Episode 3.13: Debut

[longislanditalian2]

I think lilly is going to have a breakdown sooner or later

[boxman]

As I understand, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is basically about two 'ordinary' people who by strange twist of fate are living in high-society. Has anyone seen the movie? I wonder if there are any parallels between the movie and this episode....

[longislanditalian2]

There might be , the way that this plot and movie turned out except for the death scene . Maybe one of the writer thought it would be cool to incorperate this into the storyline.

[soccerulz]

boxman said:

As I understand, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is basically about two 'ordinary' people who by strange twist of fate are living in high-society. Has anyone seen the movie? I wonder if there are any parallels between the movie and this episode....

I've seen it!

Sorry I can't be much more help though....but - all I remember about the movie is the ending scene, with the rain and the cat.

But, I wonder if there are any parallels. It would be interesting.

[boxman]

Well, I checked around and it seems that Breakfast at Tiffany's is simply a romantic drama (with some comedy). I guess they chose the song simply because it fits both the time of the crime and Emma's dreams.

[myril]

Well, yeah you can see Breakfast At Tiffany's as a romantic comedy with some drama. The story was a bit smoothed out for the movie, the book by Truman Capote is more critical I think. The interesting part and perhaps a sort of parallel is that the two leads try to work their way up the ladder by more or less selling themselfs, but the female lead Holly (Audrey Hepburn) is a person with low self esteem, blending into an artifcial world of high society, quite different from the victim's character in this episode. Though if you like, Travis is like that.
I think there is not much of a deeper sense in choosing this song from this movie actually. Moon River has a dreamy atmoshpere, it's about dreaming of better places and following restless this dream - fitting for the story of this case.

[boxman]

Thanks for the info, Myril. So is it a movie worth watching anyway?? Romantic comedies aren't really my thing, but I know its a classic and I'm trying to build up knowledge of classic Americana pop-history.

[myril]

boxman said:

Thanks for the info, Myril. So is it a movie worth watching anyway?? Romantic comedies aren't really my thing, but I know its a classic and I'm trying to build up knowledge of classic Americana pop-history.

You're welcome. And I think it's worth watching - but it's one of my favorites even though I'm normally not so into romantic or comedy either. But it's one of the classics, a must-see. ;D

[boxman]

I'm a little surprised that there aren't more positive comments about this episode. "Debut" really stuck with me the whole week after I watched it. As I slowly began to realize how well-written the story was, it made me more interested in continuing to watch Cold Case and discussing it online. (Which is how I ended up here, at Look Again.) Before signing up on this board, I used my old account at imdb.com to post my comments there. The people on that board too, weren't altogether really impressed with this episode. But seeing that this board has much more traffic, please allow me to repost my comments here (with a few edits and corrections). I think "Debut" deserves a little more recognition for how well it was conceived and written. (Plus, you can't read the imdb.com message boards at all without a membership.)

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I was very pleased and impressed with how accurate they were about the people and locations this episode covered. The blue-collar Fishtown, the uppity-up Main Line people, even Chestnut Hill back in the sixties was much better than it is today. Gosh, on top of that, the location of the art gallery was exactly where one would expect it to be (in Olde City, with the Jersey "El" passing right behind it). Did the storyline about racism against Jews in the 'debutant world' impact anyone?? All that was before my time, but from what I understand, it was rather accurate of this city in that decade. Sheesh, I'd even say some of that 'Main Line' attitude still exists today.... I can see why some would not think this episode is all cute and cuddly and uplifting--but it definitely felt *real* to me and I am impressed. (Even details such as the baroque architecture in the ballroom is exactly what you can expect here in Philly. Pretty darn good, especially considering it was probably filmed in L.A.) If this show stays real and true about the human condition like this, then I'm not disappointed that the episode didn't come to a more "happy feel" ending. Tell it like it is--how bad people *really* can be--and I think they've got themselves a really good show. (And a hooked viewer in me, too.) That's my two cents!!

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Ya know, it just hit me how this episode cleverly portrayed the WASP/Jew racism of that time: The debutant ball as portrayed in the show is a young WASP woman's "coming of age" party. And then, here's this Jewish boy trying to fit in to their world...when his own culture (that he ignores) does a similar celebration. So not only do Jews have Bat Mitzvah for their young girls, they also have Bar Mitzvah for their boys as well! (Which, of course, his family never observed for him.) Now that I see the irony of how he couldn't accept his own ethnicity when it is equally as rich in culture as the society he's trying to fit into, I have even more appreciation towards the concept behind this episode. Very well-crafted writing. By contrast, the episode could have simply been a rich vs. poor conflict; but the added veiled twist of Debutant vs. Bat Mitzvah (and Bar Mitzvah) definitely brings depth to the story. Well done.

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Wow, another thing that occured to me today is the irony of Travis--the Jew--being an art dealer. This really opens up a whole 'nuther angle to the episode.

Now think about it for a second...a Jewish art dealer...in an episode where the main storyline is about racism, specifically anti-Semitism. Put those elements together: Judaism, Art, and Anti-Semitism. It really makes me think of only one thing, the Nazi plunder. (See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_plunder )

The Nazi plunder of artwork was done under the guise to collect these precious goods in order to protect them from harm during wartime (World War Two). Likewise, Travis was also collecting his artwork for storage in a time when he is being interrogated for two murders. (Ain't that pretty cool??) But then, you see, the collected artwork was not really meant to be sold to fund either Germany's war effort, nor was the entire gallery being sold to fund Travis' lawyers. The Nazis collected and re-sold gold to fund their war efforts--gold that was looted from their victims:

www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/views/y/1998/08/hirsch.nazigold.aug21/

"Swiss banks profited from trafficking in gold the Nazis looted from sources as diverse as the treasuries of occupied Belgium and Holland and the wedding bands and teeth of concentration camp victims."

And what did Travis do? He sold some of the art, had his workers put the majority of artwork into storage, and he pawned the gold ring he looted off from Emma when he killed her.

So the man who wanted to cover-up his Jewish heritage loots his victim the same way the Nazis did his own people during the Holocaust. Wow. Utterly profound...because looting and pawning Emma's gold ring becomes Travis' slip-up that puts him in the corner and busts him.

What is that old saying now? "Those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat its mistakes"?? Something like that.

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A few final things that I liked about the episode and it's details:

I really liked how they turned Landon's "poor little rich girl" character inside out. That scene where she said something like "I wish you never showed up! You're ruining everything!" when her dad offers to debut Emma, and the scene up in the hotel room where she says something like "but I can't cry because I'm wearing mascara" were pretty hilarious. I might be wrong, but IIRC, that "poor little rich girl" was a very common character/theme of movies in the 50s and 60s. This character type had every material thing anyone could possibly want--plus impeccable good looks too--everything, except for their parent's love (especially their father's). Yet, in this episode, we see that her fussing is very self-absorbed. Her father is incredibly generous, as was her grandfather too. The actress that played young Landon pulled off those scenes pretty well. I know its really tacky now, but as I remember it was quite much like how scenes like that was played in movies of long ago.

Then, there is the scene towards the end when the elder Landon is in the interrogation room with Kat and Will. Landon's years of lip-service towards racism comes to a tense point when the cold case squad's two African-American investigators can keep her longer than what she wants. I could almost here Kat say, "Listen lady, we know all about your white-on-white racism, and we both could not care less about that white high-society hoity-toity party you need to go to tonight. You going to tell us more or not?" Ha ha ha. Not that Kat actually said that, of course, but it almost seemed as if Will was a little scared that she might!!! Funny!

One thing that troubled me was that Travis still could've killed his wife. He might have been waiting weeks, months, or even years for his wife to have a seizure so he could throw her down the stairs at that moment. Chilling, because we would never know the truth about that incident.

Finally, a really nice touch was the symbolism of the swan ring. Swans mate for life, and of course they make that nice heart shape when two of them get together, so swans are associated with love and romance. Kinda appropriate for an episode where it was a crime of passion, committed because of hurt feelings. Even more symbolic, is that swans have long slender necks; and Emma likely died from breaking her neck during the fall. (I believe that's just about the only injury that could've killed her.)

[sonny]

Wow, welcome to the board boxman, you certainly have great insight into episodes, and I've really enjoyed reading your input on the episodes you have seen. :smile52:

[boxman]

Thanks for the welcome, Sonny! btw, what does the "ho" in "Kathryn ho" mean? I see that you and many others use this and I can't figure it out...

[sonny]

boxman said:

Thanks for the welcome, Sonny! btw, what does the "ho" in "Kathryn ho" mean? I see that you and many others use this and I can't figure it out...

It just means we are a group of crazy people who think that Kathryn and/or Lilly are just the best and can do no wrong.

[Disasterfreak]

Wow, Boxman....!! Welcome to the board. I'm foreseeing a male counterpart to our lead reviewer, TVFan.

Great insight on the episode... I guess you have to know much more about Philadelphia history and Philadelphia itself, not to mention the WASP/Jew element, in order to really appreciate the story. I'm afraid I'm more ignorant than otherwise in both... so I'm twice as glad you posted the comment. Thanks! I'm beginning to think the writers are doing a better job than I gave them credit for.

[boxman]

sonny, well you can count me in with the Kathryn fan club. btw, Happy Birthday to ya!

Disasterfreak, thanks for the feedback! Now tell me if I'm still thinking too much about this episode--or maybe just going crazy--because I'm still came up with new things about it today. Do you think the writers were making a play on words with Travis' last name??
:smile80:
After all, his last name was changed to "Whitman", which literally means "White Man" in old English. (I checked the internet, and it seems that "Weisman," his original name, also means "White Man" in German....)

[myril]

Hey boxman - you're right, Whitman > Weis(s)mann is explained as coming from white color (hair or skin), other explanations are seeing a context to "wis" or "verständig, weise", (prudential or wise) or to "Waisenkind" (orphan). But I'm not sure if the authors gave it so much thought, guess they chose this one because it's relativly common and people did that change from German to English. So no great risk to offend someone.

But I think you're reading a bit too much into this episode. Not sure if authors actually give every detail so much thought, though I'm sure they do a good research about the timeline, social, historical/political context of the years.

I think you're right, that they pretty good portrayed the WASP/Jew racism, something people don't like to talk about. And yes, thinking of initiation rites to become a full member of society it's interesting to reflect on Debutant vs. Bar Mitzvah. But a lot of cultures know initiations rites in some way and all expect people to blend into their values and behavioral patterns. I would say you have "classical" conflicts in this episode with the 2 main characters of the story, social differences, rascism, sexism - and different, individual ways to deal with it. Travis and Emma both tried to blend into a surrounding they didn't really fit to and that never accepted them, more or less out of the same reasons. But Travis was ready to do it no matter what, Emma had limits. That's the main tragedy from my POV in this episode.

But I really can't follow you're analyses about the irony of Travis being an art dealer. For me it was just something fitting to his character (couldn't imagine him as lawyer or manager of a company, he seemed too soft in his character for that). I don't agree, the main story line wasn't about rascism for me, that was only a part of it. And I don't see the parallels between the Nazi plunder and Travis' behavior as you bring it up. I think Travis took the ring as something to remember what had been between him and Emma, love, passion, he knew it meant something special to her, she meant something special to him - and later he probably paniced and wanted to get rid of it in a practical way. He said it was a mistake, that the ring was among the things to sell, but oh well, it was, wasn't it. Otherwise our detectives wouldn't have found the key to solve the case. I don't think there is any deeper sense in it than that. But admitted, if you like, you can see it.

Nevertheless boxman, I like the way you see details in the episodes and reflect on them.

[TVFan]

Awesome analysis and thoughts boxman! I really enjoyed reading all of the little extras that you included. I'm one of those who really liked this episode and count it as one of the best of this season, so I couldn't agree more with your impressions of it. To answer one of your thoughts, CC rarely gives off a warm, fuzzy feeling. Most of the episodes leave you feeling a little down and also a little uplifted (knowing that the bad guy is going to finally pay), but the uplifting feeling is almost always shadowed by the overwhelming feeling that having the right person behind bars still doesn't bring back the person who died at their hands. It gives the show a nice dose of realism. Sometimes you find yourself not liking the victim, and yet, CC still manages to leave you feeling a little sad inside when it ends. It's one of my favorite elements of the show as well.

I'm a huge fan of Breakfast at Tiffany's as well and I have to agree 100% with what myril said. There is definitely a parallel between Audrey Hepburn's character and Travis. I think the overarching high society theme was the same as well, but other than that, the two are different.

[boxman]

Myril, I can imagine you and I at the Art Museum:

boxman: I like the mauve and avocado color theme...it certainly does look like "Paris in the Spring."

myril: I dunno. It looks like the artist poured paint on the canvas, got nekkid, and just rolled around. Look there.... Looks like butt cheeks.

boxman: Huh. You know...that does look like butt cheeks....

HA HA HA!

myril said:

Hey boxman - you're right, Whitman > Weis(s)mann is explained as coming from white color (hair or skin), other explanations are seeing a context to "wis" or "verständig, weise", (prudential or wise) or to "Waisenkind" (orphan).

So you're saying that Travis went from being a "Wise Man" to being a "White Man"?? That's an interesting analysis, myril!

[myril]

boxman said:

Myril, I can imagine you and I at the Art Museum:

boxman: I like the mauve and avocado color theme...it certainly does look like "Paris in the Spring."

myril: I dunno. It looks like the artist poured paint on the canvas, got nekkid, and just rolled around. Look there.... Looks like butt cheeks.

boxman: Huh. You know...that does look like butt cheeks....

HA HA HA!

Yeah, it might be like that. But might as well be that I start a discussion about psychology of colors... Or that Paris never look like that in Spring...

So you're saying that Travis went from being a "Wise Man" to being a "White Man"?? That's an interesting analysis, myril!

Hm, no. Only in German "weiss" (color white) and "weiss" (Ich weiss = I know) look much the same, and it is possible to see a connection in origin, but it's more a coincidence. But both explanations can be found about the origin of the name.
Though if you like, yes. Only that Travis never was a wise man, hidding his family history, and did everything to blend into a society of white men. But well, Whitman simply sounds better than Knowman, doesn't it? ;D

[samanda]

Re-Air Date: 7/23/06 (SUNDAY)
Time Slot: 9:00 PM-10:00 PM EST

[boxman]

"Debut" was among the first Cold Case episodes I've watched. Seeing the re-run last night and now knowing the background of the show, there's another interesting irony the writers seem to have put into this episode. The Cold Case history seems to suggest that homicide detectives were apparently all white men at one time. Therefore, both Lilly and Scotty--as a woman and a Latino--are minorities breaking new ground in a "white man's world". So I found it ironic that they were the two detectives that interview Travis "White Man" Whitman and got him to tell the truth about the moment he killed Emma. Emma thought they had no future together when it became apparent that Travis wanted to continue to pose as a "white man" to gain entry into the "white man's world". But there in that room, was a woman and a Latino who apparently don't feel such pressure to pose as someone else in order to progress in their careers. That's a clever, ironic twist to the episode's racism theme!!