I think I’ve watched one episode of The Closer but Kyra Sedgwick’s southern accent bugged me. I never got sucked into the drama of it but I’ve heard vague rumblings that it’s a good show. Is it?
A new season starts tonight. Shall I give it a whirl? I can’t say this “sneak peek” from TNT got me really excited. Thoughts?
TNT: The Closer 2007
grapeshot
The show doesn’t blaze a new path in the detective/cop show genre, and it only has a faint whiff of a “Jane Tennison of the CID” vibe to it (not nearly enough to put it in the same territory), yet when I checked it out last season it grew on me. I would have to say that the only thing I really like about it is the Kyra Sedgewick character, so if her accent bugged you in the past, it’ll bug you again, and if you don’t “get” her character, there’s nothing else all that great about it. I mean, the supporting cast is pretty good, and there are some unexpected twists to them (like the rather Uncle Tom-ish black superintendent that the Kyra Sedgwick character sometimes has to report to — you sure don’t see a character like that very often, and it’s almost rather bold). I was surprised to discover that I liked it enough to continue watching it. (Yes, I have my DVR set for it tonight.) Yet, I can’t say that it’s a show that I highly recommend as something special. It doesn’t quite degenerate into rote formula, the way that Monk or Psych have, the mysteries that are solved are a little more intense than the usual fare, and the real interest is the way that the Kyra Sedgwick character uses that thick syrupy southern sweetness to trap vicious killers. Now THAT is the real hook for the viewers.
bob r
They put the pilot episode on DVD in some mag a few years back to promote it. I watched it, and living in Atlanta, I HATED her accent. It was a foul, startlingly poor version… then my sister-in-law later lent us the first season DVDs, and her accent became nearly perfect. So if it was the accent in the pilot, give her another shot; in subsequent episodes, she’s right on target.
d f mamea
hey Jill
i’ve been a fan since Season 1. yes, it’s a conventional cop show. no, down here in Godzone, her accent makes no difference WHATsoever.
i enjoy the police-y technical bits. my Lovely Wife enjoys the relationships – particularly those brief entanglements in the interrogation room – which ring true thanks to insightful writing and excellent acting.
it’s really nice to watch Sedgwick’s character get by because she’s smart and damned good at her job, rather than because of her feminine charms. and the Lovely Wife loves to see a 40+ woman who LOOKS and ACTS her age (she felt quite burned by “Saving Grace”).
go on. try it.