Screener Girl Checks Out The Closer And Saving Grace

Season Premiere Time On TNT

Two of my favorite women on television make their returns Monday with the season premieres of The Closer and Saving Grace on TNT.

If there’s one show that I thank my TiVo for on a daily basis, it’s The Closer.  I never would have been a die hard fan if my trusty DVR hadn’t captured a marathon for me last year.  Since then, I’ve gotten caught up on the first three seasons, and have been counting the months and days until the show returns.  The season premiere is fantastic, and so worth the wait, as we’re immediately thrown back into the squad’s latest investigation into a 4-5 alarm blaze in the hills resulting in quite a few deaths.  The team, as always, has multiple suspects and, as always, they shocked me with how the case was once again solved.  Along the way, of course, there are plenty of other things to deal with, including but not limited to, a clandestine cat, a crime committed (in Brenda’s eyes) against the shower, a pesky reporter named Ricardo who with every turn threatens to undermine the investigation, and a visit from longtime Charmed whitelighter Brian Krause.  My appreciation for the premiere has a lot to do with the awesome guest starring turn from Jason O’Mara, reprising his unforgettable role as Bill Croelick, the man with a penchant for setting fires.  He and Kyra Sedgwick are electric together, and I can only hope that we see him again in the future.   The hour flies by with plenty of drama and just the right touch of humor.  An added bonus – the amount of detail that goes into even the tiniest part of the story, and the interaction between the team, is so terrific; I find myself wanting to know these people.  Easily one of my favorite premieres so far this summer, I can’t wait for the next episode!

From one strong-willed woman to another, the second season premiere of Saving Grace blew me away.  The episode opens with Grace and Rhetta getting a simple cup of coffee.  One thing leads to another, and before you know it Grace is a hero on the late local news.  Struggling with the revelations from the end of last season, including the terrible history she shares with Father Patrick “Satan” Murphy, Grace starts to spiral a bit more out of control.  The hour is quick and charming and gritty and shocking all at once.  Holly Hunter as Grace is terribly endearing and tragically flawed at the same time; I just want to sit her down and have a cup of tea with her and hear her problems.  They packed a lot into the hour, including an internal affairs investigation, a smoking hot kiss, a few death, a super hero cape, and confetti.  By the end of the hour, when Grace tells Earl she’s sorry, I wasn’t sure for what she was apologizing, but I knew that I wanted to forgive her and see what happens next.