Cold Case

Cold Case

Promotional poster
Created by Meredith Stiehm
Starring Kathryn Morris
Justin Chambers
Danny Pino
John Finn
Jeremy Ratchford
Thom Barry
Tracie Thoms
Theme music composer Helmut and Franz Vonlichten with intro by Michael A. Levine
Opening theme Nara
Composer(s) Michael A. Levine
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 7
No. of episodes 156 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Meredith Stiehm
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jonathan Littman
Location(s) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Running time 42-45 minutes
Production company(s) Jerry Bruckheimer Television
CBS Productions (2003-2006)
CBS Paramount Network Television (2006-2009)
CBS Television Studios (2009-2010)
Warner Bros. Television
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution (USA)
CBS Studios International (Worldwide)
Release
Original network CBS
Picture format 480i (SDTV),
1080i (HDTV)
Original release September 28, 2003 (2003-09-28) – May 2, 2010 (2010-05-02)
Website www.cbs.com/primetime/cold_case/

Cold Case is an American police procedural television series which ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in investigating cold cases.

On May 18, 2010, CBS announced that the series had been canceled.[1] The series aired in syndication, and also on Ion Television in the U.S. and on Viva in Canada.[2] Sleuth also aired the series occasionally. In 2011, the show aired on MyNetworkTV.[3]

Premise

The show is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and follows Detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris), a homicide detective with the Philadelphia Police Department, who specializes in "cold cases", or investigations which are no longer being actively pursued by the department. Rush was initially partnered with Detective Chris Lassing (Justin Chambers) in the first five episodes and then with Detective Scotty Valens (Danny Pino) for the remainder of the series. They work under Lieutenant John Stillman (John Finn) and are assisted by other detectives from their squad—Nick Vera (Jeremy Ratchford), Will Jeffries (Thom Barry), and beginning in season three, Kat Miller (Tracie Thoms).

Usually, each episode would focus on a single investigation. All cases involved murders committed in Philadelphia, although investigations occasionally required travel outside the city. Cases were also spread out over much of the previous century, with some as recent as a year or two old and others dating back to the 1910s. Generally, an investigation would begin when the police received a new lead, or "new direction", on a case. This might be the discovery of a body, a new lead such as an alibi witness not found in the original investigation, new evidence pointing to the innocence of the accused, or a critical piece of evidence such as a murder weapon (e.g., one investigation began when a gun received in a gun buyback program was linked to a murder through ballistic evidence). In some cases, the lack of a body meant that it was originally unclear if a crime had even occurred, with people instead believing that the victim had merely left town.

Over the course of the episode, the detectives would interview witnesses associated with the crime and piece together the story of what led the victims to their death. These interviews were accompanied by flashback sequences to the time of the murder which dramatized the testimony. Witness testimony, even from people who would later be revealed as the killer, was almost never false. At most the guilty party would lie by omission, leaving out critical details, or stopping their narrative before they implicated themselves. The witness testimony was also generally presented in chronological order so that it formed a cohesive linear story for the audience.

The show was also distinguished by "double casting" in which the characters and witnesses would flash back and forth in the scene representing them as they looked at the time of the crime and in the present day. This was done with different actors as children or much younger selves especially if the year in question was well in the past. If it was judged that the character was not likely to have altered in appearance significantly except for weight and gray hair, the same actor would be used. This was not just with the guest actors themselves but sometimes with the detectives as well if they had any involvement in the original investigation. Detective Jeffries for example had flashbacks to himself as a child in two episodes and a young detective in another. Sometimes the twist in the story is that the prime suspect is the most obvious suspect [In one case the killer is the exact same person thrown in jail for it in the first place.]

At the end of the episode, when the killer/s were exposed and confronted the confession would be in a flashback scene depicting the murder. The scene would show the details with exceptions having to do with the utter heinousness of the underlying motive of the crime such as rape or sexual assault. The police would be shown arresting the killer and walking them into custody. The killer and other characters in the story would be seen as flashing back to their younger selves and as now. The spirit of the victim would be seen either by Lilly, one of the other detectives or a loved one of the victim. This would be accompanied by the playing of a song meant to symbolize the period in which the killing took place.

Through the flashbacks, the show examined many issues related to 20th century history, including: racism, homophobia, sexism, abortion, and police brutality. Some of the cases were based on real life events or victims, akin to the "ripped from the headlines" style from shows like Law & Order.

Music

The theme song is an excerpt from "Nara" by E.S. Posthumus (who also performed the theme for NFL on CBS), with an introduction by series composer Michael A. Levine that begins with an otherworldly wail from vocalist Elise Morris. Besides Levine's original music, each episode makes extensive use of era-appropriate music for flashbacks to the year in question. Some episodes contain music only from one artist such as Ray Charles, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Doors, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Tim McGraw, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra and John Lennon. Pearl Jam's music was used in the two-part season-six finale, the first time one artist's music has been used for two full episodes.[4] In one episode, the music from the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show ("Creatures of the Night" starring Barry Bostwick) and in another episode ("Wilkommen") only music from Cabaret was used. In the series finale, music from The Rolling Stones was used, and for the first time, it featured an unreleased song.

Original Songs of the series:

Characters

CSI: NY crossover

On May 2, 2007, one of the Cold Case detectives made a rare appearance outside of the series. In the CSI: NY episode "Cold Reveal", Danny Pino appeared as his Cold Case character Scotty Valens as he traveled to New York when it was discovered that CSI Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes) was connected to an unsolved case. The CSI shows and Cold Case all air on CBS and are produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. None of the characters from CSI, however, appeared on Cold Case.

Satire

In 2005, John Finn, Kathryn Morris and Jeremy Ratchford appeared in a satirical promo on the Irish language television station TG4. The commercial won a Gold Medal in the "Best Drama Promos" category of the 2007 Sharks International Advertising Awards Festival of Ireland (Sharks Awards).[5] The promotion features John Finn and Kathryn Morris in character interrogating a murder suspect (Peader Cox) from the TG4 soap Ros na Rún who refuses to speak in English; both detectives then begin talking in Gaelic, much to the surprise of Jeremy Ratchford's character. The promo tied in with a murder investigation in Ros na Rún.[6]

Cold Squad controversy

After its launch, television critics noted similarities between Cold Case and a similar Canadian series called Cold Squad which debuted five years earlier.[7] Cold Squad fans accused the American series of copying the Canadian program's basic premise and characters. In 2003, the Cold Squad creators considered seeking legal redress against the Cold Case producers over copyright issues.[8][9] Both shows air in Canada (and on the same network, CTV). The law firm headed by entertainment attorney Pierce O'Donnell, who successfully represented Art Buchwald in his copyright-infringement suit against Paramount and who has defended the James Bond franchise against copycats, confirmed it agreed to represent the Cold Squad producers, who claim the CBS series is a knock-off of their own hit show. The Globe and Mail reported that Meredith Stehm, the American series creator, attended a TV writing seminar at the Canadian Film Centre in 2002 where the Cold Squad concept was discussed. O'Donnell's law firm commented in a statement: "Our clients are very concerned about many striking similarities and have retained counsel to investigate the situation and, if necessary, to take appropriate action."

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedNielsen ratings
First airedLast airedRankAverage viewership
(in millions)
123September 28, 2003 (2003-09-28)May 23, 2004 (2004-05-23)1714.18
223October 3, 2004 (2004-10-03)May 22, 2005 (2005-05-22)1415.10
323September 25, 2005 (2005-09-25)May 21, 2006 (2006-05-21)1714.24
424September 24, 2006 (2006-09-24)May 6, 2007 (2007-05-06)1613.98
518September 23, 2007 (2007-09-23)May 4, 2008 (2008-05-04)2810.89
623September 28, 2008 (2008-09-28)May 10, 2009 (2009-05-10)2012.00
722September 27, 2009 (2009-09-27)May 2, 2010 (2010-05-02)299.86

Home video releases

Season Episodes DVD release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 Discs
The Complete 1st Season
The Complete 2nd Season
The Complete 3rd Season
The Complete 4th Season
The Complete 5th Season
The Complete 6th Season
The Complete 7th and Final Season N/A N/A

U.S. television ratings

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
Season Timeslot Season premiere Season finale Ranking Rating Viewers
(in millions)
1st 2003–2004 Sunday 8:00pm September 28, 2003 May 23, 2004 #17 9.3[10] 14.18
2nd 2004–2005 October 3, 2004 May 22, 2005 #14 9.7[10] 15.10
3rd 2005–2006 September 25, 2005 May 21, 2006 #17 9.3[10] 14.24
4th 2006–2007 Sunday 9:00pm September 24, 2006 May 6, 2007 #16 8.9[10] 13.98
5th 2007–2008 September 23, 2007 May 4, 2008 #28 7.1[11] 10.89
6th 2008–2009 September 28, 2008 May 10, 2009 #20 7.5[11] 12.00
7th 2009–2010 Sunday 10:00 pm (September 27, 2009 – November 15, 2009)
Sunday 9:00 pm (November 22, 2009 – January 17, 2010)
Sunday 10:00 pm (February 14, 2010 – May 2, 2010)		 September 27, 2009 May 2, 2010[12] #29 6.3[11] 9.86

Cancellation

Cold Case began in September 2003 and quickly became a staple of the CBS Sunday night schedule. The crime drama had a successful first season and, by season two, was averaging a 3.5 rating in the 18–49 demographic and 15.1 million viewers. For the next couple seasons, total viewership fell slightly but the demographic numbers rose, reaching a 3.8 in season four.

In season five, the show averaged a 2.9 rating and about 12 million viewers. In Season 6, the ratings sank lower, to an average of a 2.7 rating; CBS made a choice between renewing Without a Trace and Cold Case. They chose to keep Cold Case. In Season 7, the show’s ratings dropped even further to a 2.15 rating in the 18–49 demographic and 9.6 million viewers. One reason for this is that the show aired at 10:00 pm, the ratings dropped 25% to 9 million viewers.[13] On November 22, 2009 CBS scheduled Cold Case at 9:00 pm. The ratings increased to 10 million viewers, but it was not enough to keep Cold Case. On February 14, 2010, Cold Case returned to its original schedule, at 10:00 pm.

CBS announced the show would not be renewed for an eighth season.[13]

Awards and nominations

Awards

ASCAP Award
GLAAD Media Awards
Image Awards
Imagen Foundation Awards

Nominations

ALMA Awards
ASC Awards
Excellence in Production Design Award
CDG Awards
GLAAD Media Awards
Emmy

Soundtrack

A soundtrack CD was released in 2008 by Lakeshore Records, featuring incidental music composed by Michael A. Levine from the first four seasons, as well as the song 300 Flowers, sung by Robbyn Kirmsse.[14]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Late Returns"3:06
2."The Good Death"4:12
3."The Park"1:08
4."Detective's Reprise"1:40
5."Sister Vivian's Flashback"1:04
6."Yo, Adrian (featuring Elin Carlson)"1:13
7."Churchgoing People"1:52
8."Gwen & Rush"0:56
9."The Professor"3:15
10."Sadie's Blues (featuring Carmen Twillie)"3:47
11."Forever Blue"4:59
12."Bad Night (featuring Robbyn Kirmsse)"2:02
13."Fireflies"1:51
14."Carl's Recollection"3:42
15."Saving Sammy"3:30
16."Freely's Flashback"2:07
17."8:03 am"2:45
18."Rush & George"2:56
19."The Badlands (featuring Jason Ralicki)"2:48
20."The Window"1:58
21."Train Station"1:04
22."300 Flowers (featuring Robbyn Kirmsse)"2:48
23."Best Friends"2:13
24."Baby Blues"3:12

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hibberd, James (May 18, 2010). "CBS cancels seven shows, including "Ghost", "Case"". The Hollywood Reporter.
  2. ↑ James, Newton Howard (June 22, 2011). "CBS canceled shows including ghost, case". IGN.
  3. ↑ Staff (2012). "Home". MyNetworkTV. MyNetworkTV, Inc. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Pearl Jam Turns "Ten" Buzz". March 19, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Corporate – Awards". TG4. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Cold Case meets Ros Na Rún". YouTube/TG4. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  7. ↑ Bob Sassone (September 18, 2006). "The strange case of Cold Squad". TV Squad. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  8. ↑ Ian Edwards (November 10, 2003). "Cold Squad on Bruckheimer Case". Playback. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  9. ↑ Dan Brown (December 4, 2003). "The genius of Ratchford". CBC News. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Brooks, Tim; Earle Marsh (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (1946—Present): Ninth Edition. United States: Ballantine Books. pp. 1697–1698. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  11. 1 2 3 Tim Brooks (6 September 2011). "Top Rated TV Programs By Season (2007-2011)". Television and Record Industry History Resources. Tim Brooks. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "CBS Press Express - VALENS JOINS FORCES WITH RUSH TO FIND HER ABDUCTED DRUG-ADDICTED SISTER, AND JEFFRIES LOOKS INTO A NEW LEAD ON THE CASE OF A MURDERED TEENAGED GIRL THAT HAS HAUNTED HIM FOR 17 YEARS, ON THE SEVENTH SEASON FINALE, AND CONCLUSION OF A TWO-PART EPISODE, OF "COLD CASE," ON SUNDAY, MAY 2". cbspressexpress.com. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Cold Case: CBS TV Show’s Cancelled, No Season Eight". TV Series Finale. TV Series Finale. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "Cold Case Soundtrack page at Lakeshore Records". November 11, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
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