The Closer: Season 5

There's so little t.v. worth watching that isn't didactic. This is well-made entertainment with engaging characters who are flawed yet sympathetic. The dialogue is well-done. It stands the test of time.

Loved this show ,wish there was more like it

We own all the seasons of "The Closer" on DVD. In fact, we own them in the most expensive possible way, because we buy the individual episodes on iTunes so we can watch them on the computer while we're waiting for the DVD to come out. A frequent scene in our household: my wife and I are thumbing through a deck of Netflix, and we will say, "Oh, let's just watch a Brenda." I will suggest an episode. She will say, "Is that the one where ..." (and here she describes the entire plot). I reply, "Yes, where ..." (and here I add some plot details). "Okay." Then we watch the episode again and throughly enjoy it.I've been told, in some English class long ago, that the mark of a "classic" is that you can read it over and over and still get something new out it of each time. There is only one other TV show ("Monk") that I've ever enjoyed watching repeatedly like that, and the reason is the same: the writing, acting, and directing are superb. Even when I know what is going to happen, I enjoy watching all the characters.Kyra Sedgwick is a thoroughly believable as Brenda Leigh Johnson. In fact, I was floored when I saw her do an interview and realized that she doesn't really have a Georgia accent! Brenda is so human. Yes, she is great at extracting confessions, one way or another, but she also has her foibles, like her penchant for chocolate, her reluctance to throw away old love letters from Will Pope, her rather high-handed and ineffective parenting style with her niece, Charlie (played by her real-life daughter, Sosie Bacon, which is pretty funny).It's not just Brenda, though. All the characters are fascinating. Personally, I identify with Lt. Provenza because, well, he's me. But Sgt. Gabriel, Flynn, Fritz, Lt. Tao, Buzz, and all the rest are just interesting, believable characters, brilliantly portrayed. And J. K. Simmons, as Chief Will Pope is a delight. That man can say more with one brief facial expression than many actors can in an entire speech. And I look forward to visits from Brenda's mother (Frances Steenbergen) as much as Brenda dreads them.As a writer, what grabs me most about this show is the writing. The plots are always realistic, the story lines tightly interwoven. For instance, frequently, some little detail in Brenda's "real life," some little detail arising out of a sub-plot about her relationship with Fritz, or her mother, will give her the sudden insight that lets her close her case. But these story points never seem contrived. The interwoven subplots never seem out of place -- you don't realize until the end how neatly everything fits together.If you are new to "The Closer," I recommend starting with Season 1, to get the background on Brenda's being in L.A., and her relationship with Will Pope. If you are familiar with the show, then this review is probably unnecessary except to say that Season 5 is better than ever.

Being a fan of The Closer in the UK is a frustrating business. The show has largely been ignored here except on a subsidiary channel of the Channel 4 Network, which has shown random episodes at various times over the years - hopeless for any continuity. I've had to feed my addiction by importing the dvds after the finish of each marvellous season since catching the very first episode by chance while on a trip to the USA. This has the additional benefit that I always watch the shows without advertising, an important point because this show has very intelligent scripts and unbroken concentration really adds to the experience.As a cop show The Closer invariably gets filed away in many people's minds with Law and Order, CSI and their clones, which does it no favours because in my view it is so different in its emphasis. OK it's about a murder squad in LAPD, headed by a woman from Georgia, but the murders are really only pegs on which to hang a truly bravura performance by Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, the Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Unit, and a very talented ensemble cast of J K Simmons, Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett, G W Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Phillip P Keene and John Tenney. Gina Revera made memorable contributions to the earlier seasons but has been written out "on promotion".Created by James Duff, the show excels in displaying the often amusing traits and sometimes irritating foibles of the team members. Brenda Leigh's marriage to Fritz, her own strengths and weaknesses and her exchanges with the rest of her family, have been as beautifully written up in the scripts as has the team dynamics of her MCU. Also in this Season, Sosie Bacon plays Brenda Leigh's niece in the episodes on disc 3. In my opinion, if Sosie's "Charlie" isn't brought back say for vacations or supposedly to scout college opportunities or whatever, it will be a miss. I wasn't so impressed by Mary McDonnell's contributions during Season 5 as Captain Raydor but her character also pops up in Season 6, so I'll wait to see how it develops.For what it's worth, I've read that women particularly love this show; well, I'm a guy and I love it too! They aren't noted for it but TNT Cable has really come up with a treasure here. A five star drama full of human interest. Apparently, there's a Season 7 coming in 2011. Like all the seasons before it, Season 5 is worth every cent.

I bought a copy of this cd from a seller who had a 100% rating. You can't do better than that. I sent my money & the seller, smitten128, claimed it was shipped three days after. I never got it & ended up in a long exchanged with Amazon about it. It was like pulling teeth to get satisfaction. Amazon did take care of me, but the fact that they had a 22-day windows for me to receive this item from the seller. That is way too long.This seller is still active & is taking pre-orders on items. I want to warn you not to buy anything from this seller.Amazon took care of me after hours of writing complaints. This is the fault of smitten128 & no one else.But they're dragging their heels about ejecting this seller.If you've been ripped off by this seller, contact Amazon right away.I am enjoying Season 5 of The closer, which I think is probably the best of all the CLOSER seasons. The 4th is pretty good but the 5th is just one great episode after another. I recommend this DVD without hesitation.

This was my favorite show when it aired. I still love it!.

Excellent

Love love love