Ten years ago, on October 23, 2009, White Collar premiered in the United States. The pilot is in many respects my favorite episode. It set the stage for the close friendship between Neal and Peter while demonstrating the charm, wit, and urbane sophistication which would be trademarks of the series. Over the past six years that we've been writing Caffrey Conversation, Penna and I have referenced many of the scenes from the pilot. Here are some of our favorites.
Prison Sequence: Neal relives his conversation with Peter in prison in a nightmare at the end of The Queen's Jewels.
El and Peter's Initial Conversation: Penna paid homage with a similar conversation in Caffrey Conversation.
Birthday Cards: Neal sent Peter birthday cards from prison. In Penna's story, In the Driver's Seat, Neal's Christmas card to Peter is an Easter egg to the practice.
Neal Driving to Manhattan to Find Kate: Penna inserted an Easter egg in Caffrey Disclosure for the song used in the pilot, "Hold On, I'm Coming" by Sam & Dave when Neal uses the song to alert Angela he's coming to rescue them.
Mozzie and Ginsberg: In Visions from Beyond, Arkham Neal returns to his loft to find Mozzie sitting in the darkness misquoting Ginsberg, an Easter egg to the scene which introduced Mozzie in the pilot.
Curtis Hagen: The pilot's villain, as well as his connection to Goya, has been featured in several of my Caffrey Conversation stories, with the canon scene of his capture reworked for Raphael's Dragon.
Worrying about Kate in France: In the pilot, Neal stressed about Kate being in France. I referenced their conversation when I had him equally nervous about Fiona in France. They discussed it in Raphael's Dragon and Echoes of a Violin. Like Neal in canon, our Neal's concern was justified.
Neal Studying Late at Night: I like to think that scene foreshadowed Neal studying for entrance exams to Columbia in Complications. That was my first Caffrey Conversation story and it was posted on the 5th anniversary of the pilot. Happy Birthday, Complications!
Satisfaction Over a Successful Mission: The warm glow of a blossoming partnership was clearly evident in the final scene of the pilot as Peter teased Neal about the number of times he'd caught Neal. In Caffrey Conversation, we've reversed the tease with Neal able to josh Peter that he was never able to catch him (The Woman in Blue). On a personal level, the delight Neal and Peter shared in solving the crime reminds me of the pleasure Penna and I have in daydreaming story plots together.
The actors, writers, and production crews have moved on to other projects, but White Collar continues to attract new fans. A mark of its success is that it's achieved the coveted 100% Certified Fresh designation on Rotten Tomatoes for five out of its six seasons.
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