Cold Case

I absolutely loved this episode.



But as a deaf person some of the reviews are alittle far fetched. I think there is too much expectation on the show being medically accurate and forgetting it's only an hour long show. I think that people also forget that every deaf person's experience is different so how can anyone say that deaf people aren't like that or deaf people aren't like this?



I often encounter daily hearing people who think I should automatically know how to read lips so that was pretty much on point. I also encounter the same attitude that was displayed in the episode. I wear hearing aids and am not a native signer b/c I grew up oral and sometimes the attitude I get from the congenital deaf community or those who have been signing for a long time (or even sometimes from hearing students at my school who sign fluently) is that they don't want to be bothered by people like me. Now that is not to say that this is the attitude of all or even most. I have found most are very patient with me and accept me but unfortunately that elitist attitude is present and the producers did a good job of showing this. It is also a reality that some hearing people do want deaf people to conform to them. I think people forget way back when that people would actually take their children to a priest for holy water hoping that deafness was a curse. And cochlears are a big issue in the deaf community. Someone also mentioned about the cochlear process. I think you have to keep in mind once again this is only an hour show they can't possibly be 100% accurate when it comes to such an extended process. It was also mentioned that ASL can't be learned from a book--not 100% true. Yes it is best to have deaf interaction but I grew up oral and I first started teaching my self ASL from the very same book Vera had (Signing for Dummies). And anyone who doubts that the deaf can play the piano is mistaken. Many great composers were deaf. Like I.King Jordan said, "Deaf can do anything, except hear!" If you all can't get over litte inaccuracies that don't really break the story then you will never see the true beauty of this episode.



Overall this episode was as accurate as possible within the time frame and gave an accurate portryal of various perspectives on the deaf community.

I love this episode of Cold Case.

I was suprised by the actor I did not know: Ryan Lane.

He is realy great and brings a lot of special feelings up. His acting is of exceptional quality and I hope to see more of him in series or movies. If I was Gus Van Sant or Larry Clark I would cast him in my next film. So, the only thing I can say, See Ryan Lane. This episode was on the Dutch tv last night. I give it a 10+. I saw Ryan is also starring in 'Dummy Hoy: A Deaf Hero' I cannot find this movie in The Netherlands so will try to buy it in the USA.

Whilst on one hand I do agree with what people have said re not having a professional interpreter, and the dean being the intepreter was inappropiate etc etc, it needs to be realised that it is only a 40 minute tv show. As much as they'd love to be able to get everything right about the deaf culture, no show is able to be completely realistic, i.e. results in a few hours (DNA) - as if! The amount of explaining they'd have to do to just incorporate that deaf people can only understand a small amount based on just lipreading/need to go through the gruelling process of waiting for the cochlear implant would have wasted valuable time on the show.



I'm just pleased to see a show that incorporated such a great deal of deafness into the episode rather than only one person being deaf, but no mention of that once they have hearing aids/cochlear. I did spend the tv show talking abt the unrealisticness of some of the portrayals, but I think they deserve kudos for doing an episode based around the deaf community in the first place.

A nice return for the show after a long hiatus and glaring medical and legal inaccuracies couldn't take the joy of a new episode away. Loved the dip into the deaf culture the show once again takes us to a world a lot of us may not be familiar with. The struggle of the deaf in our society was heart wrenching and seeing the hatred and fear from their side was a nice touch. The case had some good twist and turns looking for the culprit and the victim was interesting outside of his death. The squad once again had great personal issues to deal with. Kat's issue with her daughters father was dealt with well and it did great for her character showing the maturity to face the man once and for all. Valera continues his meld into whatever is going on with the case and embraced signing and the deaf community with open and comical arms. Despite a few factual errors once again the show gave us what we like about Cold Case. A good story, a great cast giving a great performance and a great resolution to a crime good episode.

When I started to see this episode, I was surprised. I wasn't expecting to see that.



I always thought that sign language was amazing. I don't think of it as only a language for the deaf and dumb people. I see it also as a body expression, it's amazing using you fingers, hands, arms, body to say something to someone, to express what you feel.

This is something I would like to learn and some day I will. It was interesting to see Nick, the one mocking and saying those things, learning and using sign language. Even so, no one learns that fast, even with the dummies book. Other thing I liked was the fact that Andy's father understood Andy's wish to hear again, he wanted to see joy in his face again, like he did when he played piano.

And also Kat giving Jones a chance.



I know that some people might think it's treason wanting to hear again, I thing it's the chance to be part of two worlds, the bridge that connects them. I find it amazing.

Again mixed reviews from the other patrons. Hmm. Personally I found the plot fascinating. All the deaf people and the ASL. I never knew that people considered them to be from different worlds. Or maybe that was just played up by the show. All I know is, it was very good drama and I also never knew about cochlear. I personally loved the symbolism of the love triangle. It was ironically the victim being pulled between 2 worlds. Anyway, I recommend this episode to everyone at TV.com. And did not think it one bit offensive to the deaf people of America.

I thought the Deaf actors were awesome...And great that they actually used ASL. But as an interpreter myself, I had to cringe when the Dean (hearing) suddenly became the interpreter for Deaf parents and then chose to interject her opinion to the cops without bothering to continue signing! Appalling! The steroetypes of the deaf characters being able to read lips perfectly was ridiculous, but typical. And finally, Andy would have never been able to get a cochlear and the same day as the "out patient" surgery be able to use it and hear from it without a full month recovery time! Do your research Cold Case producers! And ASL cannot be learned and understood from a book in a few days! Also, if there are any legal issues with cops and Deaf people they must always have a trained, qualified, certified interpreter present. And not a one to be found through the whole show! However, Ryan Lane (Andy) was great, but knowing that he is really Deaf, can he really play the piano??

As another review of this episode pointed out, this episode is very well acted. That is the main reason why I am giving this episode a high score. However, I had a bit of trouble with the episode's portrayal of deaf people. In this episode the deaf students at the school are portrayed as prejudice and hateful of those who can hear and I had a lot of difficulty buying that. I can't and won't say I am an expert on the subject, but I just didn't buy what this episode was selling. I hope this mistake won't be repeated.

CBS & Cold Case really could have helped the deaf community and show them in a positive light as they too are humans. Not a lot of them can depend on reading lips. As they also need to be seen doing more sign language. Which they failed to use a lot often. But still, it was a good show in which not just the son that was killed back in 2006 was deaf. But also the father of that deceased son was deaf as well. Plus, despite the son not hearing the music, he seemed to play the piano really well. Again, the deaf community needed to be shown in a positive light. Still, well-acted though!

I can understand why the deaf community is offended by this episode. The writers didn't do enough research which had me also shaking my head. Though I am not deaf I studied ASL back in HS and learned about Deaf culture.



ASL is a beautiful language. In requards to this one episode, I still love the show but hated the fact that I found so many errors. Then again many people are uneducated about ASL and Deaf culture which is a shame. I found it hard to believe that everyone people they interviewed could read lips. One thing was good was how Lilly looked up at the moon trying to listen with her eyes just how Andy said he did. It's kind of a tribute to him. I think that wasn't racist at all but more of an understanding. Even Vera tried his best to sign though it wasn't perfect and he did speak while signing. He too rather an interest in ASL rather then bash it.

Officers, by law, must have a certified Signing Interpreter with them when meeting with deaf suspects who rely on Signing for personal communication. Lip-reading is a guessing game, not a form of communication! The sound of spoken words are formed from inside the mouth with the tongue and not on the lips! Whatever correct guess a deafie has from knowing what the hearie is saying depends on the situation and the individual. Familiar with the game of Charades? The person with the best body expressions and mime techniques is the one who is best understood … and then after how many guesses? Deaf persons can understand reading music with counting and note placements, and then also can feel vibrations and rhythms better than most hearing people.



The deafie actors in "Andy in C Minor" perfectly hit their marks while correctly using ASL, especially Emma's two-year Signing knowledge expressions with Andy's "native" Signing. They all performed as great actors, albeit bad script! How many deafies are suffering thru lip-reading so hearies will include them?

How many hearies understand when lip-reading thru a second language? How many think deafies are liars if they don't understand lip-reading?!?



The way the story should have ended based on the premise of visual cues only and not exact information … the person who had the angriest face did it!

This episode really did not do justice to the excellent previous writing which is a trademark of Cold Case. From the very beginning, it seems many of the critical aspects of deafness and Deaf culture were ignored for the sake of a storyline. Several examples are quite notable. First, throughout the program there was mention that "they can read your lips" and people would stop signing around the deaf folk. That is a great misperception because very very few deaf people are expert lipreaders to the point that conversation is understood without supplementing with sign language. In fact, even the very best lipreader can only pick up ~30% of what is being said. Second, the idealogy that deaf people "belong" in their own world and cannot succeed "out there" is truly wrong, and gives people yet another misperception that most already believe, unfortunately. In addition, the deaf characters rarely if ever spoke when they were using sign language, and then miraculously they spoke after receiving a cochlear implant. Oh brother...most deaf people, even culturally deaf, to begin with use both verbal and manual forms of communication and don't just all of a sudden start to verbalize after surgery. Lastly, the fact that they had Andy listening and playing music immediately after his surgery is a mischaracterization of the severity of the decision behind receiving a CI. It takes months before the implant will even be connected, and many more before it is useful. Hopefully those individuals viewing this episode are intelligent enough to know that most of the characterization of deafness and cochlear implants was misperceived. Finally, not a fact, but rather a personal feeling...the "love" between Emma and Andy was disturbting because she could not accept him as a great deaf guy, but rather wanted him to be hearing like herself. If she couldn't accept him before they were even together... it's not like being deaf prevents one from doing anything...remember Andy COULD hear her voice...through his eyes.

I really wanted to enjoy this episode and for the most part I did. Unfortunately, it was not as well written as I have come to expect from this series. I kept getting caught up in the details that didn't make sense or were just plain wrong. If a deaf person just had to drop by the doctor's office to get a coclear implant, I would think more people would be walking around with them. Also, Nick, whose ignorance is always somewhat endearing, goes from referring to ASL as something where they're waving their hands around to suddenly being able to sign AND understand when other's sign. This is after reading Signing for Dummies. However, what bothered me the most, was the writers making Andy a piano prodigy. Seriously? His parents are both deaf and are resistant to their son being a part of the hearing world. Would they really have a piano in their house??? And pay for lessons for their very young child? So, if you can ignore all of those things, the acting was excellent and the budding romance of Andy and Emma was very endearing.