Cold Case

Debut

Season 3, Episode 13, Aired 1/29/06

Episode Summary

Lilly re-opens the 1968 case of an 18-year-old girl who died -- apparently accidentally -- at the night of her debutante ball. Now her mother comes forth with new evidence when a local art dealer is accused of murdering his wife in the same manner the girl died.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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Kathryn Morris

Det. Lilly Rush
Thom Barry

Det. Will Jeffries
Tracie Thoms

Kat Miller (Episodes 3.13+; recurring previously)

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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A mother asks the team to re-open her daughter, Emma's 1968 murder after her escort's wife dies the same way her daughter died.

6.0

"Fair"

By luckydagangsta, Aug 06, 2010 Report Abuse

This episode was boring. I mean, there was basically nothing to it. A 5 year old could have wrote a better storyline then this garbage.

I guess the fact that she wasn't trying to be like all the other girls was suppose to be personality trait that would make it sad to see when she died, but it just didn't. I felt absolutely nothing at the end when it showed her dying besides the fact that I was happy because I knew the episode was almost over. In my opinion, she just didn't have a strong enough personality for me to really get into the episode. So she stood up for what she believed in and dreamed big. BIG DEAL!

There are some episodes that I can find absolutely no flaws with. Well, this one I could find absolutely nothing without a flaw.moreless

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3 0
Always ask yourself why is a girl so natural when she isn't trying to be and so different without trying to be?

7.4

"Good"

By ariamaluum, May 03, 2007 Report Abuse

I put the blame on the mother. She was the most vindictive. Remember, she was married "well-off" as well. You can be a smart, dumb, or nothing at all but a woman still has to have a husband and kids. This girl was a bit different in that she can't be controlled by society, peers, and her own parents. She is free and successful without dependency. That makes a scary girl. Mom does what all debutantes do and tries to make it look that she was the victim.moreless

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1 0
An improvement on previous episodes.

6.4

"Fair"

By history_girl, Jun 12, 2006 Report Abuse

Right from the beginning of this episode I got a feeling of deja vu - didn't they do a prom/debut one already?

Anyway, this episode was about a girl making her debut after taking the place of another girl who had just come into money. She ends up dead. Many many years later a guy's wife dies in a similiar way to the girl and the mother insists that he did it.

This episode seemed very predictable in a lot of ways - the two ring thing was ok but seemed a convenient excuse. Compared to last week it was better, but I had to take off a few points due to Lily's hair still being down - I don't like it that way and it's starting to make me hate the series - which I use to love.

The series needs more original stories which come back to focusing on Lily - and no more new cops!moreless

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0 2
Proves that the smart girl didn't go as far as many thought that she would!

8.8

"Great"

By JPPT1974, Feb 26, 2006 Report Abuse

They thought that Deb would go as far
She had the brains and the looks
But sadly though, she died way, way, before she could experience that potential.
I couldn't blame those girls for being jealous for her and her future potential
But also it is sad that man who loved her would kill her down the stairs
Ruining any potential as well as their romance
Very, very, sad episode IMO!

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This episode wasn't bad, but it wasn't over the top like some should be. SPOILER

8.2

"Great"

By gmovie06, Feb 07, 2006 Report Abuse

This episode really had me guessing whether or not the guy killed Emma. I thought that the fact they had a society group in the episode was really neat. With so many jealous girls and 2 or 3 suspects, I was really wondering who did it. It wasn't grip-onto-the-seat kind of an episode. Basically, an astronaut's daughter in 1968 joins a debutante club on her mother's insistence. On her big night, when she is debuting, she is killed. But when her mother finds out her escort from that night is accused of murdering his wife in the same manner, she thinks he's the one behind the murder.
I never thought that he killed her. Though, I didn't understand his motive. Was it because he wanted her badly, and she refused him because he was Jewish? Did he push her down the stairs in that second of rage? That was my one question. Overall, the episode was average and I do recommend watching it.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Highlight below for a spoiler: In the episode that aired, we never find out why Emma's father was in the hospital and got pulled from the moon shot. In the original script, Emma reveals to Travis that her father started hallucinating during a sensory deprivation test and didn't recover from it. Edit
- Emma Vine was killed on December 14, 1968. Edit
- Highlight below for a spoiler: Although Det. Vera (and his gutter mind) suspected that Kat Miller's mystery meetings on Wednesdays would have something to do with her being gay, it turns out that Kat has a daughter, whose ballet classes she has been attending every Wednesday evening. According to the original version of the script, the episode would have ended with all Miller, Jeffries, Vera, and Valens watching the dance recital. In the version that aired, Miller's daughter's name is not revealed, but in the original script the card attached to the flower bouquet Miller is carrying would have read "Veronica" -- the name Vera overheard previously. Edit
Notes
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- International Airdates: - Denmark: February 15, 2006 on TV3+ Edit
- Music Featured in This Episode: - Hooked on a Feeling by B.J. Thomas - Daydream Believer by The Monkees - Beautiful People by Melanie - A Beautiful Morning by The Rascals - Waltz from the ballet Sleeping Beauty, composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (from 5 Alarm Music Library) - Moon River, composed by Henry Mancini - Air on the G String from 5 Alarm Music Library - Danny's Waltz from Master Source Music Catalog - Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf Edit
- Tracie Thoms (Det. Kat Miller) joins the main cast and she has been added to the opening title sequence. Edit
Quotes
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- Det. Vera: So who's coming to Sixers' game on Wednesday? Lilly: Nah, sorry. I'm not into hockey. Det. Vera: ... It's basketball. Lilly: (chirpy) No thanks. Edit
- Lt. Stillman: Emma's case was put on a shelf pretty quick after it came in. Lilly: Was it ruled an accident? Lt. Stillman: No, it was handled as an "S" job: suspicious death. Meant no one looked at it too closely in -68. Lilly: Well, it's 2006 now... and we like to look. Edit
- Travis: Emma was like a comet. She just lit up everything. Edit
Allusions
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- Landon: Emma wants to be the first girl to go to Harvard. Travis: They don't let girls into Harvard. Radcliffe College, Harvard's women's "Annex", was founded in 1879 since female students were not admitted in Harvard. Classes for both sexes didn't start until during the World War II, and in 1970 both colleges became coeducational. Although women were only nominally required to enroll at Radcliffe since 1977, it wasn't until October 1st, 1999, that Radcliffe College finally ceased to exist and was fully absorbed into Harvard University. Edit
- Matthew (Landon's father): What are you reading? Emma: Feynman's Lectures. Matthew: On Physics? Impressive. Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was a famous American physicist, researching in the field of quantum electrodynamics. The Feynman Lectures on Physics, written based on the lectures he held in 1962 while teaching at the California Institute of Technology, are commonly held as the most accessible writings in physics to a layman. Edit
- In the opening scenes, the detective is watching President Richard Nixon's inauguration on TV while Emma's case file is being archived. The inauguration took place on January 20, 1969, which means that the police spent only little over a month looking into Emma's death. Edit