This season of Cold Case might not be pretty for the show, or for us fans. The series went right down to the wire this summer, before CBS graciously saved its life for a seventh season, but that doesn’t mean certain concessions didn’t have to be made, or that Cold Case won’t be on a short leash all year long. “One viewer less than your perennial top-ten 12 million? See you!”
What’s great about the show, and therefore more glaring when it’s absent, is its ability to explore decades upon decades of crimes, technology, people, settings, etc. The possibilities are endless, the likelihood for repetition rare. So, when the two-part finale focused on a 2005 murder, when everyone looked like they do now?… Save for Lilly (Kathryn Morris), of course, whose life we saw play out after she narrowly escaped death.
Word has it that season seven picks up roughly where six left off, with Lilly testifying at the trial of the guy who ran her off the road. Does that mean we’re also in for more Lilly flashback scenes? Is there any reason for all of that? I mean, does it matter that she met Stillman (John Finn) when she was young? Also, should she really be giving her father a second chance at a relationship with her? And what’s her deal with Eddie (Bobby Cannavale)? I think he’s due back, but I just can’t look at him anymore without thinking of his terrible role on Will & Grace.
As for the rest of the team, this isn’t a show where much hangs in the balance from week to week, let alone season to season. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things I’d like to see from them. I’d like to learn more about Stillman, considering the fact that he only exists as far as the walls of the Philly PD stretch. Scotty (Danny Pino) is still struggling to pull his life back together, no matter how many women he waltzes through per season. Is Frankie (Tania Raymonde) good or bad for him? Hard to tell, but I could watch them for a while longer yet.
Vera (Jeremy Ratchford) and Jeffries (Thom Barry) are a funny pair, and I loved when they were living together, but neither character gets much opportunity to grow. I still bemoan Vera’s losing Toni (Sonja Sohn), and we know less about Jeffries than we do about Stillman. These shows do, and should, have leads, but that doesn’t mean the supporting characters should be little beyond wallpaper and wisecrackers.
Kat (Tracie Thoms) has begun a nice little story, what with her undercover days, and the father of her child. But that, too, takes a backseat for Lilly at every turn. Don’t get me wrong; I love Lilly. But I like Kat a lot, too, as well as the rest of the gang (one of the few shows where I like all of the main characters). I’d just like to get some more of them all.
That may really be the key for the series: connecting viewers with the characters, beyond the main faces of the show. Procedurals don’t lure you in for how well they solve a crime, or how gruesome the gore is (at least not me). The difference is really the people, and Cold Case has got the goods. But if they’re not showcased well, it doesn’t really matter.
If Cold Case was on the fence with 12 million viewers, then clearly even Lilly Rush can’t do this one all by herself. A team effort is called for, and we’ve got just the group to handle it. Assuming we pay their travel expenses from Philadelphia, of course. Police budget and all.
Catch Cold Case this Sunday, September 27, at 10PM (new time!) on CBS.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Sep 24, 2009 @ 14:04 EST5EDT
Simple for me. Any cold case warmer than 1995 to present and I turn the show off. That’s not why I watch. One of the best of last year was about the new suburb in the 40s or 50s…so well done. I have so much on my schedule this year, I’m thinking CC may have to go.
*POST AUTHOR*
You’re in luck – watching the premiere now, and it is cold. And a good period episode. Have to guess at a date … rough cut that’s unfinished ;). The sound isn’t even equalized!