Cold Case: "The Good Solider"

Unfortunately, since I only have a month with each show, I had to choose whether to focus on "Damages" or "Cold Case." Because there are only 26 episodes worth of "Damages" to date, I opted to go all the way with "Damages" this month.

But I wanted to talk a little about "Cold Case" as well, and to that end, I just got finished watching "Case's" most recent episode.

In contrast to "Damages," "Cold Case" is more about THIS episode, going on RIGHT NOW, rather than building towards a dramatic end game. There are ongoing storylines, which the show dips into. but for the most part I was able to jump in with both feet, come up for air, and make an assessment of the show.

I have to admit, I wish I had more time for TV in my personal life, because shows like this really are, to use the name of our magazine out of context, a delight!

If you think about what a show like this has to do, it's got its work cut out for it. It has to move some longer plotlines forward. It's got to set up a mystery, and all the players. And it has to make you care about the person whose case is cold.

The story could have gone a lot of ways, since it was about a solider who has become disenchanted with recruiting kids who then go on to die or become horrifyingly injured. It rode a fascinatingly grey area in its politics, neither for or against our current wars, and more than anything it made the case human.

And yes, beyond that it was twisty and turn-y, but what impressed me was that it set up an interesting set of characters and put them all on a path worth watching. And because so many of the characters dynamics are laid out cleanly, even someone like myself can latch on to the story without having to read endless episode recaps or catch up with the show on DVD.

I look forward to covering upcoming episodes over the next few weeks.

I am curious though - if you're a longtime fan, what did you think of the 'sode? Are there better ones I should check out? Was this about average for the show? And what did you think of the ongoing plotline?