Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Cold Case: Still Leaves Me Cold



I started watching Cold Case (CBS) when it first premiered in 2003. The show seemed different and interesting. But, over time, the formula of the show became too repetitive, the story lines sappy and syrupy, the flashbacks too repetitive. I also felt like I was watching a crime show merged into a music video montage, and the music was distracting. Last season, I got tired of the show and for the most part, stopped watching it, unless I was desperate. In fact, I stopped watching the last 5 minutes or so of the show earlier than that. The “perp walk set to music” was just too much to tolerate week after week.

Desperation kicked in again this past Sunday, so I thought I’d give Cold Case another try. The episode was called “Sabotage”, about a serial bomber that spanned a few years. The good thing about the show is that they seemed to get rid of, for the most part, the flashing back and forth between the current character and the character’s “younger” self. Since this is the first episode I’ve seen this season, I don’t know if this was a recent change to format, or just for this episode. But it did make the show flow much better.

Also minimized was the music accompaniment, with the exception of the ending of the show…that I still skipped over.

The story, however, still seemed flat. And I have to say that the chemistry between the detectives was absent. I’m not quite sure that the characters ever really had much chemistry to begin with, but with this series being on as long as it has, I think viewers should expect more. Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris) is still a blank slate.

And the crimes and the investigations themselves really have little depth to them. There isn’t much suspense or much to draw one into the story. I find I feel nothing for the characters, either those involved in the crimes, or those working to solve the crimes.


Overall, my response to this show remains chilly. It may be one of the most superficial crime shows on television right now – and goes back on my “view when only desperate” list.


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