Why do I like it?

The Closer continues to impress me despite one obvious flaw for a police procedural: I always know who committed the crime at least half a show before the characters. Last night was my personal best. I called it in the opening scene.

I still think its storytelling is good. The characters are nicely rounded, the dialogue crackles, and the gender politics seem to be progressive. Kyra Sedgwick always knows when to smile and when not to smile, which I think is the most important note in her performance. But as murder mysteries, frankly, most episodes are lame.