Cold Squad

Miami Vice, move over. Way over! Cold Squad encompasses the drug trade, prostitution, murder, child sex abuse and political corruption. All this is investigated with cold leads that are years, sometimes decades, old.

Ali McCormick (Julie Stewart) is among toughest of cops portrayed on North American TV screens and she leads a team of cops who investigate the grittiest of crimes in the Greater Vancouver area. As a cop with an erratic schedule, Ali decides to become a Big Sister to a pre-teen girl and then develops feelings for the father of the girl. This makes her work/home life more complicated.

The complexities of being a cop on Cold Squad are further complicated by the personalities and talents of other members of the team. There is the ambitious office assistant, Christine Wren, (Joely Collins) who embarrasses superiors with her correctness and knowledge, a former undercover RCMP officer Nicco Sevallis, (Gregory Calpakis), who mixes up his alliances, the hardworking, but not very careful Mickey Kollander (Tamara Craig Thomas) and the right-wing Christian fundamentalist, Len Harper, (Matthew Bennett) who listens genuinely well before making his thoughts known to Ali.

Stewart, who has played motherly and romantic roles in the past, can glory in her success as one of the most watched hard-edged lead roles on TV today as she enters another "seasoned" season.

If her performance and scope continue, in few short years she will take her place alongside actors like Helen Mirren. Go for it, Julie!

It's not just another cop show, it's much more than that. Very rarely have I seen a truly Canadian show that is this amazing. Filmed and set in Vancouver, BC, makes it more appealing to Canadians. Check it out, Fridays at 10pm EST on CTV.

After a fifteen months hiatus most of the gang is back with a few new faces - new office - same problems. A hurting Ali is back to hopefully complete a task she left unfinished before this last season closes for a final wrap. A great cop show that displays a true view into the lives of real policing in a real city setting of Vancouver, British Columbia. This series is actually shot in a location were many US TV series are shot for Hollywood North productions. The issues promoted throughout the production are about everyday subjects and one specific area of endeavor - cold cases - which haunt most big city police forces. Cold cases are matters of investigation that had roadblocks caused by insufficient evidence to closing a matter of a death by misadventure (or unexplained outcome). Persistence pays off with dogging investigators who have to play by the rules with "clientale" who committed the crime who don't play by the rules. Justice is not always swift and solved in 59 minutes and 59 seconds time frame. A strong showing by a cast that works together - not perfect but displays the quirks that naturally arise from normal people living under some unrealistic stress to please the brass, politicians and public who want the answers. Keep the faith and the job will get done. Good luck in your final season. (Thanks from an ex flatfoot) CDB

This WAS a top notch show. I'll state that i could not finish season 3. My wife and i rate season 1-2 as 9 out of 10, FANTASTIC! It was good acting, the cases were interesting, the actors were great, there was some good interpersonal tension, good mix of personal drama, and some really interesting long story arcs weaving through the seasons. Season three started and it was utter garbage. All the characters were hollywoodized, the interpersonal interaction was hostile and they ruined everything she worked for in the first 2 seasons. The actors were more U.S. glamorous, the focus was on personal lives, the cases not as interesting, and the characters were just felt corrupt and lame. Sad and pathetic. I was so sad the series nose-dived - the whole flavor changed. Julie Stewart was the only redeeming part of season three - and they took away her as a focus... she was still great.

Okay, I watched the Cold Squad a few times. Expect for the fact that we have so many CSI and Law and Order shows on the air, Cold Squad would have been a great stand out. I applaud Canadian actress, Julie Stewart, who plays the lead cop, Ali McCormick, in all 7 seasons. She is on par with Dame Helen Mirren in the Prime Suspect series in England. Of course, her hairstyle reminds me of American mystery writer, Patricia Cornwell at times. The show's strength is on the location in beautiful Vancouver as Vancouver. Of course, the show has weaknesses with trying to maintain originality and uniqueness from the American shows like CSI and Law & Order. I appreciate that it is a Canadian show and I love Canadian television but I'm tired of these crime shows trying to outdo each other. There are just too many of them and they begin to resemble each other.