Amazon.com DVD Review - Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick, Personal Velocity) isn't about making friends, she's about getting results. Days after her transfer from Atlanta, the LAPD's Priority Homicide Division decides they can't work with the blunt-talking Southern belle. Fortunately, she has former CIA colleague, Assistant Police Chief Will Pope (J.K. Simmons, Spider-Man), on her side. As he explains to Captain Taylor (Robert Gossett), who she has just replaced, "She is not miss congeniality...but she's a closer." Set to the sound of urban blues, TNT's The Closer is Columbo by way of Prime Suspect. In other words, Johnson may be as messy as Oscar Madison, but she's as sharp as Sherlock Holmes. Throughout the first season, she'll solve 13 murders, including those of a reclusive mathematician, a Russian prostitute, and a British butler. She won't get much support from her colleagues, except for Sergeant David Gabriel (Corey Reynolds, Broadway’s Hairspray)--to the consternation of his co-workers, like Detective Lieutenants Provenza (G.W. Bailey, M*A*S*H) and Flynn (Tony Denison, Melrose Place). Johnson also has a friend in FBI Special Agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney, You Can Count on Me). With his help, she'll eventually settle into her new environment, especially when she lands a house and a cat on the same day (conveniently left behind by a victim). Just as it takes awhile for the chief to grow on her squad--and to get used to driving in LA--Sedgwick's Golden Globe-nominated performance follows a similar trajectory. Fortunately, "Scarlett O'Hara," as the droll Provenza dubs her, becomes more fully-rounded as the season progresses, aided by a superb SAG Award-nominated ensemble cast. Consulting producer on The Closer is former LA District Attorney Gil Garcetti of O.J. infamy. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Amazon.com DVD Review - Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson may have put in a year already with the Los Angeles police department, but that doesn't mean the transplanted Southerner fits in yet. In the second season of the TNT drama The Closer, Brenda is less a fish out of water, but she's still not completely at home with her brash colleagues--some of whom resent her potent mixture of brains and beauty. All 15 episodes from the 2006-2007 are included in this four-disc box set. And aside from a couple episodes where viewers are able to correctly guess the ending about 20 minutes into the show, the cases are taut, provocative, and highly watchable. Much of the show's success is due to Kyra Sedgwick (The Woodsman, Something to Talk About), an actress who seemed poised for movie stardom before she took time off to raise a family with husband Kevin Bacon. As bull-headed as she is soft-hearted, Brenda has a wry sense of humor and delivers her punch lines with a gentle drawl. But don't mistake gentility for gullibility: Cross her and you've made an enemy for life. Even when she's stuck in sitcom-like situations--such as trying to hide from her mother that she's living with her boyfriend--Brenda brings believability to her situation. From the first episode (dealing with the investigation of a brutally murdered police officer) to the last (Brenda's attempt to bring down a terrorist organization), Sedgwick is riveting; no wonder, then, that the Golden Globes honored her in 2007 as best actress in a TV drama. Rounding out the cast are J.K. Simmons (The Spider-Man franchise) as Assistant Chief Will Pope, Jon Tenney (Fools Rush In) as her boyfriend Fritz, and Anthony John Denison (Wild Things) as hard-nosed Detective Andy Flynn. --Jae-Ha Kim

Amazon.com Video Review - Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) is back in season three of TNT's crime procedural The Closer. With a couple years at the Los Angeles police department already under her belt, Brenda has proven that her eccentric method works at getting confessions from even the most hardened criminals. But even she's not quite sure how to handle the season opener, where a slaughtered family's sole survivor is the stunned, stoned teenage son. Bleak, dark and wonderfully scripted, the opener sets the tone for the 14 episodes that follow it. With an exaggerated Southern drawl that belies her hard edged attitude, Brenda is at her best in the field. But when dropped into personal situations, she often flounders. For instance, though she commands a team of officers underneath her, she still doesn't know how to tell her parents she lives with her boyfriend, FBI special agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney, Fools Rush In). The awkward (and sometimes poignant) moments between Johnson and her folks humanize her, giving her added dimension. Sedgwick is adept at comedy, and a couple of the episodes take advantage of her skills. Jostling with an over zealous bridezilla at a crime scene, Johnson becomes the subject of a popular YouTube video. "You've become the most downloaded fully-clothed woman on the Internet," announces her boss, Will Pope (J.K. Simmons). There is some internal drama when Brenda is ordered to make budget cuts by firing someone in her group. But the best moments occur when Brenda--calm as a cucumber--does what she does best: closes cases. Aside from a couple episodes that allude to past years, this third season (which originally aired in 2007), is easy to follow even for new viewers who haven't seen previous episodes. --Jae-Ha Kim

Amazon.com DVD Review - "Oh, for heaven's sake, it is a head!" The Southern drawl and mild exasperation are by now familiar to TV crime buffs: Kyra Sedgwick's steel-magnolia-with-a-badge, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. The fourth season of The Closer finds Sedgwick in super form, as the scattered, ditzy mama's girl with a weakness for junk food and a singular focus when it comes to getting perps to talk. Yet the strength of The Closer goes far beyond just Sedgwick, as formidable as she is. The ensemble cast is also stellar, and very human and believable. Johnson's fellow cops (among whom Johnson is, finally, one of the boys, albeit in frilly skirts) are fleshed-out and battle their own demons. And this season viewers get to know Johnson's fiancé, the FBI agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney), much better, along with his "psychic" sister (the unforgettable Amy Sedaris), and Brenda's doting parents, as both families prepare for the happy couple's impending nuptials--if serial killers and terrorist plots will only give them a little break. The boxed set includes the full season, along with delicious extras, including an unforgettable blooper reel (the cast really does seem to have a blast shooting this series, as viewers have long suspected; and don't miss guest star Jennifer Coolidge's R-rated ad lib café scene). There's also an informative featurette with Corey Reynolds (the hunky Sgt. Gabriel) and LAPD Det. Mike Berchem, an adviser to the series; deleted scenes, and more. Thank you--thank you so much! --A.T. Hurley