Cold Case Season 7 Episode Guide

[Samantha Figueredo]

ColdCase was an hour-long crime drama that aired on the CBS network from September 28, 2003 to May 2, 2010. It focused on a Philadelphia Police Department's Homicide squad that investigates murders that have gone unsolved for years, sometimes even decades.

The series focused largely on Detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris) who was (until the third season) the squad's only female Homicide detective. Initially paired with Detective Chris Lassing (Justin Chambers) for the first few episiodes, her long-term partner has been Detective Scotty Valens (Danny Pino). The squad is commanded by Lieutenant John Stillman (John Finn) and includes Detectives Nick Vera (Jeremy Ratchford), Will Jeffries (Thom Barry), and, starting in the third season, Josie Sutton (Sarah Brown), who was replaced after a few episodes with Kat Miller (Tracie Thoms).

Episodes typically began with a flashback to a point several years earlier where the victim, and often other characters, are introduced and their situation is established. From there, the scene fades to sometime later, when the victim's body is shown with no one else present.

A contemporary police officer is usually shown filing a box of files pertaining to the unsolved case among several other boxes. In cases, where the body was never found the scene might show a Missing Persons report. The scene might also show a medical examiner's report if the death was thought to be an accident or suicide.

Acquaintances of the victim are interviewed by detectives and recall their experiences with the victim which is then seen in flashbacks. Witness are often portayed by two guest actors: a younger one to appear in flashbacks when the victim was alive, and an older one to portray the character as they appear in the present (though some actors portray both versions of the character, depending on their age and if the case was recent enough).

Flashbacks typically employ popular music contemporary to the era and are shot in a way that is distinctly different visually from the scenes in the present. When the flashbacks are all viewed, the victim is usually shown having gone through some sort of character arc. When the killer's identity is revealed and confronted, their confession is shown through one final flashback revealing the circumstances of the victim's death.

The episode then ends with no dialogue, but rather one more piece of period music plays over a montage in which the killer is arrested; other witnesses are shown going on with their lives (both intercutting between their younger and older selves); one of the detectives is shown stacking the case box back with the other boxes, now with the word 'CLOSED' written on the lid; finally, one of the detectives (usually Lilly) or someone else close to the victim is shown seeing them apparently alive, well, and happy for just a moment, before they fade away, as though to suggest the victim can "move on", now that their murder has been solved. Since the show doesn't delve into the supernatural, it's generally assumed the victim's appearance at the end is more a figment of the other person's imagination.

Whether or not the show can be called a "procedural" is debatable. The show does not delve into the personal lives as much as some, such as NYPD Blue, but still more than others, such as Law & Order. Love interests for one character have sometimes been shown over several episode, and occasionally subplots onvolving a detective's personal life is shown, though invariably, the case shown in the episode takes precendence.

A Japanese remake of the series titled Cold Case - Door of Truth was broadcast from October 22, 2016 to December 24, 2016. The second season was aired in 2018, while the third season will be expected to air in the middle or the last quarter of 2020.

Cold Case is a television favorite, thanks to its focus on solving long-forgotten crimes and delivering justice to the victims. Each episode takes viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotions. When it comes to the best Cold Case episodes, there's no shortage of great stories.

What sets these standout episodes apart are their ability diverse plots and complex mysteries. These narratives touch on sensitive subjects, drawing viewing into the plots. The show that has earned its spot among binge-worthy classics.

"A Perfect Day" is an excellent episode that proves this point. Here, Lilly and her team investigate the mysterious disappearance of a father who left his children at an amusement park back in 1962. What unfolds is an tale that tugs at heartstrings as it delves into themes of love, sacrifice, and betrayal within a family dynamic. Another powerful installment is "Fireflies," where detectives try to solve the murder case of an eight-year-old girl that remained cold for over three decades. This heart-wrenching story highlights the consequential impact of racial tensions during the Civil Rights era. Finally, "Daniela" presents a case involving an undocumented immigrant found dead in an alleyway back in 1999. This storyline portrays the hardships faced by immigrants seeking better lives away from home.

Detective Lilly Rush from Philadelphia Homicide reopens a 1976 murder case involving two wealthy families when the former housekeeper, who is now old and dying of cancer, comes forward claiming to have witnessed the murder of a young teenage girl who was found dead near a party hosted by her two wealthy brothers.

Lilly investigates a 1983 murder in which a young mother was killed by a homemade bomb packed in a laundry-detergent box shortly before she was to testify in court against a man who exposed himself to her.

Lilly reopens a 1990 homicide, in which a church organist was found stabbed to death in his van surrounded by pornography and drugs in a seedy part of town, after the man's Alzheimer's-afflicted widow begins to have flashbacks about the night of the crime.

Lilly reopens a 1973 murder case, in which a 21-year-old rookie cop was shot three times in the chest, after a drug addict brings in an audio tape she found on which the fatal shooting is heard. Also on the tape are the victim's final words "Runner! Runner! Runner!"

Lilly gets a cocky new partner, Scotty Valens, just as she reopens a 1981 homicide involving a 16-year-old female track star who was fatally shot. The investigation is renewed after a felon, who is trying to get a reduced sentence, tells officers he saw a student washing blood out of a car the night of the murder.

Lilly reopens a 1964 homicide case in which a college baseball player who was homosexual was beaten to death outside of a gay club. The dead man's now elderly and ill mother, who seeks closure before she dies, is the reason the investigation is renewed. Lilly's probe soon turns up some disturbing evidence that indicates cops routinely raided gay bars in the 1960s and beat the patrons.

Lilly tries to solve a 2001 case in which a woman and her 6-year-old daughter mysteriously fell from an apartment window. The girl died, and the mother survived but lapsed into a coma. When the woman suddenly wakes up, she remembers little of that night except that someone was out to hurt them.

Lilly gets an anonymous phone call from a man claiming he killed an elderly woman back in 1989 and buried her body in the basement of a house. When Lilly checks the dwelling, a body is recovered, but the alleged murderer refuses to identify himself.

Lilly reopens the 1997 murder of a 20-year-old college student who, while hitchhiking home after a big gambling win in Atlantic City, was taken into a wooded area and shot to death. The case is reinvestigated when a similar homicide takes place in Delaware and matches another one in New Jersey, prompting police to believe that a serial killer may be responsible.

A college professor, who lost his job and family after being suspected of murdering one of his students in 1995, comes forward with new information on the crime that he hopes will clear his name and allow him to regain his teaching position. He believes the student's death is connected to the recent murder of a prostitute who was killed in a similar manner.

Stillman asks Lilly to reopen a case he originally investigated in 1980 involving an 8-year-old boy who was murdered in an alley while heading home from a five-and-dime store. The probe centers on a priest and a trio of black teens, who may have threatened the boy.

Lilly reopens the 1939 murder case of a 25-year-old black woman after the woman's granddaughter comes forward with new information about the crime contained in letters the victim wrote stating that she was afraid of a milkman.

The 1958 death of an unknown 6-year-old boy found in a field inside a cardboard box is reinvestigated after a small suitcase with the child's picture and his old cowboy hat is left in front of a church. The new probe reveals that the rowdy boy lived at a Catholic-run orphanage and was adopted two days before his suspicious demise.

The body of a champion disco dancer who died in a 1978 club fire, along with 22 others, is found beneath the building's ruins, but with a gunshot wound to the head. The investigation reveals the fire was arson, intended to cover up the murder, and that there are several suspects who had both motive and opportunity.

The bodies of a white woman and a black man who both went missing in 1969 are discovered wrapped in plastic under a building's foundation at a construction site. The investigation reveals the two were involved with an underground abortion clinic and may have been targets of the FBI.

The 1987 murder of a high-school basketball phenom is reopened after the victim's son, also a top prospect, receives a phone threat that he'll be killed just like his dad was if he plays in the state-championship game. The caller includes information about the killing that is known only by the police. The investigation focuses on a disgruntled former player who was suspended from the team shortly before the murder.

Lilly investigates an unsolved hit-and-run accident from New Year's Eve 1999 that left a man dead, after a recovering alcoholic comes forward and claims she is the one who hit him. But the evidence points to the guy being murdered, not accidentally run down.

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