ma-cortes Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (who often thinks rules don't apply to her and was brought in by Assistant Chief Will Pope/J.K.Simmons , her former boss in the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C., with whom she had an affair) as the head of the Priority Homicide Division of the LAPD , which was created to focus on high profile cases . Brenda runs the Priority Homicide Division of the LAPD with an unorthodox style , she is a well trained interrogator and has a great innate ability to get confessions and to read people resolving the city's toughest , most difficult , hardest cases . Later on , there appears Sharon Raydor well played by Mary McDonnell introduced to the Priority Homicide Division universe as the Captain of the Force Investigation Division , taking over the renamed PHD , which looks into officer-involved shootings , including one involving Detective David Gabriel/Corey Reynolds . It is a subdivision of Internal Affairs bound by federal oversight and is unpopular among LAPD personnel . She and Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson are initially antagonistic , although each is very dedicated to her job and believes in following the truth . Subsequently Raynor commands ¨Major Crimes¨ , a spin-off to ¨The Closer¨. Each series of "The Closer" has a theme on which its episodes are based. For Season 1, the theme is a woman in a man's world , the followings about partnerships , family , upon a meditation on power , the changing , and adjustment. The expert team it is formed by the following members : 1- Corey Reynolds plays well Sergeant David Gabriel . The ambitious and eager Gabriel quickly becomes Brenda's favorite in the squad and her right-hand man, also occasionally her driver and errand boy . Gabriel is thoughtful and intelligent, and will stand up for what he believes in, even disagreeing vocally with Brenda when she veers toward street justice outside the system. Gabriel is a problem solver and creative thinker. He subsequently has s love affair to Detective Irene Daniels , Gina Rivera. 3- John Tenney interprets magnificently as Fritz Howard who is a special agent with the FBI and is part of the Crimes Unit in Los Angeles . He knows Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson/Sedgwick from when they both lived and worked in law enforcement in Washington D.C. He has been in L.A. for three years when the series begins and has a sister, Claire, who believes she is psychic. He knows about Will Pope/J.K.Simmons and his relation to Brenda and is uncomfortable around him 3- G. W. Bailey plays very well as Lt. Louie Provenza , he is a cranky older cop who has been married four times , initially gives Brenda a hard time , but warms to her and particularly appreciates her toughness . He and Lt. Andy Flynn/Tony Denison , his best friend and one of her biggest defenders , have a habit of getting into shenanigans together , fouling up cases and tell jokes themselves . As the oldest member of the squad , he is often threatened with forced retirement for budgetary reasons . He is a crusty curmudgeon who hates when people touch his stuff, but he still has sharp detective skills . He is especially protective of Detc. Julio Sánchez/Raymond Cruz . 4-Tony Denison performs perfectly Lieutenant Andy Flynn , he isn't always the most dedicated detective, and sometimes cuts corners or slacks off on cases . His loyalties can be shifting . His best friend is Provenza, and the two have the habit of getting into antics and nearly fouling up cases . Flynn is a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for 10 years . He is divorced and has a grown daughter . 5- Michael Paul Chan plays rightly Lt. Mike Tao , he is the unofficial technology , science and electronics expert for the Los Angeles Police Department's Priority Homicide División . He is of Chinese descent and his wife Kathy is Japanese . They have a teenage son . Before being transferred to Priority Homicide , Tao was a member of the SID . He is a true geek and loves to explain the science behind everything, even when a short answer will do . 6- Raymond Cruz is good as Detective Julio Sanchez , he is an important and competent member of the Priority Homicide Division , under direction of Brenda Johnson . He is a widower and an expert on Latino gangs . He has a quick temper and often plays the "bad cop" in interrogations, getting in a suspects face or threatening violence . Despite his temper, he can also be taciturn, letting his menacing stare do the talking . He is a shameless flirt and also very brave as well as tough . 7- Phillip P. Keene plays as Buzz Watson , he is a Civilian Service Coordinator who provides technical support to the Los Angeles Police Department's Priority Homicide Division . He films crime scenes and runs the audio system in the interrogation room . Brenda also calls on him for random help in a pinch. The squad is protective of him , as a civilian , but also treats him a little bit like a mascot or pet . 6- Robert Gosset plays as Taylor , he is manipulative and works hard to undermine Brenda at every turn . Taylor loves addressing the media . He encourages people in his squad to continue their education . 8- Jonathan Del Arco plays Dr. Morales , Deputy Medical Examiner for the Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner . As such, he is responsible for determining cause of death . He is sarcastic, blunt and has a sense of humor, even over dead bodies. But he is also sensitive and clearly shows pain for victims , especially the younger ones . He is openly gay and sometimes serves as a resource on the gay community.

UberShell Police Chief Brenda Johnson is portrayed as disorganised, bumbling idiot who seems to crack cases more by luck than design. The episode I've just seen shows her spending several minutes trying to reverse park a car and failing, of course, because all women are terrible drivers! *sigh* Of course her team has zero respect for her because she is an idiotic caricature, reinforcing every negative female stereotype I can think of.As well as a dreadful lead character there is almost constant background music which is incredibly annoying, distracting and completely unnecessary. Does your average U.S. viewer really not even have the attention span to watch and listen to dialogue (which actually isn't too bad at all and to its credit, the show is well written) without needing the added stimulation of constant background music? If you like Castle, you'll probably like this, but in my opinion this show is spoilt by the awful lead character.

gboyer-425-597361 i'm not proud to admit that, until 7/16/12, i was a"closer junkie." everything about the show appealed to me: the acting, writing, plot-twists and subtle humor had me looking forward to these final 6 episodes but sorry that this excellent show was leaving the air. after this past Monday night...good riddance. this last episode was poorly written, sophomoric, and an insult to the (previous to this) fine cast. typically, Monday night was the only night i watched a show, read for a bit, then watched it again. Monday's episode was so bad, i turned it off half-way through. i won't be returning to watch the last 4 ...would rather remember it as it was.

glass_goblin The Closer is a show which has a fairly realistic portrayal of a working environment; there are relationship dynamics which have evolved over the several seasons and which explore the inter-personal connections made between co-workers as they solve cases. From the beginning episodes where Brenda's staff worked against her, sometimes with the expressed desire for her to fail, to the latest season where they appear to be firmly on her "side" there is an interesting dynamic in showing an intelligent and capable woman as authority-figure and the gradual and sometimes reluctant acceptance of her as the officers she works with see for themselves what she is bringing to the dept. The show brings a lot of elements of the classic mysteries, and uses clever reveals and intelligence as well as past personal experiences and leaps of intuition in solving crimes. The actors who make up the main cast are all very talented and the writing allows us glimpses into the entire cast, though the show is clearly focused on Brenda. Each episode also allows the viewer to see some of the personal drama without being heavy-handed or too soap-opera, keeping a good balance between the police investigation and the people who are doing the investigation.I find it interesting, however, that most of the people I know who do not like the show are male and love similar stories where a male in the central authority and does the exact same things that Brenda does to close a case. For someone who likes police drama, with realistic characters who are not always perfect, this is an excellent show to watch. The episodes are well paced, the story lines through the seasons are detailed and have a lot of personal touches for the characters, and it is nice to see a show where a woman can be represented as a whole person with many layers, instead of as a two-dimensional stereotype.