Monday, October 30, 2006

This 'Case' Still Smelling Like a Rose

Oh my gawd! Hannah's back and she's the daughter of a popular Philadelphia DJ from the late 1950s!! I'm just a teeny bit excited about seeing Everwood's Sarah Drew on last night's episode of Cold Case. Her character couldn't have been more different from her role as Hannah. I was getting misty-eyed reminiscing about one of television's greatest shows, and how The CW shelved it way before its expiration date. Luckily, the brilliant Cold Case still exists and we're able to enjoy Sarah Drew's enormous talent, despite The CW. Question for all you psychology majors: Why do I always hesitate whenever this show does an older case and then sing its praises as soon as it's over? I never like the idea of the older cases, and then when I see them on my screen, I'm once again surprised and pleased at how frakkin' brilliant Cold Case is at doing the older stories. Perhaps I just answered my own question because CC does older flashbacks like no other show on television. They make you believe that it's really 1958 and you're swinging your big, flowing skirt around in huge circles to the beat of the brand new rock and roll sound while sipping a soda pop at the local diner. The folks at CC are geniuses at set design, direction, cinematography, music, costumes, writing, dialog and everything else that contributes to the authentic look and feel of the show's period stories. And I don't know how or why this happens, but these older cases always engage me more, even though my faves are the ones that I can relate to better (the 80s and sooner). The stories are more enthralling, the characters more interesting, which is saying a lot for a show that ALWAYS makes its "murder-of-the-week" characters multi-dimensional and fascinating. CC is more of a psychological show anyway, so perhaps, the psychology of a different time is what makes the older ones so appealing. Whatever it is, CC never fails to shine when it takes us back to a different time.


There are a lot of arguments out there that say that procedural shows such as Cold Case should stick to the case-of-the-week and steer clear of any personal stories for its main characters. Those who argue for this clearly aren't watching CC this season. I've never seen a procedural weave cases and personal drama so beautifully together. Even in Without a Trace's heyday, it never accomplished the amazing feat that we are witnessing with CC's 4th season. First, we had Lilly a little torn between Joseph and Ray. That one ended (for now?) last week, but this show didn't skip a beat. It promptly picked up the Scotty story line from one of the earlier episodes this season without breaking the case's (or the show's) flow. Clearly, this boxing coach sexually assaulted Mike. In a cleverly-casted flashback, we were easily able to see the effect that the encounter had on Mike and the effect that it continues to have on him today. There's only one problem -- Mike isn't ready to face what happened to him so many years ago. Speaking of which, wouldn't the statute of limitations be up on any abuse with Mike? I guess his testimony could help put the coach away for any current abuses he may have committed. Either way, Scotty has a long road ahead of him. And with CC at the helm, it should be a well played one. Bravo Cold Case!

And just a musical note: If, like me, you're wondering about that "Scarlet Rose" song that played such an important role in tonight's episode, stay tuned to Pass the Remote. I have a feeling that this is another CC original (like last season's "300 Flowers" from the episode "Beautiful Little Fool."), but I intend to track it down. I will post all the info on "Scarlet Rose" as soon as I find it.


Get even more of your TV fix at PassTheRemote.net! A comprehensive television site with news, reviews, photos and much more!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes! PLEASE find out about that song. I've been on a quest all morning and haven't found anything. I'm dying to know who sang it and whether it's a "vintage" track or an original.
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I was wondering more about who sang the song than anything else. Let us know if you find any info on it.

Anonymous said...

I need to write down those lyrics and the lyrics not included. I was wondering if this Scarlet Rose song was originally adapted from the Best Friends episode and scrapped. I'd like to see eps with more underscore.

I thought this was a good ep for those that like more equal time for all the detectives. A new writer? Paris Barclay directed and I thought it was well done. I found it took a bit for me to get into it - basically till the diner scene and then I was hooked. The song lyric discovery was intriguing. I didn't realize that back in 1958 people payed money under the table for air play. (that this practice goes back that far). The shocker was the daughter discovery and not a young girl in love *great twist*. It's so nice to have a season with good cases.

Anonymous said...

I've been trying to find out who played "The Hawk" but can't find it anywhere. Do you know who the actor was?

TVFan said...

Charles Esten played Jimmy "The Hawk" Hawkins. :-)

Anonymous said...

I'm seeing by the internet that Scarlet Rose is an original composition by Gary Haase. Great song and hope it released soon.

Anonymous said...

You can see this song at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QF52VIlRg

Anonymous said...

To those of you interested - The song "Scarlet Rose" is sung by Alexa Ray Joel - yes, she is the daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley. Gary Haase is the composer and, I believe, also had a version in the episode.

Anonymous said...

The song Scarlet Rose written for Cold Case was not sung by Alexa Joel. It was sung by Alexa Khan.
Look it up.

Anonymous said...

It was sung by alexa ray joel and yes do look it up cause that the artist that u can buy the song from off her website