White Collar - 3x04 "Dentist Of Detroit"

[tj_teejay]

Okay, so I must be the only White Collar fan on the planet who didn't really like this episode. Much. I mean, everyone else's reaction I've read was along the lines of major squeeage. Mine was more like... guuuuh, what?? And then: Meh.

Here comes a big admission on my part. I don't like men in tuxes. I really don't like men in tuxes with slicked back hair. Does that make me weird? Probably, but, well, I can't help it. So that part of the episode did absolutely nothing for me. You know, visually. And it was too bad that they put Peter, Neal and Jones in a tux for what felt like at least half the episode.

As rabidchild67 so aptly put it: Confusing case is confusing. Too confusing. They pretty much lost me at the first mentions of 'Detroit mob'. Don't judge me. I speak two languages fluently, I can program a website for you from scratch and I have a master's degree in molecular genetics. I'm not stupid, but my brain is obviously not made to put together complex plot structures. Something in the depths of my synapse pathways just doesn't want to operate on that level. I mean, seriously, it took me about three viewings to understand Ford's con in "Countermeasures". Which sets me up nicely for repeat viewings of "Dentist of Detroit". (Like I really need a reason...)

But it wasn't all bad. Here's some more specifics and some random observations:

Handing out cases
Thank you for showing us it's not all excitement and thrill on a regular day in the office.

"Jones, stop texting. Put a smile on your face, another IVF."
"I'm smilin'."
"Diana, copyright infringement."
"Not another one."
"What was that?"
"Yay, another one."
"That's what I thought I heard."

Heee! That was fun!

Recurring actors
Anyone notice that they brought Mozzie's pal from "Burke's Seven" back? White Collar doesn't always have continuity, but it makes me all kinds of happy when they do.

New title theme
I'm gonna stop whining about it one of these days, but as long as it keeps annoying me like it does, you're gonna hear about it. Plinkety plink music still rubs me the wrong way. Meh #1.

Prop bicycles
The prop people seem to have a fondness for putting black bikes in barren, white-washed rooms. Pilot, anyone?

The Windy City
The make-up people must have had a field day when they shot that scene outside, where they put Mozzie in the car to drive him to the weird plexiglass prison cell and Neal spills the beans about the Dentist of Detroit. Bomer and DeKay's hair was just wildly flopping all over the place. Bet they had to ADR that part too because of all the wind noises.

Light purple shirts
God, I love me some Bomer in light purple shirts. Good thing Wardrobe seems to agree with me on that. The diagonally striped tie to go with it gets lots of love too. *is ditzy*

Agitated Mozzie
Willie Garson is awesome. 'Nuff said.

Worried!Neal
I wanna hug him. Repeatedly. Did you see Bomer's eyes? So full of concern and worry and concerned worry. Oh Neal. Mozzie's really lucky to have such a loyal, caring friend. So, uhm, yeah. The Bomer does it again. Wonderful acting.

Young Mozzie
Heeee! That was schweet. Love learning about these characters' pasts. And young Mozzie was somehow adorably dorky. (And, yes, I too noticed the rings. Nice touch! Bonus points for more continuity.)

Mozart
Mozart! Ha! I knew that would be Mozzie's real name. Or as real a name as he ever had.

Leathered up Neal
More proof I'm weird. Coz that leather jacket? Did nothing for me either. I mean, here we go with the slicked back hair again. Do not like. Do not want. And I've never been fond of those 80's pilot sunglasses either. Give me a Neal that looks more like casual, laid back Matty B. and I'm all over the drool towel. Now of course we're not gonna see much of that on the actual show. Which is fine. I understand that Neal's not that guy. Meh #2.

Ice cream
Never had bubblegum ice cream. Not even sure we even get it here, but I've seen unappetizing-looking light blue concoctions in ice cream parlors. Not too keen on trying it.

Shirt sleeves
I find Peter/Tim with rolled up shirt sleeves incredibly sexy – even with The Bomer standing barely two feet away. Is that wrong?

Irish Mob
Why does O'Something (O'Leary?) not have an Irish accent? Or is it terribly naïve of me to think that the Irish mob actually consists of people from Ireland? No, it's cool, I get it. They're of Irish descent. Anyway...

Peter in a tux with slicked back hair
Here we go. See above. And somehow it made Peter/Tim look ten years older than he is. Meh #3.

Neal in a tux with slicked back hair
Ditto. Meh #4.

Elizabeth being cute and awesome
Almost makes up for one of the mehs. Elizabeth dressed in greenish turquoise = epic win. I want an icon of El and Peter kissing in their newly remodeled kitchen. *opens PhotoPaint*

The Sting
Never seen it, so all the jokes and analogies were lost on me. Meh #5. (Not particularly interested in watching it either, in case you were wondering.)

Prom Picture
Got a major chuckle from me. Not so much for the cutesy moment, but more for the fact that it was a major shout-out to the Neal/Peter slashers. I was like, "Jeff Eastin, you totally did this on purpose!" *pokes Jeff in a good-natured kind of way*

Card games
El and Mozzie playing whatever it was. (Gin rummy?) The pure fact that El took pity on Moz and visited makes me all kinds of happy. Again, El totally rocks. I'd want her on my side if things ever went south. Also, she's been in jail. Twice. Who knew she was so badass when she was young!

Melon head
LOL! Only Mozzie could come up with a scam like that. It was cute, though.

The Stage Fight
Oh yeah. Loved that part (you know, minus the tuxes and hair gel). And the ambiguous innuendo just about killed me.

"You were trouble ever since you came to work for me, with your glossy smile and those annoying little hats!"
"You love my hats!"
"The hell I did! All right? You're insubordinate. You never do what I tell you to do. And every time I turn my back, you're off doing who knows what with God knows who."
"You know, you ungrateful bastard! I have had your back since day one, and any time anything goes wrong, I'm the first person you blame."
"'Cause you're a con. It's who you are. And it's all you'll ever be. You're fired!"
"You know what? With pleasure. And the next time your hot wife gets lonely, tell her to call me. You know my number."

Heeeeee!!!! Major Eastin shout-out to the OT3ers there. Much love, Jeff, much love! (And, yeah, I know Eastin didn't write this episode. Still, he must've had input.)

Red track suit
Seriously? Ack! Yes, Mozzie's taste in clothing has always been retro bizarro, but an 80's red track suit?! Meh #6.

"Thank you, Peter."
Yessss! Anyone else notice the significance of this? Mozzie called him Peter. Not 'The Suit' or 'The Fed'. ♥ Now, boys, can we please just go for the group hug?

The goodbye speech
Yes, much love for the last scene in Neal's apartment. "I know how hard it is to give up everything. You and Peter? Enjoy it while it lasts." Yeah, somehow I have a feeling it's gonna last longer than Mozzie would like. Because Neal really doesn't wanna go, and the treasure is making him realize that. I hated hated hated that Neal was so ready to leave everything behind in "On Guard". This somehow redeems some of that. "Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye." Thank you, WhiCo writers. You're making my sweet, little bromance loving heart very content. (Wonder if those Neal/Peter looks right at the end were scripted.)

Comments

[hope-calaris.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you on the meh part with the slicked back hair. Just no.

Also, did you catch how they adressed the audience's concern about the blood art? Mozzie talked about the treasure not being tainted in the beginning.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Yes, I actually noticed the part where they talked about the art when I watched it. I'd have to go back to really check what exactly Moz said, but I'm glad they officially addressed it. And I have a feeling it might come up again at a later point in the season.

[hope-calaris.livejournal.com]

Really?

To me it felt more like a throwaway line to appease the audience and for Mozzie and Neal to have a clean conscience when it comes to the treasure.

PS: I still don't have any WC collars ^^

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Well, I think them addressing it like this is still better than them not addressing it at all. But you're right, it was kind of a throwaway line.

Uhm, you don't have any WC collars? Not sure I know what you mean...

[hope-calaris.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh ... I knew I shouldn't have listened to janiebj telling me to go for the second glass of wine. Wow, way to go to make me appear all mature and responsible.

I actually meant ICONS.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

And here I thought you were talking about kinky things, like some elaborate sex toy that has "White Collar" emblazoned on it. :-P *slaps own hand* Stop it, TeeJay! Naughty!

Hey, who needs mature and responsible? Give me immature and irresponsible any day!

So... you want me to make you any icons? I totally do requests.

[hope-calaris.livejournal.com]

Lol, I take kinky anyday, no worries. XD

And yeah for icons, I'll probably come back to you on this once I don't have trouble typing (we won't talk about the fact that I'm STILL online and typing nonetheless) and am not scared of the way to the bathroom. Seriously, I'm such a lightweight when it comes to alcohol it's not funny anymore *le sigh*.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know what you mean. I can't hold my liquor either. Which is due to the fact that ther's not much in terms of alcoholic drinks I really like. Not a beer or wine person. I do like the occasional cocktail, though. And they always make me light-headed.

Just let me know about icon requests whenever you feel like it. Also check my icons: white collar tag, maybe there's something there you like.

[hope-calaris.livejournal.com]

Just checked your icons. Girl, they're amazing! I could never get the hang of icons, to be honest. They're too small for my love for quotes and I can never make them right.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Aww, thanks! Yeah, I never really got the point of icon making either -- that is until I regularly started posting in my LJ. Now I'm loving it. Took me a while to get used to the fact that you only have 100x100 pixels to work with, which is tiny when you're otherwise used to making wallpapers and collages.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

It was not only a throwaway line, the line was obviously (badly) dubbed in.

[afiawri.livejournal.com]

THIS, all over, THIS. I agree with every single point you have up there, I think. Except about bubble gum ice cream, which is a little awesome.

I mean. Yes, moments of squee. But if this isn't the worse episode yet, it's certainly in the running, IMHO.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you, my dear! I feel just a little vindicated right now. RC was squeeing all over the place, and so were most of her commenters.

Well, maybe I'mma have to try bubblegum ice cream after all. I just have a feeling it's gonna taste like Red Bull in ice cream form, and I already find it pretty disgusting in liquid form. :-P

[afiawri.livejournal.com]

IKR? All the reactions are squeeing and all through the episode I was laughing not-in-a-good-way.

O_o it tastes like strawberry bubble gum. With pieces of bubble gum in it. Not that I've had Red Bull, so I guess I can't speak to that specifically.

[hope-calaris.livejournal.com]

You should probably try it solely on the fact that I tried kiwi icecream 'cause somebody used it in a kinky way in a fanfiction I once read.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Well, if I run across American bubblegum ice cream, I might just give it a try. However, since I'm not a fan of bubblegum itself, I can't really see me liking it much.

And I've had kiwi ice cream, hope. Which I actually do like, but I'm more of a "milk ice" person. I'll always prefer varieties like chocolate, hazelnut, mocca or straciatella over anything fruity.

[ktrn-lucas88.livejournal.com]

Hah, I am sooo glad that I'm not the only one who really hated their hairstyles. I like the out of bed look so much better :)
Agree with the rest and yeah that blue stuff, I think it's called blauer Engel, tastes like bubble gum and is absolutely disgusting. Don't try it! But I can kinda see why that would be a fitting ice cream for Moz.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Blauer engel or Schlumpf eis...and yes, it's disgusting. The only ice (beside Banana, and no, that's not a pun) I really dislike.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Ack! Blauer Engel, yes, of course! I might even have tried it as a kid. There must be a reason why I give it a wide berth. And from what afiawri said, it sounds like American bubblegum ice cream isn't like blauer Engel....

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Just saying: The Sting is one of my favourite Movies of all times! An all around winner, and it ages very good.

The con: Very straight forward - actually, too straight forward, since taken from the movie. One wonders if Mobsters don't watch the classic. That part was not really complicated.

The plot holes: Were elsewhere: How did the orphanage owner knew that Mozzie had FBI resources to look for him? How could the mob know that the money Mozzie send him came from the Dentist? Actually, everything connected to the orphanage owner was very iffy.
But since I need a second watch to spot them, I'm very forgiving here.


The clothing: Did not much for me, but didn't bother me either (well, I like Neal the most with toussled hair and black sooth in the face to underline his blue eyes...yeah, I know, I'm weird)...and I suspect that the track suit (which, I think, was supposed to be orange, just that the dark orange looked very red) is a hint to the movie "Marathon Man" (The one with the famous dentist scene).

The banana. Did I mention the banana? Just I case I didn't mention the banana, I have to say, that I absolutely dig the banana. I so want the banana turning up again. (And no, I'm not obsessed with the banana...not at all....)

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

See, I'm kinda weird with old movies. I'm a media lover of the modern age. There's few old movies that I actually like (among them Monty Python). So maybe you have to have seen The Sting to really get the con. Oh well...

Yep, the episode was riddled with plot holes. Again. *sigh*

The banana, LOL. Sorry for me not mentioning it. But then again, I'm not a slasher. Besides, uhm... ouch?

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Actually, I was obsessed with the thing before I even realized that there is a slash angle with it...I totally expect the thing to turn up in future episodes again. I WANT to see it again. I want to know what else is in Mozzie's fruit basket. (You can bet that I will send a fitting prompt during the next round of collar corner).

No, I don't think so, they just didn't bother to explain the con to death this time around, most likely because they thought that everyone had seen the sting. But a wire con is actually a very simple thing:
Man tut so, als ob man weiß, welches Pferd im gewinnen wird, weil man die Sendung des eigentlichen Rennens leicht verzögert (gerade genug, dass man noch eine letzte Wette platzieren kann). Dann überzeugt man das Opfer davon, eine möglichst hohe Summe Geld zu setzen - die es dann natürlich verliert.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Oh, I understood the horse racing part. That wasn't all that difficult to figure out. It was the mob thing that totally went over my head, and the connection to the orphanage and all that. I mean, in retrospect it's not all that complicated, but I found it hard to piece together while I was watching.

While I found the banana amusing, I guess I don't really see the appeal of it... *shrugs* But it would be fun to see it turn up again in future episodes! (I wonder if you can buy a banana knife or if the prop people whisked that up from scratch.)

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

The connection to the orphanage was very iffy. The good thing is that this time around they conned me into not thinking too much about it. There are some plotholes hidden in the story. But the mob - yeah, that was actually straightforward. In fact, the mobster more or less had the same plan which was executed in Front man, only that he just threatened someone instead of actually kidnapping someone and that he insisted on a special con to get the money from his adversity.

I think the appeal lies mostly in the potential stories hidden there...either dramatic (I totally see Neal surprising someone with the thing), or comical (imagine someone would actually try to eat the thing) or angsty (is Neal even allowed to owe this kind of weapon?). And I wonder what else was in Mozzies fruit basket. Was the appel actually a smoke bomb?

The Sting

[fredo2706.livejournal.com]

You gotta watch "The Sting", I mean Paul Newman and Robert Redford, now, those are the classic old-fashioned Neals, dressed smartly, talk smartly, veeeery smooth. Go watch!

Re: The Sting

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... and you think I'm gonna like it? Question is, who would I borrow it from? I have no idea who might have it. Most people I know aren't into the classics. Except maybe Anja.

Re: The Sting

[fredo2706.livejournal.com]

No, I guess you are probably not going to like it, but being someone who breathes and lives WhiCo and wants to understand that innuendo insider chat, you better watch it anyway...;-P Honestly though, I watched that film ages and ages ago and loved it then. Whether I would still love it today, no idea. I was young and impressionable then, lol. Around 25. Major lol. No, seriously, I don't own the movie, but I have a feeling JM might. Can check for you.

Re: The Sting

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Yeah, why not ask JM. If the movie comes for free, I might just put it on the to-watch list.

Re: The Sting

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Well, to me it aged well...if nothing else, it has a very catching score, AND it shows all the basics cons every con man must know. Not just the wire con, there are a couple of others they do on the way.

But I actually don't have the DVD either because the movie gets repeated so often in TV.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I gotta agree about the hair. I have no love for slicked back hair. I did love the tuxes and Neal's leather jacket (because bad boy personas are yum for me) but don't mess with teh hair.

And you're not weird for disliking tuxes. We all have our "things" (guys in speedos, for example *shudders in revulsion*)

I was actually quite surprised the Irish mob boss didn't have an Irish accent. Surprised and pleased since it's such a stereotype that tends to make me cringe. The Irish and the Irish mob have been in the US a loooooong time, just like the Mafia, so it stands to reasons that they wouldn't have an accent.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Guys in speedos? LOL Okay, that I might not object to, but it really depends on the person. (Matt Bomer, I wouldn't mind...)

And maybe the lack of Irish accent was a good thing. It didn't bother me per se, I was just wondering.

[neontiger55.livejournal.com]

Really nice recap, I agree with a lot here.

Personally, I think White Collar plots are too straightforward and the threats are never that threatening (the kidnapping in 3x02 was possibly the most relaxing kidnap ever seen on TV). What I found confusing was I couldn’t figure out where Jeffries was the whole episode – it seemed like he was ‘on his way to NYC’ for the entire episode (unless I really missed something there!). The main gripe for me was the lightheartedness of everything – following on from the emotion Moz showed about adopted kids in In The Red.

The dialogue you pick up on between Peter and the misbehaving team at the start was fun – Neal’s influence there perhaps?

I think that fetching red tracksuit was a (very random) 'Royal Tenebaums' reference.

[lil-miss-maddie.livejournal.com]

I just had to comment on:

Shirt sleeves
I find Peter/Tim with rolled up shirt sleeves incredibly sexy – even with The Bomer standing barely two feet away. Is that wrong?

I find Peter to be much more attractive than Neal. Neal is pretty and handsome, but Peter has this raw sex appeal. He's just hot!
Peter with rolled up sleeves, in t-shirts (*fans self*) and jacket off, sleeves rolled up and holster still on are some of my favourites.

I think it comes down to the fact that Neal makes me want to hug him, nothings else.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Fair enough, though I will admit that for me it's the other way round. I find Matt incredibly sexy, while Tim is attractive but not steaming hot in my eyes. But, hey, to each her own. :-) I'm all for diversity.