Post by TVFan on May 30, 2006 15:32:07 GMT -5
As a way of getting things up and running in this forum and by request, I'm going to post my Pass The Remote reviews of each of this past season's episodes. These "reviews" are in their original form, so they were written the Monday after the episode aired and they are meant for a more mass audience unlike our well versed CC group here. 
If you have a review, be sure to send it to me at tvfan08@yahoo.com.
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Lilly Reminds us Why Alcohol and Cell Phones Don't Mix
You know, I had my doubts about last night's 1929 Cold Case. I mean, how were they possibly going to have enough witnesses still alive and with detailed enough memories about events that happened 77 years ago? Clearly, the brilliant minds behind this hit crime drama were way ahead of me. Instead of relying on witness accounts, the story of Violet's murder was told through journals, writings from the time and stories past down through family members. It was all very clever, really. It was also very engaging. Even though I tend to find that the older cases make fascinating history lessons, I don't usually get as emotionally invested as I do the cases from the 80s and sooner, but this season has been a different story. This show has done a nice job of incorporating the history into the older cases, but also making them extremely relevant at the same time. It's an impressive feat, and last night's delving into the high society of the 1920s on the verge of the stock market collapse, was no exception. In fact, I was highly vested in Violet and her journey through Nick Bartleby's twisted web until the very end. I liked that the clock they showed us early on held tremendous significance and unlocked the mystery of who killed her, but the actual killer wasn't very believable for me. I also felt like the pacing was a bit off. The case was moving along at a nice pace and revealing clues piece by piece until the very end. It seemed like they ran out of time, so they simply threw the resolution together. Maybe Lilly's side story with her mother (much more on that later) proved to be too demanding on the episode, leaving the case a little hurried. I don't know. The rest of the story was so well done that the somewhat thrown together ending wasn't a deal breaker for me. I actually really enjoyed this episode. I loved seeing Lena again, and I LOVED the big smile on Will's face when he spent time with her. Her insight was wonderful, and I'd love to see Will start dating her. Kat and Vera crack me up. They get the best one-liners! Just a side note, if you're wondering about the beautiful ending song "300 Flowers," it was an original piece written by composer Michael A. Levine with lyrics by the episode's writer Liz Garcia.
For those of you who are late to the game, let me provide a brief summary of Lilly and her mother. We don't know much other than her mother was an alcoholic, sent Lilly to the store in the middle of the night to get alcohol for her on many occasions (one of those times, Lilly was beaten and attacked), she constantly had different men coming in and out of their apartment and she blew what little money the family had on booze to the point where Lilly would get to school early to get the free breakfast and bum lunch off of other kids. Needless to say, they don't have a great relationship. So, I was surprised at how civil they were to each other, particularly in the first scene at the coffee shop when Lilly found out that her mother was getting married for the fourth time and she wanted Lilly to be her maid-of-honor. Things quickly heated up at their next meeting over dinner at the bar/restaurant downtown. How uncomfortable must fiance Jackie have been? I understand why Ellen hasn't told him about her past problems with alcohol, but Lilly's right in that he needs to know, although, it's really none of her business. What got me was the way her mother brushed off her attack when she was 10 years old as an accident because Lilly "was always running off in the middle of the night." If that wasn't enough, she then blamed Lil's attack on living in a bad neighborhood. Lilly, who normally doesn't drink or drinks very little when she does, kept the booze flowing - BAD IDEA! Things got worse when Lilly's personal life came up, and it wasn't too long before she was stomping out of the bar/restaurant with her unfinished drink in hand and telling her mother that she wouldn't be attending her wedding. I know, you're thinking exactly what I was thinking - things really can't get any worse. Oh, but they can and did. As she stood outside the back entrance of the bar finishing her drink, essentially, drinking alone and dodging strange looks from other patrons, she decided to pick up her cell phone. Right here, I knew this wasn't going to be good, but there's no way I could have predicted what happened next. The number she dialed had an answering machine with a male voice (Motor Cycle Ray, right? Wrong!!). She drunk dialed Kite; her ex-boyfriend from season one who dumped her after she chose her job over him. Here's what unfolded next as she drunkenly slurred her words to his answering machine:
She starts off by identifying herself in that drunk matter-of-fact way.
She then moves to explaining that their "ship has sailed," so she isn't calling about rekindling (thankfully).
She experiences a brief moment of clarity where I thought she was going to hang up the phone, but alas, she did not and things got worse. She decided that she was "just going to say it." "It," being what's on her mind.
Not before taking one more sip, though.
Apparently, "it" was that she was going to change because she's tired of walking home alone. She was sure to include that her mother thinks that she can't change, but she can.
This was the "Oh crap!" moment of the entire scene. It seems Kite came in on the end of her message, picked up the phone and said "Lilly?" She, of course, quickly hung up the phone, looking a little more sober and a lot more shocked.
(NOTE: see the entire sequence of screen caps HERE)
This scene was sheer brilliance! We're so used to seeing Lilly completely in control, even when she's in relationships. Or last season when she tearfully faced down serial killer George Marks, she maintained control of her emotional state like a pro. But in a moment of weakness fueled by the realization that her mother, who has had a rough life, found the happiness that eludes her, and egged on by the alcohol that prevented her from stopping herself, Lilly finally lost it. And it was a true, poignant and deeply emotional moment for the show, as was the final scene when Lilly seemed to accept her mother's happiness. I wasn't sure whether she would bury the hatchet and show up at the wedding. I was glad they had her stay strong on the no maid- of- honor thing, but still show up at the wedding. It was a change to see Lil's hair up again, since it has been down for most of the season (Remember when the ending montage/personal time scenes used to show her with her hair down and it was a big deal? It seems the tables have turned. Too funny!). You guys know I love Kathryn Morris, and last night was just another example on a long list of why. She played the drunk dial scene so perfectly, and it was yet another scene that should earn her an Emmy nomination but won't. Honestly, her performance last night (across the board) was the definition of brilliance in my very humble opinion. I will never stop lobbying for her or Kristen Bell because they're both too talented to go so unnoticed!
To see this review it its original format including screen caps from the episode, click over to Pass The Remote
If you have a review, be sure to send it to me at tvfan08@yahoo.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lilly Reminds us Why Alcohol and Cell Phones Don't Mix
You know, I had my doubts about last night's 1929 Cold Case. I mean, how were they possibly going to have enough witnesses still alive and with detailed enough memories about events that happened 77 years ago? Clearly, the brilliant minds behind this hit crime drama were way ahead of me. Instead of relying on witness accounts, the story of Violet's murder was told through journals, writings from the time and stories past down through family members. It was all very clever, really. It was also very engaging. Even though I tend to find that the older cases make fascinating history lessons, I don't usually get as emotionally invested as I do the cases from the 80s and sooner, but this season has been a different story. This show has done a nice job of incorporating the history into the older cases, but also making them extremely relevant at the same time. It's an impressive feat, and last night's delving into the high society of the 1920s on the verge of the stock market collapse, was no exception. In fact, I was highly vested in Violet and her journey through Nick Bartleby's twisted web until the very end. I liked that the clock they showed us early on held tremendous significance and unlocked the mystery of who killed her, but the actual killer wasn't very believable for me. I also felt like the pacing was a bit off. The case was moving along at a nice pace and revealing clues piece by piece until the very end. It seemed like they ran out of time, so they simply threw the resolution together. Maybe Lilly's side story with her mother (much more on that later) proved to be too demanding on the episode, leaving the case a little hurried. I don't know. The rest of the story was so well done that the somewhat thrown together ending wasn't a deal breaker for me. I actually really enjoyed this episode. I loved seeing Lena again, and I LOVED the big smile on Will's face when he spent time with her. Her insight was wonderful, and I'd love to see Will start dating her. Kat and Vera crack me up. They get the best one-liners! Just a side note, if you're wondering about the beautiful ending song "300 Flowers," it was an original piece written by composer Michael A. Levine with lyrics by the episode's writer Liz Garcia.
For those of you who are late to the game, let me provide a brief summary of Lilly and her mother. We don't know much other than her mother was an alcoholic, sent Lilly to the store in the middle of the night to get alcohol for her on many occasions (one of those times, Lilly was beaten and attacked), she constantly had different men coming in and out of their apartment and she blew what little money the family had on booze to the point where Lilly would get to school early to get the free breakfast and bum lunch off of other kids. Needless to say, they don't have a great relationship. So, I was surprised at how civil they were to each other, particularly in the first scene at the coffee shop when Lilly found out that her mother was getting married for the fourth time and she wanted Lilly to be her maid-of-honor. Things quickly heated up at their next meeting over dinner at the bar/restaurant downtown. How uncomfortable must fiance Jackie have been? I understand why Ellen hasn't told him about her past problems with alcohol, but Lilly's right in that he needs to know, although, it's really none of her business. What got me was the way her mother brushed off her attack when she was 10 years old as an accident because Lilly "was always running off in the middle of the night." If that wasn't enough, she then blamed Lil's attack on living in a bad neighborhood. Lilly, who normally doesn't drink or drinks very little when she does, kept the booze flowing - BAD IDEA! Things got worse when Lilly's personal life came up, and it wasn't too long before she was stomping out of the bar/restaurant with her unfinished drink in hand and telling her mother that she wouldn't be attending her wedding. I know, you're thinking exactly what I was thinking - things really can't get any worse. Oh, but they can and did. As she stood outside the back entrance of the bar finishing her drink, essentially, drinking alone and dodging strange looks from other patrons, she decided to pick up her cell phone. Right here, I knew this wasn't going to be good, but there's no way I could have predicted what happened next. The number she dialed had an answering machine with a male voice (Motor Cycle Ray, right? Wrong!!). She drunk dialed Kite; her ex-boyfriend from season one who dumped her after she chose her job over him. Here's what unfolded next as she drunkenly slurred her words to his answering machine:
She starts off by identifying herself in that drunk matter-of-fact way.
She then moves to explaining that their "ship has sailed," so she isn't calling about rekindling (thankfully).
She experiences a brief moment of clarity where I thought she was going to hang up the phone, but alas, she did not and things got worse. She decided that she was "just going to say it." "It," being what's on her mind.
Not before taking one more sip, though.
Apparently, "it" was that she was going to change because she's tired of walking home alone. She was sure to include that her mother thinks that she can't change, but she can.
This was the "Oh crap!" moment of the entire scene. It seems Kite came in on the end of her message, picked up the phone and said "Lilly?" She, of course, quickly hung up the phone, looking a little more sober and a lot more shocked.
(NOTE: see the entire sequence of screen caps HERE)
This scene was sheer brilliance! We're so used to seeing Lilly completely in control, even when she's in relationships. Or last season when she tearfully faced down serial killer George Marks, she maintained control of her emotional state like a pro. But in a moment of weakness fueled by the realization that her mother, who has had a rough life, found the happiness that eludes her, and egged on by the alcohol that prevented her from stopping herself, Lilly finally lost it. And it was a true, poignant and deeply emotional moment for the show, as was the final scene when Lilly seemed to accept her mother's happiness. I wasn't sure whether she would bury the hatchet and show up at the wedding. I was glad they had her stay strong on the no maid- of- honor thing, but still show up at the wedding. It was a change to see Lil's hair up again, since it has been down for most of the season (Remember when the ending montage/personal time scenes used to show her with her hair down and it was a big deal? It seems the tables have turned. Too funny!). You guys know I love Kathryn Morris, and last night was just another example on a long list of why. She played the drunk dial scene so perfectly, and it was yet another scene that should earn her an Emmy nomination but won't. Honestly, her performance last night (across the board) was the definition of brilliance in my very humble opinion. I will never stop lobbying for her or Kristen Bell because they're both too talented to go so unnoticed!
To see this review it its original format including screen caps from the episode, click over to Pass The Remote
