Major Crimes

I've got to admit I will miss Kyra Sedgwick, but for the past couple of years Mary McDonnell has been honing and refining her character of Captain Sharon Raydor so that we are familiar with her. As Sedgwick left the LAPD, McDonnell was poised to take over.

I do love Captain Raydor, she stays in control no matter what, completely unlike Brenda Lee Johnson who occasionally liked to cowgirl it up and cut a few corners in the pursuit of justice. Cutting a few too many corners is what forced her to leave. Raydor will never cut corners, she's all about the rules.

Like Sedgwick this first season and probably for some time after that McDonnell will be gradually winning over, Tao, Flynn, Sanchez and Provenza,those who hold over from Brenda Lee's crew. Brenda Lee's crew took a long time to warm up to her and even though McDonnell rose from the ranks, the squad views her still as the woman who was investigating their methods from The Closer.

I'm not sure that bringing in Graham Patrick Martin a street kid who was a material witness to a murder left over from the last episode of The Closer is a good fit. Clearly he's brought in for two reasons, to get a younger audience watching the show and to develop a personal life for Captain Raydor. She's got two grown children and I'm sure they'll visit from time to time which will provide plots for future episodes.

I like what Mary McDonnell does with her character of Captain Raydor and I hope the show lasts.

The ensemble is terrific except for Rusty and Sharon. Sharon was such a horrible replacement for Brenda, but keeping wimpy Rusty around for seasons beyond when that soap-opera story line should have ended makes her unbearable. Let them both go! All the rest of the ensemble are great. Let Rayder marry Flynn and move away and let Rusty marry his boyfriend and go with them. Provenza can handle it!!! Leave us with him, Tao, and the rest, and it will be a much much better show.

The Closer was one of the best shows ever on TV. For the first few seasons, every episode was riveting and most episodes had an unexpected twist or surprise ending. The final episodes of the series gradually and flawlessly morphed Captain Raydor, who had always been a thorn in Brenda Leigh's side, into a hero and set her up to be the lead of the Major Crimes squad. The best of the cast from The Closer was carried over as well, and it looked as if the spin off might turn out to be nearly as good, if not quite as good, as the original show. Unfortunately, while Major Crimes is pretty good, even very good at times, it falls short of its early promise, mostly because of the storyline involving Rusty, Capt. Raydor's teenage ward. Rusty comes across as unpleasant, rude, annoying, and petulant, and the writers have given him way too much screen time. In addition, his constant presence at the police station is not credible, as detectives do not have time to coddle a whiny teenager as the Major Crimes squad does, going so far as to help Rusty with his schoolwork and offer him advice at every turn. Without Rusty the series would undoubtedly be far better. But as another reviewer mentioned, he is designed to attract young viewers, and so we're probably stuck with him for the run of the series. Too bad.

Every time I see Rusty, I turn my eyes away from the TV. This character is annoying. Not to mention that the idea of letting the boss's son hang around in the police station and stick his nose in the investigations is ridiculous. I don't think this character helps anything. It ruins the good show.

I thought I'd be sad to see the series end much like with The Closer. But, if I had to endure one more scene with that character, Rusty Beck, I'd seriously consider picking up the mantle from Philip Stroh.