become unique with strengths and shortcomings.  Each character has also changed and developed over the years but always in ways consistent with their underlying personalities.  The ensemble has made each member a better actor.





The acting has been excellent.  The photography has been outstanding. The music underscored what was being shown.  A television show, like a movie, is the product of many talented individuals, most of whom operate out of sight of the audience.

Brenda’s character, who started with roughly the self-awareness of a fire hydrant, has been forced to confront some of her personal demons. From the beginning, Brenda has been an admirable character, even lovable but not likeable. She has often skirted and sometimes boldly marched across ethical and legal boundaries in her efforts to solve murders and elicit confession to close cases.

The episodes include unpredictable elements, humor and moving moments.  I was rarely able to guess how an episode would end.  There were many victories and a few losses. Watching Brenda deal with women as driven and oblivious as she was has provided some memorable material.




Brenda’s willingness to break rules and offend important people has earned her respect and enemies within and outside of the police department.  Anyone who has to deal with bureaucracies can identify with her defiance and her creative rule breaking. 

While each episode was a complete story within itself.  There were themes and ideas that continued in story arcs over time.  Episodes that showed Brenda breaking the spirit of the law to get a confession were followed by show that demonstrated the consequences of her decisions.  Her relationship with Fritz showed Brenda’s willingness of ignore the needs of other in pursuit of her job goals and her personal growth by learning to care for others. 



If you wonder why I chose these pictures for my blog, consider that images from the television show are copyrighted. 

Do you believe The Closer is a classic series? What makes a film or a television series classic?  

19 comments:

  1. The Closer was a classic and one of my favorites. "Thank Yew" for posting about it.

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  2. Thank Yew Very Much for commenting, Susan.

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  3. Warren, I agree with you--I have watched "The Closer" faithfully, and I can't say that about many other TV programs.

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  4. Jacqueline, One certain sign I like a TV program is when I know the channel, day and time when it is on.

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  5. I've never missed an episode. And if I did I had to tape it. I really hated to see it end. But everyone needs to move on and embrace change.
    And I'm with you, there have been few series that have held my attention throughout the run of the series. I usually lose interest pretty quickly because the story lines become boring. That never happened with Closer.
    JMO,
    Teresa r.

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  6. Teresa, I caught the series when it re-ran but even seeing it out of sequence caught my attention. When I saw earlier episode after later ones, I thoght, "Ah, ha. That's where that theme started.

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  7. Warren: You caught the essence of The Closer's excellence from start to finish in your blog. Good job!

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  8. One of my favorite shows, too, and I never missed it. Now I'm moving on with Major Crimes, the spinoff. Even with Sedgwick gone, I still enjoy the other characters.

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  9. I enjoy Major Crimes but I had difficulty with Kiera Sedgwick's way over the top accent. It was way to destracting to me - a southerner who knows what we sound like!

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  10. The accent was distracting. But the character was convincing

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  11. I can't comment on it because I've never watched it, but I liked your review of the series, Warren.

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  12. I just loved The Closer, and couldn't agree with you more. It's right next to Monk in my all time favorites book.

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  13. I loved watching every episode of The Closer. The characters are well-developed and interesting. I enjoy watching them in the follow-up series. Great review, Warren.

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  14. Great post, Warren. I think you nailed why people loved the series and loved Brenda. She was imperfect, and people related to that, because we're imperfect. As someone who writes characters who cross ethical lines, I loved that she did when it meant getting "her man."

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  15. I do enjoy Major Crimes and the continuing characters.

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  16. I wish I could see this show. It was on Italian TV last year, dubbed in Italian,and something was lost in translation. The dubbers always try to make the dialog appeal to Italian viewers; that habit creates improbable situations. For example, 90 percent of autopsies reveal that the corpse had eaten eggplant for his/her last meal.

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  17. I had no idea eggplant was so popular in L.A.

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