You know, I had my doubts about last night's 1929 Cold Case. I mean, how were they possibly going to have enough witnesses still alive and with detailed enough memories about events that happened 77 years ago? Clearly, the brilliant minds behind this hit crime drama were way ahead of me. Instead of relying on witness accounts, the story of Violet's murder was told through journals, writings from the time and stories past down through family members. It was all very clever, really. It was also very engaging. Even though I tend to find that the older cases make fascinating history lessons, I don't usually get as emotionally invested as I do the cases from the 80s and sooner, but this season has been a different story. This show has done a nice job of incorporating the history into the older cases, but also making them extremely relevant at the same time. It's an impressive feat, and last night's delving into the high society of the 1920s on the verge of the stock market collapse, was no exception. In fact, I was highly vested in Violet and her journey through Nick Bartleby's twisted web until the very end. I liked that the clock they showed us early on held tremendous significance and unlocked the mystery of who killed her, but the actual killer wasn't very believable for me. I also felt like the pacing was a bit off. The case was moving along at a nice pace and revealing clues piece by piece until the very end. It seemed like they ran out of time, so they simply threw the resolution together. Maybe Lilly's side story with her mother (much more on that later) proved to be too demanding on the episode, leaving the case a little hurried. I don't know. The rest of the story was so well done that the somewhat thrown together ending wasn't a deal breaker for me. I actually really enjoyed this episode. I loved seeing Lena again, and I LOVED the big smile on Will's face when he spent time with her. Her insight was wonderful, and I'd love to see Will start dating her. Kat and Vera crack me up. They get the best one-liners! Just a side note, if you're wondering about the beautiful ending song "300 Flowers," it was an original piece written by composer Michael A. Levine with lyrics by the episode's writer Liz Garcia.
For those of you who are late to the game, let me provide a brief summary of Lilly and her mother. We don't know much other than her mother was an alcoholic, sent Lilly to the store in the middle of the night to get alcohol for her on many occasions (one of those times, Lilly was beaten and attacked), she constantly had different men coming in and out of their apartment and she blew what little money the family had on booze to the point where Lilly would get to school early to get the free breakfast and bum lunch off of other kids. Needless to say, they don't have a great relationship. So, I was surprised at how civil they were to each other, particularly in the first scene at the coffee shop when Lilly found out that her mother was getting married for the fourth time and she wanted Lilly to be her maid-of-honor. Things quickly heated up at their next meeting over dinner at the bar/restaurant downtown. How uncomfortable must fiance Jackie have been? I understand why Ellen hasn't told him about her past problems with alcohol, but Lilly's right in that he needs to know, although, it's really none of her business. What got me was the way her mother brushed off her attack when she was 10 years old as an accident because Lilly "was always running off in the middle of the night." If that wasn't enough, she then blamed Lil's attack on living in a bad neighborhood. Lilly, who normally doesn't drink or drinks very little when she does, kept the booze flowing - BAD IDEA! Things got worse when Lilly's personal life came up, and it wasn't too long before she was stomping out of the bar/restaurant with her unfinished drink in hand and telling her mother that she wouldn't be attending her wedding. I know, you're thinking exactly what I was thinking - things really can't get any worse. Oh, but they can and did. As she stood outside the back entrance of the bar finishing her drink, essentially, drinking alone and dodging strange looks from other patrons, she decided to pick up her cell phone. Right here, I knew this wasn't going to be good, but there's no way I could have predicted what happened next. The number she dialed had an answering machine with a male voice (Motor Cycle Ray, right? Wrong!!). She drunk dialed Kite; her ex-boyfriend from season one who dumped her after she chose her job over him. Here's what unfolded next as she drunkenly slurred her words to his answering machine:
She starts off by identifying herself in that drunk matter-of-fact way.
She then moves to explaining that their "ship has sailed," so she isn't calling about rekindling (thankfully).
She experiences a brief moment of clarity where I thought she was going to hang up the phone, but alas, she did not and things got worse. She decided that she was "just going to say it." "It," being what's on her mind.
Not before taking one more sip, though.
Apparently, "it" was that she was going to change because she's tired of walking home alone. She was sure to include that her mother thinks that she can't change, but she can.
This was the "Oh crap!" moment of the entire scene. It seems Kite came in on the end of her message, picked up the phone and said "Lilly?" She, of course, quickly hung up the phone, looking a little more sober and a lot more shocked.This scene was sheer brilliance! We're so used to seeing Lilly completely in control, even when she's in relationships. Or last season when she tearfully faced down serial killer George Marks, she maintained control of her emotional state like a pro. But in a moment of weakness fueled by the realization that her mother, who has had a rough life, found the happiness that eludes her, and egged
on by the alcohol that prevented her from stopping herself, Lilly finally lost it. And it was a true, poignant and deeply emotional moment for the show, as was the final scene when Lilly seemed to accept her mother's happiness. I wasn't sure whether she would bury the hatchet and show up at the wedding. I was glad they had her stay strong on the no maid- of- honor thing, but still show up at the wedding. It was a change to see Lil's hair up again, since it has been down for most of the season (Remember when the ending montage/personal time scenes used to show her with her hair down and it was a big deal? It seems the tables have turned. Too funny!). You guys know I love Kathryn Morris, and last night was just another example on a long list of why. She played the drunk dial scene so perfectly, and it was yet another scene that should earn her an Emmy nomination but won't. Honestly, her performance last night (across the board) was the definition of brilliance in my very humble opinion. I will never stop lobbying for her or Kristen Bell because they're both too talented to go so unnoticed!There is some excellent Cold Case award-related news today. Congratulations to the cast and crew for their win at the GLAAD Media Awards over the weekend. Writer Liz Garcia, director Mark Pellington and creator/executive producer Meredith Stiehm accepted the award for Outstanding Individual Episode Saturday night at the bash. The episode "Best Friends" tied for the win with the pilot episode for My Name is Earl. "Best Friends" aired last May on CBS and it told the story the relationship between two girls in 1932. One of them ended up dead after their stolen bootlegging truck went off a bridge. It's nice to see the series get some well-deserved recognition! The awards will air April 15th on Logo and April 16th on VH1.
About Last Night... CBS won the first hour of the night with its combination of the end of 60 Minutes and the beginning of Cold Case, followed by ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and NBC's The West Wing. At 9, ABC took the lead with the second hour of Ex. Makeover: HE, followed by CBS' combination of the end of Cold Case and the beginning of the CBS movie and NBC's Law & Order: CI. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy (r), followed by NBC's Crossing Jordan and CBS' movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Lincoln fears for Michael's sanity on Fox's Prison Break. NBC airs another edition of Deal or No Deal.
@9 p.m. - Ephram talks Kyle into accepting the invitation of a pretty classmate to go to a school dance, but Kyle has a terrible evening on the WB's Everwood. Over on Fox, new discoveries regarding the day's horrific events keep agent Jack Bauer away from CTU on 24. ABC's updated take on The Ten Commandants begins tonight and concludes tomorrow night.
QUICK CUTS
*24's Kiefer Sutherland isn't going anywhere, at least not for the next three years. The actor signed a deal with the show's producer, 20th Century Fox TV, that keeps him there through 2009. The deal also allows Sutherland to produce new material through his new production company. Fox has already renewed 24 for another season.
*ABC will soon be offering episodes of some of its hit shows for free on its web site. Lost, Commander In Chief, Desperate Housewives and Alias will all be available for download during the months of May and June. The trial, which will be ad-supported, will include current episodes of the series, and the entire season of Alias. ABC is the first network to offer episodes from multiple shows on its web site.
*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for The Bob Newhart Show (season 3) to hit store shelves tomorrow along with Farscape (volume 9) and In Living Color (season 5). To see a complete list of tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.
While I was out in San Diego on my Veronica Mars set visit, a reporter with the San Diego Union-Tribune followed us around for her feature on blogs. Well, that feature is now finished and up on the newspaper's site. Writer Karla Peterson followed us around the entire day, and she wrote a very insightful piece on the role of television blogs. It's worth checking out. Here's an excerpt:
They came to San Diego from Boston; Seattle; Matawan, N.J.; and other cities not known for their friendly February weather. So when the visitors touring the “Veronica Mars” set ended up eating their lunch outside in the rain, you'd think someone would have complained.To read more from Karla Peterson's article on the set visit as well as the role of television blogs, click on over to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
But no one did, because no one cared. The skies over the set may have been blustery, but it was a beautiful day in the “Veronica Mars” blogosphere.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Everwood! Plus, all the latest television news!
SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season
Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details
3 comments:
yes! I loved KM's acting in this one. And the drunk scene, was so well done. Loved it! Awesome recap - and I'm impressed you got such a great screen shot of the 'Oh Crap!' moment. That was my favorite facial expression of the night...perfect.
Vera and Kat crack me up too. :D My downright favorite part with Vera was in the library....:D
The CC file case didn't really do it for me last night, but KM's cell phone scene was great. The look on her face when Kite picked up the phone was priceless!! Glad to hear CC won an award. That's awesome!!
I can't agree enough about this episode of Cold Case. I'd been lingering off but this one brought me back in a snap. I'm so not wandering off again. KM's acting was pure brilliance, the drunk scene, along with most other scenes, was about as beautiful as they get--everything made sense, except the killer. I even agree with you on that! The killer's motive was stupid, and the way he killed her was unbelievable--but I'm willing to forgive that because everything else was so damn good.
I'm finding it really hard to articulate most of my feelings regarding this episode. Anyway, you've said it so much better than I ever could. It was just THE BEST.
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