Cold Case" Star Kathryn Morris Hints Series Needs

[babyv16]

Like most of you, I really like Lilly the best in season 1. She was just so different, and I don't like how the writers kind of made her a b*tch in the third season. She wasn't as bad as the fourth season, but still. Don't get me wrong, I love our Lilly and the writers of CC, I just wish she was more like how she was in s1 and s2. :-)

[Disasterfreak]

For the love of God don't make Cold Case like Grey's Anatomy!!!

I like Gray's Anatomy fine, and every once in a while watch it and really enjoy it, but it's definitely NOT a show I could watch on a regular basis, and definitely NOT what I have in mind for a procedural. If they want to give Lilly a life, fine, I'm ok with that--just keep it a bit true to life. The movies, friends and stuff is just fine by me.

Like I'm not sure (think it was Koufax?) said, it sounds like KM isn't too happy with the place she's at right now. What can I say? Maybe she really isn't a procedural girl and the routine bores her. Myself, I'd be ecstatic--but people are all different and I'm guessing if GA is the kind of show she admires, the strict kind of procedural Cold Case is just strays far from it.

[Naj]

Maybe all this article was relaying is that Lilly is going to lighen up in season 5. No more heavy stuff.

So don't be surprised if Lilly and Kat go out clubbin with the gals from the L Word!

[TVFan]

LillyKat!! Well said.

Watching "The Closer" this summer, it has become more apparent to me what CC is "lacking." I'm not sure how TPTB at that show manage to do it, but they present excellent cases AND plenty of awesome personal stuff each week. I wish CC could capture some of that magic. Of course, The Closer has steadfastly maintained its focus on Brenda and not developed into an ensemble feel (although, the other characters are very important and I wouldn't want to lose a single one of them). The thing about procedurals is, you start to grow a little bored with them over time because it does begin to become same ol', same ol' week after week. CC does a nice job of keeping things a little more fresh that other shows, but it would benefit from more straying from its own norm. I think this is what Kathryn hints at when she says that she worries that viewers get bored.

[myril]

Procedurals are commonly critzised to lack character development. And seeing how many crime shows try to get audience, it's not such a surprise that lots of cases get boring by now, unfortunately the feeling comes up, have seen it, been there ...

Though many procedurals aren't straight with 1-hour-closed-stories, not quite sure if most ever were. Reccuring guest characters, story arcs running over several episodes you can find in many. The "big brother" of CC, CSI did that last season with the miniature murder in an excellent way IMO (never was a regular viewer of CSI, but that made me see a lot more episodes, interesting story - nevertheless could jump into it without having seen all episodes of all past seasons, something you can do better with procedurals, reason why I like them still).

Think we all agree, that CC lost something when the center on Lilly got lost. That they didn't really deal with the aftermath of The Woods was a big disappointement for fans, but I think, it made the basic setting of the show generally sort of boring. It's not about creating a feminist icon , but about creating a believable character (sorry, had to laugh about that, don't think she really is a feminist icon, and if, doesn't say she has to be a boring, lonesome copgirl troubled by issues, she should have fun and a life outside office, especially then, be a "real" woman). Still have the feeling, that they don't really know, what to do with Lilly or change their minds a lot about it. That Kathryn seems to get very little information about how things will go on, might help to generate that impression.

There is a lot of personal stuff of the main characters going on, but the past 2 seasons I couldn't help it but find it sort of unrelated, random. Though that might be, because I already lost a lot of my past interest in the show. I'm not sure, why the story-line with Christina had quite a different impact on me than for example the storyline about Scotty's bro or Ray and Joseph, but it sparked more interest than the latter, even though it was pretty unrelated to any case.

But as koufax I think, they should tell the cases more from the point of view of the detectives. Might be not easy without losing the perspective of the victims - something that shouldn't happen, not least, because it is a good thing of the show, to sort of give the victims a voice after so many years. Thinking back to the pilot, it is the prime reason to do the work (that and finding justice). But nevertheless, the detectives are the ones giving them a voice again, so to speak, and the detectives do have their own issues that might be touched by that. Of course, don't have to happen every ep, but it should happen more often.

Geee, and yeah, they're overly secretive. Sort of glad that someone inside the show said it now. It's, sorry, counterproductive. People like to talk, to speculate, like to gossip, let's face it. It doesn't have to be gossip about the actresses and actors, guess no one around here would like to have that (pfff, Grey's got on my nerves with the Issiah Washington thingy). But it's about the characters and the plots of the show. Of course there are those avoiding spoilers like poison, I always respect that, but many, many people like to speculate and discuss. We hunger for information, don't we? And as much as I like to discuss just what had been shown on the show and what might follow because of that, I'm very disappointed about how little we get to hear from producers, writers, director, actors/actressses themselves about it. It is darn interesting what they think about it. Yeah, I miss a dialogue with the audience, makes me feel like it's of no importance if I watch the show or not. Sorry, but for example I rarely visit cbs' webpag,e because there is nothing there of real interest. Now, go and take a look what Grey's or The Wire is offering online (well, Kathryn mentioned them) - see the difference? Bet you do, but CBS and Bruckheimer doesn't seem to care. What a pity.


*takes a deep breath and steps down the soap box, real life is calling*

Sorry for the length of this

[LillyKat]

On another note, I actually thought it was kind of insulting to Kathryn - purely from a creative/actor/preparation stand point - that she was given no clue about the state of Lilly to begin season 5 until ONE day before she was to go back to work. How is she supposed to prepare? Click her heals three times and voila, magic?

I know she's good, and she's played this character for 4 years. Thus, there is some auto-programming that can be tapped. But, given the state in which Lilly was left, one would think they'd give her a chance to get centered on what is perhaps going to be a very heavy and serious start to the season, not just throw her the script and say, "Here you go. Action!" LOL!

Very odd. Or perhaps symptomatic of the way the show has gotten progressively worse on what it reveals - even to its OWN actors.

[longislanditalian2]

They could have at least told her, Kathryn is the star of the show. Doesn't the star of the show know everything. I hope she doesn't think about leaving

[Naj]

Thanks for your post, myril. You said it all so precisely as I'm feeling.

You know what, I hope KM does leave the show. I hope she finds other offers for her career. And I really think the show has gone the way it has with the cast (just my personal opinion) because there's someone that doesn't know what to do with the show - it's direction. They messed with it after season 1 and it didn't need messing. Anyhow I never expected Lilly to be some kind of feminist icon. I just thought it was a great little one hour show as was said from a female detective assigned to solving old cases. A gal with heart.

With the formula they seem to have created post season one, this season will be about Kat. I do like her I just don't like the emphasis they've given the other detectives to the cases.

[longislanditalian2]

I really hope she doesn't I would be so devestated , the show would just crash without her. I wish they could really go back and bring back qualities of S1 in Lilly.

[babyv16]

I hope she has faith in the show...she can't just give up on it. I'm really worried that she might leave..of course it would be nothing without our Lilly!

[longislanditalian2]

I'm wondering what had brought this on all of a sudden? Kathryn knows she has a lot of support from the fans, why can't the people who work on the show try to compromise with her? Like let's say let her write an episode, or at least give her some direction to what the episode is going to be

[spirit]

SHE CANT GO!

the show would suck without her..

[The Reverend Bizarre]

"The role of Lilly Rush will now be played by Amy Fitzgerald"

... oh sod...no.

[longislanditalian2]

Let's just hope this doesn't happen. Only Kathryn could play Lilly and she does great in this role. How about we send her a letter; so she know's her fans adore her

[babyv16]

Thats a good idea, LII. They do say that hand-written letters are greatly appreciated.

[TVFan]

I didn't get the impression that Kathryn was unhappy and wanted to leave. Rather, like LillyKat, I felt that she was throwing out constructive criticism now that the series is about to hit 100 episodes (a momentous milestone for any show). It's natural to look back and ahead at this point and think about what works and what doesn't. I see it as her throwing out ideas to improve a show that has a winning formula, but shouldn't rest on its laurels.

[LillyKat]

I definitely second TVFan - at no point in any of these interviews does Kathryn talk about leaving the show and/or that she's looking to move on. She is committed to the show, and she's just throwing out her two cents on what she thinks about the state of it at the moment, why certain things may/may not be working, what could be better, what she wishes might be different.

There is a big difference between talking about the show in general and talking about wanting to leave. She has only done the former; not the latter.

[Disasterfreak]

She sounded to me like she was bummed at the way the show was going. Maybe not to the point of leaving, but still kind of... tired and dispirited. I know maybe her character doesn't present much of a challenge (must be boring for a seasoned actor) but still... I hope they don't give her the ultimate freedom to change Lilly as she likes. Seeing as she likes Gray's Anatomy and all--I envision lots of torpid romances, marriage proposals and miscarried babies in her future.

[myril]

disasterfreak said:

She sounded to me like she was bummed at the way the show was going. Maybe not to the point of leaving, but still kind of... tired and dispirited. I know maybe her character doesn't present much of a challenge (must be boring for a seasoned actor) but still... I hope they don't give her the ultimate freedom to change Lilly as she likes. Seeing as she likes Gray's Anatomy and all--I envision lots of torpid romances, marriage proposals and miscarried babies in her future.

LOL, yeah gave me a bit of a creep too that she mentioned Grey's and Sex and the City. But as well there is The Sopranos and The Wire - both shows that aren't that soapy. So I have hope.

But the regular characters in CC are somewhat uptight, I agree with that, and not just Lilly. They're more courageous with the case stuff then with storylines for the characters. Sorry that I mention it, but when they brought in J... at beginning of 3rd season it sparked things up for a short while, and IMO not only because most fans didn't like her or that a new main character was suddenly there. And as much as I'm not a big fan of Scotty, I like what seems to be there with the new ADA. Not to mention, Scotty messed up in some things before, makes it more interesting, doesn't it?

Potential is there, there had been moments, but it often looked to me, like they feared to take it a little step further, feared to eventually offend someone. And if you take a look at the shows Kathryn mentioned, I think one of the qualities these share, is that they don't mind some things. They don't want to be nice and friendly all the time, those shows want to be interesting.

I don't know, if Kathryn Morris is a little tired of the character and the show as they are, but I think, most people want a change after a while, especially if they strive to improve. That's how it sounds to me, that she still likes the show, that she likes to play the character, that there is still a lot in it, but that they should move on, try more to keep the show alive and interesting. It's like she is saying: hey, we're good, but I'm sure we can do even better.

And I think, they could do better.

naj said:

Thanks for your post, myril. You said it all so precisely as I'm feeling.

You know what, I hope KM does leave the show. (...)

Thanks naj, glad that my thoughts are shared by others.

And as much as it would be a great pity for the show, I sometimes think, leaving the show would be for Kathryn Morris' own good. *prepares for flying tomatoes*

It's just, that I occasionally wonder, how good an actress she is, if the show just doesn't give her enough to play with or if that is all that she can do. Don't get me wrong, she is good, but what about being excellent? Seeing something like "Hostage" I think she can be excellent, seeing how much she made of that character in such a short situation. Hm, actually, Morris seems to be better if she's playing the bad girl, or the one you're not so sure about, if good or bad. Remember her acting in the episode "Saving Patrick Bubley"? That was impressive. Or if you like something more romantic, look at what she made of the flirt with Kite (it never klicked that way with Ray or Joseph).

But still have hope for Cold Case left. I'm not quick in giving up

[koufax]

I remember reading somewhere that she signed on for seven years. Unless she doesn't believe in honoring contracts I think she will stay with the show! However, there can be more personal stuff centered on the detectives interaction with Lilly Rush as the main character!(I always got the impression that in the first two seasons Lilly was the driving force with the show and was like a second in command: there are numerous examples such as when she talked to Scotty about how to do an interrogation, and dealt with an over zealous Vera...)