Cold Case: (TV Series - 2003)

Over the past 10 or so years, there has been an alarming increase in the number of shows that deal with criminal behaviour and the criminal justice system. Cold Case is just one of many shows (including Criminal Minds, Psych, Law and Order, CSI, Cops, Rookie Blue, etc.)

Cold Case is one of the five or six that I really like. However before I get more in depth on what I like about the show I want to talk about a few things that the show struggles with and that I find hard to believe.

Things the Show Struggles With:

1. Guilty until Proven Innocent - I feel that this is something that most detective shows tend to struggle with. Criminal Minds is pretty good about it, so is the original CSI. However, Law and Order struggles with this as well. They will bring people in and they always accuse the first suspect they interrogate. They tend to just jump right to the conclusion that they are guilty. And then they bounce around between suspects and they always act like they are guilty no matter what they find out that points to the person. They are better in some episodes than others.

2. Balancing the Personal Lives of the Detectives with the Cases they Work - This is something that I think all detective shows struggle with at some point. There were times when Stabler and Benson from Law and Order: SVU were more of the focus of an episode than the case they were working on. Lilly Rush from Cold Case, for example, tends to be a central focus. Her sister comes into play, her dating life, her mother, and her past. The other characters don't get nearly as much attention, and some of the more personal moments about her life make her a less likeable character. Her partner also gets a fair amount of attention, that leads to being somewhat annoying. However, for the most part, I would rather the attention be spread out across all the characters or just not so much of her. I can accept her as the main character, without it being shoved in my face so much. Criminal Minds does this, but it is usually spread out or relevant to the case. Like, Garcia had an episode recently that talked about her past, but it was relevant to the case.

Things that I Find I Hard to Believe:

1. No one lies (to an extent). They withhold things but they never seem to actually lie. Even the criminals. I mean, they say they didn't do anything and point to others. But then, they give a lot of details and information (some they weren't actually asked for), when they could easily just make up something or say nothing at all. If they said nothing, it would just stall the case and they wouldn't catch anyone. But, no one does.

2. The detectives never keep asking questions. They get the smallest bit of information that relates to the case and then take off. They almost always go back to the same people like three of four times. Like in one case, they talk to the first witness about the first time she met the victim. They then go back to her at least five times. Why? Because they never kept asking questions. It turned out the first person they questioned was also the person that caused the victim's death. They could have saved a lot of time by simply continuing their questioning instead of jumping from suspect to suspect.

However, these things aside, I still really like the show. I like how it is told in flashbacks. I think it helps make the victim seem more real and creates a stronger connection. It also allows for surprise twists that really hit you when the murderer is revealed or some twist involving the type of person the victim was. Sometimes people who were never suspects at all come forward as the killer.

I also like that some are based on true events. For example, there is one based on the murders of three children. Three teenage boys that were seen as outcasts were arrested for the crime and it wasn't until almost twenty years later when new evidence exonerated them and brought attention to how little time and effort was put into the original investigation.

The third thing I like, though it usually makes me cry, is at the very end when the murderer has been caught and any other criminals or accomplices that are discovered are arrested, you see the victim again and then they fade away. Like they finally found peace when the truth came out. There are times when this isn't as touching, like when the victim is not a good person. (There was an episode with a man who worked as a swim coach at the local high school who was murdered and he molested the boys on his swim team. His death did not inspire much sympathy in the end). But in episodes where the victim was a good person, especially when they are seen by their loved ones, it can be a tearful moment. (There was an episode where a mother and her two daughters were left sleeping out of their car with no money after the woman's husband died, and when she was killed her daughters were separated. In the end the two are reunited and they see their mother again.)

So, my final say is, that I would recommend it to anyone who likes detective shows and isn't bothered by a lot of personal drama from the detectives. So, maybe not people who like Criminal Minds alone, but more for those who like Law and Order: SVU or those who like both.