Crossing Jordan

*Crossing Jordan*
Crossing Jordan
Created by	Tim Kring
Starring	Jill Hennessy; Miguel Ferrer; Ravi Kapoor; Kathryn Hahn; Steve Valentine; Leslie Bibb (2006-present); Jerry O'Connell (2002-present)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	100 as of May 7, 2006
Production
Running time	One hour per episode
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	2001 –; Present

Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that airs on NBC. It stars Jill Hennessy as a crime-solving medical examiner. The show uses an ensemble cast approach featuring a group of Jordan's co-workers, members of the Boston Medical Examiner's Office and police detectives assigned to the various cases. It was created by Tim Kring. The title references the biblical metaphor of the ancient Hebrews crossing the Jordan River, commonly used in spiritual songs to represent death and passage to the afterlife.

During the first two seasons the series used a gimmick whereby Jordan and her retired-police-detective father (Ken Howard) would role-play the events leading up to that week's murder, which would be depicted by showing Hennessy playing the part of the victim or suspect in a recreation of the scene. (The idea being that such role-playing would allow Jordan to figure out the circumstances of the crime, like a profiler). This element of the series was mostly dropped when Howard left the series as a regular.

Cast

Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh (Jill Hennessy) is a young, attractive medical examiner from Boston who solves crimes during the course of her investigations. Jordan is emotionally scarred by her mother's murder when Jordan was a child in the 1970s. Jordan's issues with trust ensure that serious relationships don't have a chance with her except for the one with Woody Hoyt, the homicide detective who has stayed true to Jordan for three seasons, giving in to her unorthodox investigating techniques. However, when Woody was shot in the fourth season's finale, Jordan was forced to confess her true feelings for Woody. Woody, however, didn't believe her.
Dr. Garret Macy (Miguel Ferrer) is Jordan's boss. Macy must deal with Jordan's erratic behavior as well as his confused family (he has a teenage daughter, Abby, but is divorced from his wife) and his own personal demons. Garret has an affinity for jazz. He's been known to have had romantic entanglements with Grief Counselor Lily Lebowski, ADA Renee Walcott, Charlie Davis, and, obviously, his one-time wife, Maggie Warner. Garret has recently admitted to a drinking problem, after finding out his daughter, Abby, had become addicted to heroin upon dropping out of college and becoming involved with a heroin dealer. In the episode "Death Toll," Macy revealed that he had a son, Abby's twin brother, who lived only six hours. He has never told Abby about him. In the Season 4 finale, Dr. Macy revealed that he withheld evidence regarding a case that tore everyone in the morgue apart and had viewers wondering whether he would be coming back.
Mahesh "Bug" Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy (Ravi Kapoor), a brilliant but shy forensic entomologist from Liverpool. He has feelings for Lily which, until the final episode of Season 5, were not reciprocated.
Lily Lebowski (Kathryn Hahn), a good-hearted grief counselor working in the medical examiner's office. Lily and Garret used to be romantically involved, but their developing relationship ended when Garret went back to his ex-wife for a brief period. Lily and Garret remained friends ever since. Bug thought Lily was adopted because her blood type differed from that of her newly deceased mother. Garret recently revealed that the woman Lily thought to be her mother was really her aunt. In "Mysterious Ways," she tendered her resignation and accepted her boyfriend's marriage proposal. She eventually canceled the wedding, but it was not made clear whether she was going to resume her duties.
Nigel Townsend (Steve Valentine), a wise-cracking British criminologist of ambiguous sexual orientation often known for his dry humor and his knowledge of everything from coffee to textiles. Nigel ran away from the Royal Navy, where he was a counter-intelligence officer. Nigel is sometimes though to have feelings for Jordan, because of his willingness to do whatever she asks despite the possibility of losing his job as a consequence. He was also never on speaking terms with his father, who still lives in England, until some time before the episode "Murder in the Rue Morgue," in which he mentioned to Jordan that he was glad that he and his father are back in touch and that he regrets having no contact for so long. Relations with his father continue to be very rocky, though.
Detective Woody Hoyt (Jerry O'Connell), a police detective from Wisconsin who often works with Jordan on her cases. Woody is also known to harbor romantic feelings for Jordan, who resists, preferring friendship because she believes it to be safer. However, on Jordan's birthday ("Embraceable You," Season 4), Woody gave her a diamond ring, a gesture that, according to Nigel, shows that Woody wants more from their relationship, but Jordan declined the ring. Premiered in the episode "Wrong Place, Wrong Time," he became a regular in Season 4. On the final episiode of Season 4 ("Jump Push Fall"), Woody was shot by a cop killer and nearly died in the hospital, an event that prompted Jordan to confess her love for him when it was uncertain whether he would survive. Many fans considered this a big step in the right direction for their relationship, but a recovering Woody turned her down, believing her declaration of romantic feelings to be motivated by pity for his condition. When a case took him to Las Vegas, he started a flirtatious relationship with Sam Marquez (from sibling TV series Las Vegas), which is still going on.
Detective Tallulah "Lu" Simmons (Leslie Bibb) first appeared in Season 5, when she was assigned to work with Detective Hoyt on some of the psychological issues he has endured while serving on the force. Since then, Lu has become a frequent collaborator with the ME's office on cases and struck up a relationship with Hoyt.

Recurring characters

Max Cavanaugh (Ken Howard) — Jordan's father, an ex-cop turned bar owner, who disappeared in the finale of Season 3 and reappeared in the episode "It Happened One Night." Ken Howard's appearance in the show was changed from regular cast to guest star.
DA Renee Walcott (Susan Gibney) — The district attorney who constantly clashed with Jordan. She also had a romantic relationship with Garret Macy, but it ended when she had an affair with her ex-husband and became pregnant (coinciding with Susan Gibney's pregnancy). She returned later in Season 4.
Det. Matt Seely (David Monahan) — A detective who is the son of a newspaper mogul, he has the tendency not to think before he speaks, subsequently annoying the characters on the show. He has shown particular interest in Lily Lebowski, and this relationship is being tentatively explored.
Doctor Howard Stiles (Wallace Shawn) — the resident psychiatrist who checks up on everyone's sanity from time to time.
Det. Roz Framus (Sandra Bernhard) -- a recent acquisition to the recurring character list. She calls Bug "Buggles," which Bug hates.

Former characters

Dr. Trey Sanders (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) — A medical examiner who left after the first season.
Dr. Elaine Duchamps (Lorraine Toussaint) — A medical examiner who joined the team in the second season and often butted heads with Jordan and Garrett. After securing a strong bond with the entire staff, she died of E. coli in the episode "Perfect Storm."
Dr. Peter Winslow (Ivan Sergei) — A recovering drug addict medical examiner who appeared in Seasons 2-3.
Dr. Devan Maguire (Jennifer Finnigan) (Recurring role) — A pathology resident who appeared in 10 episodes, including one in which Jordan did not appear. The character appears to have died in a plane crash from Washington D.C. to Boston in the episode "Fire From the Sky."
Dr. Sidney Trumaine (Eugene Byrd) — A new medical examiner who clashed with Bug over power issues.
J.D. Pollack (Charles Mesure) (Recurring role) — A sometimes oily reporter who dated Jordan early in Season 5. The relationship got serious enough that he considered proposing, but things were off after Jordan slept with Woody in the episode "Loves Me Not." The character was found murdered at the end of Season 5.

Show information

Crossing Jordan premiered in 2001 on NBC. It originally aired Friday and Sunday, its air date through the 2005-2006 season. For the 2006-2007 season, NBC did moved it back to Fridays but it has been pushed back to midseason in flavor for 1 Vs 100 as of 9/28/06 . The scientific aspects of the show are comparable to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation but come with a rock and roll sensibility owing to Jordan's psychological Sturm und Drang.

Hennessy was the only cast member to be shown in the opening credits during the first season, which featured a light Irish-sounding tune. Starting with the second season, the show adopted more clinical credits where all of the major players were pictured.

The show was put on hiatus for the 2003-2004 season because of Hennessy's real-life pregnancy, but it returned to the airwaves on March 9, 2004. The previous cliffhanger plotline was dropped in a new episode, which featured a humorous subplot that paid homage to Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window. The murder victim's name was Alex Corvald — a reference to Thorwald in the film.

Crossing Jordan is produced by Tailwind Productions in association with NBC Universal. Singer-songwriter duo Wendy and Lisa score the music for the show.

International

In Australia, the show screens on the Seven Network on Tuesdays 10:30pm.

In Brazil, the show screens on NBC's Universal Channel.

In Belarus, the show is on Hallmark's international channel (available on cable).

In Bulgaria, the show is on Hallmark's international channel (available on cable) and is called Срещи с Джордан (aka. Meeting Jordan).

In Canada, it airs on Global and Séries+ (French Canada).

In France, the show screens on TF1.

In Germany, the show screens on private network VOX, together with CSI, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Profiler.

In Latin America, the show screens on NBC's Universal Channel

In Spain, the show screens in satellite/cable channel Cosmopolitan, and since November 2005 on the broadcast network Cuatro.

In Dubai and several Arabic countries, the show airs on MBC 4

In Philippines, the show airs on Crime Suspense

In The Netherlands the show airs on Talpa

In the UK Crossing Jordan was previously on The Hallmark Channel but is now available on ITV 3.

In Venezuela, it currently airs on Televen on Saturdays at 6:30p,.

Las Vegas crossover

Crossing Jordan is set in the same fictional universe as fellow NBC series Las Vegas. In the season 4 episode "What Happens in Vegas Dies in Boston", a case took Jordan and Woody to Las Vegas, where Woody got very well acquainted with Montecito's host Sam Marquez (Vanessa Marcil), and the long-distance relationship is still going on. O'Connell has appeared in two episodes of Las Vegas so far, and he's slated to appear in two more this season. Vanessa Marcil has also appeared as Sam in two Crossing Jordan episodes.

Episode list

Season 1

1. [1-01] Pilot (24 September 2001)
2. [1-02] The Dawn of a New Day (1 October 2001)
3. [1-03] The Ties That Bind (8 October 2001)
4. [1-04] Born to Run (15 October 2001)
5. [1-05] You Can't Go Home Again (22 October 2001)
6. [1-06] Believers (29 October 2001)
7. [1-07] Sight Unseen (12 November 2001)
8. [1-08] Digger (1) (19 November 2001)
9. [1-09] Digger (2) (26 November 2001)
10. [1-10] Blue Christmas (10 December 2001)
11. [1-11] Wrong Place, Wrong Time (7 January 2002)
12. [1-12] Blood Relatives (14 January 2002)
13. [1-13] Miracles & Wonders (21 January 2002)
14. [1-14] Four Fathers (28 January 2002)
15. [1-15] Acts of Mercy (4 February 2002)
16. [1-16] Lost and Found (25 February 2002)
17. [1-17] Crime & Punishment (4 March 2002)
18. [1-18] With Honor (18 March 2002)
19. [1-19] For Harry, with Love and Squalor (8 April 2002)
20. [1-20] The Gift of Life (15 April 2002)
21. [1-21] Someone to Count On (29 April 2002)
22. [1-22] Secrets & Lies (1) (6 May 2002)
23. [1-23] Secrets & Lies (2) (13 May 2002)

Season 2

24. [2-01] There's No Place Like Home (23 September 2002)
25. [2-02] Bombs Away (30 September 2002)
26. [2-03] The Truth Is Out There (7 October 2002)
27. [2-04] Pay Back (14 October 2002)
28. [2-05] As If by Fate (21 October 2002)
29. [2-06] One Twelve (11 November 2002)
30. [2-07] Scared Straight (18 November 2002)
31. [2-08] Don't Look Back (2 December 2002)
32. [2-09] Prisoner Exchange (9 December 2002
33. [2-10] Ockham's Razor (6 January 2003)
34. [2-11] Family Ties (13 January 2003)
35. [2-12] Perfect Storm (27 January 2003)
36. [2-13] Strangled (3 February 2003)
37. [2-14] Wild Card (10 February 2003)
38. [2-15] John Doe (24 February 2003)
39. [2-16] Conspiracy (17 March 2003)
40. [2-17] Cruel and Unusual (31 March 2003)
41. [2-18] Fire and Ice (7 April 2003)
42. [2-19] Dead Wives Club (14 April 2003)
43. [2-20] Sunset Division (21 April 2003)
44. [2-21] Pandora's Trunk (1) (28 April 2003)
45. [2-22] Pandora's Trunk (2) (5 May 2003)

Season 3

46. [3-01] Devil May Care (7 March 2004)
47. [3-02] Slam Dunk (12 March 2004)
48. [3-03] Till Death Do Us Part (14 March 2004)
49. [3-04] Is That Plutonium in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Happy to See Me? (19 March 2004)
50. [3-05] Dead or Alive (21 March 2004)
51. [3-06] Second Chances (28 March 2004)
52. [3-07] Missing Pieces (4 April 2004)
53. [3-08] Most Likely (18 April 2004)
54. [3-09] All the News Fit to Print (25 April 2004)
55. [3-10] Revealed (9 May 2004)
56. [3-11] He Said, She Said (16 May 2004)
57. [3-12] Dead in the Water (23 May 2004)
58. [3-13] Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? (6 June 2004)

Season 4

59. [4-01] After Dark (26 September 2004)
60. [4-02] Out of Sight (3 October 2004)
61. [4-03] Intruded (10 October 2004)
62. [4-04] Deja Past (17 October 2004)
63. [4-05] Justice Delayed (24 October 2004)
64. [4-06] Blue Moon (31 October 2004)
65. [4-07] What Happens in Vegas Dies in Boston (7 November 2004)
66. [4-08] Fire from the Sky (14 November 2004)
67. [4-09] Necessary Risks (21 November 2004)
68. [4-10] A Stranger Among Us (2 January 2005)
69. [4-11] Murder in the Rue Morgue (9 January 2005)
70. [4-12] Family Affair (30 January 2005)
71. [4-13] You Really Got Me (13 February 2005)
72. [4-14] Gray Murders (13 March 2005)
73. [4-15] It Happened One Night (20 March 2005)
74. [4-16] Skin and Bone (27 March 2005)
75. [4-17] Locard's Exchange (10 April 2005)
76. [4-18] Sanctuary (24 April 2005)
77. [4-19] Embraceable You (1 May 2005)
78. [4-20] Forget Me Not (8 May 2005)
79. [4-21] Jump Push Fall (15 May 2005)

Season 5

80. [5-01] There's No Place Like Home II (25 September 2005)
81. [5-02] Luck Be a Lady (2 October 2005)
82. [5-03] Under the Weather (9 October 2005)
83. [5-04] Judgement Day (16 October 2005)
84. [5-05] Enlightenment (23 October 2005)
85. [5-06] Total Recall (30 October 2005)
86. [5-07] Road Kill (27 November 2005)
87. [5-08] A Man in Blue (4 December 2005)
88. [5-09] Death Goes on (11 December 2005)
89. [5-10] Loves Me Not (8 January 2006)
90. [5-11] The Elephant in the Room (15 January 2006)
91. [5-12] Code of Ethics (22 January 2006)
92. [5-13] Dreamland (29 January 2006)
93. [5-14] Death Toll (12 March 2006)
94. [5-15] Blame Game (19 March 2006)
95. [5-16] Someone to Watch Over Me (26 March 2006)
96. [5-17] Save Me (9 April 2006)
97. [5-18] Thin Ice (16 April 2006)
98. [5-19] Mysterious Ways (23 April 2006)
99. [5-20] Mace vs. Scalpel (30 April 2006)
100. [5-21] Don't Leave Me This Way (7 May 2006)

External links