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!

While I enjoyed this series in that it was Canadian, well acted, fairly well scripted and with a good plot, it is my personal opinion that it fails to reach the standards set by such series as CSI and Law and Order. The over-involvement of the squad's personal lives is what I think galled me the most. Don't get me wrong, I like a little personal spice thrown in here and there, but it often seemed to be more about the investigators than the investigation. But hey, if that's what you're going for, then this is certainly the show for you. I'm certainly not a expert, having only seen one season, but I did see the entire first season, and what I saw there mostly pleased me. There was a good, solid plot; a script that is much more high-brow and MUCH less painfully corny than the twenty million other hack cop shows being aired; More than decent actors who are decently but not unrealistically beautiful and who wear clothes detectives would actually WEAR; and for the fellow science nuts out there, forensics is added JUST enough to make it interesting from that aspect. All in all, I'd say, for a Canadian thing, its pretty darn amazing- but out of the whole world, I've seen better.

"Cold Squad" scores with its engaging plotlines, terrific acting (especially Julie Stewart as Sgt. McCormick), and taut direction. Hats off to CTV and the show's creators for creating and airing such a terrific Canadian police drama. For all of you Canadians who are disappointed with the quality of Canadian television series, and for TV viewers all over the world who want a good drama and are capable of receiving a Canadian show, this is for you. It's now on Saturdays at 9pm EST on CTV, so watch it! It's great!

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

I like Cold Squad, I used to watch it all the time when I got satellite TV, back when CBC was a freebie. Julie and Matthew are top notch actors, I cannot say enough good things about them. The premise of this show keeps us guessing, and I hope that it continues on for a long time. The only problem I can see was a guest actor named Shayne Wyler. He was absolutely terrible in one episode. His movements were clumsy, awkward, and in general, he looked like he didn't know where he was going half the time. I found Shayne very annoying, he constantly mumbled what he said, didn't they teach him to enounciate at school? Really, I hope they don't hire him back. Shayne is better suited for theater, and theater only.