Holy crap. I mean, holy crap! The Closer's season finale brought us everything we love about the show -- great acting, tense drama, just enough humor, and a situation so fraught with terror that it might take me days to recover. This is damn good television, folks.

Everything is topsy-turvy on The Closer this week -- Priority Homicide is in danger! Cops are criminals! No one can be trusted! I started wondering how Brenda could possibly get out of this one. Silly me -- Doubt not The Brenda, for The Brenda shall prevail!

Hooray for Clay and Willie Rae! I always love episodes of The Closer that feature Brenda's parents. Between Brenda's barely suppressed panic, Fritz's suffering, Clay's glowering, Willie Rae's relentless cookery, and Provenza's inevitable charm offensive, there's always plenty to amuse. Add a disturbing, grisly murder, and you've got yourself a party!

After a couple of meh episodes, The Closer pulls out all the stops with a character-driven hour that lets some of the supporting players really shine. The squad takes on a case that hits close to home -- and if you didn't get at least a little choked up watching this, you have no soul.

The Closer muses about nature, nurture and the perils of foreign adoptions this week when a 13-year-old boy goes missing. Juicy stuff, huh? Then why does the episode feel so flat? Continue reading »

I usually enjoy a good Provenza episode on The Closer. This one tried to force-feed us alleged hilarity, and we learned a little bit about why Provenza is so attached to this job, but it all felt like too much to me. Seriously, that many things just happen to go wrong? Continue reading »

This week on The Closer, we learn that the gentlemen of the press are nefarious, that Brenda doesn't like soap operas, that Tao has a flare for misdirection, and that Provenza likes to be well shod. Oh, and there's a crime, too! Continue reading »

This week on The Closer, Brenda teaches several people who think they're above the law that no one -- and I mean no one -- escapes the Wrath of Brenda. It's much like the Wrath of Khan, but with more demure shirts, a little less screaming, and a sugary-sweet "Thank you so much!" as she's booting your butt into jail. Continue reading »

The Closer gives us plenty to love in this episode: Brenda experiences afterglow, Flynn is at his most Flynnlike, Pope and Brenda argue in front of the kids, and Brenda and Taylor spar. Too bad the perps were so obvious the moment they came on screen. Continue reading »

Brenda Lee Johnson is back with her dysfunctional family of detectives on The Closer, dealing with one hell of a crime scene and an interfering reporter in the fourth season premiere. Plus, one of my favorite creepy/charismatic villains returns, and I get yet more confirmation that LA is a scary-ass place where no one should live.