This spin-off is getting off to a great start. Most of Brenda's crew remains in Major Crimes and as to be expected doesn't warm up to Captain "by the book" Raydor, to say the least. I like the Raydor character and McDonnell's deadpan delivery style which often results in pithy and/or humorous observations. Like when she says to Provenza, in the second episode, something like "Why don't you stay with the department until you find a job where everything is always fair." This was not said sarcastically but ruefully for she has just been cheated out of a promotion - so no, life in the workplace is not always fair. McDonnell's character is so different from Sedgwick's - and this is good because they're both interesting. It's great that so many of the cast from The Closer moved over to the new show (Corey Reynolds' character didn't but Gabriel was my least favorite character so that's okay with me; besides given the attitude of a couple of the team members towards him, it would have made no sense to keep Gabriel in the Major Crimes department). I'm not too taken with the material witness kid yet but maybe he'll get a little less annoying. I liked the first episode of Major Crimes as much as I liked the first episode of The Closer. Here's hoping it will last as long.
Review of Major Crimes
