Cold Case: 8 Years

I've been doing a deep dive into Bruce Springsteen's catalog lately, along with a Very Special Guest with whom I'll be blogging it all up in these pages in the months to come. As a result of notes-gathering for that, I came across this episode of Cold Case from 2006. 

Cold Case is not a show with which I'm terribly familiar. It sounds interesting enough, but I only ever saw a handful of episodes, and those only on day shifts when I was bartending at the VFW, when it came on mid-afternoons after re-runs of Las Vegas. Interested parties can learn more at that link, but I'll assume you know the basic set-up: Philadelphia police detectives try and solve unsolved cases no longer being actively pursued by the department.

Re-enactments and guest stars like Emily from Beverly Hills 90210 here -

bring the cases to life.

The leads are Danny Pinto (later of Law and Order: SVU) and Kathryn Morris. (Also Pacey Witter's Dad, who was a Sheriff, so it amused me to think of this Cold Case character and the subplot with his ex-wife he gets this episode as Dawson's-related.)

Extra points would have been if they got Jane Lynch to play the ex. Ah well. I pretended it was her.

I had to look Kathryn Morris up for this next part because I wanted to make sure she didn't have some kind of medical condition or was some kind of real-life Ferengi. If she was then of course I'd never even mention it, but she's clearly a very beautiful woman. So... what the hell gives? 

Did Morris ever sue the Cold Case execs for styling her hair like this and adding an inch of ear to either side of her head? I need to know the rationale for this decision, as it's so immediately crazy-looking, at least to me. Who decides "Hey what the female lead needs is a hairdo that makes her head and ears look way bigger than they actually are! For no reason!" 

(Cold Case fans: is there a reason, maybe? Like this is an important plot point in later seasons?)

And yet, go ahead and google "Kathryn Morris Ferengi" and what comes up? Zero. This blog, maybe, when I hit publish. Like I'm the crazy one for noticing. Maybe it's a cover-up. If I was Kathryn Morris, though, I'd be pissed.

My tedious antics and Dawson's Tourette's aside, both the show and her character and all the performances and other characters seem fine. I might have to give it a whirl one of these days, although seven seasons of solving unsolved murders seems like kind of a stretch. It's rare for any detective to solve a single cold case, much less seven seasons worth, but I'll hold out on judgment until I see some more. For tonight's purposes, though, here's how the New York Times described "8 Years:"

"Tomorrow night, the CBS crime drama Cold Case will feature the work of an unlikely guest writer. He has won twelve Grammy Awards, has sold tens of millions of albums, and has never worked behind the scenes in television. What's more, he did not type out a single word for the show's script. Instead, he sang it all.

That writer is Bruce Springsteen, from whom Cold Case licensed * nine songs, building a murder mystery around his lyrics. The episode, titled '8 Years,' follows four high school friends from 1980 through 1988, when one of them is found dead."

* I wonder how much they paid? I imagine the Boss had to give them a discount; otherwise, for eight songs, this single episode would be among the most expensive TV ever produced.

"But instead of turning Mr. Springsteen's songs, all originally released from 1980 to 1987, into mere backdrops, Meredith Stiehm, the show's creator and the writer of this episode, used them to construct and advance the story. Graduation day is narrated by the exultant 'No Surrender,' while the climactic murder scene is set to the poignant 'Atlantic City.' 'The idea originally was to use no dialogue at all,' Ms. Stiehm said. 'His songs are that rich, so full of characters and vignettes.' Suffice it to say, cars, highways and the Jersey Shore figure heavily into the plot."

"Wende Crowley, the show's music supervisor, said 'His management was very interested from the start,' she said. 'Once we had a script, we sent it over, and they said yes.' Ms. Stiehm added, with a laugh, 'We have a theory that his wife is a huge fan.' It certainly did not hurt that the episode's director, Mark Pellington, also directed the video for Mr. Springsteen's 2002 single 'Lonesome Day.' Ms. Stiehm said that relationship created "a comfort zone."

"A representative of Mr. Springsteen said he was unavailable for comment."

Okay, so. I'm going to have to disagree with the NYT writer on this one. The idea of characters from Springsteen songs interacting with the tropes of a police procedural is good - maybe even great. There's lots of potential there. But you have to be careful. As Ms. Stiehm points out, the Boss' songs are so full of characters and vignettes that they overpower the meager story  concocted here. The characters and their conflict just never engaged me, and the covering fire of Springsteen ends up being an atomic blast that obliterates them.

They're also employed in rather hammer-on-nail fashion. "Stolen Car" begins the sequence where Clem steals a car and - get this! - he's conflicted about it and his motives aren't entirely bad. "Brilliant Disguise" accompanies a similar "Marriage isn't what I thought it would be" montage.

And "Glory Days" is maybe the Springsteensplotationiest of them all.

"Atlantic City" is totally the wrong song to close this episode with, as it just underlines, circles, and highlights how totally inadequate the Springsteeniness of this story is compared to actual Springsteen, especially anything off Nebraska. FFS. Springsteeniness aside, though, it's a 5-star song for a 2-and-a-half-star-at-best scene.

While we're here, the four teenagers are driving along listening to "No Surrender" in the beginning, in 1980. "No Surrender" came out on Born in the USA (1984). Which would be fine if - like the other Springsteen songs the episode uses - it was just used as soundtrack, but in this scene the kids are singing along with it on the radio. So unless the point is to announce to the viewer that the story takes place on a Nozz-A-La level of The Tower, it's an avoidably confusing mistake to make. Had the rest of the episode been a less superficial evocation of the Springsteen gestalt, perhaps this wouldn't have bugged me. 

And yet the 8 tunes selected ("No Surrender," "Born to Run," "Glory Days," "Atlantic City," "One Step Up," "Bobby Jean," "I'm On Fire," "Drive All Night") still carry enough power to imbue even the scenes they accompany (slightly better than karaoke videos) with enough emotional punch to make it entirely watchable TV. Not knowing the main characters I was still moved by some of their reactions to things. If nothing else, "8 Songs" is a broad strokes Illustrated History of Certain Perceptions of Springsteen. And that is not without value even when I suspect it might have just gotten lucky with certain imagery.

Any Cold Case fans out there with a more comprehensive history of the show under the belt, feel free to set me straight. But to any Springsteen fans out there who might be wondering whether or not to watch it, you can probably skip it. 

Unless you're bored and it comes round on cable or something, in which case, hey, you could do worse. Although you could always just put the tunes on a playlist and let the lyrics take you a better movie in your head. Cool idea but needed more time in the oven.

~

Full cast and crew here.

GoFundMe for a Good Cause

I'd like to take a pause from the normal sort of postings around here and get serious for a moment.

Trey Sterling, a friend of The Omnibus and damn fine fellow, has recently posted a GoFundMe. I wanted to cut-and-paste both the description and the link here, because hey, you never know who might read these things, or with whom one might share it to provide some financial relief for a well-deserving family.

Take it away, Trey:

"Earlier this year, I went to the doctor with a swollen lymph node in my right groin. Initial diagnosis was an infection, but after several weeks of treatment and testing, it was finally determined to be a Stage 3-C malignant melanoma.

On July 11, I had surgery to remove both the initial growth site – a mole near my belly button – as well as the infected lymph node. The plan was to remove several other nodes for testing, and my recovery time was estimated at two weeks.

Once the surgery was underway, though, the decision was made to expand the operation and remove a total of nine lymph nodes. This created a larger incision, which in turn has increased my recovery time to six weeks. I was hoping that timeline might be reduced as I healed, but I spoke with my doctor today (July 24) and he confirmed I won’t be going back to work for several weeks yet.

I have thankfully had enormous moral, emotional, and recovery support from my family and friends, but the extra lost time at work is looming large. I am out of paid leave, and even with my insurance, there are costs to be covered. Unfortunately, my family is also in a tight spot; my grandmother fell and broke her hip on July 2, and after surgery she was moved to a rehab center, and will be coming home soon. She’s recovering nicely, but the need for extra help around the house means my dad hasn’t been able to drive for Uber since my procedure.

I am not generally one for seeking financial charity, but I can no longer deny the fact that there are bills which need to be paid, and no income with which to pay them for at least another month. If there is anything you can contribute – no amount is too small, I promise you – it would be appreciated more than I can say. Beyond that, simply sharing the campaign would be of huge benefit.

Thank y’all, for everything. Roll Tide & God Bless."

And the link: https://www.gofundme.com/treys-cancer-surgery-recovery

Some quick notes:

- I have been floored by the outpouring of love and support for my buddy Trey from his friends and family. Moved to tears even on a few occasions. It's often said when you wish to know the character of someone, look at the people around them. The people around Trey tell you all you need to know about the kind of guy he is, and anything you can do to help the Sterlings in their time of need, know it's going to both a worthy cause and a deserving family. No BS, no spin, just the way it is, folks.

- Medical expenses in this country are a national disgrace, and if it makes you angry to read about this stuff, it should. Me, too. My day job is dealing with providers and insurance and I could tell you no shortage of horror stories. I know it's become a hot-button political issue with a plethora of soundbites, but beyond all of that, please just keep in mind these are real people, real families, real issues beyond the endless #trigger media. We're all impacted, and many of us, too, are one emergency away from serious hardship. The end-around that things like GoFundMe provide is a small but essential life preserver in such stormy seas.

- It's a particularly trying time, financially, for the Omnibus itself, and I know all too well both the stress these things can put on a family and the all-pervasive crushing shade it can throw on day-to-day operations and outlook. If contributing financially is impossible, please share wherever you can; like I say, you never know whose eyes might fall on it. The internet is a big place.

Has anyone ever seen Matt Murdock and Trey Sterling in the same place?

So say we all.

Thanks for reading, friends.

Quick Change (1990)

Tonight's episode:
The NYC of -

(1990)

To date the only film (co)directed by Bill Murray.

"Three thieves successfully rob a New York City bank, but making the escape from the city proves to be almost impossible."

I really loved this film when it came out, but it wasn't my affection for it that nominated it for inclusion here but as a showcase of a bygone era of New York City. As mentioned last time (Night Shift), the Big Apple underwent a yuuuge transformation in the late 80s and early 90s from the city of Taxi Driver to that of Disney's Enchanted.  

Turns out, though, my memory has (again!) been playing tricks on me. Quick Change certainly does showcase some of the New York of its era but nowhere near as pointedly as I remembered. I was basically remembering one scene:

"Why do they keep doing this?"

and this one cutaway in-between police chief Robards' world-weary sighs:

And had inflated these to encompass an entire theme of the film that isn't really there. I think I was projecting my idea of Bill Murray unto it (70s New Yorker on his way out the door, shaking his head at the changes) even if that doesn't quite match the chronology of his career. Anyway: both Murray's character and Robards' character are cynical of the city's endless appetite for change, but mainly they don't really care, they're just ready to quit it altogether. Nevertheless, the film is a love letter to New York, in all its dysfunctional glory.

The novel it's based on by Jay Cromley is not. That's more of a comedic heist narrative. I wouldn't say the location is incidental, but it probably could have been any urban center.  I thought about doing the book/movie combo for a From Novel to Film entry, but while I enjoyed the book, I didn't have much to say about it. 

I don't have too much to say about the movie, either, but that's what makes it better suited for... The Scenic Route! (In my head, I just picture the Twilight Zone music everytime I type that. Or maybe National Geographic.) Without further ado:

NYC on the cusp of its big makeover.

Bill Murray's own Audemars Piguet. (Fun fact: he had them write the watch into the movie so he wouldn't have to pay the $150 the AP dealer charged to wind it for him while he took it off for the months on set.)

No word on whether Robards had the same problem with his Orientex.

And Randy Quaid's personal monster truck, written in for similar reasons.

Okay, that's not true.

Probably.

 

HUMANS OF NEW YORK

Like, actual humans, not referring to that hub of disingenuous emotional claptrap gathering low hanging branches for an endless social media bonfire of "feels." The city (and explicitly its diverse, wacky populace) is very much a character all of its own. 

The crowds outside the bank robbery are an obvious callback to Dog Day Afternoon.

CAST AND CAMEOS

I can't seem to find it, but in some interview Murray talks about how expensive it would have been to get this cast together only five or ten years later. It's certainly got a wealth of familiar faces, some household names, some not. Let's have a look.

Bill's star improbably continues to rise; Geena's, not so much.

I was never a big fan, but she does well here. She and Bill play well off one another.

Few come back from the ledge Randy Quaid's perched himself on over the past few years. But if he can focus his general craziness into hashtag Hollywood-superwoke craziness, I'm sure he'd get an Oscar before you could say Hanoi Jane.

RIP, Finkelstein.

RIP, Saint Peter.

Tech Sargent Chen...!

Stanley Tucci. (Sorry, couldn't decide which of his characters to reference.)

If you see Randall Flagg stopped on the side of the road with an unfolded map, keep driving.

Richard Joseph Paul - familiar face if not name.

Bill Raymond (l) - ditto.

Mike "I miss ya so much Margie" Yanagita.

Red Forman or Clarence Boddicker, take your pick.

Paul Herman (r) the "you wanna see helicopters?" guy from Goodfellas, among others.

And Bob "Chris' Dad" Elliott. ("And then he pulled a knife... and I hate knives.")

As I always tell you in each and every post (re: the old school comics idea that every issue is someone's first issue) The Scenic Route celebrates the fashions, landscapes, cars, and vibes of a bygone age via the cinematic record. I also like to note some things that wouldn't work if the movie was made now. The central gimmick of the bank robbery in Cromley's novel (and in its two film adaptations: this one and the 1985 French film Hold-Up) is that a thief dressed as a robber, with two partners disguised as bank patrons already inside, can escape with all the money strapped to the three of them simply by removing the clown make-up and disguises and walking out. (In Cromley's introduction to his novel, he relays how Donald Westlake heard about this and tried to buy the set-up from him before the book was published. It was a big shot of confidence for the young writer to know a seasoned mystery writer like Westlake liked his idea so much he wanted to procure it for himself.) Then, once outside, the plan calls for the thieves to keep phoning the police commissioner from payphones, keeping him under the illusion he was still inside the bank. 

Ah, a world before cellphones, or Caller ID. Not to mention all the stuff at the airport. I like to be reminded of this stuff in old movies that hinge on plot points that require annotation for an audience of today.

~