Feb 15 2009
Cold Case — “Witness Protection” guest stars
Cold Case brought us another good episode tonight, about a family in witness protection. Before testifying in a mob boss’ trial, the father of the family in protective custody is found murdered, and the son is missing. The plot takes several twists and turns, including an unexpected meet-up with another family in witness protection, and I was completely taken by surprise by the ending. It’s always fun to be taken along for the ride on a show, to follow the leads as the characters do, and not know the answer until they do.
As usual, Cold Case has an intriguing back-up of guest stars, including Jonathan LaPaglia (The District, Seven Days) as ADA Curtis Bell. If the last name sounds familiar, that’s because Jonathan happens to be the brother of Without a Trace star, Anthony LaPaglia. I like the Bell character, since he has a lighter side to him that helps balance the show’s heavier themes. I think they play the klutz angle a little too much, but if he gets to be on the show more often, that might settle into a cute quirk of his character. They seemed to be hinting at a possible flirtation with Detective Miller (Tracie Thomas), but we’ll see if it goes anywhere.
The actor playing the father also seemed incredibly familiar, but I knew the last time I’d seen him he hadn’t had grey hair. Turns out the character Ben was played by Steven Eckholdt–whom I’d seen recently when watching old Friends DVDs. You may remember Eckholdt as Mark, the good-looking stranger that got Rachel her first job in the fashion industry, and eventually caused a rift between Ross and Rachel. Of course Eckholdt has done lots of work since Friends, including recurring roles on The West Wing and The L Word.
For pretty boy appeal we have the son Jeff played by 22-year-old Tyler Blackburn. Blackburn’s only had a handful of roles so far, including a small part in Nickelodeon’s Unfabulous (see photo). He makes a strong impression here, with the perfect blend of teenage romanctic naivete, anger, and angst. Cold Case episodes work because you feel empathy for the characters, and he does a particularly good job of that during a revelatory scene with Eckholdt. Blackburn is next set to appear in the upcoming series Rockville, CA for Warner Bros.
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Jonathan LaPaglia, Seven Days screencap, c1998 Paramount Television.
Tyler Blackburn, Unfabulous, “The Perfect Moment” screencap, c2005 Nickelodeon Network.
