White Collar

[mastelsa.livejournal.com]

So I recently stumbled across the show White Collar on Netflix's instant watch list and after the first episode I was convinced that someone read The Thief, thought Gen was an awesome character (which, of course, he is) and decided to write a character that's extremely close to a modernized version (though Neal is more extroverted).  From Wikipedia with my editing in brackets: "[Neal Caffrey] is first introduced as a con artist serving out a four year prison sentence for bond forgery [though his suspected crimes include  and are not limited to counterfeiting, securities fraud, art theft, racketeering, and art forgery], but after escaping from prison... and being recaptured by the FBI, he agrees to help the Bureau in exchange for a shortened sentence. He wears a tracking anklet that keeps him within a two mile radius as part of the deal, and is under close supervision by the man who caught him, FBI Agent Peter Burke."  Neal is a con man, a forger, an artist, a thief, a charmer, a rogue, and a scoundrel. And he's very, very good at all of that.

Sound like anyone we know?
It's hard to find clips with good Neal moments, but the banter between him and Peter reminds me of Gen and the Magus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZwsccHMM_o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MO8tNENIJ8&feature=relmfu
 Has anyone else ever seen this show and noticed the resemblance between Eugenides and the main character Neal?  

**EDIT** I want to clarify that I was not implying that White Collar is an ode to Eugenides. That first sentence doesn't translate well from expression to writing, but what I meant was that I saw a lot of similarities between the two characters. 

Comments

[keestone.livejournal.com]

I've seen the first couple seasons of the show. I never connected Neal to Gen at all.

For one thing, Gen got caught on purpose. :D (And there's kind of a long tradition of "gentleman thief" stories and people finding con-men fascinating, so I don't necessarily find reason to link two thief characters unless there are strong similarities in personality or something. I don't really find Gen and Neal all that similar personality-wise.)

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

For one thing, Gen got caught on purpose.

The first time!

[rosalui.livejournal.com]

I love the crap out of White Collar, and like Neal for much of the same reasons I like Gen - he's charming, insolent, and really, really talented.

But he's more con man/art replicator than full-on cat burglar, and I wouldn't say one idea was taken from the other.

...I'd read fic where they met, though. :3

[(Anonymous)]

YES. I NEED THAT FIC.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I'd agree with the above comments, that they're in the same broad (very charming) charismatic-and-intelligent-thief category without really being much alike. However: I LIKE WHITE COLLAR A LOT. So they have that in common. :3

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

As evinced by my White Collar icon... They share some of the same talents, but very different personalities. The angry melancholia is strong with Gen. But the fic someone said they would read, with Neal and Gen meeting? I third it.

[(Anonymous)]

the Sara character on the show has a few/slight connections to Attolia. Just saying this after reading her description on Wikipedia.

[mastelsa.livejournal.com]

I want to clarify that I was not implying that White Collar is an ode to Eugenides. That first sentence doesn't translate well from expression to writing, but what I meant was that I saw a lot of similarities between the two characters. What initially caused me to make the connection between Neal and Gen is that Neal displays some of my favorite character traits of Gen's, mainly the deadpan snarking, impossible thievery, and ability to manipulate situations until they get what they want/need. As for the idea of a fic where the two of them meet--yes please. Gen could give Neal some tips on not getting caught ;)

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's a little scary. TLE and I have been filling up the backlog in the Conspiracy Room with chats about WC. Great minds think alike! Neal has always given me Gen vibes, but it's a very give and take thing and I'm sure it's a coincidence.

(1) They're both thieves. However, Neal is a conman, a grifter, and a forger before he is the crawl and prowl type. Twice in the show he's jumped off a building, but that's always his last choice. Gen, on the other hand, (pun intended) is not only a grifter and a mastermind, he seems to prefer the roof to stairs.

(2) They're both charming. Gen can be charming, I will say, but he's not the smile/bright-eyed/you know you want to trust me type that Neal is. Gen often goes out of his way to make people dislike him. Also, Neal's charming nature is often full of sexual tones that match his extroverted personality.

(3) They're both prisoners on probation. Gen's whole capture was a con Neal would be proud of, but Neal didn't get captured on purpose like Gen did. Neal is also a true "steal-millons" criminal, while Gen is a master of espionage and a royal spy.

(4) They're both clever and resourceful. Probably their most stark similarity, they're both I-can-break-into-Fort-Knox-with-eyeshadow-and-a-pocket-knife types. However, they approach problems from their own individual skill sets.

(5) They both have a thorn in their side. Peter does remind me a little of the magus. They're both smart, grumpy, and in control, but Peter also has a Costis (honor as wide as a river) complex going on. Peter also seems to respect Neal a lot more than the magus respected Gen, at least up until the very end of the book.

All in all, I love them both for a lot of the same reasons, but I don't think one was based on the other. Even if they're both snazzy dressers! ;)

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

I would also recommend you to thelovemafia's QT tag (http://thelovemafia.livejournal.com/tag/books%20-%20megan%20whalen%20turner). She talks about the similarities between QT and WC a lot.