MovieChat Forums > The Closer (2005) Discussion > Closer and Major Crimes

Closer and Major Crimes

posted 11 years ago by ebonyknight
13 replies | jump to latest

I watch Major Crimes. I love the show and the detectives. They have good chemistry together, but the only thing I don't like is the witness arc. It just seems to be dragging on and on...

Anyway, I found out that this was based on The Closer. All of the reviews I saw said that this was superior to Major Crimes. I am half way through the first season and I am just not feeling it. The cases don't seem anywhere near as interesting as Major Crimes.

It seems to be the Brenda show and everyone else is just supporting. I know it's called the Closer (for Brenda), but I am finding that she is ruining the show for me.

Am I alone in this?

Comments? What is it I am missing as this show got 7 seasons.

[–] Gleekopedia 11 years ago

I am one who has watched and enjoyed both shows, but I also admit that I prefer the ensemble format of Major Crimes. I liked Brenda, but my favorite episodes tended to be the ones that focused more on Flynn and Provenza.

I do think that The Closer IMO had better cases, and while I do understand that it is "The Closer" so obviously Brenda was (as she should have been) the main character. I just would have liked it a lot better if it had been in the Major Crimes ensemble format. Sort of like...Buffy the Vampire Slayer was obviously focused mainly on Buffy, but there was also a lot of character development for the "sidekick" characters. With The Closer, there was really not a lot of development for any of the other characters until the spin-off.

[–] cbjslp 11 years ago

Really really like the Closer better. Do not like that now they make deals, rather than going for the jugular for confessions. I also feel the Closer did develop life styles for the squad characters, even Buzz & Dr. Morales. Do like Major Crimes too.

[–] therecluse9 10 years ago

I think the closer is better! But it just depends on what you like. Major crimes is more about the officers. Their relationships. The closer is more about the crimes. Both are great in their own way!

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] ScrystaLz 9 years ago

Personally I love both this show and MC equally the same, so I can't say I enjoy either one better than the other.
Like the OP, I too watched MC before 'The Closer' and to be honest, Brenda did annoy me in the beginning...it took a while for her character to grow on me and when she eventually did, I started to enjoy the show more and now I love it just as much as MC. I think the crimes/cases on this show are just as interesting as the cases on MC, the humor is just as great too, and I think the chemistry between the characters are also really good on this show.

[–] ScrystaLz 9 years ago

I've recently started re-watching TC and I've noticed that the tone of the first season was different compared to the rest of the seasons...unlike the rest of the seasons, the first season had very little light-heartedness in most of the episodes, and the overall tone of S1 felt alot more serious compared to the rest of the show and MC. It was only starting from season 2 that the writers started to incorporate alot more comedy and light-heartedness more frequently on the show before the light-heartness and humor eventually became a staple for TC and MC.
I think during the first season, the producers & writers were probably still experimenting with different ideas for the show, until they decided to add more humor & light-heartedness to the show and eventually they found their footing and realized that the light-heartedness works for this show and made the humor & light-heartedness a staple from S2 onwards.

I have to admit, as much as I love this show, season 1 in general just didn't feel quite right to me, the lack of comedy & light-heartedness is 1 of the main problems I think, and the characters just did not gel together well...so I think I can sort of understand your perspective. But towards the end of S1 and from S2 onwards, the inclusion of more humor and the improvement of the chemistry between the characters made the show more interesting and entertaining to watch for me.
So even if you do not find the first season all that interesting at first, I do recommend you continue to watch the show, I think the show definitely improves a lot towards the end of S1 and from S2 onwards.

[–] ebonyknight 9 years ago

Thanks, I'll give it another try when I am in the mood to binge watch. I'm glad it just wasn't me.

"^ Oh look, you've awakened Mumm-Ra the Ever Living(TM) "-MichaelNYC 

[–] ScrystaLz 9 years ago

you're welcome I hope you will eventually find the time to give this show another chance, I really think it's a truly great show, it merely just had a rather shaky start for much of the first season (like many other shows do), but it quickly improves towards the end of s1, the show in general becomes a lot better from s2 onwards.
I love this show just as much as MC, and I think it's just as interesting and entertaining 

[–] matanil 9 years ago

I was in love with The Closer. Such a great show and what a wonderful rarity, a cop show led by a strong female character that isn't anyone's fantasy of anything, but a real, flawed, very human woman. And the actress portrayed her so well, I think it was probably one of the best performances of her career.

Season 1 was different in tone, it's the season where we, like the squad people, learn to get to know and love Brenda for who she is, flaws and limitations and all. What annoyed me was the on-going hinted at love with her commander. That's the one and only part that I felt took away from the character instead of adding. Over all, just watch the first and the last episodes of the season, the parallel scenes with the squad members' forms. I think that says everything about what was the arc of the season and why it feels so different to the following ones.

To me, Major Crimes required adapting. All of a sudden, we had a female lead, but it seemed like the show runners didn't put enough faith in her appeal and felt compelled to change the focus of the show to all the squad members, to varying extents. I'm not that happy about that because I really enjoyed the refreshing change of having a cop show centered around a female commander, but I love the characters enough that I have adapted. It's not that I'm suffering or think that the change is bad. I just really miss Brenda and how brilliant that character and performance were. And I've really enjoyed certain parts of the Rusty storyline, the more honest, emotional parts.

So yeah, I just wanted to point out that had you watched it in the right chronology, you probably would have had to adapt as well and you too might not have been 100% happy with the change. Appreciative, yeah, but also aware of what is now missing.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] matanil 9 years ago

I think The Closer is the better show too (though admittedly, it may have to do with which show you watch first), but Rusty isn't that bad and his plots get better over time in my opinion. So I don't know, you might wanna give the next MC seasons a go. It's not TC and never will be, but it's a good a replacement as they can get, for me.