TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles (Tuesdays, 9/8C) returns tonight with a visit from IAD when Frankie shoots a man but the guy’s gun cannot be found. It’s a case of a lead in a murder leading to something else entirely.
The Platform opens with Jane (Angie Harmon), Frankie (Jordan Bridges) and Vic (Bruce McGill) chasing a man with a yellow streak in his hair. They follow him into a subway station where they lose him. A shot rings out. Cut to one day earlier…
Jane and Maura are talking about the new assistant medical examiner trainee, Kent Drake (Adam Sinclair) when Angela (Lorraine Bracco) comes in, pushing an ugly, ugly – but free – chair. It’s for Frankie’s new apartment – that no one else even knew about!
Jane and Maura get calls on their cells and we cut to a dumpster in which there is the body of a young woman. Back at the morgue, we meet Kent and he seems a bit unlike what they were expecting. They do come up with a lead, though, which Jane and Vic chase down.
Surprise! It leads to Cecil aka Spike – the guy with the yellow streak in his hair. And we’re back in the subway station where Frankie has shot someone but the someone’s gun is nowhere to be found. Which brings in Internal Affairs (IAD) in the person of Detective Hitchcock (Wendy Makkena) and her partner (Lamonica Garrett).
To clear Frankie, Jane and Maura and the gang will have to find the dead woman’s killer.
The Platform was written by Jan Nash and directed by Greg Prange. It makes use of faster than usual pacing to fit in the two arcs – finding the woman’s killer and working around the IAD. To do both, they have to find a link between the dead woman and Spike – which leads to an even bigger problem.
Along the way, we get a Marvel superhero reference; learn of Frankie’s ambitions, and get a tiny bit more of Vic’s musicality – not to mention a look at Frankie’s new digs.
The fifth season premiere is smart enough, and contains enough good solid character moments – more than a few involving Kent – that it holds one’s attention quite nicely. Other shows have tackled Internal Affairs’ intrusions into their teams, but Rizzoli & Isles manages to make the idea feel fresh.
The result is a very nice, if not brilliant, hour of procedural fun.
Final Grade: B
Photo by Doug Hyun/Courtesy of TNT