White Collar reboot?!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

oh wow oh wow oh wow

I started rewatching White Collar sporadically a while back. I got through s1 and into s2 and then let it go; I have many other things to do and watch. I love the characters, but I felt disappointed by Neal and Peter making the same mistakes over, and over, and over, and I hurt for them—it's kind of ridiculous.

I thought Matt Bomer is so incredibly successful and doing these exciting projects that he'd never do it.

And now this: The ‘White Collar’ Reboot? Everything To Know About The Potential Continuation Of Matt Bomer’s Slick Crime-Solving Drama. Be sure to watch the video clip from Variety on Twitter, too!

Here I go again! And I will probably hurt for the characters and complain about their mistakes, but there's no way I will not watch it. And I'm rooting for it to happen, because it doesn't seem to be a done deal.

I'm sorry that Willie Garson is gone. I love that they're thinking about him in that clip. I'm sorry we've lost Diahann Carroll, too. But I'm already thinking: can they get Hilarie Burton back? Can we see Marsha Thomason and Sharif Atkins? I really thought Neal and Sara were a great couple, and I'd love to see Diana and Clinton again!

Comments

[sholio]

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FEEL ABOUT THIS. I've seen some talk about it on Tumblr but I didn't know it was this close to being an actual thing. Considering how much the ending upset me (you did right to quit when you did; I think I ought to have let it go at the end of season 3) I don't know what this is going to be like, especially without some of the cast members. I guess it'll be all right if I can separate it from the previous show in my head, because it definitely has the potential to provide a lot of "do not want" material for their future. I just don't know!! But like you say, I'll probably watch it, at least a little of it.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I felt very conflicted about the ending. I definitely wanted Peter to be in on the whole thing, if not right away than immediately after, not a year after. And I feel like Jeff Eastin has been quite clear that Neal will always be a criminal (so Peter was right! Even if he didn't need to say it that way).

But they had so many good moments, and I want more of those, even as I know we'll get the "do not want" too!

I want Peter and Neal to be equals, true partners. I don't want Peter to be in a position where he must save Neal from himself because Neal is his legal responsibility or because Neal will bring Peter down with him. And I'd actually like Neal to behave like a responsible adult more of the time. We know he can do it. I don't think their relationship is at their best when they're trying to outwit each other but when they're working together, sharing secrets, and yes, able to be open and even vulnerable to each other.

I also want Elizabeth not to be asking Neal to protect her husband by any means necessary. I want her to be the funny, smart, sometimes coloring-outside-the-lines, independent woman she is at her best. I was ticked that pregnancy meant she gave up her dream job. I'd like to see that she just postponed it or found a dream job in New York!

I want Sara back. She is a lot of fun in her own right and also has great chemistry with Neal.

Diana is awesome! I want her doing well in her job, raising a great kid, and ideally happy with a partner. I don't want her having to clean up the boys' messes.

I'd love to see Clinton Jones again too. He put up with a lot of nonsense with dry humor and backed his friends whenever needed.

I want this and will probably regret it.

[nialla]

I loved the show when it aired, but I'm not sure what to think of a reboot. Too much of a good thing often turns out bad, ya know? I'll give it a try though. A very leery try, especially since it's a reboot and not a continuation.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I'm never sure what anyone means by "reboot" any more! They called Battlestar Galatica a reboot, but I would call it a remake. Surely they really do mean "continuation"; they're going to have the same people playing the same roles. They can't start over, with a Peter in later middle age arresting a middle-aged Neal!

I was often torn between love and frustration with the show in its original run. The characters would make the same mistakes, and I'd get upset with them. Why don't they ever learn? But then they'd do something better, and they'd rescue each other, and I'd stay hooked.

I don't know, but I'm going to find out, because I will definitely watch!

[nialla]

You have a point about reboot not meaning what it used to. There are so many shows that get a boost in popularity after they're complete once they're on streaming, and then get a "reboot" in the sense of restarting things.

Neil is wired to be a thief, but I kept hoping the show would focus on rewiring him to use his skills for good. He could be very, very tempted, but not cross the line. They would have him do that for a while, then he'd do the same dumb thing again, lather, rinse, repeat.

I wonder if some of that was due to the show being more of a procedural where everything gets mostly reset at the end of an episode? Maybe they can tweak it now to be more story arc based.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Neil is wired to be a thief, but I kept hoping the show would focus on rewiring him to use his skills for good. He could be very, very tempted, but not cross the line. They would have him do that for a while, then he'd do the same dumb thing again, lather, rinse, repeat.
This is what I want too! I want him to use his powers for good! He'd also seem to realize that crime hurt people, and then he'd forget!

I think Eastin is very attached to the idea of Neal as perpetual criminal, so I don't know that we'll get what we'd like.

Then again, June told us that Byron eventually went straight, so we have a model for that on the show.