The Closer was one of the best shows ever on TV. For the first few seasons, every episode was riveting and most episodes had an unexpected twist or surprise ending. The final episodes of the series gradually and flawlessly morphed Captain Raydor, who had always been a thorn in Brenda Leigh's side, into a hero and set her up to be the lead of the Major Crimes squad. The best of the cast from The Closer was carried over as well, and it looked as if the spin off might turn out to be nearly as good, if not quite as good, as the original show. Unfortunately, while Major Crimes is pretty good, even very good at times, it falls short of its early promise, mostly because of the storyline involving Rusty, Capt. Raydor's teenage ward. Rusty comes across as unpleasant, rude, annoying, and petulant, and the writers have given him way too much screen time. In addition, his constant presence at the police station is not credible, as detectives do not have time to coddle a whiny teenager as the Major Crimes squad does, going so far as to help Rusty with his schoolwork and offer him advice at every turn. Without Rusty the series would undoubtedly be far better. But as another reviewer mentioned, he is designed to attract young viewers, and so we're probably stuck with him for the run of the series. Too bad.
