Before we begin, let’s give a big hand to Meredith Stiehm, who created “Cold Case” and then watched it run for seven years. It’s tough to get a show on the air, and it’s tougher to keep it there.
And yet, she made it to the big seven. How can you not be just a little impressed?
Me, I’m a lot impressed, because these last two episodes had to do double-duty. They had to get solid mysteries out the door, and then, as a bonus, they had to set up two different TV shows.
One where everyone comes back for season eight, and one where Lilly joins the FBI and fires up what I keep calling “Cold Case 2.0.”
It’s all there, really. But I’ll lay it out in a second.
“Almost Paradise”
The big news this episode is, of course, that Lilly’s sister is back, and Lilly kind of doesn’t want anything to do with her. Ultimately, everything that happened to her in this episode is setup for the second round, but they tried to set up a few family dynamics for folks just meeting the bad sister of the family.
As for the death of the prom queen? I couldn’t help but feel like someone was doing this one as a bit of a tribute to John Hughes, the man who gave us movies like “Pretty in Pink” and “Sixteen Candles.” It was, ultimately, an episode that reminded us that high school kind of sucked for everyone, from the nerd on up to the prom king.
While the episode had some nice dynamics from the characters, one of the clues pretty much gave away the murderer well before we got there. But it was a solid John Hughes movie, and it gave me a chance to watch Rob Benedict act a bit, and that’s always a good thing.
(For those not in the know, Rob plays the occasional role of “Chuck” on “Supernatural,” my current favorite show.)
In sub-plot-land, Scotty, worked out a way to hand some final justice to the man who attacked his mom. This played out quickly, but it had a nice “This Isn’t Over” cap-off that clearly said to the audience, “If the show comes back, you’ll hear more.”
And of course, all this was the big lead-in for:
“Shattered”
For this one, we got two mysteries for the price of one, as Lilly and Scotty tried to track down Lilly’s sister.
And the rest of the crew? They tried to solve a long-lasting case whose solution proved a little closer to home than they might have liked.
Once again, I was pleased by the choice of guest stars, as I got to see Keith Szarabajka whose work on “Angel” and “Profit” was always great. Though, really, pretty much everything he’s ever done has been terrific.
And how was his story? Well, it was filler, because the writers clearly wanted to give the audience a slam-bang ending to remember the story by. So we got Lilly and Scotty breaking into places, and handcuffing people to things, and in general being a little more action-hero-like than they generally get to be.
Which leads us to the surprise ending – and turn away if you don’t want to know:
Lilly’s sister has a kid.
Once the big reveal happened, I sat back on my couch, and I went, “Yeah, they’re still setting up ‘Cold Case 2.0’”
Which leads me to:
Final Thoughts:
It’s strange to get to what may very well be the end of the series, and watch while the writers of the show throw out a few leads. I may be reading too much into this, but as I watched three members of the Rush family and Scotty tool down the highway, I could see where the show was going.
Lilly, of course, joins the FBI. Her sister and her sister’s child stay with her. And Scotty, best friend of Lilly, gets romantically involved with the sister… an idea that was hinted at more than once in these last two episodes.
Could it work? I think it could.
As for the final episodes themselves, well, I think I tried to accomplish a little too much, what with all the side mysteries. And having done one two-parter just a couple of weeks ago also killed the impact a bit.
What’s worse, of course, is that they blew the last two episodes off tonight, which probably caught more than a few fans off guard. Having finally gotten used to the new time slot, to suddenly change things up and put two episodes on, one at the old time and one at the new?
It just felt unkind to me.
Assuming this really is it, and “Cold Case” doesn’t come back next season, they closed off the major stories pretty solidly, and I think long-time fans can rest easy, without a lot of big what-ifs.
So once again, here’s to you, Meredith Stiehm. You set a show on its feet, did something a little different, and you got the world some face time with a set of memorable characters. Good show. In every sense of the word.
Showing posts with label Cold Case. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cold Case. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Cold Case: Free Love
Every once in a while a popular TV show will air an episode with a character who seems WAY more important than they should. They appear, dominate just about every minute of the program and then vanish.
Sometimes they get their own TV show. Sometimes they don’t.
This is called a “Back Door Pilot.”
Watching the latest episode of “Case,” I really felt like I was watching a back door pilot for “Cold Case 2.0,” in which Lilly joins the FBI and the other characters are replaced by newer, cheaper actors in order to get the show made a little cheaper.
A cheaper show just might mean there’s an eighth season of “Cold Case.”
If the networks don’t want it? We’ve got the same-old, same-old version. And if the show comes to a close? Well, then everyone got a semi-happy ending.
With only two episodes left in the season, you could easily see the writers spackling over the sad gaps in the lives of their characters. Nick solved a case in about three minutes and got back in touch with an old flame. Kat seems to be ready to finally make a real connection with her man.
And Lilly, of course, got into fun-and-flirty mode with her future co-star on “Cold Case 2.0.”
The only loser here was Scotty, who found out that his mom’s attacker copped a plea, and might get out early.
I can’t say that this episode would get new viewers on board, as it mostly traded in on some knowledge of the characters to get a nice warm fuzzy for fans. And the main mystery, the first for “2.0” had a cute setup and a so-so ending, mostly due to the fact that there were only two possible suspects.
Would I watch “2.0?” A good question, and one I’m guessing CBS is pondering hard right now. They get the same name, some new faces, and with an FBI link, a “bigger, better” set of cases that they can pull from.
But will fans buy it? Some will. I suspect they’ll lose more than they gain if they push the show as a reboot, but I’ve been wrong about such things before.
How about you? Would you watch “Cold Case 2.0?”
Sometimes they get their own TV show. Sometimes they don’t.
This is called a “Back Door Pilot.”
Watching the latest episode of “Case,” I really felt like I was watching a back door pilot for “Cold Case 2.0,” in which Lilly joins the FBI and the other characters are replaced by newer, cheaper actors in order to get the show made a little cheaper.
A cheaper show just might mean there’s an eighth season of “Cold Case.”
If the networks don’t want it? We’ve got the same-old, same-old version. And if the show comes to a close? Well, then everyone got a semi-happy ending.
With only two episodes left in the season, you could easily see the writers spackling over the sad gaps in the lives of their characters. Nick solved a case in about three minutes and got back in touch with an old flame. Kat seems to be ready to finally make a real connection with her man.
And Lilly, of course, got into fun-and-flirty mode with her future co-star on “Cold Case 2.0.”
The only loser here was Scotty, who found out that his mom’s attacker copped a plea, and might get out early.
I can’t say that this episode would get new viewers on board, as it mostly traded in on some knowledge of the characters to get a nice warm fuzzy for fans. And the main mystery, the first for “2.0” had a cute setup and a so-so ending, mostly due to the fact that there were only two possible suspects.
Would I watch “2.0?” A good question, and one I’m guessing CBS is pondering hard right now. They get the same name, some new faces, and with an FBI link, a “bigger, better” set of cases that they can pull from.
But will fans buy it? Some will. I suspect they’ll lose more than they gain if they push the show as a reboot, but I’ve been wrong about such things before.
How about you? Would you watch “Cold Case 2.0?”
Monday, April 5, 2010
Cold Case: Bullet
Before diving into the meat of this episode, I had something else I wanted to talk about. Generally, when a show gets a “final-season” time-slot swap, it pretty much indicates that a show is done for. A few weeks back, “Cold Case” got moved back an hour, with another show taking its slot.
And lo-and-behold, a miracle occurred. “Cold Case,” in a new slot, in its seventh season? The ratings actually went up.
Never happens. Ever.
So if you’re a fan, hoping for a last-minute renewal? You just might get it.
Unfortunately for the show, the time change didn’t manage to fix the problems with tonight’s episode. Namely, that it had a lame-duck story, “surprises” I could see coming a mile away, and it ended with a soft slap to the face instead of a gut punch.
Generally I try to avoid spoiling episodes in my reviews, but here I have to make an exception. So if you don’t want to know what happens, walk away now and come back. (And when you do come back, feel free to disagree with me. Or agree with me.)
I wanted to start out by saying something positive about the episode, but I can’t think of anything. All the regulars do good work, I suppose, and I guess that’s something.
But the rest? Here we go:
The plot: The end of the last episode told us who the real bad guy was. Which was, I’ll admit, a nice twist. I think if you ended the two-part episode there, as a one-part, it might have been a nice kicker. The bad guy gets away (more on that in a second).
Instead, the whole thing becomes a chase sequence as everyone tries to figure out who the guy is going to kill next. The only problem is, they’re always one step behind, and we’re meeting people who die before we even get a chance to care about them.
Additionally, the reason for the killings was kind of weak – this guy carried on a years-long agenda wherein he killed all the people who hurt his dad’s feelings and drove him to suicide.
Once that was done, he waited until he was the same age his father was, and then he killed people who followed a direct corollary to his dead dad’s feeling-hurters.
Impossible? Maybe not. But highly, highly, highly improbable, and I just couldn’t make the leap.
Topping this off, the big “reveal,” where we learn that the FBI agent has gone rogue (not really a surprise either) was “The Girl In the Car” just seemed so obvious to me from the word go that the reveal didn’t interest me. More to the point, the reason her not-boyfriend got killed (He wasn’t paying attention to the movie!) just made me go, “Eh.”
Even worse, we got a nice dramatic moment where we learned that the killer’s wife was pregnant – something he always wanted. There’s some real heartbreak to be had there, the sad wife discovering the man she loved was a killer, and now they’re going to have a kid together.
There’s also the killer, discovering too late that he could have had what he really wanted.
But no. Turns out she wasn’t pregnant, and so whatever emotional draw this show might have had? Nothing.
Ah well. There’s always next week.
And lo-and-behold, a miracle occurred. “Cold Case,” in a new slot, in its seventh season? The ratings actually went up.
Never happens. Ever.
So if you’re a fan, hoping for a last-minute renewal? You just might get it.
Unfortunately for the show, the time change didn’t manage to fix the problems with tonight’s episode. Namely, that it had a lame-duck story, “surprises” I could see coming a mile away, and it ended with a soft slap to the face instead of a gut punch.
Generally I try to avoid spoiling episodes in my reviews, but here I have to make an exception. So if you don’t want to know what happens, walk away now and come back. (And when you do come back, feel free to disagree with me. Or agree with me.)
I wanted to start out by saying something positive about the episode, but I can’t think of anything. All the regulars do good work, I suppose, and I guess that’s something.
But the rest? Here we go:
The plot: The end of the last episode told us who the real bad guy was. Which was, I’ll admit, a nice twist. I think if you ended the two-part episode there, as a one-part, it might have been a nice kicker. The bad guy gets away (more on that in a second).
Instead, the whole thing becomes a chase sequence as everyone tries to figure out who the guy is going to kill next. The only problem is, they’re always one step behind, and we’re meeting people who die before we even get a chance to care about them.
Additionally, the reason for the killings was kind of weak – this guy carried on a years-long agenda wherein he killed all the people who hurt his dad’s feelings and drove him to suicide.
Once that was done, he waited until he was the same age his father was, and then he killed people who followed a direct corollary to his dead dad’s feeling-hurters.
Impossible? Maybe not. But highly, highly, highly improbable, and I just couldn’t make the leap.
Topping this off, the big “reveal,” where we learn that the FBI agent has gone rogue (not really a surprise either) was “The Girl In the Car” just seemed so obvious to me from the word go that the reveal didn’t interest me. More to the point, the reason her not-boyfriend got killed (He wasn’t paying attention to the movie!) just made me go, “Eh.”
Even worse, we got a nice dramatic moment where we learned that the killer’s wife was pregnant – something he always wanted. There’s some real heartbreak to be had there, the sad wife discovering the man she loved was a killer, and now they’re going to have a kid together.
There’s also the killer, discovering too late that he could have had what he really wanted.
But no. Turns out she wasn’t pregnant, and so whatever emotional draw this show might have had? Nothing.
Ah well. There’s always next week.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Cold Case: The Last Drive-In
What’s there to say when you’re only watching one-half of a show?
In this instance, “Cold Case” is in two parts, with the second half arriving next week and saying howdy-do. So while we’ve got a plot, and a fun one, it’s hard to talk about without a resolution.
So, the So Far.
The Good, So Far:
It seems like the back half of this season has been about shaking things up as much as possible, and this episode has been no exception. Generally, there’s a lot of “take this guy into a room and grill him” sequences, and up to this point, there hasn’t been a ton of that. Everyone’s in the dark, so there’s not a lot in the way of flashbacks.
(Don’t get me wrong, they’re in there, but they aren’t as prevalent.)
It’s kind of fun to stick a new element into the world of “Cold Case” just to see what’ll happen, and the somewhat rogue-y FBI agent has certainly been a new element. Though I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the character. More on that in a second.
And finally, assuming the middle twist is really what it is, it should be fun watching this conclude. And if that isn’t the real ending, then by gum, I’m super-excited to see how things shake out.
The Bad:
I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the somewhat racist, super-casual-about-bedmates FBI character. I recognize that doing this with a woman as opposed to a man is something of a change-up in TV writing (the male version is pretty prevalent – see Winstone on “Damages”). But we don’t have much else to go on with this character, which doesn’t make her all that entertaining to be around.
But we’ll wait until next week before passing final judgment.
In this instance, “Cold Case” is in two parts, with the second half arriving next week and saying howdy-do. So while we’ve got a plot, and a fun one, it’s hard to talk about without a resolution.
So, the So Far.
The Good, So Far:
It seems like the back half of this season has been about shaking things up as much as possible, and this episode has been no exception. Generally, there’s a lot of “take this guy into a room and grill him” sequences, and up to this point, there hasn’t been a ton of that. Everyone’s in the dark, so there’s not a lot in the way of flashbacks.
(Don’t get me wrong, they’re in there, but they aren’t as prevalent.)
It’s kind of fun to stick a new element into the world of “Cold Case” just to see what’ll happen, and the somewhat rogue-y FBI agent has certainly been a new element. Though I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the character. More on that in a second.
And finally, assuming the middle twist is really what it is, it should be fun watching this conclude. And if that isn’t the real ending, then by gum, I’m super-excited to see how things shake out.
The Bad:
I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the somewhat racist, super-casual-about-bedmates FBI character. I recognize that doing this with a woman as opposed to a man is something of a change-up in TV writing (the male version is pretty prevalent – see Winstone on “Damages”). But we don’t have much else to go on with this character, which doesn’t make her all that entertaining to be around.
But we’ll wait until next week before passing final judgment.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Cold Case: Flashover
So what happened?
You know what? You’re going to have to tell me. It seems that CBS Sports thought it was okay to shove everything back an hour thanks to something… sportslike, and I only got to catch the first ten minutes of the ‘sode.
So what happened?
Nick crashed his car, and might have killed someone. Or at least, that’s what he told Lilly, who told Scotty.
They went to the bar Nick left, where Nick had recently had a run-in with the brother of a dude who was put away for letting his kids burn to death.
After that? I’ve got nothing. Unlike most TV shows, Cold Case isn’t available On Demand, or on Hulu, or anywhere. I can’t even figure out which clip from last night’s show might give me the final fate of the participants.
I did get to see Nick turn in his gun and shield, though – so I’m guessing Nick put away an innocent man.
If anyone wants to volunteer to write up the rest of the ‘sode, shoot me an email at delight.blogger@gmail.com and we’ll get the rest of the story filled in.
You know what? You’re going to have to tell me. It seems that CBS Sports thought it was okay to shove everything back an hour thanks to something… sportslike, and I only got to catch the first ten minutes of the ‘sode.
So what happened?
Nick crashed his car, and might have killed someone. Or at least, that’s what he told Lilly, who told Scotty.
They went to the bar Nick left, where Nick had recently had a run-in with the brother of a dude who was put away for letting his kids burn to death.
After that? I’ve got nothing. Unlike most TV shows, Cold Case isn’t available On Demand, or on Hulu, or anywhere. I can’t even figure out which clip from last night’s show might give me the final fate of the participants.
I did get to see Nick turn in his gun and shield, though – so I’m guessing Nick put away an innocent man.
If anyone wants to volunteer to write up the rest of the ‘sode, shoot me an email at delight.blogger@gmail.com and we’ll get the rest of the story filled in.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Cold Case: One Fall
Before I talk about the latest episode, I’ve had a request to post the following:
“Who wants another season of Cold Case? I sure do! If you want to keep it going for at least another season, come sign this petition, we urge fans desperately to sign this! http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/cold-case-petition/ - Post this around everywhere, get your friends to sign this and keep the show going!”
“Another way to save Cold Case, come join this CBS Forum, and under this topic, write how much Cold Case means to you. We beg you all to come join and plead for Cold Case to have another season, thank you :) - http://www.cbs.com/forum/posts/list/103968.page”
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog, already in progress.
Well, okay, we won’t for just one more minute, because I have what I think is a very legitimate question: How is it that “Cold Case” is not yet on DVD? I’ve read that it’s a music rights issue, which I can sort of understand since the show uses a lot of music to set the time and place of the series.
The only problem with that theory is that “Cold Case” grew up in the world of DVD. I can understand why things like “Roswell” come out with music missing – they got started before the words “The Complete Season One” became as common as they are today.
But never you mind. Let’s get back to the task at hand, which is talking about “One Fall,” the latest episode.
What to say?
Well, we got a resolution to Scotty’s big storyline this season, after he finally found and brought in the man who attacked his mother. Since the show has to reserve most of its screen time for the mystery of the week, Danny Pino had to spend a lot of time trying to communicate what he was going through with a few scraps of dialogue and a handful of scenes, and I thought he did a nice job.
Is that case over? Well, on a show like “Damages,” I’d say the story was just beginning, but with so little time to dedicate to ongoing storylines, we get a hint or two that Scotty has resolved the case.
And that’s fine.
As for the mystery of the week, I realize no one on earth will agree with me, but I honestly think that Roddy Piper deserves an Emmy nod for his role as an ex-wrestler. Rowdy, of course, has been part of the wrestling world for something like 30 years or more, and like his on-screen persona, one that was always just a return bout away from being the biggest thing ever.
A quick peek at the Internet Movie Database reveals that his life since his hardcore wrestling days has been a combination of acting in mostly direct-to-video fare, with occasional returns to the WWE for an episode or two a year.
And every minute of that life is on his face.
I’m sure Piper was the first guy anyone thought of when it came time to pull an older wrestler from the stacks for this episode, in which a part-time newbie wrestler has his cold case reopened thanks to a guns for groceries gun return.
Much to my surprise, by the time the episode was about halfway over, I was more interested in the family drama aspects of the main story than I was the final resolution. Watching the mom, kid, and dead father orbit around each other, in search of a way to be a family post-divorce was fairly heartbreaking.
Equally interesting was their portrayal of a low-rent wrestling organization trying to make it big in an era where the WWF was completely dominant. I’ve read a few wrestling autobiographies, and in particular the three by Mick Foley. I won’t say they got the entire backdrop 100% correct, but they were close.
If anything, they erred on the side of being tasteful.
What else to say about the episode? Not a bad ending, though I think the fact that it falls so close to the circus episode makes it feel like we’ve just seen this kind of resolution.
And while I suspect that Scotty’s arc for this season is pretty much done, I almost hope there’s a season eight just so we could watch his story play out a little more.
All in all, a good drama, but just an okay mystery this week. And it appears we’re up for more drama next week. We shall see.
“Who wants another season of Cold Case? I sure do! If you want to keep it going for at least another season, come sign this petition, we urge fans desperately to sign this! http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/cold-case-petition/ - Post this around everywhere, get your friends to sign this and keep the show going!”
“Another way to save Cold Case, come join this CBS Forum, and under this topic, write how much Cold Case means to you. We beg you all to come join and plead for Cold Case to have another season, thank you :) - http://www.cbs.com/forum/posts/list/103968.page”
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog, already in progress.
Well, okay, we won’t for just one more minute, because I have what I think is a very legitimate question: How is it that “Cold Case” is not yet on DVD? I’ve read that it’s a music rights issue, which I can sort of understand since the show uses a lot of music to set the time and place of the series.
The only problem with that theory is that “Cold Case” grew up in the world of DVD. I can understand why things like “Roswell” come out with music missing – they got started before the words “The Complete Season One” became as common as they are today.
But never you mind. Let’s get back to the task at hand, which is talking about “One Fall,” the latest episode.
What to say?
Well, we got a resolution to Scotty’s big storyline this season, after he finally found and brought in the man who attacked his mother. Since the show has to reserve most of its screen time for the mystery of the week, Danny Pino had to spend a lot of time trying to communicate what he was going through with a few scraps of dialogue and a handful of scenes, and I thought he did a nice job.
Is that case over? Well, on a show like “Damages,” I’d say the story was just beginning, but with so little time to dedicate to ongoing storylines, we get a hint or two that Scotty has resolved the case.
And that’s fine.
As for the mystery of the week, I realize no one on earth will agree with me, but I honestly think that Roddy Piper deserves an Emmy nod for his role as an ex-wrestler. Rowdy, of course, has been part of the wrestling world for something like 30 years or more, and like his on-screen persona, one that was always just a return bout away from being the biggest thing ever.
A quick peek at the Internet Movie Database reveals that his life since his hardcore wrestling days has been a combination of acting in mostly direct-to-video fare, with occasional returns to the WWE for an episode or two a year.
And every minute of that life is on his face.
I’m sure Piper was the first guy anyone thought of when it came time to pull an older wrestler from the stacks for this episode, in which a part-time newbie wrestler has his cold case reopened thanks to a guns for groceries gun return.
Much to my surprise, by the time the episode was about halfway over, I was more interested in the family drama aspects of the main story than I was the final resolution. Watching the mom, kid, and dead father orbit around each other, in search of a way to be a family post-divorce was fairly heartbreaking.
Equally interesting was their portrayal of a low-rent wrestling organization trying to make it big in an era where the WWF was completely dominant. I’ve read a few wrestling autobiographies, and in particular the three by Mick Foley. I won’t say they got the entire backdrop 100% correct, but they were close.
If anything, they erred on the side of being tasteful.
What else to say about the episode? Not a bad ending, though I think the fact that it falls so close to the circus episode makes it feel like we’ve just seen this kind of resolution.
And while I suspect that Scotty’s arc for this season is pretty much done, I almost hope there’s a season eight just so we could watch his story play out a little more.
All in all, a good drama, but just an okay mystery this week. And it appears we’re up for more drama next week. We shall see.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
My Favorite TV Show: With Guest Blogger Zoe Lauren Thomas
Zoe Lauren Thomas may very well be the world’s number one fan of “Cold Case.” Not only does she run Perfect Case, a “Cold Case” fan site, with three other women, she also runs Kathryn Morris and Danny Pino fan pages on Facebook.
Here at the delight! blog, we’re covering every episode of season seven the Monday after it airs. Check it out.
Take it away, Zoe:
My favorite TV show is Cold Case.
The show revolves around Lilly Rush, a detective who investigates unsolved murders from the recent and not-so-recent past. Kathryn Morris does an amazing job portraying Rush's character – from matching her appearance to her emotions, to acting out scenes with full concentration and commitment. Kathryn Morris has been around for many years, but this would have to be her best role yet! She is an amazing actress who has not been given any credit for her outstanding acting, which is a shame.
Danny Pino, the lead actor who plays Scotty Valens, also never seems to get any credit for his talent, even when he plays such an amazing role – and a completely different person than his actual self.
What else is good about it?
Whether it be the dramatic flashbacks into the past, or the heartfelt confrontations with the killer, or even the slight moments of anger from one of the detectives in an interrogation, nothing will pull your eyes away from the screen. Never have I seen such brilliant acting from a cast – or such wonderfully written storylines.
I advise everyone to take some time to check out this fantastic show. From the moment I watched the first episode, I was captivated and no other show on TV can compare with this one. I'm sure you will feel the same when you check it out!
Cold Case runs Sundays on CBS.
Here at the delight! blog, we’re covering every episode of season seven the Monday after it airs. Check it out.
Take it away, Zoe:
My favorite TV show is Cold Case.
The show revolves around Lilly Rush, a detective who investigates unsolved murders from the recent and not-so-recent past. Kathryn Morris does an amazing job portraying Rush's character – from matching her appearance to her emotions, to acting out scenes with full concentration and commitment. Kathryn Morris has been around for many years, but this would have to be her best role yet! She is an amazing actress who has not been given any credit for her outstanding acting, which is a shame.
Danny Pino, the lead actor who plays Scotty Valens, also never seems to get any credit for his talent, even when he plays such an amazing role – and a completely different person than his actual self.
What else is good about it?
Whether it be the dramatic flashbacks into the past, or the heartfelt confrontations with the killer, or even the slight moments of anger from one of the detectives in an interrogation, nothing will pull your eyes away from the screen. Never have I seen such brilliant acting from a cast – or such wonderfully written storylines.
I advise everyone to take some time to check out this fantastic show. From the moment I watched the first episode, I was captivated and no other show on TV can compare with this one. I'm sure you will feel the same when you check it out!
Cold Case runs Sundays on CBS.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Cold Case: Two Weddings
I’ve got my pity on for Noah Bean this week, as he once again ends up on a show where he breaks off his engagement, then dies horribly.
While having a first name that begins with a letter D.
Of course, last time this happened, it was on Damages, and he got something like 15 episodes worth of work out of it. This time, it’s one and done.
He seems to be working his way backwards through the alphabet. So perhaps next time he plays a D the show will start with a B? David on “Damages,” Dan on “Cold Case”… Darius on “Breaking Bad?”
I’m over-thinking this.
Also featured in this episode was Rachel Miner, who took a couple of guest turns on my favorite TV show of the moment, “Supernatural.” And man, if they didn’t do nice work as the fiancé and the bride-to-be he leaves the night before the wedding.
I enjoyed the fact that “Cold Case” took a trip (mostly) of the office tonight, putting all the men in nice suits and/or tuxes and Lilly into a fetching dress that made me wonder where she pulled her badge from, when she flashed it at the bride.
And what’s the mystery? Well, it seems that Louie, who’s appeared in a few episodes of “Case” over the years, is getting married to Anna, who was going to marry Dan just two short years ago.
Unfortunately, he took a long tumble off a balcony and ended up dead… shortly after breaking off their engagement.
The crew catches a whiff of this and decide to make the wedding a working one – which gives them a chance to scope out a drunken father of the bride, a bitter mother of the bride, a skanky sister of the bride, the new groom, Dan’s business partner, and Anna herself (whew!).
I have to admit, I was sort of hoping it was going to be the caterer, who did it because he was all bitter about the fact that he lost the job just when he needed it. Wouldn’t that have been a great twist?
Probably not as good as the one they came up with.
Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything to dislike about the episode. It broke from the usual format a touch, but it made for a nice entrance point for anyone who wanted to try out the show in its new time slot.
And there was a lot of good to be had. The white sheep daughter in a family of off-white sheep was maybe a little cliché, and Dan’s problems seem a little obvious, until you get to the surprisingly touching ending.
I even got a solid chuckle as our intrepid detectives managed to make it through a whole scene undercover, only to get outed a little later in the episode.
As “Cold Case” eases into what is probably its home stretch, it’s nice to see them change things up a little bit.
And hey: Lilly caught the bouquet. A nice moment, to be sure.
While having a first name that begins with a letter D.
Of course, last time this happened, it was on Damages, and he got something like 15 episodes worth of work out of it. This time, it’s one and done.
He seems to be working his way backwards through the alphabet. So perhaps next time he plays a D the show will start with a B? David on “Damages,” Dan on “Cold Case”… Darius on “Breaking Bad?”
I’m over-thinking this.
Also featured in this episode was Rachel Miner, who took a couple of guest turns on my favorite TV show of the moment, “Supernatural.” And man, if they didn’t do nice work as the fiancé and the bride-to-be he leaves the night before the wedding.
I enjoyed the fact that “Cold Case” took a trip (mostly) of the office tonight, putting all the men in nice suits and/or tuxes and Lilly into a fetching dress that made me wonder where she pulled her badge from, when she flashed it at the bride.
And what’s the mystery? Well, it seems that Louie, who’s appeared in a few episodes of “Case” over the years, is getting married to Anna, who was going to marry Dan just two short years ago.
Unfortunately, he took a long tumble off a balcony and ended up dead… shortly after breaking off their engagement.
The crew catches a whiff of this and decide to make the wedding a working one – which gives them a chance to scope out a drunken father of the bride, a bitter mother of the bride, a skanky sister of the bride, the new groom, Dan’s business partner, and Anna herself (whew!).
I have to admit, I was sort of hoping it was going to be the caterer, who did it because he was all bitter about the fact that he lost the job just when he needed it. Wouldn’t that have been a great twist?
Probably not as good as the one they came up with.
Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything to dislike about the episode. It broke from the usual format a touch, but it made for a nice entrance point for anyone who wanted to try out the show in its new time slot.
And there was a lot of good to be had. The white sheep daughter in a family of off-white sheep was maybe a little cliché, and Dan’s problems seem a little obvious, until you get to the surprisingly touching ending.
I even got a solid chuckle as our intrepid detectives managed to make it through a whole scene undercover, only to get outed a little later in the episode.
As “Cold Case” eases into what is probably its home stretch, it’s nice to see them change things up a little bit.
And hey: Lilly caught the bouquet. A nice moment, to be sure.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Cold Case: Metamorphosis
Because people are busy, and I know that we live in a DVR culture, I try to keep these write-ups somewhat spoiler-free, so I won’t tell you just who was in cahoots with whom. But even if you figure out this week’s villain, I have my doubts that you’ll figure out the why, until you get to the big reveal.
I will say this: If you’ve ever seen the movie “Clue” on video, there’s a good chance you remember the “ultimate” ending – the one where we learn that someone is undercover.
That person, when asked who’s responsible for all the murders, declares, “They all did it!”
And we’ve got a case like that here, too.
This is not to say that everyone in this episode is on the take, but after the shrunken mystery of last week, it was nice to get a few more suspects thrown into the mix, just because it keeps things a little more interesting.
There was another nice touch this week that I also enjoyed – the person who brought in the case, a self-professed psychic, had a nice moment where she reassured Scotty that his mom was going to be okay… and that he might not be.
There were, of course, your usual twists and turns besides that, and as I was watching I couldn’t help but think of the recent New York Times bestseller, “Water for Elephants.” If you enjoyed this peek under the big top at all, I highly recommend the book – from which they probably pulled the circus term: First of May.
(The First of May is when most circuses start their season – hence, “Novice Performer.”)
What else was good? Well, the surprisingly quick wrap-up to the Moe storyline caught me by surprise, but I felt it was logical and fair. Since no one on Lilly’s team was going to be doing the investigating, it’s doubtful that the show could have pulled too much drama out of the murder without either making Lilly into a character you probably didn’t like, grounding her character totally, or putting to little mention of the ongoing investigation into every episode that you’d half-forget about it.
I think that if “Cold Case” got another season, they could do something really interesting with it, but with a limited number of episodes to wrap things up, there just isn’t time.
And finally, I don’t think I can bring my thoughts to a close without mentioning the fact that they used a whole bunch of music by The Doors in this particular ‘sode. I thought it accomplished three things very nicely. 1) It put you right into the 70s, and held you there, hard, during the circus scenes. More than anything else, it gave you an era. 2) The show’s use of “People are Strange” was nothing short of eerie. I’m sure that was the point. And 3) It kept the show away from circus music which, by definition, doesn’t really make you think murder.
All in all, a solid week. What say you?
I will say this: If you’ve ever seen the movie “Clue” on video, there’s a good chance you remember the “ultimate” ending – the one where we learn that someone is undercover.
That person, when asked who’s responsible for all the murders, declares, “They all did it!”
And we’ve got a case like that here, too.
This is not to say that everyone in this episode is on the take, but after the shrunken mystery of last week, it was nice to get a few more suspects thrown into the mix, just because it keeps things a little more interesting.
There was another nice touch this week that I also enjoyed – the person who brought in the case, a self-professed psychic, had a nice moment where she reassured Scotty that his mom was going to be okay… and that he might not be.
There were, of course, your usual twists and turns besides that, and as I was watching I couldn’t help but think of the recent New York Times bestseller, “Water for Elephants.” If you enjoyed this peek under the big top at all, I highly recommend the book – from which they probably pulled the circus term: First of May.
(The First of May is when most circuses start their season – hence, “Novice Performer.”)
What else was good? Well, the surprisingly quick wrap-up to the Moe storyline caught me by surprise, but I felt it was logical and fair. Since no one on Lilly’s team was going to be doing the investigating, it’s doubtful that the show could have pulled too much drama out of the murder without either making Lilly into a character you probably didn’t like, grounding her character totally, or putting to little mention of the ongoing investigation into every episode that you’d half-forget about it.
I think that if “Cold Case” got another season, they could do something really interesting with it, but with a limited number of episodes to wrap things up, there just isn’t time.
And finally, I don’t think I can bring my thoughts to a close without mentioning the fact that they used a whole bunch of music by The Doors in this particular ‘sode. I thought it accomplished three things very nicely. 1) It put you right into the 70s, and held you there, hard, during the circus scenes. More than anything else, it gave you an era. 2) The show’s use of “People are Strange” was nothing short of eerie. I’m sure that was the point. And 3) It kept the show away from circus music which, by definition, doesn’t really make you think murder.
All in all, a solid week. What say you?
Monday, February 15, 2010
Cold Case: Bombers
I had two strong thoughts about “Bombers” in general, outside of the plot.
Well, okay, I had three.
First: Wow, was this ever a continuity-heavy episode. For a show that really allows you to catch it from week to week without too much digging into the past, present, and future of the show, this one had an impressive number of plotlines that didn’t rotate around the center mystery. For the first time, I had to scramble around online, looking for information about the other characters.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I love continuity, and adore characters that grow and change. But after two episodes of A plot and minor B plot, this episode just had a lot going on.
Including, as it turns out, the implication that that the main character on “Cold Case” might have done something very, very bad.
Second: I’d love to sit in the writer’s room at the start of each season of “Case,” as they struggle to come up with ideas that haven’t been done before. At first blush, the idea of graffiti tagging seems like a bit of a reach, but it was such an interesting choice for a story universe that I kind of wished it had been a two-parter.
Third: I can’t tell you how happy I was to see Rick Gonzalez taking the role of Tut. If you’ve never seen him before, he did hilarious work as the character of Ben on the TV show “Reaper.” To my mind, “Reaper” was a show that never quite found its footing, but Rick made the show worth watching most of the time.
As for this episode? Well, with all the subplots going on at once, it almost felt a little short to me. The last couple of episodes, we’ve had… what, four or five suspects? This time, we wound up with three, and I honestly felt like it could have used at least one extra twist.
(I think this is mostly because the killer just seemed way, way too obvious to me. And since I’m generally bad at sussing out mysteries, I figured it had to be really easy for other people. Your mileage may vary.)
I will say, however, that I’m very interested to see where the subplots end up. There are at least two major subplots to resolve before the end of the season, and I’m terribly curious to see where they both go. And perhaps the most important thing this week wasn’t “Whodunnit?” but, “I bet you’re going to come back to find out what the implications of that final short are.”
Well, okay, I had three.
First: Wow, was this ever a continuity-heavy episode. For a show that really allows you to catch it from week to week without too much digging into the past, present, and future of the show, this one had an impressive number of plotlines that didn’t rotate around the center mystery. For the first time, I had to scramble around online, looking for information about the other characters.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I love continuity, and adore characters that grow and change. But after two episodes of A plot and minor B plot, this episode just had a lot going on.
Including, as it turns out, the implication that that the main character on “Cold Case” might have done something very, very bad.
Second: I’d love to sit in the writer’s room at the start of each season of “Case,” as they struggle to come up with ideas that haven’t been done before. At first blush, the idea of graffiti tagging seems like a bit of a reach, but it was such an interesting choice for a story universe that I kind of wished it had been a two-parter.
Third: I can’t tell you how happy I was to see Rick Gonzalez taking the role of Tut. If you’ve never seen him before, he did hilarious work as the character of Ben on the TV show “Reaper.” To my mind, “Reaper” was a show that never quite found its footing, but Rick made the show worth watching most of the time.
As for this episode? Well, with all the subplots going on at once, it almost felt a little short to me. The last couple of episodes, we’ve had… what, four or five suspects? This time, we wound up with three, and I honestly felt like it could have used at least one extra twist.
(I think this is mostly because the killer just seemed way, way too obvious to me. And since I’m generally bad at sussing out mysteries, I figured it had to be really easy for other people. Your mileage may vary.)
I will say, however, that I’m very interested to see where the subplots end up. There are at least two major subplots to resolve before the end of the season, and I’m terribly curious to see where they both go. And perhaps the most important thing this week wasn’t “Whodunnit?” but, “I bet you’re going to come back to find out what the implications of that final short are.”
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Cold Case Season 7, Episode 12: The Runaway Bunny
Watching my second-ever episode of “Cold Case,” I was struck my something that contrasted it with “Damages,” the other show covered in delight! in January.
The premise of “Damages” seems to be that sometimes bad things do happen to bad people, but you may have to go outside of the bounds of the law to achieve justice.
The premise of “Cold Case,” by contrast, is that the system works, and even if you think you got away with it… you didn’t.
Which makes it, in its way, a more comforting show.
This is not to say it’s always a simple one. While the last episode ended with a murder and a cheater, in this episode the bodies keep on piling up. And, much to my surprise, one body was taken off the pile.
I’d detail the plot, but I think a short synopsis lays out the episode better. When the body of a sleazy detective for hire turns up in the bottom of a building 35 years after vanishing without a trace, it’s up to the cold case workers to figure out how he got there, and why?
And ultimately, the answer is that he ended up there for trying to do the right thing. Which the gang only figures out by uncovering a couple of different conspiracies – one to cover up someone who is alive, and the other to cover up a couple of dead folks.
Having watched a couple of episodes now, I do want to talk about two things that really impress me:
First, the plots are intricate, but the actors get to act. With so many people to introduce and so many facts to throw out from week to week, shows like this can become more about the guest stars than the regulars, and that’s a shame. But here we’ve got a few nice personal details that show up every week, and even if the progression of the arcing plots is a little slow, they’re still there, and it’s nice to see them.
Secondly, I want to applaud the show for avoiding what I once heard referred to as Cesar Romero syndrome. If you don’t remember Cesar, the man was best known for playing The Joker on the Batman TV show that’s many decades behind us now.
But if you hit up the IMDB, you can see he was in, quite literally, everything. The problem was, back in the day, if you had Cesar Romero on your cop show, Romero did it. Oh, sure, they’d try and tell you it was the other guy, who you never saw before on TV and probably would never see again, but at the end of the day, it was Cesar.
But “Cold Case” avoids that, especially with episodes like this one, which contains not just an answer, but a twist within the answer, followed by another twist within the answer.
Ultimately, even if the bad guy had been Cesar Romero… it still wouldn’t have been Cesar Romero.
Both of these are solid accomplishments.
The premise of “Damages” seems to be that sometimes bad things do happen to bad people, but you may have to go outside of the bounds of the law to achieve justice.
The premise of “Cold Case,” by contrast, is that the system works, and even if you think you got away with it… you didn’t.
Which makes it, in its way, a more comforting show.
This is not to say it’s always a simple one. While the last episode ended with a murder and a cheater, in this episode the bodies keep on piling up. And, much to my surprise, one body was taken off the pile.
I’d detail the plot, but I think a short synopsis lays out the episode better. When the body of a sleazy detective for hire turns up in the bottom of a building 35 years after vanishing without a trace, it’s up to the cold case workers to figure out how he got there, and why?
And ultimately, the answer is that he ended up there for trying to do the right thing. Which the gang only figures out by uncovering a couple of different conspiracies – one to cover up someone who is alive, and the other to cover up a couple of dead folks.
Having watched a couple of episodes now, I do want to talk about two things that really impress me:
First, the plots are intricate, but the actors get to act. With so many people to introduce and so many facts to throw out from week to week, shows like this can become more about the guest stars than the regulars, and that’s a shame. But here we’ve got a few nice personal details that show up every week, and even if the progression of the arcing plots is a little slow, they’re still there, and it’s nice to see them.
Secondly, I want to applaud the show for avoiding what I once heard referred to as Cesar Romero syndrome. If you don’t remember Cesar, the man was best known for playing The Joker on the Batman TV show that’s many decades behind us now.
But if you hit up the IMDB, you can see he was in, quite literally, everything. The problem was, back in the day, if you had Cesar Romero on your cop show, Romero did it. Oh, sure, they’d try and tell you it was the other guy, who you never saw before on TV and probably would never see again, but at the end of the day, it was Cesar.
But “Cold Case” avoids that, especially with episodes like this one, which contains not just an answer, but a twist within the answer, followed by another twist within the answer.
Ultimately, even if the bad guy had been Cesar Romero… it still wouldn’t have been Cesar Romero.
Both of these are solid accomplishments.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
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?
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?
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