SIR: 'Cold Case!' Plus 'Gilmore' Interviews and the Truth Behind Lily's Death on 'The 4400'

SEASON IN REVIEW: COLD CASE... Along with promising you continuing summer coverage of Veronica Mars, I also promised the same for another Pass the Remote favorite - Cold Case. Today, we're going to take a look at the crime drama's third season to discover what worked, what didn't and what we can't stop talking about all summer. It was certainly a season of change, but those changes didn't always sit well with all of the show's viewers. Unlike Veronica, Cold Case has a large audience, but it's still missing something very vital. We'll exam that at the end, and I'll let you know what you can do to help the show get it. All of the pictures and screen caps in this edition are courtesy of Kathryn Morris Online. It's a great comprehensive site housing the web's largest and most complete photo gallery of the show's magnanimous star.


Cold Case's third season will probably go down as its "Polarizing Season." More light was shed on Lilly's personal life, but it was met with mixed results. Many fans felt confused by the Lilly that we saw at midseason with her former flame Ray, while others embraced the change as a different side of her multi-faceted character. I liked the idea of the story, but thought it didn't work so well in practice. I bought that Lilly was trying to make changes to her life, and in doing so, began reflecting on "the one that got away." So, she met up with him again only to learn that time had changed her far greater than it had changed him. They were two completely different people with different goals and lifestyles, and it became quickly apparent to Lil that she and Ray weren't going to be in it for the long haul. I liked this part of the story a lot because it was real. She was trying to recapture something that wasn't there, and may never have been in the first place. Where the story stumbled a bit was when Lilly opened her door to him again after realizing that their relationship wasn't going anywhere. I suppose she decided to just enjoy the moment with Ray knowing that it wouldn't last, but it seemed un-Lilly like, especially since the show dropped the story after that episode. Things simmered down in the fanbase after that encounter, but soon heated up again with the season finale - perhaps the show's most polarizing episode yet. A stronger and slightly more open Lilly decided to listen to her heart for once and find some happiness. Unfortunately, it got her into some hot water at work. Simply put, there are two camps going into the long dreaded summer rerun season: those for the Lilly/Joseph story and those against. When the dust settles once again and the story gets ironed out with the benefit of next season, I think we'll all fall into it just fine. For now, the debate rages on. Being the romantic sap that I am, we all know I'm all for the story. I'd love to see Lilly try to balance a meaningful relationship with her work intensive career.


I think we saw some of the strongest cases of the series this season. Season 1 was criticized for having obvious doers and Season 2 tried too hard to fool us from guessing the doer to the point where the resolution left us scratching our heads, but Season 3 seemed to strike the right balance. Sure, there were still the "head scratchers" like the case with the debutante who was pushed down the stairs by the man who loved her ("Debut") (although I still LOVED this one), the Negro League baseball player killed by his close friend with his own bat ("Colors"), and the 1920s case involving the rich family and the young girl killed by a member of the family's staff for no apparent reason ("Beautiful Little Fool"), but overall, the cases made sense and the doers were plausible. The stories were intricate without becoming too involved and each of the characters' personal struggles this season was well played.


The season's two biggest missteps were rectified as the season drew on. The first, adding the character of Josie Sutton, caused the show to feel bulky and greatly decreased Lilly's involvement in the cases. A quick resolution to the problem led the writers to cause sparks between Josie and Scotty, which sent her packing. It was cliched, but I didn't mind because it meant the show was moving forward without a character that wasn't adding much, but taking away too much. The show decided to add Kat instead, but her arrival was much more subtle. She didn't overshadow the other characters or cause Lilly to take a back seat to the investigations. In fact, she and Lilly teamed up a lot and played off of each other very well. During the case with the murdered drug mule ("Sanctuary"), the two interrogated a suspect together while in the Cabaret episode ("Willkommen"), Kat tormented Lilly with show tunes, and then there was Kat's help in the season finale ("Joseph"). She understood Lilly's attraction to Joseph and waved her on to go talk to him after he came down to police headquarters. Maybe Kat will become the confidant that Lilly so desperately needs, and if so, the show will be better for adding her.


The second biggest misstep was ignoring the George effect from Season 2. Lilly went from an emotionally draining experience in the second season finale that culminated with her shooting and killing serial killer George Marks to simply throwing out the newspaper housing the article about his burial in the third season premiere ("Family"). I expected to see more from Lilly and the show on the George front, but we were left empty handed. Then during the all night case ("One Night"), Lilly finally let some of her closely guarded emotions simmer over a bit as she interrogated the dying suspect. The revelation that she lost the sense that she would live forever the night that she stood facing George with a gun pointed directly at her face, was surprising and different. It was a rare window into her head and it played out very well. And even though we didn't get much in the way of effects during the first part of the season, Lilly did seem "off" from seasons passed, perhaps her way of dealing with what happened up in that attic only months before.


I thought that Season 2 was a tour-de-force season for Kathryn, but she seemed to outdo herself this season. She slowly evolved Lilly from a depressing, almost sickly state to a more content Lilly to finally someone who was ready to try the whole opening up thing, and she made it all believable. I've always said that Kathryn's greatest strength is her subtlety, and she continued to impress me this season with it as well. She's not one to have Lilly sobbing over the loss of her sense of mortality because she can make one expression, sometimes with only her eyes, and it's enough for us to know exactly how Lilly is reacting. It's an incredible feat, and one that we don't usually see. That scene where Lilly's former flame rolls up on his motorcycle at headquarters right in front of Scotty has Lilly going from "Oh crap!" to all smiles with Ray in a matter of seconds ("Dog Day Afternoons"), and it's a classic example of her abilities. She further impressed me in the episode where the single mother lost four of her five sons to an argument carried on for years over a scooter ("Saving Patrick Bubley") when the show flashed back to a younger, more naive Lilly. Obviously, no actual time had transpired to film the flashback, but Kathryn made you feel certain that it had. She gave Lilly a less seasoned feel while still making her the same Lilly that we love. And Kathryn wasn't the only one turning in impressive performances this season, the entire cast never failed to impress. Season 3 may have brought about a lot of changes, some popular, some not, but between the first rate acting and storytelling Cold Case's third season had the same quality and grace that makes it television's best crime drama. Can't wait for season 4! In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to Pass the Remote for more Cold Case coverage all summer. Beginning next week, I'll be adding a new CC-themed weekly feature (along with a new Veronica Mars - themed one as well).


So, you love Cold Case and you're sure to catch every episode, but there still seems to be something missing, right? Perhaps that sinking feeling could be the lack of a DVD set from any of the show's three seasons. Thankfully, TNT runs the old episodes every Tuesday night at 11 p.m., but if you're looking to own your very own set of Cold Case DVDs, you're out of luck (NOTE: image is a mock-up from coldcasedvds.com). Warner Bros., who owns the distribution rights for the series, has yet to release any because of the show's expensive music rights. So, some of the show's fans from all around the world have come together to start a postcard campaign to let Warner Bros. know that there's a lot of interest out there for this show to go to DVD. If you or anyone else that you know would like to have your own CC DVDs, then take a few moments and participate in this latest campaign. A new web site (www.coldcasedvds.com) will launch in a few days with all of the details on what to do and where to send your postcard of support. Stay tuned to Pass the Remote for all the latest details and the launch date. And be sure to spread the word about the new campaign and its official site!

QUICK CUTS

*My good friend The TV Addict has an exclusive interview with Gilmore Girls' David Sutcliffe, a.k.a "the other man." In it, Sutcliffe discusses what it's like to be one of Stars Hollow's most hated residents. In this year's finale, Lorelai ended up in bed with his character after fighting with Luke. It was an ending that upset a lot of Gilmore fans, but Sutcliffe says that he understands. "Viewers have a lot at stake. They’re invested in the show emotionally and they want the relationship between Luke and Lorelai to work out," he tells The TV Addict. To read more with the actor, click HERE for the exclusive interview. TV Guide's Mike Ausiello has an exclusive interview with star Lauren Graham where she discusses her new movie, next season without Team Palladino and that shocking season finale. Click on over to The Ausiello Report to read her interview as well.

*The decision to kill off Lily in the season opener of USA's The 4400 was business and not creative according to the show's executive producer Ira Steven Behr. He told SCI FI Wire that the original plan was to have Lily (Laura Allen) in the third season that kicked off last Sunday night, but plans changed and the show had to adjust. Without going into specifics about the actress' departure, he tells SCI FI Wire, "It was not a creative decision, ultimately. It was a business decision. And, as I was saying, there's ... just so many things that I'm sure you hear all the time from people on shows. They're just money decisions and business decisions, and there's a lot of people with a lot of say in all these things." The opener was rewritten and Tippi Hedren was brought in to play an older Lily who died during the show's 2-hour premiere. Behr does concede that it's possible that Lily would have aged regardless, but it would have led somewhere else. "One of the stories we had for her did involve her getting older, so that was going to be in there, but that was going to be an arc that was going to end in a slightly different way," he explains. The 4400 airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on USA.

*And finally, ABC is bringing back Extreme Makeover after a 1 year absence from its schedule. The reality make-over show will return to the net's line up on August 6th and will air a handful of episodes on Thursday nights. ABC is also adding a second dose of Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights. Starting July 6th, the medical soap will air reruns in its current slot on Sunday nights and Thursday nights at 9 p.m. to prepare for its big move to the time slot this fall.

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 2 shows that are "new to me" and another installment of Friday Fun: Summer Style. Plus, all the latest television news!


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