Awake

Jason Isaacs as Detective Michael Britten in NBC's Awake.

I don’t watch much TV. I think I may have shared that before. I do watch some and usually when I like a TV show, I really like it. There are two shows on TV that I’m really digging right now and one of them is Awake on NBC. The show stars Jason Isaacs as LAPD detective Michael Britten, who was recently in a car accident with his wife and son. As the show opens we see him in two separate realities: one in which his wife is alive, in the other his son is alive. The accident may have been an attempt to kill him and his family before he closed in on a shadowy group of criminals that may include his Captain.

The show revolves around Detective Britten’s cases, the attempts of the people who caused his situation to keep him from rediscovering them, and his ongoing therapy with two different therapists that are trying to help him sort out which reality is real and which is not. The latter is hard to figure out: there is crossover between these realities that bend Detective Britten’s ability to be able to make a sure determination. The viewer is unsure as well: the fun comes from trying to figure it out along with him.

Jason Isaacs, who is probably better known for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, is excellent as Detective Britten. His struggle to ascertain his own sanity while dealing with the completely different emotional landscapes of his two worlds is compelling. I find myself rushing home every week on Thursdays to find out what is going to happen next. I totally recommend this show! If you like police procedurals mixed with family drama and a bit of the unexplained then you’ll like this show. Check it out if you get a chance! Until next time…

White Collar

I’ve been out of the loop as far as TV watching is concerned. The last year saw me with nothing but a Netflix disc only subscription and no cable. Not that I’m complaining, I’m not much of a TV watcher anyway. Since I’ve been staying at my sister’s this past week, I’ve been able to check out some movies and TV shows I’ve been interested in seeing. One of those shows is White Collar, a USA Network show.

The show stars the swoon worthy Matt Bomer as convicted con artist, Neal Caffrey. In the opening episode Neal breaks out of prison to find the love of his life but gives himself up when he discovers she left him for good. The FBI agent that originally caught him, Peter Burke, catches him again but eventually agrees to Neal’s idea to let him help with white collar cases in exchange for being released into the agent’s custody.

I watched the first two seasons this week and enjoyed every episode. The supporting cast is as much fun to watch as the leads and the overall mystery for each season is compelling. I’m looking forward to getting ahold of season three and finding out where Peter, Neal, and the “Burke Crew” will end up next.

Check out the first two seasons on Netflix streaming and the new season 4 episodes on USA Network.