Crime TV: Part 2

In my first post, I shared my 10 favorite crime shows. In this post, I am going to explain why these 10, and hopefully give you a little information to help you figure out if you want to watch them.

1. Person of Interest: Wikipedia calls this a science fiction crime drama, and I guess I can go along with that. It is a show about corruption–of the government, of the police, and individual attempts to fight for justice and good. The show can be dark, but it has hope. Terrific character development. Great fighting scenes. Violence. Everything does not turn out for the best, and there are lots of surprises that are earned. Great for teens. Might be too dark for younger kids. 5 seasons.
2. The Closer: female lead whose skill is in interrogation. Her strategy is fabulous. Not quite as dark a show as POI. Comedic touches in a wonderful cast. Good contrast between darkness and light. Great character development. Not sure kids would find this interesting. Sort of cerebral. Some of the violence is dark so OK for teens. 7 seasons
3. Major Crimes: follows on The Closer. Similar cast. Continuing dark vs. light. In both shows, the puzzle is wonderful and not obvious. Sometimes ethical and moral dilemmas. Not sure kids would find this interesting. Sort of cerebral. Some of the violence is dark so OK for teens.5 seasons
4. Quantico: First year of FBI training. Different people, different ages, religions, ethnicities, genders, political leanings, skill levels. Immediate undercurrent of something is wrong. Occasionally crosses the line into sensationalism, and melodrama and then back into a cold spy story. If you are sucked in like I was, you won’t want to stop watching. Probably not for kids. Teens might really like it, especially the first 2 seasons. 3 seasons
5. Psych: Two detectives, one reluctant. One has a gift, the other is his dear friend. One of my favorite bromance shows.  One of the lighter shows on the list though as the seasons continue the show goes real dark and then comes out of it.  I love the character development and the fun mystery plots. Fine for kids and teens. 8 seasons
6. The Good Wife: I avoided this show for years until I finally heard too many good things to let it go. I became obsessed with it.  It has been compared in some ways to Breaking Bad, but it isn’t how I see the program. The premise is a wife who stands by her philandering husband, the governor of a state and what happens when she decides she no longer wants to “support” him. The crime element comes in in that she returns to the practice of law, something she left behind many years earlier, and there is much courtroom drama and political intrigue. For the most part, intellectual and family drama level of emotion. Probably not for kids. Older teens OK. 7 seasons
7. Chuck is a thrilling yet leaning on the comedy spy show. Lots of fighting and technology action. Great character development, a terrific arc (really, all the shows I mention except possibly Psych have terrific arcs), and heart warming to boot. This was another show that I couldn’t wait till the very next episode. Great show for kids as well, particularly teens. 5 seasons
8. Leverage is about a group of criminals and one non-criminal who work together to help those who have been harmed. All five have skills: computer hacking, con artist skills, fighting with training in pretty much every weapon and martial art, and thievery. This is a feel good show. It is funny with some dark moments. It too has an arc, with an emphasis on character development. Another good one for teens as well. 5 seasons
9. Castle is kind of the surprise, to me, on this list. I kind of liked it my first time watching it, but I resisted it. I actually stopped watching after second episode and it took a couple of years before I started watching it again. I am a huge Nathan Fillion fan (because Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and that’s what made me try again. Castle is a mystery writer who faces writer’s block. He teams up with a female cop, and together they solve crime. It was watching the series the second time that made me love it. I’m still not crazy about the key romance in the show, but I love Castle and his family (possibly my favorite grandmother, son, and granddaughter pairing ever) and I love the cops as their own unit. Good for teens and younger. Hopeful show. Never gets too dark. Lots of comedic touches. Good for whole family. 8 seasons
10. Burn Notice is a fantastic spy show. I love the individual episodes and the arc that runs the show. Unlike Castle, I adore the romance in this show. I really love the friendships between the operatives. Our hero, Michael Weston, explains spy craft in every episode. This show, like all the ones on my list, makes it clear that women are as capable as men in doing this kind of work. Violence, action, things go boom nearly every episode. Justice show—good people being helped. Some moral ambiguity, some darkness, though there is hope…mostly sort of, but that’s really mainly in the last season. Until then, if you want a pick me up, this will almost always do it. Probably not for kids. Good show for teens. 7 seasons