Cold Case is an American police procedural television series revolving around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division in Pennsylvania that specializes in investigating cold cases. The series first aired on September 28, 2003 on CBS. Its sixth season began on September 28, 2008.
Format
Each episode of Cold Case follows a formula that begins with a flashback scene that establishes the year sometimes the actual date in which the crime took place, as well as a set of characters in a seemingly mundane situation. These flashbacks feature a different style of direction, whether it be the colors, lighting, shading, or camera angles. Flashbacks often match a style from that era, such as a black & white flashback depicting the 1950s. The next scene shows the corpse of the victim(or victims) usually one of those introduced earlier as it was discovered at time or sometime later after having first been declared missing. With some exceptions however there is no corpse but indications of a violent act in which the victim is missing without any trace.
The show then flashes to the present day, with the detectives of the homicide division of the Philadelphia police department prompted to reinvestigate an old case gone cold following, for example, a revelation of new evidence, discovery of the victim’s physical remains, or a witness who has decided to come forward. The detectives then give the cold case a new look and begin researching the victim and interviewing their friends, acquaintances, and family. During the cold case investigation, those who were introduced in the flashback at the beginning of the episode have aged (in one case, a seven-year-old witness to the crime is interviewed by the detectives when she is 95). Gradually, the detectives gather enough evidence to determine the killer, who is usually then arrested. In contrast to many procedurals, such as the CSI series, Cold Case stresses cooperative interviews with potential witnesses who each fill in a part of the story, usually in chronological order. There are few adversarial interrogations and very little use of forensic evidence. Violent confrontations with suspects are rare. At the end of each episode, the detectives mark the case as “closed,” putting the evidence box back on the shelf, while an apparition of the murdered person(s) looks on. In one recent case, the evidence box is being shipped out of state as it became evident that the crime took place outside of Pennsylvania. This happened with the episode “Wednesday’s women” where the crime took place in Mississippi in 1964. The problems in the detectives’ personal lives are also featured, though the main emphasis of every story is on the victim and the search for the killer. Most notably, Detective Lilly Rush grew up in a severely dysfunctional, poverty-stricken home with an alcoholic mother. The show usually casts a young actor for the flashback sequences and an older actor for the shots in the present, and cut back and forth between the two to show how the character has aged. The same actor could be used if the crime is in the recent past, or if the character is not likely to have changed much in appearance except for added weight and grey hair. If the character was a child or infant then the change is most evident. While all of the information shown in the flashbacks is true, what the characters say in the present day about the flashbacks is not necessarily true, and in fact, is often used for misdirection of the audience.
Music
The theme song is an excerpt from “Nara” by E.S. Posthumus (who also performs the theme for the NFL on CBS), with an introduction by series composer Michael A. Levine. 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 U2, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Tim McGraw, and Bob Dylan. It has been reported that Pearl Jam’s music will be used in the two part season six finale, the first time one artist’s music has been used for two full episodes.
Characters
* Det. Lilly Rush played by Kathryn Morris
* Det. Scotty Valens played by Danny Pino (From episode 6 of season 1)
* Lt. John Stillman played by John Finn
* Det. Will Jeffries played by Thom Barry
* Det. Nick Vera played by Jeremy Ratchford
* Det. Kat Miller played by Tracie Thoms (Season 3-)
* Det. Chris Lassing played by Justin Chambers (Episodes 1, 2 and 4 of Season 1)
* Det. Josie Sutton played by Sarah Brown (Episodes 1-5 of Season 3)
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