I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: Cold Case (CBS, Sundays 9P EST) is probably the most intriguing cop show on network TV and it's certainly the best thing the Big Four have running on Sunday nights. Airing opposite Donald Trump's ego trip The Apprentice, the fossilized Desperate Housewives and the one-trick pony Family Guy, that's not necessarily saying much, but Cold Case has something those other programs don't--an actual, self-contained story.
Now in its fourth season, Cold Case has always maintained a respectable niche in the ratings, even in the glory days of Desperate Housewives. While the latter jumped the shark some time ago, Cold Case continues to quietly offer compelling storylines that value substance over style. Even in the time-worn realm of cop shows, it goes against the grain of the formula. This is not an action-adventure series--I don't think I've ever seen any of the principals even draw their weapons.
Like virtually any TV series, it by necessity adheres to a formula, here being solving murders committed years, sometimes decades ago. That premise alone provides an almost inexhaustible well of plotlines from which to draw. But Cold Case takes it a step further, utilizing flashbacks and period music to carry the story and immerse the viewer in the plot details. By using different actors to portray the same character in the then and now sequences, an air of authenticity is established as we see personal perspectives shift through the years. The soundtrack music adds another layer to the notion that the past never dies, and that restless spirits still cry out for justice.
Last night's episode, "Blood on the Tracks," was a perfect example of the show's "hook." It follows the events leading to the 1981 murder of a first generation yuppie couple. At the time, it was dismissed as an accidental gas explosion in their home, but newly discovered evidence indicates that it was a bomb that killed them. Det. Lily Rush (Kathryn Morris) and her team piece together the couple's past and find that they were members of a radical anti-war group in the early seventies not opposed to planting small bombs in government facilities to make their point. When the war was over, they and their associates traded in their misplaced idealism for suburban lifestyles and corporate jobs.
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Article comments
1 - geeves
i'll quickly and briefly disagree ust a bit with you, ray.
i've only watched the show twice, and i've seen them draw weapons. the show isnt THAT docile.
those end-of-show montages with soundtrack music being played over the flash back and forward denouement can reall drag sometimes (as i think it did last night), and it gets a bit long in the tooth trying to repeatedly beat home the same message - "in the end, we all are who we are, no matter how much we may seem to change." which is, of course, a great, and important message, but i imagine i would be ever more weary of it had i actually been following all this time.
i agree in the disappointment of seeing the then and now of the characters but not really learning the hows of the transition, though i dont think it is really doable within the context of the show - they would need a lot more time than they have to do it well.
so there's my two cents, on the counter.
2 - Lisa McKay
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3 - methuselah
Cold Case Files IS one of the most intriguing and involving programs I've ever seen on TV.
4 - Claudia Miles
I discovered Cold Case about 6 months ago.. after a few episodes i felt connected with the characters, the passion, the illusions of justice. But Kathryn Norris really brings something to the role that is so very compelling. you feel her feelings, even though she tries so very hard not to.
Anyhow, the character is brilliant-- and one really gets the sense that Norris if, if nothing else, incredibly real and very much her own person. So, I know this sounds shallow, and I haven't read what anyone's written about this, if anything, but what is with all the botox and the collagen lip implants? it's so distracting, so overdone. a little, ok. but kathryn norris has this very sort of dashiell hammett girl-detective kind of look, and this look of a beverly hills 45 year old dentist's wife is not good. What can i do? Is there any site that takes such comments. Do others agree?
5 - tee15
i agree! she used to be so gorgeous & to be honest, shes aged quite gracefully. but she totally screwed it up with all that work done on her face.
I STILL LOVE YU KATHRYN! (L)
6 - rebecca
Totally agree on the botox. Im watching an episode right now and it's so distracting. gross. she really needs to stop. She's beautiful and she can be a beautiful woman growing older. It's OK to age!
7 - Danielle
Yeah. What's up with her face? I was watching with my hubs and realized that her top lip never moved!!