Former hotshot Chicago detective Jim Longworth (Matt Passmore) moves to a small town in the Florida everglades and discovers the language of murder doesn’t change all that much no matter which part of the country you choose to reside in.

CRITIQUE

“The Glades” is an awful lot of fun. While the show created by Clifton Campbell (“Profiler”) doesn’t break the police procedural mold all that much, the characters he’s populated with are so darn engaging it doesn’t matter a lick that the central mysteries residing in each episode aren’t always as good as they probably need to be.

It starts with Jim Longworth. As played by Passmore this guy is a freewheeling extrovert who goes his own way and does his own thing. He’s not good and accepting “no” as an answer and “can’t” just seems to be an obstacle be creatively overcome instead of one to be stopped by. He’s carefree but driven, and much like a modern day Columbo he’s easy to underestimate until that moment he’s tied the noose around the villain’s neck.

Passmore is given able support by Carlos Gómez, playing the areas resident forensic specialists Dr. Carlos Sanchez, and Kiele Sanchez, playing the nubile resident nurse of the local hospital Callie Cargill. What makes him great is that he’s such a wonderful yin to Passmore’s yang. What makes her so amazing is that she’s not your typical love interest, her obstacles needing to be overcome (most notably a criminal husband currently incarcerated and a young son who can’t wait for dad to come back home) a bit more complicated than normal.

All three work together beautifully, both of the supporting players sharing exquisite chemistry with the lead producing the early stages of an intriguing mythos that I can easily see growing in depth and nuance the longer the series is allowed to go on. These 13 episodes are expertly crafted, the writers never losing sight of the characters themselves and no matter how weird things get the focus stays remarkably human and introspective.

As for the mysteries themselves, some of them are wonderful, while others are sadly forgettable. The Pilot episode sets up this world and these characters sensationally, while a future one involving a crashed plane discovered in the middle of a protected area of wetland might be my favorite of the season. There’s also a great one involving a divorce attorney and his cherished one-of-a-kind motorcycle, and even though the solution to the murder isn’t all that difficult to figure out getting to that point is a total hoot and half that held me happily spellbound.

But it is the characters, Jim, Carlos and Callie, who make this engine rev like it does. Without them I don’t think I’d have enjoyed it near as much, and as long as Campbell and company remember to keep developing them so minutely I could foresee myself falling absolutely head over heels for this show. “The Glades” might no be perfect but it does entertain, and considering how crowded the airwaves have become with these sorts of murder mystery procedurals that’s one gift I’m not about to be anything less than thankful for receiving and getting the chance to enjoy.

THE VIDEO

All 13 episodes of the first season of “The Glades” are presented on four DVDs in their original 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

THE AUDIO

“The Glades” comes with an English 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track with optional English subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

The extras here are your usual assortment. Campbell pops up (along with various other members of the cast and crew) to record a couple of audio commentaries (only the one for the Pilot is worth listening to), there is the requisite Gag Reel and a handful of Deleted Scenes. There are also two, above-average featurettes, Sunshine State of Mind: Casting “The Glades” and A Location for Murder: Filming “The Glades”, both of which I think are deserving of a look.

FINAL THOUGHTS

“The Glades” is a ton of fun. I enjoyed the heck out of this show, not so much because of the mysteries themselves (although they are solid) but because of the characters creator Clifton Campbell and actors Matt Passmore, Kiele Sanchez and Carlos Gómez have brought to life. I’ve gotten a great kick out of watching it, and imagine fans of this sort of program and genre will undoubtedly end up feeling just the same if they give it half a chance.