7x07 'Read Between the Lines'

[The Reverend Bizarre]

THE TEAM LOOKS INTO THE 1991 MURDER OF A 14-YEAR-FOSTER CHILD WHO WAS STARTING TO BREAK THROUGH AS A TALENTED RAPPER, ON "COLD CASE," SUNDAY, NOV. 15
Kadeem Hardison ("A Different World") and Craig "muMs" Grant ("Oz") Guest Star



"Read Between the Lines" - The team explores the 1991 case of a 14-year-old girl, who, months after she and her sister were placed with new foster parents, was killed before she could establish herself as a gifted rapper within the local gang-infused Hip Hop community, on COLD CASE, Sunday, Nov. 15 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Guest stars include Kadeem Hardison ("A Different World"), as a former neighborhood Hip Hop producer, and Craig "muMs" Grant ("Oz"), as a former gang member who attempted to manage the victim's burgeoning career. (Previously scheduled for an earlier date)



SERIES REGULARS:



Lilly Rush................................. Kathryn Morris

Scotty Valens................................. Danny Pino

Lt. John Stillman................................ John Finn

Nick Vera............................ Jeremy Ratchford

Will Jeffries................................... Thom Barry

Kat Miller................................... Tracie Thoms





RECURRING CAST:

Eddie Saccardo...................Bobby Cannavale



GUEST CAST:




Andrew "Huxtable"

Garrett (2009)................... Kadeem Hardison

Zeb "Zen"

Edwards (2009)............ Craig "muMs" Grant

Andrew "Huxtable"

Garrett (1991)........................... Larry Herron

Zeb "Zen"

Edwards (1991)....................... Sam Sarpong

Donalyn Sullivan (1991)............. Daniele Watts

Alice Watson (2009).................. Iona Morris

Alice Watson (1991)............ Lanai Chapman

Meesha Sullivan (2009).......... Tracey Heggins

Meesha Sullivan (1991).............. Yara Shahidi

Kenneth Watson

(2009).................... Ronald William Lawrence

Kenneth Watson (1991)............. Jemal McNeil

Sophie "Big Soph" (2009)......Lisa B. Tharps

Sophie "Big Soph" (1991).......... Kelli Jackson

Virgil "Sticky" Jones...........Lester Speight

WRITTEN BY: Erica L. Anderson



DIRECTED BY: Kevin Bray



GENRE: DRAMA, CRIME, MYSTERY



RATING: TV14-DLV


(Sorry for the delay)

[Kassandra]

Personally I really enjoyed this episode. Although my opinion may be biast because I live for any kind of music.

But I have to say that i think this storyline was a little bit stronger than the last few we have seen and hopefully with a new writer on board they can push out some amazing scripts for after the winter break. I never pegged the foster mom as killing her. I was thinking more of foster dad. I loved the music, it was nice for them to use rap, (those are hard to get the rights to)

The relationship aspect was amazing. Lilly and Eddie WOW! When she lied and said she chucked the gun i was like OMG drama. I hope we see some more of eddie next week or before the break. We got a hint of Vera and Scotty drama. And who agrees KAT'S BACK!!!! Finally! I am so happy!

Hope to hear what others think soon

[madmax]

Hey guys

Let me start with saying that I don't like rap but I liked the last song, I believe it's the original song created by writers, anyway it's really good. The plot, as I wrote in some other post, was nice. No stereotypical presentation of the neighborhood and the gang and it's tactics and brutality was not a main focus. The whole 'another poor kid in bad situation,' for me, was done little differently and I liked it.

But there were other things...little things...that I love if they occur in all episodes
The lunch thing with Kat, where they didn't bring the sub for her - hearing Kat's remarks - priceless!
The interview with lady that now is radio DJ - Lilly's hands in her pockets and the way she sat on the table it felt like I'm watching Lilly from earlier seasons down-to-business yet relaxed and casual
Both scenes of Lilly and Eddie - again felt like watching her in earlier seasons, very natural, normal, carying conversation, some sparks and love feeling in the air (yeah, ok, the gun issue does not come up in most relationship). Oh, and when she said that Moe is her problem and she's going to deal with it - SO Lilly thing to say
I also said it in other post, Lilly's attitude towars the gun Eddie gave her surprised me. I mean positively surprised me, that's what i wanted to hear from her But...there was a disappointment at the last scene of the episode...I really hoped Lil threw the gun into the river

Anyway, all those little things plut the plot made it an excellent episode for me, even though type of music used is not my thing.

[The Reverend Bizarre]

I have ambivalent feelings for the episode. On one hand I hated it, but that's the bias speaking, (I hate rap. I also hate country music, but if forced with the choice I'd choose country.) on the other hand, I actually thought this was a decent episode.

I can't say that I fully relate to Donalyn, but that scene where her mom's listening to the tape, and asking her those questions; that I could relate to...to a point.

One thing that I found weird, at least concerning me; there were parts of this episode that I wasn't paying full attention to, yet when they started looking at the whole 'Phantom' thing I knew it was about her father.


Okay, and now to the Lilly and Eddie stuff. Of course I knew that he was going to give her a gun (yeah spoilers!) but there was something about this scene that stood out to me. Lilly's walls were starting to crack here. I don't know if it's just me, but it looked like she was about to start crying. I think what we have here is yet another battle between Lilly and herself. We have the part of her that wants to obey the law, but then we also have the side of her that wants Moe gone.

I think she's actually scared of Moe. The guy almost killed her once, so she knows he's capable of doing it.

At this point, there's no telling what's going to happen, but I'm pretty sure that IF Lilly kills Moe it won't go like this:

Lilly: Hi Moe! *Points gun at Moe*
Moe: WTF?
*BANG!!*
Moe: X(
Lilly: Yay!! *skips off*

Yeah... no.

[blondelocks]

I enjoyed this episode, much better than the others. Hated the Lilly and Eddie scene. Like seriously, he's just gonna break Lilly's heart. She deserves much better. Like look who's in front of her, HELLO SCOTTY!

Onto the case, not really into the rap stuff, but I really enjoyed the way the story ended. Kat being back is definitely a plus! She adds so much to the show. I agree madmax, I wanted her to throw the gun in the river, it really angers me that she didn't.


Mod note: Let's keep it cool. No need to be calling the writers names, or saying that they're doing things.

[madmax]

Nov 16, 2009 0:41:44 GMT -5 The Reverend Bizarre said:

At this point, there's no telling what's going to happen, but I'm pretty sure that IF Lilly kills Moe it won't go like this:

Lilly: Hi Moe! *Points gun at Moe*
Moe: WTF?
*BANG!!*
Moe: X(
Lilly: Yay!! *skips off*

Yeah... no.

That would be a helluva scene to watch and in my head it's actually a funny scene...I shouldn't say that though.

But like you said it's battle between Lilly and herself and IMO IF she kills Moe she will not be able to live with herself. So if Moe will be murdered I would put my money on another character as a doer....

[ninja1088]

This episode was far better than I thought it would be. It showed the gangs are bad element but didn't beat us over the head with it. Donalyn was a girl that had a hard life but always thought of her baby sister first and foremost, and paid for it with her life.
Once again, good Lily and Eddie backstory. Surprised she kept the gun but I imagine Lily is starting to think about the road's she on... and doesn't like it one bit.
Finally..... YAY KAT!

[adbutler4089]

The episode was real nice with a twist. I see so many people saying that they are not too fond of the music. The thing is in the early 90s, the hip-hop era was starting to see the emergence of the female emcee and that is what Donalyn was channeling. The Lily and Eddie scene was really nice and It is glad to see Kat back.

[The Reverend Bizarre]

This episode also had one of the funniest lines this season;

Kat: I'm gone for a little while, and suddenly I'm a vegetarian?

LOL

[ninja1088]

I thought the foster mom as the doer was also solid. Alice wanted a daughter so badly that when the chance to keep one came, no one was going to get in the way, not Ken and sadly Donalyn.

[coldfan74]

i really liked this episode. i suspected the mom in the middle mainly because you can tell like most foster moms they only care about babies and infants and never the teenagers especially with dark past issues.
kadeem hardison guest starring was an interesting kick for me as he was such a prominent figure in the early 90's and seeing his younger counterpart on this episode was hilarious.
i think this is the one time where the producers actually did a pretty decent job with the flashbacks for this time period for once. it really did have a feel for the early 90s.
voted excellent

[Electrophile]

I voted it an "excellent" as well. I was happy to see they didn't fall back into the cliche of "kid from rough neighborhood gets into drugs/gangs/violence" like so many of these episodes often do.

I thought the character of Donalyn was an interesting one - a woman in rap even in 1991 was a rarity, and on top of that hurdle to climb, she had a rather miserable life at home to deal with as well. She also had to look out for her sister, who she cared more about than herself. I like the actress's portrayal of her, I felt she did a great job.

Kenneth was a scumbag and I was glad when he offed himself. Molesters are about the lowest of the low and frankly....don't deserve to share the air the rest of us breathe.


The music was great - I'm not a huge fan of rap/hip-hop but the 80s/early 90s stuff before gangsta rap took over was really good. And It Takes Two is probably one of my Top 5 party songs of all time, so it was great to hear it.

[ninja1088]

Coldfan, you are sadly right. Once a child gets older, the chances of them being adopted drop dramatically. By the time they're teens...pratically nil. Sad but true.

[byrdman9802]

Hello boys and girls!

Hey there, I hope that you all are doing well as our week begins.

I gave this episode a good rating. I really think it was a good story, about the people. I'm not much into rap music myself, but this case was indeed interesting throughout it.

I was surprised when the doer was learned. There were so many possible guys who could have done it and it is the stepmom. Wow!

There were a lot of sidenotes last night. Did anyone notice Jeffries' absence? I'm glad that Kat is back. Scotty's mom was a side story, then Saccardo (wow on his undercover stance! His girlfriend sneaks into his room? Ha!) and the gun......I hope that gun does not come back to haynt Lilly.

But I really think this season is going well, boys and girls! I like it a lot! I hope that you all do too. Take care and have a great night, boys and girls!

[boxman]

Like mostly everyone else, I enjoyed this episode from the get-go and gave an "excellent" vote.

Two things threw me off a little at the beginning of the episode. Earth Wind & Fire's "Sing a Song" is from the 70s, and I don't believe it was re-released in 1991 on any EWF CD or compilation that year. The mom's hair in 1991 being all straightened out also looked like it was a style from the 60s or even 70s. Both of these things made me wonder if I saw 1991 correctly for a while.

The dad killing himself was also a surprise to me. Even though they never explicitly stated how he killed himself, one can easily assume it may be through the use of a gun because neither Kat nor Scotty was able to stop him in time. A firearm makes the most sense. I wonder if this is a foreshadowing of sorts with the gun Lilly now has?

I kept smiling when they showed Zen (?) in the transit worker's blue knit sweater. They actually do wear that in Philly!! The set and design crew did an excellent job getting many other details right about how things look in Philly too.

[Electrophile]

Nov 16, 2009 21:00:47 GMT -5 boxman said:

Like mostly everyone else, I enjoyed this episode from the get-go and gave an "excellent" vote.

Two things threw me off a little at the beginning of the episode. Earth Wind & Fire's "Sing a Song" is from the 70s, and I don't believe it was re-released in 1991 on any EWF CD or compilation that year. The mom's hair in 1991 being all straightened out also looked like it was a style from the 60s or even 70s. Both of these things made me wonder if I saw 1991 correctly for a while.

The song was released in 1975, so given the age of the parents at the time (1991), it wouldn't be uncommon that it was something they'd have enjoyed listening to or something that just might have been on the radio in the car. I think the subject of the song is a nice foreshadowing for the episode and I don't always like it when every single song used is from the year the case is set in.


Also, in the late 60s/70s, African-American women adopted the "Black Is Beautiful" mantra, and you saw far less women relaxing their hair or wearing it straight. The majority of them wore their hair natural or in an afro. Hairstyles obviously changed by 1991, but a flip style is not necessarily indicative of only one era. We see the flipped out ends and think 1960s/Jackie Kennedy, but I see women wearing it a lot today, if their hair is the right length for it.

[boxman]

Nov 17, 2009 2:06:45 GMT -5 Electrophile said:

The song was released in 1975, so given the age of the parents at the time (1991), it wouldn't be uncommon that it was something they'd have enjoyed listening to or something that just might have been on the radio in the car.

That's true, but the general rule-of-thumb throughout the series has been that the music featured in an episode was published or charting in the year of the murder. Like how it was noted that the detectives no longer are the ones who see the victim's ghost in the closing montage, this flexibility in music selection seems like another new change the latest group of producers for the show have initiated.

[ninja1088]

I have to admit I like where those closet to the victims see the ghosts... not the detectives. True, they can get into the cases but where they see the victims over the ghosts' parents,siblings or best friends didn't seem as right to me.

[Naj]

The case was interesting and was well done. The new writer, Erica Anderson, did a good job. What was missing, for me, is the same ole, same ole going up to the killing. The motivation and this week the actual killer. It was like the air got left out of the balloon for me. In recent years they haven't captured the angst of the actual crime. Where is the feeling CC writers/actors/directors are known? I gave it a Good.

I couldn't wrap my brain around a foster mother allowing her 14 1/2 year old out by herself at that club. Or, in general, her allowing her out and about as she was portrayed. It seemed somewhat far fetched.

So, Kat is back. That is nice. And Will is absent. It's so noticable and now it looks like they are writing Vera for a leave. I don't want to know so don't spoil me

[Electrophile]

Nov 17, 2009 16:26:18 GMT -5 Naj said:

I couldn't wrap my brain around a foster mother allowing her 14 1/2 year old out by herself at that club. Or, in general, her allowing her out and about as she was portrayed. It seemed somewhat far fetched.

It may not have been something as easy as she was "allowed" to go. 14 year old kids are going to sneak out sometimes or go behind their parents' backs to do things. I did when I was 14 and so did my sister. It also could have been that the foster mother felt that Donalyn would do it anyway, without her consent, so she cut out the middle man and just let her go.