A new show on A&E is starting to catch on, a little like a stone that begins its roll down a nice, low-grade slope that gently falls away, eventually to lend same stone a fast free flow to the bottom. "The Glades" begins as a teaser, introducing us to Detective Jim Longworth (Matt Passmore previously of "McLeod's Daughters"), a laid back, smart-arsed lawman, who blurs the thin blue line's line of authority on a regular basis. While he appears to lead with a smile in most situations, his wit works shrewdly away. He's great at subtly extracting personal information from others when necessary, but he's even better at withholding his own. Watch carefully, when he talks to Callie, his partner, or a perp. He often looks slightly over their heads or off to the side, not allowing them to see into his soul. Carlos Sanchez, his partner who is a go-by-the-book cop, is often the humorous object of some 'I'm not laughing with you, I'm laughing at you' dissonance. It appears Longworth's cockiness carries over to his job, and personal life, but I think that will be fleshed out, at least to some point, as we get to know him better. Slow talking, slow walking, wise Callie is the perfect 'possibly' for this lawman - a good balance to his jump-in-feet-first and who-cares persona. Although, she does bring some intriguing baggage to the mix, for sure.
I was an avid fan of of "McLeod's Daughters" and it is great to see Rachel Carpani, Passmore's real life girlfriend/fellow McCleod's player, acting alongside at times on the show.
With a Creator such as Clifton Campbell, who has also been involved in such greats as '"White Collar", "Profiler", and "21 Jump Street", I have very little doubt that we will continue to see even better story lines as well as Longworth's past life unfold to mysteriously complicate his relationships along with his duties. All this and the lush environment of the 'Glades' delivers something to look forward to on Sunday nights. 10/11/2010
