Monday, January 05, 2009

The Detectives Play the Numbers

(photo courtesy cbs.com)

And... welcome back! After a prolonged holiday-induced break, PTR is back and we're covering all your faves once again (and this season is about to get more exciting with a lot of faves returning at midseason over the course of the next few weeks). First up, this week's brand-spankin'-new episode of Cold Case...

The first new outing of the new year committed quite the crime: NLI = No Lilly Involvement. Sure, they threw in a few key Lilly interrogations at the end to leave you with the impression that she had a big role in this week's case, but seriously, she was barely a background player in this one. I had actually forgotten all about her until she popped up (briefly) to put her money into the lotto pot. That's when it dawned on me that she wasn't really a part of solving the murder of the young lotto winner. NLI aside, I thought that this week's cautionary tale about how life changes for good and bad when you win the lottery was pretty well played. I didn't buy the sister's involvement in Ed's murder, but I thought that the brother-in-law was a very believable "doer." He was giving off bad vibes from the beginning and he was slimy and smarmy enough to make a good suspect. Add in the notion that everybody wants a piece of you when you win millions, and it spells out a conceivable murder. I just wish that they had left out the bit about the sister. She didn't seem that heartless or that detached from her brother (whom she raised) to help her slimy, smarmy husband kill him over money.

Nothing is ever easy on Cold Case, but I'm pretty sure that nothing is more difficult than relationships on this show. Scotty and Frankie were going along just fine and then bam! An angry, jealous (sorta) ex-husband jumps into the picture with some harassing phone calls, a smashed window, and attempted assault of a police officer. Frankie claims they're separated, but Scotty wasn't buying it. I'm not sure what to believe.

I don't know, it just feels like CC has lost its emotional punch. Sure, there are episodes from time to time that move me, but overall, the show is lacking the emotional depth that made it stand out. I think back on seasons 1 & 2, and I remember being moved (sometimes to tears) almost every week. Now, it's a rarety and I miss it. The cases aren't as strong, the characters not as rich so I'm left with nothing but a shrug at the end of each episode. I know shows lose something with age, but I hope CC finds its emotion once again. Without it, the show simply blends into the overcrowded fabric of crime shows.

Despite the missteps in this one, I didn't dislike it. In fact, I thought it was a solid "good," so CC moves to 11-0-1 on the season.

Note to Cold Case: You don't need to flash between the current character and the younger character when the younger character is only 1 year younger! It just looks silly.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bit of a meh (shoulder shrug) episode this week. Not enough Lilly for a start! (This became very clear during my normal capping process, examples available on request.) Can't have too much Lilly ;-)

I guess it is easy to be less sympathetic about a character that lucks into a lot of money, but he was clearly a nice guy caught up trying to make everyone happy. At least the leftover money went to someone deserving, the one that didn't ask for any at all.

I didn't go for the sister being so involved in the murder. It was almost as unbelievable as Frankie's husband knowing so much and yet so little about Scotty. He calls Scotty's cellphone (perhaps got the number off Frankie's phone?) and trashes his car (so he must have been following Scotty) but didn't know he was a cop!?!? Not very plausible.

It's been a good run of episodes this season so perhaps another weak one is excusable. Let's hope there aren't too many more this season.

And MORE Lilly! ;-)


RichE.

(Looks like they've given us finally capitals in the name proceeding each comment. Yeah!)

Anonymous said...

Oops, forget.

You're right, TVFan, about the switching to "older" versions of the characters. Just a touch unnecessary.


RichE.

Anonymous said...

Not enough Lilly wasn't that good either, but the whole episode i could have lived without. I agree with you TVFAN about how the episodes used to make you cry now they don't. There is a lack of emotion, that I also miss at the end. ..