Tag Archives: Cold Justice

Oct 4 2014

Dead Again – Winner … Joe Schillaci – Alive & Kicking

I admit, I have been more than pissed at A&E for dumping Longmire and insulting my intelligence with Love Prison. I mean I watch and write about TV for a living. I understand demograpics. I’m in the demographic range that they no longer want anything to do with.

But how many 18-49 year olds do you know are buying expensive cars and saving for retirement? I’m quite sure Longmire will land on it’s feet where it will be more than appreciated and bring its 5.7 million fans* with it.

But there are shows on A&E that I’ve been watching since Day 1. The First 48 is one of those. From Miami to Memphis to Birmingham to New Orleans to Dallas and Harris County, I’ve seen them all. I own both “Best of the First 48” DVDs. I’ve laughed and I’ve cried. I’m a very loyal fan and I bet the demographic category I fall in is too.

Joe Schillaci has always been one of my favorites. He openly admitted one morning when having breakfast with two colleagues that he was metrosexual. When I discovered he was taking part in a Dick Wolf crime show called “Dead Again” I was really excited.

Executive Producer Dick Wolf has gone from showing us some of the fictionalized dramas of America’s real cases in Law & Order to Cold Justice on TNT (I’m a fan) and now to A&E with Dead Again.

Joe Schillaci, Kevin Gannon, Michele Wood - the team of Dead Again. © AETV.

Joe Schillaci, Kevin Gannon, Michele Wood – the team of Dead Again. © AETV.

Wolf has assembed a team of experts: Joe Schillaci (Retired Deputy Commander, Miami), a 30 year veteran with a background in homicide and undercover work and a fan-favorite from The First 48; Kevin Gannon (Retired Detective Sergeant, NYC); and Michele Wood (Homicide Detective, Chicago, 13 year veteran).

The 60-minute series uses these experts in their field to re-examine controversial murder cases in which serious unresolved questions still linger long after the verdict was determined.

The episodic premiere was Thursday, October 2. I watched it twice. I’m still thinking about it and today is Saturday. The case and how it ended is haunting me.

Like The First 48, the eight cases Schillaci and the team re-investigate will not be resolved when the 60-minutes is up. The first episode of Dead Again ended so abruptly, with no known resolution, that I believe that’s why it’s still effecting me.

But I guess you can’t watch year after year of true crime murder cases and not have it effect you. But what really marvels me is the difference between Cold Justice and Dead Again.

Cold Justice reopens unsolved murder cases with the consent of local law enforcement and has a go at re-examining the evidence in an attempt to solve the murder.

The premise behind Dead Again is totally fascinating when you seriously think about.

* Longmire fans 5.7 million viewers when DVR views get added in over 7 days. Multichannel News (8/28/14) Updated

Jul 12 2014

John Walsh Hosts “Cold Justice” on July 18

 

“Cold Justice” on TNT — Dishing Out Justice on Old Cases

You might remember the name Dick Wolf from his Law & Order shows. He still has one Law & Order drama on network television: Law & Order: SVU.

But he also has his hands into a real life show that’s racked up a real life score: 4 confessions, 8 indictments, 12 arrests, 2 guilty pleas and one 22-year prison sentence for murder.

It’s made up of real women traveling from cold case to cold case, tackling some that have little or no evidence. They bring fresh eyes and talented, tough retired detectives to small and medium sized towns. They use their talents to reopen unsolved murder cases by invitation of local law enforcement and many times, with the blessing of family members of the deceased.

 

YOLANDA MCCLARY, KELLY SIEGLER Credit: Mark Hill, Cold Justice, TNT

YOLANDA MCCLARY, KELLY SIEGLER Credit: Mark Hill, Cold Justice, TNT

The Cast
Kelly Siegler is a former Texas prosecutor and in that position she has prosecuted some of the toughest cases against some of the most formidable and respected criminal defense attorneys in the state of Texas. She has lectured all over the country on topics such as Final Arguments, Jury Presentation, Arguing Effectively for a Death Sentence and How to Pick a Jury.

Yolanda McClary is a former Las Vegas crime scene investigator with 16 years of experience who has worked more than 7,000 cases. It’s been said that Las Vegas is one of the busiest crime labs in the country. Of course you’ve probably heard that she’s the real life model for the Catherine Willows character on CSI: Crime Scene Investigations, which definitely explains why Marg Helgenberger always gets her man and apparently, so does Yolanda McClary.

The Detectives
Johnny Bonds is a retired homicide detective from Houston, Texas. He started his career in 1967 and was the youngest detective promoted to the Homicide Division at the age of 25. In 1988 he began working for the Harris County DA’s office as an investigator and it is there he met Kelly Siegler. They worked closely together in the Special Crimes Unit.

 

Orlando Martinez is the only active detective on the Cold Justice team. He has been a sworn officer for the LAPD for over 18 years. His specialties include case biopsies, interviews and the application of modern tech advances to cases. He loves working in homicide, as it is a way to bring closure to families of lost loved ones.

If you watched A&E’s American Justice, you may know the face of Armando Perez. Armando grew up in a very large family in Brownsville, Tex. He received his BA in Criminal Justice from Abilene Cristain University at Dallas. He went on to graduate from the Dallas Police Academy in December of 1972 and began working as a DPD officer in the Patrol Division. After 26 years with the DPD, working with such various department as Vice, IA and the Intelligence Division, he moved into Homicide in 1996. He retired in 2008.

July 18 “Cold Justice” Episode features Case Updates – Hosted by John Walsh

Who doesn’t know John Walsh from America’s Most Wanted? TNT’s Cold Justice episode on Friday, July 18 features a special episode created in response to fan requests for case updates. Entitled “Justice Served,” this episode will look back at the impressive results achieved by the investigators on TNT’s Cold Justice.