LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The CBS series "Cold Case," the top-rated freshman drama so far this season, follows a female Philadelphia detective who investigates crimes committed long ago and butts heads with her mostly male counterparts.
Change CBS to CTV and "Case" to "Squad," and you pretty much have the Canadian series "Cold Squad," which is also about a female detective who looks into old crimes and faces chauvinism on the job. The lead characters even have similar names -- Lily (played by Kathryn Morris) on "Cold Case" and Ali (Julie Stewart) on "Cold Squad" -- and tousled blonde hairstyles. The similarities between the two shows may soon become a matter for the courts. Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper reports that Julia Keatley and Matt MacLeod, the creators of "Cold Squad," have retained a Los Angeles attorney specializing in intellectual-property cases to look into the origins of the CBS show. When "Cold Case" was introduced to TV critics in July, a Canadian reporter asked about the similarities between it and "Cold Squad," which debuted in 1998. (CTV, coincidentally, also airs "Cold Case.") "Case" creator Meredith Stiehm, a former writer for "ER" and "Beverly Hills, 90210," said she'd heard of the show but never seen it. "I didn't even know there was a show," executive producer Jonathan Littman said at the time. "We don't get a lot of Canadian TV in L.A., so I haven't seen it." Carole Handler, who helped Marvel Enterprises win back motion picture rights for its Spider-Man character, is representing the "Cold Squad" creators. She tells the Globe and Mail that Keatley and MacLeod "are very concerned about many striking similarities and have retained counsel to investigate the situation and if necessary, to take appropriate action." CBS hasn't commented on the matter. ________________________________ Changes to your subscription (unsubs, nomail, digest) can be made by going to http://sandboxmail.net/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
