Customer Reviews

Crossing Jordan: Season 1

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It took some time for this show to find its footing and decide exactly what it wanted to be. Many expecting it to be very dark like "Profiler" or intricately technical like "C.S.I." gave up on it too soon. The pilot episode offered a lot of background and insight into Jordan Cavanaugh (Jill Hennessey). She was smart and pretty, and terribly messed up, haunted by demons from her childhood. She was also relentless in her pursuit of justice.

Once she left L.A. for Boston, joining the M.E.'s office, she gradually found a home. By the middle of season one, the show knew what it was and many were glad they'd hung around. It became this wonderfully cool show about a small group of people in the medical examiner's office, Jill Hennessy at its center, who had formed a kind of familial bond as they dealt with crimes and their personal problems. In Jordan's case, who was searching for her mother's killer, the two often intertwined.

There was a lot of quirky humor and fun mixed in with the darker elements, making for a great show. There was also a fine ensemble cast. Miguel Ferrer as Jordan's boss, Katherine Hahn as the always "glass half full" Lily, and Jerry O'Connell as Woody, the cop often at odds with Jordan, but sort of loving every minute of it, all brought something to the show's dynamic. Ken Howard was also good as Jordan's estranged father. But it was really Steve Valentine's Nigel and Ravi Kapoor's "Bug" and their interactions with Jordan which made the show special.

They bickered, got in trouble, covered for each other, and generally had a life and a family thanks to each other. Crossing Jordan really hit its stride with the two-part "Digger" story arc. It cemented the show to its core audience, who stayed from then on. Followed by the very good "Blue Christmas" episode, it had finally discovered the perfect mix of crime and quirky humor and personal woes. It was both the dark and the light.

One of the great things about the show was the music. An eclectic mix of songs was often used for atmosphere, which could run from noir to hilarity in less time than it took to make a fun reference to Elvis. From the middle of season one to the end of season two, this was great television. You could never put it in in a nice little box, pegging it as this kind of show or that. It was simply Crossing Jordan.

Here are the episodes for season one: Pilot, The Dawn of a New Day, The Ties That Bind, Born to Run, You Can't Go Home Again, Believers, Digger, Part I, Digger, Part II, Blue Christmas, Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Blood Relatives, Miracles & Wonders, Four Fathers, Acts of Mercy, Lost and Found, Crime & Punishment, With Honor, For Harry, with Love and Squalor, The Gift of Life, Someone to Count On, Secrets & Lies, Secrets & Lies, Part II

With everything on television seeming the same, Crossing Jordan was different. Many episodes and story lines were interconnected. You never got the full story from just occasionally tuning in for a peak. It required some attention and time. It was what made the show work, and its downfall in later seasons when it tried to fit in more. Seasons one and two were terrific, however, and something a bit different for TV fans to own.

Crossing Jordan is one of the few series that was ended while it still had stories to tell. The early seasons developed complex characters with complex relationships and the stories kept you engrossed. Sadly, the show seemed to have fallen off its Network's radar in the last two seasons and ended with a disappointing episode. The cast was amazing and their characters deserved a better closing.

Wow...this was a long time coming!

This was one show that NBC truly made a mistake with in its abysmal decision not to return Crossing Jordan for a seventh season. Unlike shows that stay on well past their prime, Crossing Jordan was still in full swing and had a myriad of stories left to tell such as who killed Emily (Jordan's Mom), where did Max disappear to and why (Jordan's Dad), what was Dr. Macy's "demon," would Jordan and Woody finally get together and so much more.

Crossing Jordan was an awesome television show on the NBC network. It lasted for six sesons and 116 episodes.
Season one was a ground breaker in that it showed a female lead (Jill Hennessy) who was strong, smart, independent, beautiful, vulnerable yet willing to take risks to find the truth. Jill played the character of Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh with such aplomb, realism and strength that I was hooked after viewing the premiere episode. In fact, I never missed an episode in six years!

A part of what made Crossing Jordan such a great show was the fantastic acting of its unconventional cast and the coolest music ever by Wendy and Lisa. You could not view an episode of Crossing Jordan without stopping by Best Buy the following day to pick up a CD or two of the songs heard on the show.

The writing was second to none. There were no gimmicks. You were able to watch the characaters grow and evolve. Their weaknesses and vulnerabilities were shown and this only caused the viewer to draw even closer to each of the characters. No character grabbed a hold of you like Jordan! Jill nailed the role each and every week!

Crossing Jordan truly ended way before it should have but thank goodness the network at least had the foresight to release the show on DVD.

Do yourself a favor and purchase season one. You will not be disappointed. In fact, it will leave you begging NBC to hurry and release the remaining seasons ASAP.

I have ordered my set.

Happy CJ viewing!


Yvonne

At last the studio is releasing Crossing Jordan. All I can say is: About time!

Crossing Jordan was one of the most amazing shows that NBC forgot. With a fantastic, quirky ensemble cast, and a strong female lead, the show was a fantastic mix of crime solving and human character. Jordan Cavanaugh is a driven, passionate individual who goes above and beyond the call of duty to speak and act on behalf of the dead. She gives of herself, sometimes at great cost, to go the extra mile to solve the crime.

The show started in 2001, and it took this long to release Season 1 on DVD. I'm looking forward to the release of Seasons 2-6.

I was thrilled to get the 1st Season and promptly sat down and went through the whole set that evening. I was looking forward to more Seasons, and was therefore delighted when a company named Global DVD....something or another offered me the entire Crossing Jordan series for $140. I jumped on it after reviewing their website and finding no reason to not trust they could produce. It appeared that even after several years off the air except for re-runs NBC is NOT releasing the rest of the seasons, which is sheer stupidity. But I degress; NOW the fun begins:
(1) my local postman knocked on my door about 15 days later and handed me the claim ticket for something we had received from KUWAIT as it had to be opened in the presence of a federal officer and I would have to go down to the post office to make an appointment with said officer through the postmaster at that branch. And, by the way-I would need I was totally bewildered as to WHAT this package was.
(2) An appt was arranged for the next afternoon, whertrein I met the branch postmaster, the FBI branch manager and a member of the local police. The bomb dog had already proved the package safe, and the federal government was primarily there for my safety (or so they said),she actually seemed to be a greatt person-even with this idiotic issue at hand.
(3) Imagine our collective suprise when (yes,Virginia there IS a Santa Clause)16 DVD's spilt out, all with the picture of Hennesay that's on the front of Season 1 DVD. No Disc info identifying WHICH episodes were on which DVD's no play list- nopthing. The federal agent took them, with my heartfelt thanks-I can assure you. The agent called me back the next day, telling me they were clean of any subversive information, but assuring me I would likely want to throw them away. Curious, I went on and picked them up; sure enough the clarity was wretched, the sound very poor, it looked as though the characters were in a fog, and every 5 minutes or so, just for the hell of it, the characters would begin jerking and speaking another language!
(4) Upon calling this company's so called Customer Service, no one was available who spoke English! I took them back to the post office and discovered it would cost me over 40 dollars to send it back.
I tossed them in a recycling bin for CDs and considerd this a lesson well learned.

I think this was the best network show ever! There was a great cast, great stories, and I wish it was still going on. I've been waiting for literally years for this series to be put on DVD. I ordered it without even looking at the price - bring on Seasons 2 - 6!!!

Given that "Crossing Jordan" still demands the attention of enthusiastic fans after being unceremoniously dumped by the network, the Season 1 DVD Set, with its energy and passion, will indeed be welcomed.

The show has it all: a great ensemble cast with a strong female protagonist, thoughtful plot construction, a sense of the ways people grow in and through relationships and a clever and beautifully presented music score.

I'm set to enjoy owning Series 1. May Series 2-6 appear sooner rather than later.

Such a long time coming for this show to be released to DVD! I have to say this was my favorite show ever...the cast just worked so well with each other. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this!!!

Hah! We're all devoted fans and need no convincing!

I can finally begin deleting my saved episodes on my Tivo and trash the poor quality bootleg I bought on ebay to tide me over until the release of this excellent series on DVD.

Did you know that Jill could sing? The first season has her singing "Blue Christmas." You won't find that one on the Crossing Jordon CD you'll find here on Amazon. She's ditching acting for music, and does she ever have a future in tunes! Check it out.