Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) not only has to solve several baffling murders during the third season of this popular series, including the disappearance of a young girl and a series of murders in a nursing home, but she also has to deal with severe budget cuts in her department.   This forces her to choose between losing a member of her crack investigative team or sharing them all with Homeland Security.

Brenda’s personal life also has its problems.  Her FBI boy friend (Jon Tenney) is insisting that they find a larger place for them to live.  In addition, she has confrontations with both her mother (Frances Sternhagen) and her father (Barry Corbin) this season, and if that isn’t enough, she’s starting to go through the “change-of-life”.

CRITIQUE

Brenda Johnson is like female “Adrian Monk”.  She may be a brilliant homicide detective who can charm a confession out of any suspect, but she’s also filled with neuroses. 

Kyra Sedgwick continues to be totally delightful as the multi-faceted Brenda.  Her supporting cast, which includes J.K. Simmons, Tenny, Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Gina Ravera and Raymond Cruz is also well chosen.  Each of these accomplished actors delivers a well-rounded character, unlike many cop shows in which the secondary cast members do little more than walk three steps behind the star and “push papers”.

The season consists of 15 1-hour episodes on 4 discs.

The murder cases that Brenda and her team are called on to solve are always intriguing and often amusing.  In “The Round File” episode, for example, an elderly gent (Orson Bean) claims that he poisoned several of his fellow residents in a nursing home, however the solution to this mystery is much more bizarre…and disturbing. 

In “Saving Face,” the funeral of a former cop is interrupted when the coffin pops open and a second corpse, a naked blonde, falls out.  We particularly liked “Dumb Luck,” which deals with a contract killing involving a couple of pretty stupid perpetrators. 

The series can also take on a much darker tone, as illustrated by “Ruby,” which centers around the kidnapping and murder of a child, and “Manhunt,” which deals with a serial killer and is a bit reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs.

The writing quality of The Closer is first-rate.  Hopefully, it will be around for a very long time.

THE VIDEO

The anamorphic widescreen picture is broadcast sharp.  There are no noticeable flaws.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is excellent.

THE EXTRAS

The Art of Interrogation: An interesting featurette on the subject that contains interviews with several attorneys and law enforcement officers.

Gag Reel: Missed lines and other bloopers.  Funny.

Unaired Scenes: Scenes that wound up on the cutting room floor.

FINAL THOUGHTS