The Worst Episodes of Cold Case
Every episode of Cold Case ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Cold Case!
The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about justice for all the victims she can.
Lowest Rated Episodes Summary
The worst episode of "Cold Case" is "The Hitchhiker", rated 7.2/10 from 504 user votes. It was directed by Marita Grabiak and written by Sean Whitesell. "The Hitchhiker" aired on 12/21/2003 and is rated 0.0 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "Kensington".
7.2/10 504 votes#1 - The Hitchhiker
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/21/2003
Rush and Valens investigate the case of a cold-blooded killer who shot a young man trying to hitchhike his way home to Philly from Atlanta.
Director: Marita Grabiak
Writer: Sean Whitesell
7.2/10 387 votes#2 - Kensington
Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 4/24/2005
The murder case of a young mill worker is re-opened when Rush learns that a recent parolee admitted to stealing money off the victim's body.
Director: Bill Eagles
Writer: Sean Whitesell
7.2/10 439 votes#3 - 8 Years
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 1/8/2006
Four close high school friends each went their separate ways in 1980. Eight years later, in 1988, one of them was murdered. The homicide team receives a tip about the murder, prompting a re-investigation of the case and an examination of the friends' lives, hopes and dreams after high school.
Director: Mark Pellington
Writer: Meredith Stiehm
7.2/10 389 votes#4 - Willkommen
Season 3 Episode 18 - Aired 4/2/2006
The team re-opens the 2002 case of a murdered amateur actor when the owner of a local community theater finds a gun hidden inside prop furniture.
Director: Paris Barclay
Writer: Andrea Newman
7.2/10 356 votes#5 - Baby Blues
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/2006
A 6-month-old girl's 1982 death, originally ruled to be a result of sudden-infant-death syndrome, is investigated when new evidence reveals the baby may have drowned. Also, Lilly learns that Ray is in the hospital after apparently being beaten.
Director: David Barrett
Writer: Liz W. Garcia
7.2/10 263 votes#6 - Mind Games
Season 6 Episode 18 - Aired 3/22/2009
The team suspect a 2004 arson that killed a psychiatrist may have been caused by her former patient.
Director: Donald E. Thorin Jr.
Writer: Gavin Harris
7.2/10 264 votes#7 - Stealing Home
Season 6 Episode 20 - Aired 4/12/2009
The team re-opens the 1999 murder of a Cuban baseball star who fled to the U.S. after being fired from his team.
Director: Kevin Bray
Writer: Elwood Reid, Danny Pino
7.2/10 236 votes#8 - Dead Heat
Season 7 Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/2009
The 1986 murder of a jockey is investigated after his body is discovered in a mass grave for horses. The victim disappeared shortly after losing a race that he had planned to be his finale before retiring.
Director: Nathan Hope
Writer: Adam Glass
7.3/10 455 votes#9 - Late Returns
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/4/2004
The shooting death of a man in his driveway is connected to the unsolved 1992 murder of a Democratic campaign worker whose lifeless body was thrown into a nearby river on election night. The investigation centers on the relationship the dead woman had with a present-day congressman. Apparently, the victim in the current homicide probed into the earlier slaying and discovered damning new evidence. Elsewhere, Lilly spies Kite flirting with a new ADA and gets jealous.
Director: David Straiton
Writer: Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie
7.3/10 422 votes#10 - Yo, Adrian
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 1/16/2005
When a dying boxing referee makes a confession about a 1976 fight, the team re-opens the case in which an underdog fighter, arranged to fight against a much more qualified boxer, took a heavy beating in the match and died only moments afterwards.
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Sean Whitesell
7.3/10 383 votes#11 - Start-Up
Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/2005
Lilly re-opens the 1999 case of a young, healthy woman who nevertheless died of a heart attack. In the late 1990's, she was briefly an Internet millionaire, but due to bad business decisions, her dot.com company eventually went bust.
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Karin Lewicki
7.3/10 378 votes#12 - Sandhogs
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/2006
When the remains of a sandhog miner who disappeared in 1947 are found in a subway service tunnel, the team is prompted to re-open the case when they suspect the victim might have been murdered for being a union activist.
Director: David Von Ancken
Writer: Greg Plageman
7.3/10 393 votes#13 - The Red and the Blue
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 12/10/2006
Lilly and Valens travel to Nashville and Knoxville to investigate the 2000 murder of a country-music singer who was gunned down outside of a Philadelphia bar where he and his band had recently played. The unsolved case is reopened when the gun used in the homicide turns up.
Director: Steve Boyum
Writer: Meredith Stiehm
7.3/10 329 votes#14 - Thick as Thieves
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/2007
The team re-opens the 1989 case of an unidentified Jane Doe when she dies in the hospital, after being comatose since the day she was shot 18 year ago.
Director: Holly Dale
Writer: Christopher Silber
7.3/10 291 votes#15 - Glory Days
Season 6 Episode 1 - Aired 9/28/2008
The 1973 murder of a college-football star's on the eve of a championship game. The unsolved case is reopened when new evidence suggests he was killed earlier than previously assumed and the victim may have been involved with steroids.
Director: Roxann Dawson
Writer: Gavin Harris
7.3/10 272 votes#16 - Breaking News
Season 6 Episode 13 - Aired 1/11/2009
The team re-investigates the 1988 murder of a young TV reporter. Previously unseen news footage suggests she was on the verge of breaking a huge story about the unethical practices of a plastics company.
Director: Holly Dale
Writer: Erica Shelton Kodish
7.3/10 276 votes#17 - Witness Protection
Season 6 Episode 15 - Aired 2/15/2009
When the mother of a missing team storms into station. The case of a witness protection member is reopened when his body is identified by the missing teen.
Director: Alex Zakrzewski
Writer: Elle Triedman
7.3/10 298 votes#18 - Jackals
Season 6 Episode 16 - Aired 3/8/2009
The 1976 murder of a teen-aged girl is reopened when her father produces a photo of her and a vicious biker gang.
Director: Marcos Siega
Writer: Taylor Elmore
7.3/10 274 votes#19 - The Crossing
Season 7 Episode 1 - Aired 9/27/2009
With the team investigating the 1966 shipboard murder of a young woman traveling in steerage on a luxury ocean liner who was believed to have committed suicide by jumping overboard. But new evidence indicates otherwise. Meanwhile, the trial of a military academy official who attempted to harm Lilly begins.
Director: Alex Zakrzewski
Writer: Taylor Elmore
7.4/10 587 votes#20 - The Runner
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/26/2003
After a drug addict brings in an audio tape she found on which a fatal shooting is heard, Lilly reopens a 1973 murder case involving the death of a twenty-one-year-old rookie cop. The young officer was shot three times in the chest while responding to a call at a drug-infested housing project.
Director: David Straiton
Writer: Veena Sud
7.4/10 467 votes#21 - The Lost Soul of Herman Lester
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 3/14/2004
When the son of a murdered high-school basketball star receives a death threat, Rush and Valens reopen the 1987 case of Herman Lester who was stabbed to death only hours after leading his team to win the state championship.
Director: Tim Matheson
Writer: Sean Whitesell
7.4/10 458 votes#22 - Greed
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 4/18/2004
The team reopens the 1985 case of a wealthy stock broker. At the time it was deemed that Charles Danville was killed when someone attempted to steal his car, but new evidence suggests that he may, in fact, have been murdered.
Director: Karen Gaviola
Writer: Stacy Kravetz
7.4/10 433 votes#23 - Red Glare
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 11/21/2004
The 1953 murder of a white school teacher, a communist sympathizer who was involved in civil-rights issues, is reopened after the victim's youngest son asks for it to be reinvestigated. The probe reveals that the slain man was killed on the same day that the Rosenbergs were executed and was set to testify the next day before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Director: Tim Matheson
Writer: Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie
7.4/10 398 votes#24 - Schadenfreude
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 3/20/2005
A man claims that he was wrongfully convicted of the 1982 murder of his rich wife. The case is reopened when the victim's rare ring is discovered worn by a recently deceased junkie.
Director: Tim Matheson
Writer: Gina Gionfriddo
7.4/10 410 votes#25 - Debut
Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 1/29/2006
Lilly re-opens the 1968 case of an 18-year-old girl who died -- apparently accidentally -- at the night of her debutante ball. Now her mother comes forth with new evidence when a local art dealer is accused of murdering his wife in the same manner the girl died.
Director: Tim Hunter
Writer: Karin Lewicki