What I’m Watching: White Collar

White Collar: Season 1, Episode 3 “Book of Hours” (B)

This show continues to be fueled by the relationship between its two leads. Neal and Peter are so comfortable with each other that their interactions are unguarded and infinitely amusing. Peter seems to have gotten past Neal’s invasion of his personal life and now feels completely fine with having him in his home, speaking to his wife and developing a bond with her. It’s also great to know that Peter isn’t totally letting Neal run his own show, and that he’s keeping tabs on Neal and his associates, also known as Mozzie. Teaming up with, or rather subtly working against, the FBI unit which includes Kirk Acevedo ("Fringe") and Sharif Atkins ("Hawaii," "ER"), doesn’t create as much fodder for hilarity as perhaps it could, but that’s not this show’s greatest strength. It’s Neal’s continual delight at playing the system and breaking the rules. His delight at taking Peter’s FBI jacket and giving it to Mozzie to wear so that he’s not the one impersonating an FBI agent is supremely clever, and watching him get such a kick about it just enhances its effectiveness. What’s even better is that Peter lets him get away with these small acts of mischief. The key guest star of the week is Callie Thorne, who starts off with as a subdued intellectual possessing the same normalcy as her overworked chef on “Royal Pains,” but the crazy comes through in the end, far more reminiscent of her wild “Rescue Me” role. It’s great to see this actress making the rounds on different shows and making the most of her time off from her regular series while it’s on hiatus.