So I'm watching TV late Saturday night, making one last channel surf before hitting the sack, and I come across a show called Cold Squad. It's about a team of police investigators who solve tricky crimes. The main character is a spunky woman with short blond hair, and the theme song features slight moans. Hmmm...where have I seen all this before?
That's right, Cold Case! I sat there amazed that a show could rip off such a really popular show. What, they didn't think anyone would notice that some low-budget syndicated show wasn't a replica of a hit CBS program?
Then, of course, I did some detective work of my own on the internets, and I discover that Cold Squad debuted in Canada in 1997! And it lasted for seven seasons! Which means it came on the air many, many years before Cold Case! A company finally got the rights to syndicate the show here in the U.S. this year, and the run started this past week. It starred Julie Stewart as Ali McCormick, and cast members during the show's run (several cast members were replaced) included Stephen McHattie, Michael Hogan, Joy Tanner, Linda Ko, and Peter Wingfield and Jim Byrnes from Highlander.
The makers of Cold Squad actually sued the makers of Cold Case a few years ago, but I can't find any information on the outcome of the lawsuit. Readers?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-18-2006 @ 9:37AM
malren said...
This all sounds like New Tricks with Amanda Redman, the BBC cop dramedy. In New tricks, the leader is a sunky blonde, but her squad is ex-detectives long since retired, brought out to revive old & cold cases. It started in early 2003.
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9-18-2006 @ 10:47AM
Cross777 said...
OMG your kidding right? Hollywood is stealing any and all show ideas rather than coming up with something original?? Say it isn't so !!
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9-18-2006 @ 1:33PM
Thomas said...
Sunky blonde?
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9-18-2006 @ 11:50AM
matriculated said...
I read about there being a wirting seminar where one of the speakers was the creator/writer of Cold Squad and apparently one of the audience members was (tadaa) the creator of Cold Case! I'll have to see if I can find that article...
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9-18-2006 @ 1:12PM
Veruka said...
The main difference between the two shows is that one is quite good (Cold Case) and the other is another awful example of Canadian dramas (Cold Squad).
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9-18-2006 @ 1:13PM
matriculated said...
Here we go (sorry about the double post):
"Last week, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported that Meredith Stehm, the creator of the American series, attended a seminar on TV writing at the Canadian Film Centre in 2002 where the concept of Cold Squad was explained to her. Both shows feature a female detective who works on unsolved cases but who is deeply resented by male colleagues. In a letter to the Toronto newspaper, Carole Handler of O'Donnell's law firm wrote: "Our clients are very concerned about many striking similarities and have retained counsel to investigate the situation and if necessary, to take appropriate action."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138959/news
Cool piece of trivia: Helo from Battlestar Galactica was on the cast of Cold Squad.
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9-18-2006 @ 4:02PM
Brent McKee said...
It gets even more interesting when you realise that "Cold Case" is a Jerry Bruckheimer series, while "Cold Squad" was produced by Alliance-Atlantis, which is the production company that makes the "CSI" shows, which are also Jerry Bruckheimer productions.
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