Shark Bytes

If any of you knew anything at all about Mensa, you would know that the society itself spells its name 'Mensa' and not 'MENSA' as some are trying to argue. Visit the home page of the society http://www.mensa.org/index0.php?page=10 and find out for yourselves.

Sheesh. Idiots.

Oh, our MENSA member is real. English is his ninth language. I know him. "Mensa" is an "in-joke" as opposed to MENSA. You are correct. Don't mind the brainiacs. The higher the I.Q. the more nutty they get but he's an alright guy really. I find the show very flawed but well intentioned. I like watching it but it can get pretty sad.

I'm not a 'hater' of Cold Case by any means. I watch it on a regular basis and enjoy many of the episodes. However, that doesn't mean that I blindly follow it with no discretion. I fully acknowledge its flaws while still getting some fun out of the show.

To be honest, the writing on the show does often leave a lot to be desired. But the same is true for 95% of what passes for entertainment on TV. Cold Case is not among the worst written shows on today, but it's certainly not among the best either. I agree with the writer below who made the point about the show handling LGBT cases very well -- I've noticed that as well and commend the producers and writers for that.

The same goes for the cast. While they are certainly not the worst actors around, they aren't typically award-winners either. They do have their moments -- Kathryn Morris can occasionally pull off some very dramatic scenes. A lot of the time, unfortunately, just as with most semi-talented actors, the cast tends to over-act and they turn an otherwise dramatic moment into unintended comedy or just unbelievable hyperbole.

The time-frames for the weekly cases need to fall within a certain era, at least for me to really enjoy it. I usually prefer the cases that reach back 20-30 years. Those seem to be the most believable for me. Older than that, and it seems unlikely that they would realistically be able to overturn any new evidence, let alone solve the crime. Newer than that, and I feel as though I'm watching the crime in current time instead of as a 'cold case' file.

Ernesto, please remember that just because someone recognizes and accepts a show's faults, it doesn't mean that we reject the show. Some people may. Others still enjoy it, warts and all. It doesn't do anyone any good to sit here and say that a show is completely perfect and has no faults whatsoever because that is just simply untrue for any show. We all have our problems, and so do our TV programs.

WOW! Pat is sane. A true rarity among the hateful and vicious Cold Case haters on this site. (Who hate it sooo much that they know EVERY single detail about it!?!?) If your entire life revolves around looking for jumping points on shows you'd never usually watch and then abuse fans of said shows.....GET A LIFE!

If you actually were in MENSA, you would know its proper spelling (all capitals), and wouldn't have placed a question mark at the end of your second sentence. I highly doubt that your self-professed intellectualism is truly part of the top 2 percentile.

I have loved this show since they started showing previews for the debut.
I like the way they use the music and it's rather cool to see the "ghosts" smiling or nodding in appreciation for finally solving the crime.
I applaud their respect for and treatment of LGBT related crimes.
Yes I agree, the chances of finding people who were around in 1919 is a bit "out there" but I would really miss the show if it were gone.
My only negative comment is that I wish they wouldnt make Lilly appear so emotionally messed up in her personal love life. They dont do that to the rest of them too much so why do that to her?

"Most base of human deductive minds?" You must be joking? Oh we shall have a laugh about that at my next Mensa meeting! The show is formulaic but it's fine, and fine is as good as it gets on the old telly not forgetting ones taste or lack thereof.

I loved this show initially, but it's really starting to annoy me. The plot lines are entirely predictable; they really only appeal to a the most base of deductive human minds. What really bothers me, however, is the discrepancy in appearance of the older characters in each episode. It's ridiculous for the producers to expect their audience to believe characters who are supposed to be 80-100 who look 55-75. I'm tired of it.

Love this show. My fave. It will be my second most favorite once "Eleventh Hour" comes on.

I began watching this show last October(07) just before the writers strike and was a little taken aback by it. I believe the first episode I watched was the episode where the slutty girl gets killed by the "virginity club" or whatever they were called. The music at first distracted me but I grew to like the show. Some episodes just irritate me and are waay to preachy. I don't mean to sound insensitive, it's wonderful that they solve cases, but some are just too far out, like the 1919 case, and in some cases some of the victims are so unlikeable, I'm wondering why we should care in the first place (although murder is obviously terrible regardless if the person is a jerk or not). I have noticed that usually family member look incredible and they are supposed to be in their 70's,80's or sometimes 90's LOL, who is their plastic surgeon? please.

I also agree that Lily is totally unlikable. Scotty can be a real a**hole as well, he's a hunk, but he's not really sensitive to the families or the victims for that matter. Nick (the fat cop) is maybe my favorite character, he and the Tracy Thoms character have good chemistry.

I wouldn't say this show jumped yet, but it may get there. I've seen every episode to date, some episodes make me laugh (unintentionally, I'm not made of stone, honestly)like that one where the teenager wants to be a dancer and his father is set against it and he meets some weird dude and starts dancing in the supermarket(???) what the hell was that? I'm sorry, were the writers messing with us? that was just bizarre. Some episodes, especially those dealing with children and abuse or any abuse or rape are very sad, the one that really made me bawl like a baby was the last season finale where the little boy was reunited with his mother and the just about ANY episode that dealt with child abuse and there was also an episode that had a mother and daughter (sorry can't remember the name) that were seperated for years and the mother was abused and the twin was killed by the father, that messed me up for days, I get too emotionally involved in this show, the autistic kid was really sad too, uggh, I thought Law And Order SVU was emotionally draining.

Anyway, sorry so long. This show can get a little tedious sometimes but I personally think, for the most part, it's a well written show. The show will only jump if they keep insisting on going waaaay back in time, the 1919 episode was way too much of a stretch but all in all a good show. Personally I like the episodes in the 80's era (but that's only because I like that decade LOL) The show should focus on more recent decades and not go back almost a century with people who obviously aren't alive.

Thanks, Matt. I liked your comments, too. In some ways I suppose familiarity really does breed contempt (or, I guess in my case, comforting security). I see them try to branch out with Serial rapists and murderers, but they've pretty much exhausted the "one-case-that's-haunted-me-all-these-years-that-I-didn't-solve" syndrome for each character. It would be nice if Tracie Thoms' character got a bigger role and have more to do than interrogation scenes. Maybe they could mine that character's demons for a few episodes. On the other hand, it might be nice to see just a semi-normal character (especially a female character) just go to work and do her job well, like, say, Vivian on "Without a Trace."

Anyway, I hope the show eventually ends on a good note and with a good legacy.

Well said Mike and Christian. Sane people with good taste are fun too! Sadly the crowd on this site makes the You Tube folks look like the Waltons. It is true....sadly.

I really like this show. The only thing I don't fully understand is why the victims at the end are happy. I was thinking sure you would be pleased that your killer has been brought to justice but surely you still be a bit miffed at being bumped off? My second observation is that we see the victims in perfect condition, not injured or decomposing. Maybe I am just gross!?

Interesting comments on "Cold Case." I see all of its criticisms (Too formulaic, Criminals who wilt at the first bit of interrogation, etc.)and yet I still find the show watchable. Some stretch credibility, but what do you want? Twenty-four hours of so-called "reality shows." Like all episodic television there's going to be 90% bad stuff.. But there's the 10% of Gold. Examples of "Cold Case" episodes abound: "Fireflies", "Honor", "Fly Away", "Wishing" and "Family 8108" are five that come immediately to mind as episodes that moved me. As for the 1919 episode, I admire the gumption of trying to recapture and recreate history (and not in the storybook sense, but in the sense of how people thought, felt, lived and sometimes killed another human being about). This, in particular, is the show's uniqueness in trying to teach a viewer about history. And how many shows anymore try to teach you anything--- history or otherwise! How many shows even care enough to try!

As for Lilly herself, she's likable enough--but executives always have to make a professional woman an emotional train wreck in her personal life. Perhaps, in Lilly's case, it's meant to explain her death fascination. I like to think it's that sophisticated. It's probably more to explain that a woman is not a lesbian if there's no man around. And if you're going to shoot her, internalize her near-death experience for crying out loud! Make a "Cold Case" where Lilly's the victim in her own mind. This is one show where I feel it needs to end with the main character's death anyway. She seems drawn to dead people and the mystery of the afterlife. So I hope the writers give the character that subconscious wish when the show ends. Meanwhile, I'll probably keep watching.

1919 is a bit old. Only few large cities have "cold Case" units and then only a few people work in them so they would not take up a 1919 case although it maight be possible. In the show I think they solved the case using relatives that were younger than the culprits and no living person was arrested. The case was simply solved out of principle. Finding music from 1919 is not the problem at all however nor is it a problem finding music from 3000 B.C.