Lilly and Co. Bring a War Criminal to Justice! Plus, 'Housewives' and News on 'Mars' and 'Surface'

Cold Case went all out last night. We got an interesting, compelling story as our case, a very believable motive, fascinating characters, incredible flashbacks and continuity with the Jeffries storyline all packed into one episode. The only thing missing was Lilly. She seemed a little MIA last night, although I thoroughly enjoyed her trip to New York and her airport parking deck interrogation, but other than that, she wasn't in it much. You know I love my Lil, but I was actually OK with her lack of scenes this once because the story was too damn good to worry about anything trivial. Besides, from the sound of things, she's getting a lot (Yay!) in the season finale at the end of the month. Moving along, though, because there's plenty to say about this wonderful episode and little room to say it in. The older cases are always iffy for me. They either don't interest me or they fascinate me. I know, it's weird, but it has to do with how well they tie the case into the history and the culture of the year and how relatable they make the victim. Loretta (Lo) was absolutely fascinating and the story of what she uncovered had me glued to my television. I thought something was "off" about Noah, but I wasn't sure what it was. I kept thinking that it was weird that they hadn't shown us his tatoo, but I dismissed it. I didn't figure out that he was actually a Nazi guard at the camp that the real Noah had died until Lilly met with Johanna in New York. How horrible that this man worked at the same camp and then assimilated into the real Noah's family without them ever being the wiser. I can't even imagine how betrayed that family must feel now that they know the truth.


One of the interesting things about Cold Case is that we get to see what has happened to the killer since the day he killed the victim. It's even more interesting in these older cases because the person has lived an entire life since that horrible day. There are some killers who are remorseful and others who are not. The weird thing about "Noah" was that he was neither. He was indirectly responsible for millions of deaths during the Holocaust and directly responsible for Lo's death at the train station, and yet, he went on and lived his life as if he had done nothing wrong. When Lilly confronted him in the parking deck, he said that he is so much better than the things that he had done. It was almost as if he justified what he did and made peace with it. He probably reasoned that he was just following orders during the Holocaust and he didn't kill anyone directly, and then he reasoned that Lo didn't love him and she was a threat to his new found life, so she had to be killed. It was all so cold. I thought it was interesting that this man who fled the first time he saw it was time to pay the piper, did the same when the truth about Lo and her murder came to the surface. This man managed to live 61 years without spending a single day in jail for his involvement in the Holocaust and Lo's death, something that Lo and those killed in his prison camp didn't get to do. Yes, I found myself having no sympathy for "Noah." The real Noah, yes, but not the imposter. Who would have thought that when Lilly and co. opened this case that they would be uncovering a war criminal? That just fascinated me! And don't you love the way Lil always seems to have that extra sparkle in her eye when she works these types of cases? You know the ones where the victim is a strong woman living in man's world and tries to evoke some sort of change. I think she sees herself in these victims more than any others. She always seems to have a sense of deeper peace at the end.


Is it just me, or is Stillman the best boss ever? Not only did he stand up for Will during that whole ADA/death penalty debacle, but he also tried to involve him in this case as much as possible. And when the desk duty detail was getting him down, Stillman was there to cheer him up. He reminded him that despite the people that make the job difficult, both he and Will love what they do because they are the job. Both admitted that they would go stir crazy if they weren't at work solving cases. And then Stillman went a little further and slipped a little splash of alcohol in both of their mugs of coffee just for good measure. He completely understood what Will did and why he did it. He's always there guiding his detectives through their cases and their personal problems without being too pushy or invasive. Love that about him and the way they write his character! How amazing were those flashbacks last night? I felt like I was honestly watching an old movie. Everything from the sets to the clothing to the dialog to the harsh black and white tones made this episode look truly authentic. From the moment it started, I was completely transformed into 1945 and the excitement of the people on the street over the end of the war. Major kudos to everyone on the show who worked very hard on making this episode look so amazing. I was blown away by the flashbacks.


Lynette had to know that helping out her boss was going to come back to get her. Beside the icky factor of having to spice up your boss' love life (and in the way that she had to do it), there was also the fact that she was agreeing that Ed would things without knowing what she was agreeing to! I find the whole "I have to fire someone to save my marriage" story line a bit ridiculous anyway. Of course, he chooses Tom, which sets up more marital trouble for Lynette. I guess this was what they were going for with this story. I don't know, I'm not into this one at all. Meanwhile, my heart broke a lot for Gaby when the police came and took Lily. It was a completely different side to her, and I really felt bad for her and Carlos. I knew this birth mother was going to spell trouble for them. I LOVED her speech at the Catholic school, though. Classic Gaby! I know Bree likes Peter and I'm totally rooting for their relationship to succeed, but I just can't imagine her dealing well with the situation if Peter has a real relapse. This is Bree we're talking about. The same Bree who wasn't into experimenting with her husband. Edie cracked me up last night, and things are about to boil over now that she hired the P.I. Susan needed to come clean and explain what happened, but now it's too late. More ho-hum development on the Applewhite story line. I think what makes this story so boring is its complete ridiculousness, even for this show. And just when I think it can't get more ridiculous, Betty gets her hands on Phenobarbital so she can euthanize her mentally handicap son. I wish someone would euthanize this story line!

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with Cold Case, followed by ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and NBC's The West Wing. At 9, ABC's Desperate Housewives took the lead, followed by CBS' movie Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise and NBC's Law & Order: CI. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy, followed by CBS' movie and NBC's Crossing Jordan. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Westmoreland uses Bellick to plug a hole in the escape plan, which forces Michael to move up the breakout timetable on Fox's Prison Break. NBC airs another episode of Deal or No Deal.

@9 p.m. - Bright confesses to Hannah on the WB's Everwood. Over on Fox, Homeland Security honchos Karen Hayes and Miles Papazian react to new developments on 24.

@10 p.m. - Molly Ringwald guest stars on NBC's Medium. Over on CBS, the team investigates a double murder on a docked cruise ship (scenes were actually filmed aboard The Queen Mary ship in Long Beach, CA) on CSI: Miami. On ABC, it’s Saturday and everyone wants something from Brian, but no one can find him on What About Brian.

To see what else you can catch on television tonight and to get customized listings (via Zap2it) for your area, visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.


QUICK CUTS

*Actress Kristen Bell says that she's not worried about Veronica Mars getting another season and a new life on the CW network according to what she told TVGuide.com. "We've gotten phone calls and optimism from the people that we need to get it from. [CW president of entertainment] Dawn Ostroff and [CBS chairman] Les Moonves have been very involved, saying, 'Don’t worry.' They have never hidden their support," she tells the magazine's online site, which caught up with the busy actress at last week's Tribeca Film Festival where her film Fifty Pills debuted. Bell is quick to point out that anything can happen when it comes down to the wire, but she feels good about the show getting another season. We'll find out for sure during the CW's schedule announcement May 18th. Look for a more in depth interview with Bell in tomorrow's Insider column at TVGuide.com (and of course, I'll bring you the highlights and the link in tomorrow's edition). Keep those postcards going so Dawn Ostroff will know how much support is rallied around the show. Click on over to MarsInvestigations.net to find out how.

*NBC's Surface is heading to DVD according to tvshowsondvd.com. The complete first season (and possibly the complete series) will be available to own this August. All 14 episodes will be included and the set is expected to run around $50. Look for the title to hit store shelves August 15th.

*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for the sixth season of I Love Lucy to hit shelves tomorrow along with 3rd Rock from the Sun (season 4), Dinosaurs (seasons 1 & 2), Kate & Allie (season 1), King of the Hill (season 6), Leave it to Beaver (season 2) and The Nanny (season 2). To see a list of all of tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.


That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Everwood (Things aren't looking good for one of our favorite couples) and Medium. Plus all the latest television news!

To get more television coverage, including a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



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