OKLAHOMA CITY – 7/18/2010 - Add another hour-long law enforcement procedural to the already crowded summer TV schedule.  This time, “Covert Affairs” may have the formula figured out and the potential and charm to last.

Piper Perabo (USA)

“COVERT AFFAIRS”

Years ago Roger Ebert called Piper Perabo film’s most photogenic actress.  She translates across the small screen with remarkable ease, as well.

When the CIA is in a pinch for a language specialist, they pluck Annie Walker (Perabo) prematurely from the Agency training grounds, “the farm,” and throw her into action.  By the end of the episode we learn there may be more to her early exit and it may have to do with a certain steamy, whirlwind romance in Sri Lanka.

Almost immediately she’s forced to the learn the ropes in D.C. and gets tossed into a high profile case where she must use both her Russian tongue and her “call girl” looks.

Annie’s ungraceful entrance into intelligence is equally as stumbling as her first impression with boss Joan Campbell (Kari Matchett).  An ex-special ops officer now blind office tech, Auggie (Christopher Gorham), holds Annie’s hand as she makes her way through a tough first day on the job and serves as an introductory narrator who explains the rules of engagement as well as character details to both Annie and the audience.    

Auggie’s blind routine seems sort of goofy and unnecessary.  He’s decked out with the latest computer accessories and aural translation devices to make his disability easier on him in this tech heavy job.  But he also possesses the heightened senses and an overall Yoda-like intelligence that every other blind character in film and TV also possesses.

The ‘B’ story involves marital suspicions between Joan and her husband Arthur Campbell (Peter Gallagher) who is also a boss type character within the agency, only with a bigger office.  Auggie explains that officers (never call them agents) are actually encouraged to date within the agency, that way, “it keeps things in the circle of trust.”

With his involvement in “Psych” and “White Collar,” Tim Matheson is basically like USA house talent.  His direction keeps up with the standard operating procedure of an intelligence-based thriller.  The camera work is crisp, the staging is clear, and the action is easy to follow while keeping intensity intact.

The pilot episode’s story thread was a touch obvious, but the potential of making this diet-“Alias” a viable series exists.  Perabo is a strong, charismatic lead with a magnetic onscreen demand.  She looks believable as timid newbie, but equally believable firing a gun and chasing bad guys.  He’s good enough, hopefully Christopher Gorham will be able to play through Auggie’s divisive disability and contribute more than old sage like observations.

USA scores another win with “Affairs” which fits in nicely with the network’s original programming and showcased loads of promise thanks to the charm of the cast, the style and attitude, and pace of the action.

Matt Bomer (USA)

“WHITE COLLAR”

 Tim Matheson, the USA everywhere man, not only directed the second season premiere of “White Collar,” he also guest starred.

The first season ended, literally, with a bang, hopefully signaling the death of Neal Caffery’s (Matt Bomer) girlfriend / FBI consultant on the run (she’s probably still alive somehow). 

I just watched the entire first season just weeks before the run up to the sophomore debut on July 13.  I’m a little angry with myself that I didn’t know how good this show was until now.

Neal Caffery, the world’s greatest con artists, both charming and sophisticated, agrees to help the FBI catch the most elusive White Collar criminals in the country, in exchange for his eventual freedom.

Under the protective custody of Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), Neal must leave the life of a criminal mastermind, and his girlfriend Kate, behind.

The on-screen relationship between expert criminal Neal Caffery and stuffy FBI agent Peter Burke is tops among all of television.  The first season really found its lane when the plots involved more of Mozzie (Willie Garson), Neal's know-it-all confidant, interacting with Pete as an additional consultant. 

I really like Natalie Morales as Agent Cruz, Burke’s number two in the office, but it looks like Marsha Thomason, who was in the original pilot, will be back as Burke’s Girl Friday this season.  Peter’s wife, Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen), was given a bit more to do by the end season one, but they need to find more for her to justify any screen time more than her serving Peter breakfast on his way out the door.

Neal Caffery, the master art forger, thief, and all around cosmopolitan fills the screen with interest and intrigue, but most fun of all, he knows everything about anything and everything.  Many characters in “Covert Affairs” and “Psych” are just as perceptive and encyclopedic.  I recognize its silliness, but still fully love the idea of it.

In the first season the question always lingered, “would Neal blow his opportunity at freedom and go back to his life of crime and deceit?”  By now it seems like his allegiance is solely to Agent Burke now that Kate is out of the way.  The Kate story really hit a few snags along the way and by the second half of the season, the producers resorted to, smartly, tagging the final scene with another Kate clue, rather than spending entire episodes dedicated solely to it.

The procedural blueprint lends to a few uninspired aspects that the show is all but forced to acquiesce.  Each week a new case is assigned and solved.  Most of the cases demand that Neal do something in the gray area of legality, something that Burke would be in violation if he were to do, and just as a gun is pointed at Caffery, the cavalry bursts through and shouts, “freeze!”

I wish the mysteries and cases were a little smarter and a bit more serialized.  Stretched throughout several episodes, the weight of the mystery would be heavier and more intriguing than neatly wrapping and putting a bow on each file by the end of the hour.  But I get it, “White Collar” isn’t “Lost” and most enjoy the easy to follow format with instant satisfaction and no questions left unanswered.  The networks like that approach, too.

The show has a sleek, clean look to it.  Neal is a flashy, clean cut, old soul of a dresser, and Peter is a starched, pressed, by-the-numbers suit.  The visual aesthetic of the show and the aspects of the lead characters perfectly compliment one another and, additionally, I like the New York that “White Collar” chooses to portray.

With guys like Bomer and DeKay working so seamlessly together, it’s no wonder why USA’s slogan is “character’s welcome,” they’re doing it better than any other network.

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