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Cold Case
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Cold Case is an American police procedural television series revolving around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division in Pennsylvania that specializes in investigating cold cases. The series first aired on September 28, 2003 on CBS. Its sixth season began on September 28, 2008.
episode of Cold Case follows a formula that begins with a flashback scene that establishes the year -- sometimes the actual date -- in which the crime took place, as well as a set of characters in a seemingly mundane situation.
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Encyclopedia
Cold Case is an American police procedural television series revolving around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division in Pennsylvania that specializes in investigating cold cases. The series first aired on September 28, 2003 on CBS. Its sixth season began on September 28, 2008.
Format
Each episode of Cold Case follows a formula that begins with a flashback scene that establishes the year -- sometimes the actual date -- in which the crime took place, as well as a set of characters in a seemingly mundane situation. These flashbacks feature a different style of direction, whether it be the colors, lighting, shading, or camera angles. Flashbacks often match a style from that era, such as a black-and-white flashback depicting the 1950s. The next scene shows the corpse of the victim--usually one of those introduced earlier--as it was discovered at time or sometime later after having first been declared missing. With some exceptions however there is no corpse but indications of a violent act in which the victim is missing without any trace.
The show then flashes to the present day, with the detectives of the homicide division of the Philadelphia police department prompted to reinvestigate an old case gone cold following, for example, a revelation of new evidence, discovery of the victim's physical remains, or a witness who has decided to come forward. The detectives then give the cold case a new look and begin researching the victim and interviewing their friends, acquaintances, and family.
During the cold case investigation, those who were introduced in the flashback at the beginning of the episode have aged (in one case, a seven-year-old witness to the crime is interviewed by the detectives when she is 95). Gradually, the detectives gather enough evidence to determine the killer, who is usually then arrested. In contrast to many procedurals, such as the CSI series, Cold Case stresses cooperative interviews with potential witnesses who each fill in a part of the story, usually in chronological order. There are few adversarial interrogations and very little use of forensic evidence. Violent confrontations with suspects are rare.
At the end of each episode, the detectives mark the case as "closed," putting the evidence box back on the shelf, while an apparition of the murdered person(s) looks on. In one recent case, the evidence box is being shipped out of state as it became evident that the crime took place outside of Pennsylvania.
The problems in the detectives' personal lives are also featured, though the main emphasis of every story is on the victim and the search for the killer. Most notably, Detective Lilly Rush grew up in a severely dysfunctional, poverty-stricken home with an alcoholic mother.
The show usually casts a young actor for the flashback sequences and an older actor for the shots in the present, and cut back and forth between the two to show how the character has aged. The same actor could be used if the crime is in the recent past, or if the character is not likely to have changed much in appearance except for added weight and grey hair. If the character was a child or infant then the change is most evident.
While all of the information shown in the flashbacks is true, what the characters say in the present day about the flashbacks is not necessarily true, and in fact, is often used for misdirection of the audience.
Victims and End Scenes
Typically, once the murderer is revealed, their confession is depicted in one final flashback in which the murder is shown. The episode then usually ends with a montage (with no dialogue) of the killer(s) being arrested, set to a song of the era, as well as the fates of other characters from that era, showing all of them in their current appearance, but briefly flashing back to their younger selves.
The only exceptions to the final flashback are when the scene fades out just as the murder is about to happen. This is because of the utter heinousness of the underlying crime accompanying the murder. This is usually in the cases of rape and sexual assault on a woman or even a child. This was the case in at least three episodes.
Finally, Detective Lilly Rush or someone else close to the victim sees a vision of the grateful-looking victim standing nearby, who then quickly vanishes. This aspect of the show is left up to personal interpretation: depending on the viewer's perspective, it could be Rush's imagination, or it could be the ghosts of the victims themselves. Only twice has victim not been seen. In one case the murderer walked away free because of lack of evidence. In the other the victim was an infant.
There have been numerous other variations on this pattern, however, such as the fifth season episode "Family 8108". The episode had the rare distinction of ending with an original monologue over top of a song during the closing montage. The speech was performed by actor David Huynh, playing the character of Billy Takahashi.
Music
The theme song is an excerpt from "Nara" by E.S. Posthumus (who also performs the theme for the NFL on CBS), with an introduction by series composer Michael A. Levine. Besides Levine's original music, each episode makes extensive use of era-appropriate music for flashbacks to the year in question.
Characters
* Det. Lilly Rush played by Kathryn Morris
Criticism
Cold Case has been criticized for producing episodes with perceived liberal and anti-Christian biases.
CSI: NY crossover
On May 2, 2007, one of the Cold Case detectives made a rare appearance outside of the series. In the CSI: NY episode "Cold Reveal", Danny Pino appeared as his Cold Case character Scotty Valens as he travelled to New York when it was discovered that CSI Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes) was connected to an unsolved case. The CSI shows and Cold Case all air on CBS and are produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
Similar series
The investigation of "cold cases" has been used as the basis for several other detective dramas, including:
- The Enigma Files, UK / BBC, 1980
- Cold Squad, CAN / CTV Television Network, 1998
- Cold Case Files, A&E Network, 1999 (true cases)
- Waking the Dead, UK / BBC, 2000
- New Tricks, UK / BBC, 2003
Cold Squad controversy
Upon its launch, television critics noted similarities between Cold Case and a similar Canadian series called Cold Squad which debuted in 1998, five years before Cold Case. Fans of Cold Squad accused the American series of copying the basic premise and characters of the Canadian version. In 2003, the creators of Cold Squad considered launching legal action against the makers of Cold Case over copyright issues. Both shows air in Canada (and on the same network, CTV). The law firm headed by famed entertainment attorney Pierce O'Donnell, who successfully represented Art Buchwald in his copyright-infringement suit against Paramount and who has defended the James Bond franchise against copycats, has confirmed that it has agreed to represent the producers of Cold Squad, who claim that the CBS series is a knock-off of their own hit show. The Toronto Globe and Mail reported that Meredith Stehm, the creator of the American series, attended a seminar on TV writing at the Canadian Film Centre in 2002 where the concept of Cold Squad was explained to her. O'Donnell's law stated: "Our clients are very concerned about many striking similarities and have retained counsel to investigate the situation and if necessary, to take appropriate action."
Episodes
| Season | Ep. # | First Airdate | Last Airdate |
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| Season 1 | 23 | September 28, 2003 | May 23, 2004 | | Season 2 | 23 | October 3, 2004 | May 22, 2005 | | Season 3 | 23 | September 25, 2005 | May 21, 2006 | | Season 4 | 24 | September 24, 2006 | May 6, 2007 | | Season 5 | 18 | September 23, 2007 | May 4, 2008 | | Season 6 | 24 | September 28, 2008 | May 10, 2009 | |
U.S. television ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Cold Case on CBS.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
| Season | Timeslot | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Ranking | Viewers
(in millions) |
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| 1st | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | September 28, 2003 | May 23, 2004 | 2003-2004 | #17 | 14.18 |
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| 2nd | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | October 3, 2004 | May 22, 2005 | 2004-2005 | #17 | 15.1 |
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| 3rd | Sunday 8:00 p.m. | September 25, 2005 | May 21, 2006 | 2005-2006 | #20 | 14.5 |
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| 4th | Sunday 9:00 p.m. | September 24, 2006 | May 6, 2007 | 2006-2007 | #19 | 14.4 |
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| 5th | Sunday 9:00 p.m. | September 23, 2007 | May 4, 2008 | 2007-2008 | #33 | 10.8 |
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| 6th | Sunday 9:00 p.m. | September 28, 2008 | May 10, 2009 | 2008-2009 | #16 | 11.8 |
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Sunday, January 11, 2009: Timeslot/Household Rating/Viewers (millions)
- 7:00PM AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF: 19.6, 34.11 (Household Peak: 21.1)
- 8:02PM AFC DIVISONAL PLAYOFF POSTGAME: 12.6, 21.35
- 8:08PM 60 MINUTES: 9.2, 15.03 (Household Peak: 10.0)
- 9:08PM COLD CASE: 7.7, 12.3 (Household Peak: 8.2)
- 10:08PM THE UNIT: 6.3, 10.16 (Household Peak: 6.9)
External links
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