Kathryn Morris UK

10 Years Ago Today

CC_Titles_16 It might be difficult to believe but a whole decade has passed since Cold Case first hit the television screens of the United States Of America.

Sunday the 28th, September 2003 was the day when the world got to Look Again for the first time Did you watch Cold Case on that première day? Did the format hook you straight away or were you just mesmerised by the leading lady?

According to the lists of traditional gifts of wedding anniversaries the 10th year is Tin (or Aluminium/Aluminum). The modern US list is a little more materialistic with it hitting the valuable items much, much sooner!

Looking back through old TV news from early in 2003 it is interesting to see in a brief way the journey the show went on before going to air in the autumn of that year.

Initially the show was called Cold Cases (plural) and Justin Chambers was leading the way. Shortly afterwards news of his female co-star broke. You may have heard of her Next we get a possible name change to The Unsolved. Perhaps the issue with the other show with Cold Case in the title was being dealt with at that time. The Unsolved was thought to be up for a Friday night broadcast slot, Mel Winkler was the actor in the role of Will Jeffries, and Jeremy Ratchford’s character was called Ronnie Vera. By the 2003 Upfronts (the big press events in May) the name was back to the singular Cold Case and the time slot had shifted to Sunday nights at 8pm, both of which we became so familiar with. The pilot must have been re-shot as the first episode with Thom Barry as Jeffries. A month before the opening night Danny Pino was added to the cast for a later episode replacing Justin.

In the first week Cold Case had the largest audience for a CBS drama première in years. It beat the new N.C.I.S. show by over 2.5 million viewers. Where is that show now? Within a couple of weeks Cold Case had an order for additional episodes and within a month had a full season order.

The 2003/2004 season saw a lot of big new shows it the air. In addition to those already mentioned, in no particular order, there were shows like Karen Cisco (starring Carla Gugino, a short lived cop show based on the character played by Jennifer Lopez in Out Of Sight), Arrested Development (still going after a few bumps in the road), Nip/Tuck (long running drama about plastic surgeons in Miami), Tru Calling (post-Buffy Eliza Dushku drama), and teen soap opera One Tree Hill.

Cold Case S02E21 – Creatures Of The Night HD Screencaps

This episode kind of has it all. The writer and producers must have had some fun with this one.

Creatures Of The Night, the latest entry in KM UK’s Summer Of HD 2013, was the first time that Cold Case had done an episode that was quite so themed. The only thing missing was the characters singing all their dialogue Buffy-style!

The crime up for re-investigation was the murder of a cinema doorman in 1977. On the night in question the movie being shown at the theatre was The Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of a small number of films known to get a lot of audience participation at any screening.

What really makes the whole thing a real fan-fest is the inclusion of Barry Bostwick (Spin City) as a jailed serial killer. Barry was, of course, in the 1975 Rocky Horror film used as the backdrop for this episode. He will be forever linked to Rocky Horror but Barry has had a very successful and varied career, including 6 seasons as the Mayor of New York in the very popular sitcom Spin City.

140 HD (720p) Lilly screencaps from the episode can now be found in the Gallery.

Cold Case S02E20 – Kensington HD Screencaps

James Hogan from Sherry Darlin’ (season 1, episode 9) requests an audience with her Lillyness. She grants his wish. Well, she visits him in jail for Kensington, the latest edition of KM UK’s Summer Of HD for 2013.

Hogan’s turned informer on a now released fellow inmate who confessed in a group therapy session to a crime in 2005. As it happens the victim was Hogan’s uncle, who lived in the Kensington area of Philly like James, and the perp stole money from his dead body. What was thought to be a murder as part of a basic robbery just became something else.

208 HD (720p) Lilly screencaps and a promo still (below right) from the episode are now in the Gallery.

Cold Case S02E19 – Strange Fruit HD Screencaps

18 down and only 5 to go in the KM UK Summer Of HD 2013.

Will’s first cold case, and he wasn’t even a copper at the time. Strange Fruit tells the story of a black teenager killed in 1963, around the time that Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream” speech. The 50th anniversary of that event was marked just a few weeks ago.

Jefferies (Thom Barry) was 12 when he found the body of Zeke Williams in an alleyway playground. Zeke and his parents had recently moved to Philly for his father’s work as an aerospace engineer. His senior position put him at odds with his white co-workers. Zeke is growing up in a world where people like King are speaking out. Things are changing. Too quickly for some. Too slowly for others.

152 HD (720p) Lilly screencaps from the episode can now be found in the Gallery. The image above will, of course, be seen on a Facebook page near you soon

Cold Case S02E18 – Ravaged Full HD Screencaps

Megan Easton turns up at the PPD HQ and, to quote one Dr. Sheldon Cooper, “wants to exploit any residual feelings you have for her”. She’s an old high school crush of Nick Vera’s and she wants the murder of her sister 10 years previously (1995) re-examined.

KM UK’s post this week for its Summer Of HD is Ravaged, episode 18 of Cold Case season two. It’s another of those heart-rending stories almost tailor made to speak to Lilly. An alcoholic mother of two struggling to cope with life. Her snow-covered body is found in the alley way behind the bar where she worked.

192 Full HD (1080p) Lilly screencaps from the episode can now be found in the Gallery.