Cold Case – A Lotto reasons to kill

(Season 6, Episode 12 – “Jackpot”)

Now, you’ll note that I say this episode is dubbed “Jackpot” above. I called it that because the official CBS website lists that as the name. However, online TV listings call it “Lotto Fever.” Therein lies the confusion. I personally prefer “Lotto Fever.” But I think “A Lotto Reasons to Kill” would have been fine, too. This wasn’t my favorite episode ever of the show although the story itself wasn’t the problem for me. You see, when I watch Cold Case, I want the cases to be cold, not merely lukewarm or room temperature.

This case dated all the way back to 2007. Sigh. You know that takes the joy out of seeing how the characters past and present mesh or clash. There’s not much that can be done beyond a different haircut in that short of span. Of course, the past and present characters were all played by the same actors. Don’t get me wrong — they all definitely had different haircuts! But that’s just not the same, is it? Recent cases take some of the fun out of the murder at hand.

That fuss aside, the story itself was decent albeit nothing treading any new grounds. A blue-collar, not so bright but good-hearted young man wins eight million dollars in a lottery. He’s overly generous with his winnings as well as a bit foolish. He gives away large lump sums to family and friends and blows more on silly stuff with no thought of the future. As a result, he goes through the winnings in six months and inevitably has no future. Poof. He’s murdered.

So, who done it? There’s the usual list of suspects — jilted woman, evil boss, jealous co-worker, and even an added suspect — money-grabbing “financial consultant.” He’s sort of like an ambulance-chaser although he stalks Lotto winners, squanders their money for them and takes advantage of them. Oh, he gets payback from the law, but he’s not the murderer.

Instead, it’s a bit more trite. A family member who already had a payday, even two of them, from Lotto Boy did the deed. Well, two family members, that is. Ah, nothing like the overdone greed in the family bit. Since I’ve never been in the position of new millions, I don’t know how my family members would react. I hope the sense of entitlement wouldn’t lead to murder. But, it was no surprise to me that it did in this Cold Case.

The ending was even a bit more schmaltzy than usual. Lotto Boy had only 100 grand left before he met his untimely end. He had taken it out of the bank and put it in the trunk of his  Miss Sweetie Friend’s car. Miss Sweetie Friend (Shelley) was the only one who didn’t ask him for money, yet really needed some. In another life, they would have been husband and wife down the road. No, her name wasn’t “Sweetie,” but she could do no wrong throughout the show.

I had to look up the ending song — “On the Way Back Home” by Cicero. As always, it was perfect for the ending montage. But I still want a colder Cold Case next week, please.

Clacked by Jackie Schnoop
on Jan 05, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT