“CLOSE ENCOUNTERS” Airs Sunday, June 3 at 9:00 PM on A&E
In the season premiere, when Jim (Matt Passmore) and Carlos (Carlos Gomez) investigate the death of a millionaire who bequeathed all his wealth to an organization of UFO enthusiasts, the organization’s leader accuses the police of covering up the true cause of death: an alien abduction. Meanwhile, Jim and Callie’s (Kiele Sanchez) relationship heats up, but Callie’s job search to keep her in Palm Glade falters.
The Glades returns for its third season with an out of this world murder with a little romance on the side. Although, I supposed it could be argued that the relationship between Jim and Callie is always the “A” plot with the murder-of-the-week as the subplot. As always, the show does a great job giving us a pleasing balance between the two. The finale of season two gave viewers what they’d been waiting for with Callie and Jim reuniting and looking like they were both ready to make a go of it. The end of season one kind of gave us the same thing, but the imminent release from prison of Callie’s husband seemed to put a wrench in the works as was evident last season. Now, however, there isn’t anything in their way and they are very much the happy couple.
The murder this week seems to be the case of an alien abduction gone wrong, a view that is supported by a friend who is a UFO investigator yet refuted by his very young and shapely wife. Of course, there is the matter of a large sum of money that, depending on when the deceased met his fate and whether or not his appended will is binding or not, could make one of the interested parties very rich. As always, the truth proves slightly more strange than anticipated.
I am an unabashed fan of The Glades and think that Matt Passmore’s Jim Longworth is the best lovable jackass on TV. This is a strong season premiere and all the regulars are at the top of their game. The chemistry between Passmore and Kiele Sanchez has never been more pitch-perfect. The only down side to this show’s return is knowing the season will fly by too fast. But for exceptional summer TV, you can’t really beat The Glades.
Looking ahead at the rest of the season, as Callie decides to stay in Palm Glade to make it work with Jim, she finds jobs in the area to be scarce and their relationship is put to the test as she considers relocating for work. Meanwhile, the station gets shaken up when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) sends Jennifer Starke (Taylor Cole), the beautiful, dynamic FDLE bureau chief, to evaluate the station’s successful track record in hopes to recreate its high arrest rate state-wide. It soon becomes clear that the success is largely due to Longworth’s unorthodox style of investigation. In order to accomplish her goal, the bureau chief decides to take a more hands on approach in her evaluation, creating an interesting tension between the striking bureau chief and the lone wolf Detective Longworth.