Category: TV Reviews

2013

It took me awhile to warm up to A&E's scripted show "The Glades." I saw the occasional episode over its first two seasons, but it wasn't until

season three that I began tuning in each week. The reason had more to do with the fact that it was teamed up with the new drama "Longmire" than anything else, but as I watched every week I found myself enjoying - but not loving - the show.

The premise is pretty easy to sketch out. Matt Passmore plays Jim Longworth, a Chicago detective who takes a job in south Florida after being falsely accused of sleeping with his captain's wife. Much of what happened in the first couple of seasons was centered on the cultural differences and expectations of Longworth and his new Florida coworkers. He came to Florida thinking it would be a much more relaxed lifestyle, but he learns Florida criminals bring their own unique group of challenges. And while his Chicago style was a bit jarring to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, they also quickly realize that he is a great detective who can get results.

Much of the personal parts of the show revolve around the relationship between Longworth and thirtysomething mother Callie Cargill (Kiele Sanchez). When they first meet Callie is married to a man who is serving a long term in prison. After a fair amount of angst and hand-wringing, she and Longworth begin a relationship and she asks her imprisoned husband Jim for a divorce at the beginning of season two. The relationship between Callie and Jim has matured and grown, even as she moves to Atlanta to attend medical school. The big cliffhanger at the end of the season three finale was Jim's marriage proposal, which she declined to answer at the time.

Season four begins with Longworth's return to south Florida from that trip to Atlanta and in between speculation from his coworkers about his romantic life, he investigates a mysterious murder. A couple driving down a lonely road encounter a woman who asks for a ride home. When they take her to where she says she is living, they discover the body of a woman and their passenger disappears. As the investigation continues, it turns out that the woman the couple claims to have seen is the woman who occupied the house more than 100 years ago. Before the murder is solved there are hauntings, a ghost hunter hired to get proof a spirit inhabits the house and a lot of false accusations and leads that grow cold.

That is really one of my problems with "The Glades." Yes, Longworth is supposed to be cocky and self-confident and annoying at times. But his typical investigative style seems to be to develop a theory based on one or two facts, accuse a suspect and then laugh it off when he moves on to the next suspect. While I don't expect 100 percent real-life behavior in my TV cops, Longworth's investigations seem to be more about providing opportunities to deliver a few quips than do actual police work. And then there are the small yet annoying details that make me wonder about the quality control of the production. Late in the season three premiere episode, Longworth comes home and leaves his badge and gun sitting on the top of a small bookshelf next to the front door. That seems like an example of extremely dangerous behavior, especially coming from someone who is aware of the how quickly a gun can be stolen.

Despite all the problems I watch "The Glades" because I do enjoy the cast. Passmore does a great job as Det. Longworth and Kiele Sanchez wrings all she can out of a character that doesn't always give her a lot to work with. I also enjoy the work of Carlos Gomez, who plays forensic pathologist Dr. Carlos Sanchez. While I don't really buy the claim that he is friends with Longworth, they do have a good chemistry together and he seems to be a good sport about often being saddled with what is essentially the comic relief role of the show.

As I said at the top of the review, I don't love "The Glades," but I like enough to keep watching. Which I suppose in some very small way could be considered an endorsement of the series.