Daddy Mobsters and Serial Killers

We know that all of the crime shows on tv are basically the same these days. It seems that their fascination these days has become Daddy Mobsters and Serial Killers. They seem to be highlighted by two of the main crime shows that I watch – Rizzoli & Isles and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

After watching last night’s episode of Rizzoli and Isles titled, “Gone daddy, gone”, I really began to notice the similarities in the two shows.

1. Daddy Mobsters. I’m usually not into all of the “The Sopranos” and “The Godfather” type stuff, but it’s strange to say that I really have enjoyed the whole mobster aspect that both CSI and R&I have incorporated in their series. What I find interesting with it (for these two shows, at least) is that the main mobster is a father (adopted, estranged or unknown) of one of the main female characters.

With CSI, there was Catherine Willows & Sam Braun. For all of Catherine’s years growing up in Vegas, Sam seemed to always be watching over her. He was her mother’s “good friend”. But he was never “daddy” until her suspicions grew during a certain case, a high-class bank robbery. Those suspicions became heavy enough to bring Catherine to break protocol and test her own DNA against a sample from the case, bringing her to the conclusion that he was her father. The consequences of breaking protocol were minimal to herself, however, it allowed her “father” to avoid punishment for a crime yet again. However, Sam did get his comeuppance later when someone got brave enough to shoot him down in the middle of a busy sidewalk. He died in Catherine’s arms.

Dr Maura Isles, Chief Medical Examiner in Boston, had known for a while that she was adopted. She had been an only child to wealthy parents and spent much of her youth in a boarding school. What Maura didn’t know until recently, however, is that her biological father was the very elusive Patrick “Paddy” Doyle, the big crime boss in town. Maura only discovered the connection of him being her father after Paddy’s son, Colin, was killed. Colin’s DNA came back as close enough match to determine that Colin had been Maura’s brother, which had also been previously unknown to Maura. Paddy Doyle is elusive enough that he has resorted to kidnapping his daughter when he wants to contact her, or in the case of last night’s episode, hold her & Tommy Rizzoli hostage in Maura’s own house in order to have her fix him up after being shot in the shoulder.

As much as Sam Braun & Paddy Doyle are the same, it’s the differences in the two that I really enjoy. Sam Braun was a charismatic casino owner, always accessible & easily noticed wherever he went. He wasn’t afraid to flaunt himself. Paddy Doyle, on the other hand, is a man of secrecy. He goes to great lengths to keep his identity & his whereabouts secretive.

It’s the man on the pedestal standing at Center Square vs the man in the dark shadows whom you don’t see, but always know he is there.

2. Serial Killers. If there’s one thing I’ve really become sick of with both of these shows, it’s the overused serial killer story line. CSI started out nicely with the seemingly out-of-the-blue appearance from Paul Millander. He was featured in three episodes across the first two seasons of the show. There was also the Blue Paint Killer who came up twice. The second time was a nice surprise, which made it interesting to have him appear again.

Since then CSI has been on a serial killer rampage. The Mini-Crime-Scene Killer was strung out over a season (or was it more?). Then there was the 2 ½ season, strung out, over-used Nate Haskell story line. Do we really need the same story to continue for over two seasons? And it wasn’t a random thing. Haskell was an undercurrent in every single case, every single episode for that duration. Overkill much?!

With Rizzoli & Isles, it’s been Charles Hoyt. Right from the beginning of the series, we’ve seen Hoyt a couple times now, and he’s not done yet since he’s back in next week’s finale. Overkill redux?

The similarities: The MCSK abducted Sara, which made it personal for Gil as well. Nate Haskell was playing cat & mouse with Ray Langston, and even taking Ray’s ex-wife & her new husband. Charles Hoyt seems to have a thing for Jane Rizzoli, abducting her initially and only getting half of the job done (the scalpel through the hands). He got to Jane a second time, with the help of an accomplice. Will the third time be the charm? (Come on, the show is called Rizzoli & Isles for a reason. Duh!)


The strangest thing is that I’ve come to enjoy the Daddy Mobster story lines with these two shows. (I’m still fuming that they killed off Sam Braun!) I’ve really come to hate the serial killer stories. (Too much ‘same old’ for me)