Greetings,
If any of you read my Top Ten list of Law and Order episodes, you may remember that I gave a pretty big shout out to my girl, Jill Hennessy. I loved her as Claire Kincaid on that show, and her departure left me sad and hoping for more from her, especially on a weekly basis. Well, it took five long years, but, in 2001, I finally got the thing for which I had been waiting when Crossing Jordan debuted on NBC. If you haven't seen it, let me give you some insight. Fair warning, this post may be long. Quite. But if you like this show, it hopefully won't be a problem.
This show centered around the lives of medical examiner's in Boston, and Jill starred as Jordan Cavanaugh. Frankly, I think she is one of the greatest female characters of all time. Jordan is very complex, to say the least. She can be funny, and she's very intelligent, definitely with a mind of her own and a pretty thick skin. I think that aspect of her character stems from her troubled childhood, which included a mentally unstable mother who was eventually murdered and a father who had become quite distant. Ironically, while I believe this is what made her tough, it also made her empathetic, sympathetic, and a woman who always had a small part of her that was still that little girl, just looking for love and security in her life. Finding that love and security was difficult since she also, understandably, developed trust issues, even though as an adult, she was surrounded by people who genuinely loved and cared for her. In short, Jordan Cavanaugh was and still is an extremely interesting character who always kept the fans enthralled. But as great as she was, Jordan was not the only one in this world. Here's a quick look at the others. Quick, because I want to get to the top ten task at hand.
Let's begin with Jordan's co-workers, starting with Dr. Garret Macy, played be Miguel Ferrar, son of Rosemary Clooney, quite possibly my favorite singer ever. Macy is the boss of the M.E.'s office and he tends to be very "by the book" and strict, though he is often influenced by Jordan's "out of the box" thinking. It is his willingness to do that which really shows the depth of their friendship and how much he trusts her instincts. Then, we have Lily Lebowski played by Kathryn Hahn. Lily eventually becomes the grief counselor, something I'm assuming is needed in a place like that. It was a good choice to have this happen to her character, since she always came across as the most sympathetic. Lily has close relationships with everyone, but especially Dr. Mahesh Vijay, who we all know as "Bug". They are great friends, but he clearly wants more out of their relationship. Bug pretty much fills the role as the (I hate to say this) science geek and he does so in a crowd of scientists of all places. But his character did expand and develop more over the years. Finally, we have Nigel Townsend played by Steve Valentine. Though I love everyone, Nigel is probably my favorite character. Most people would easily classify him as a little weird, with his ideas and style of dress. To me, he's just quirky, smart, fun and lovable. And Nigel usually provides the comic relief that people in this job need. I just love this guy a lot.
Outside of that office, we also have Detective Woody Hoyt played by Jerry O'Connell. He showed up in the first season, and his character just got bigger and more important to the show. Naturally, he became something of a love interest for Jordan, but there were a ton of ups and downs in their relationship, hinting at a romance, then doing it blatantly, trying and trying again at it, while always keeping their friendship intact. And speaking of Jordan's relationships, we also get her dad, Max, played by Ken Howard, who I absolutely love. He was fantastic on this show, playing the part just right. You can clearly see how much he loves his daughter, but there is always a bit of tension just under the surface due to their past. Oh, and he is pretty much the only person on this Boston set show that, in fact, does have the classic Boston accent. Other characters came and went over the seasons, some of which were played by fantastic actors and actresses, like Wallace Shawn, Lorraine Toussaint, Jeffrey Donovan and many others, but these are the most important.
Okay, maybe when I used the word "quick" a couple of paragraphs ago, I may have miscalculated. And now, finally, my Top Ten episodes of Crossing Jordan. As always, I may be giving spoilers, but nothing that will deter anyone from checking out the show. Here we go.
#10. "Don't Leave Me This Way" (Season 5) - Normally, I am not a fan of a cliffhanger ending for a season, but this episode was so well done, cutting off at just the right moment, that I had to include it. The tension built and left us with a strong hunger for what would happen next. I know I hate having to wait for the payoff or resolution, but it ended up being well worth that wait.
#9. "Fire in the Sky" (Season 4) - In season three, the very talented Jennifer Finnigan joined the cast as Dr. Devon Maguire for a handful of episodes that spilled into season four. Her character butted heads with a lot of her co-workers, not the least of which was Jordan. In this one, however, she is apparently and sadly killed in a plane crash. This one was interesting because, at the start, the M.E.'s were literally waiting for that plane to crash, because they knew it would. How? Guess you'll have to watch it. I think what I love about this one is that it is very emotionally charged for the characters, despite their efforts to put things aside for their work. But we really do see them coming to appreciate even more so their friendships with each other.
#8. "Crash" (Season 6) - This is the finale episode, and I'm sorry I have to follow up with another plane crash show. This time, though, it is most of our main characters on the plane. They crash in snowy mountains, trying desperately to survive and be rescued. Initially, this was going to be another cliffhanger ending that would pick up in season seven, but there was no season seven, unfortunately. Still, I think this was a good way to end the show. My only complaint is in who they chose to be a part of this accident. I understand why Lily wasn't there, considering she had just had a baby and was never involved in much field work anyway, but I couldn't figure out why the character of Kate Switzer was included. She came in this final season and was played by Brooke Smith. Don't get me wrong. I think she is a fantastic actress, and I did like her addition to the cast. But I thought, for this pivotal moment, it should have been confined to just the people who had known each other for so many years. The core family of the show, if you will. But that's a small complaint. I did hate that the show was ending, but we did get the one thing for which we had been waiting all these years. We finally saw Jordan and Woody professing their love for each other. FINALLY!
#7. "Secrets and Lies" (Season 1) - This was the two part finale of season one. Here, we get a lot of info about Jordan's childhood concerning her mother. It reveals some very important things, but it also sets up a lot more of the mystery that will come as the show progresses. We become even more invested in Jordan and the answers for which she will spend much time looking.
#6. "Revealed" (Season 3) - As I said, I love the character of Nigel, and in this episode, he is a main player. Nigel shows up at a crime scene, at which Woody has already arrived, where a body has been found in the bathtub of a locked apartment completely exsanguinated (their word, not mine!). Oh, and one more thing. The body has what appears to be bite marks in the neck. Naturally, being a man of science, Nigel believes that the obvious killer must be a vampire. I am dead serious, pardon the pun, about his thinking this is a legit explanation. What follows is a pretty funny episode, especially concerning exchanges between Nigel and Woody, and Nigel and Macy. And I loved seeing Jerry O'Connell in a Goth club. Just saying.
#5. "Forget Me Not" (Season 4) - Again, this episode is focused on Nigel, but in a far more serious manner. Here, the daughter of his current girlfriend is kidnapped in the middle of the night, and Nigel tries desperately to find her with Jordan's help. I really like the way they carried out the story, and I liked the pay off and reveal in the end. But, hands down, the most entertaining part is Steve Valentine. He is truly at his best as an actor here. What with his usual peripheral and often light comedic role on the show, even hardcore fans may forget how good he is when it comes to dramatic acting. Thanks for the reminder with this one, Steve.
#4. "Slam Dunk" (Season 3) - Ah, and here it is. The obligatory episode where a character gets jury duty, is the lone holdout, and eventually sways the other jurors to see things her way. Yeah, I think a lot of shows have done this. I can think of at least three right now. But this one is a little different. Jordan is the one on duty, and we know we can trust her instincts as a medical examiner who is an expert at looking for evidence, as opposed to just someone who has a "bad feeling" that the defendant isn't guilty like the other jurors believe. We do get the typical Twelve Angry Men scenario in the jury room, but the exchanges between everyone are very well written and thought out. We even get a good motive as to why one juror refuses to vote Not Guilty. And, again, there is a great and unexpected reveal in the end.
#3. "Ockham's Razor" (Season 2) - This is an episode with the main story line seeming to be the investigation of a woman's death. The woman just happens to be the wife of a major rival to Dr. Macy, and he is the one who must lead that investigation. That story does play out greatly, but there is also something else going on here. Jordan finds some old, home movie type, film reels which feature her mother years before Jordan was born. I don't want to give a ton away with this story, since it is a pretty big part of the series, but I have to bring it up. Mostly because it includes my very favorite guest star in all of Crossing Jordan land - Michael T. Weiss. If you don't know who that is, go back and read my post, "The Great Pretender", which was a tribute to the show The Pretender, which starred Michael T. Weiss. And I was absolutely thrilled to see him. Eventually, we learn more about who he is and how he is connected to Jordan, and it is truly one of the best story lines in the series.
#2. "Digger" (Season 1) - This is another two-parter, and, speaking as a Law and Order fan, it is pure gold. Why? Well, we get a little guest star appearance by Chris Noth. That's right. After over five years, we finally get to see Claire Kincaid and Mike Logan together again. It was a joy. Now the main plot is about someone kidnapping women and burying them alive, and Jordan is working with an FBI profiler, played by Noth, to try and solve the case. However, there is a very humorous subplot, which obviously juxtaposes the feel of the main story, and it is centered on - you guessed it! - my boy, Nigel. Both stories together really make this episode priceless.
#1. "Strangled" (Season 2) - In my circle of, let's say, acquaintances, I tend to be the person who finds great group activities in which I can never get anyone to participate. It makes me long to have friends like the folks on Crossing Jordan, who would gladly take part in something like what they did in this episode. Now, starting in the first season, we are shown that Jordan and her dad, who is a former cop, do something special to help solve crimes. They partake in these reenactment or role playing activities to really get into the head of whomever the criminal may be. It helps her a lot with her job. In this one, though, it's no work and all play. Jordan invites everyone to her dad's bar to try and solve a forty year old case that Max was never able to solve at the time. Each character is given, well, a character from the original investigation to portray and try to come up with an answer. Do they? Again, better watch. You know, I do know some cops, and I've asked for them to get me some cold case files, so I can do something fun like this. No such luck yet. I guess I'll just have to watch this episode when I want my inner detective to be satisfied. Thank you, show!
Wow, that WAS long. Anyway, there you have it. Now, while I've only seen one season of Crossing Jordan available on DVD, all six seasons are streaming on Netflix. When that happened, I was ecstatic. I highly, highly recommend this show, especially to anyone who likes crime dramas with very rich characters and stories. It truly was and is an excellent show and should be appreciated and honored. I hope I'm doing my part to make sure that happens.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
