IS THERE A COUNTRY BETWEEN SEATTLE AND ALASKA?

My starter wife once said you could drive from Seattle directly to Alaska forgetting that yes, Virginia, there is a fairly large country in between. It was a braino, but still.

The New York Times seems to have forgotten this, 'cause in Joe Rhodes' puff piece about Cold Case, he manages to go a whole article without mentioning the successful and long-running Canadian television series, Cold Squad, which some feel bears uncanny resemblances to the later US series.

I have heard rumors that the Canadian series was, in fact pitched to the very same network before the US producers "created" their "own" version. I am also told you can look up John Doyle's articles on this in The Globe and Mail.

Why do US producers seem to feel they can rip off Canadian shows, but feel obliged to purchase the rights to British ones? It can't be because the writing is so much better on the British shows -- though it is -- 'cause the first thing the Americans do is take all the wit and bite out of them. The British Coupling is uncomfortable and hilarious. The US Coupling was unwatchable. Let's see how badly they muck up The Office.

Maybe it's revenge for all the runaway production...