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This film is a fairly realistic portrayal of the life country stars face--whether you're the aging star trying to come back after crumbling under pressure, a rising star full of innocence and idealism with only a naive dream telling you what you're about to experience, a cynical streetwise veteran who has seen it all and who abhors the spotlight while still benefiting from it, or auxiliaries known as management who whore after the money and don't really have a clue about music or what their stars are going through. What I really don't like about this film is the way they make Beau out to be some kind of hero. He's a heartthrob for sure, with his white tooth smile and low timbre voice, but he's really a jerk. First of all, good AA sponsors NEVER get romantically involved with those they're sponsoring. That's an absolute capital offense in that circle, and this movie illustrates why. The recoverer is not strong enough to handle the vagaries of a new relationship and becomes weaker still if the sponsor later breaks it off. Second, he's getting involved with a married woman, and her husband seems to sense that he's more than just a sponsor right from the start. Finally, he takes up with her biggest fear--the up-and-comer that she sees replacing her. No wonder she saw her end and the need to exit. And if that wasn't bad enough, she had a so-called husband who hasn't quite forgiven her not only for their lost baby, and now suspects her affair (which is verified in the movie) but mostly for the botched Dallas concert which probably cost them oodles of $$$ that deep down he lusted after and now is trying to recover before she is really ready yet. Oh I know, he wants to get her back out before she's forgotten completely, but he withholds love, affection, and attention--denying her unconditional love and support she desperately needs right now. So she turns to Beau--who unfortunately seems to think that part of meaningful support takes place between the sheets. It's debatable if he withdraws because he truly thinks he shouldn't be doing this or if he's getting the hots for the New Young Girl. Either way he's screwed up and she paid the price, which he doesn't seem to realize his culpability for.

This is an excellent episode for teenage daughters to watch to learn about the dangers of rape and how quickly a Dr. Jekyll type guy every girl dreams of can turn into a Mr Hyde that is every girl's nightmare. It has just one problem: It was cast in the wrong time period. I went to college in the late 70s-mid 80s and I can tell you that by 1982 there was much more knowledge and understanding about rape than is pictured here. For instance, the lack of understanding that rape is an act of violence and not an act of sex, the girls blaming themselves, the police and administration unwilling to do anything, girls being blamed for what they wore, or bringing guys to their apartments, etc..this was not part of the 80s time frame...now if the episode had been cast in the early to mid 70s it would have been far more accurate as the understanding at that time was much like was pictured here... nonetheless the episode has redeeming value as stated above....

In its episodes, Cold Case frequently presents a historical survey of selected time periods....the issues, trends, consequences and resulting aftermath that led to the next time periods' reactive changes in response...and is seen through the life philosophies of those who lived in that time....in this episode we have the Swinging '70s....as one who was a young person then and in the 80's that followed, I have to say that the portrayal was quite accurate in many ways....

...Swinging burst on the scene sounding like a heck of a lot of fun at the time...a way to be freer as an individual and not tied down by rules of the past...here it is portrayed as a response by men to the women's liberation movement of the '60s...and there was some truth to that(BTW I'm a man writing this)...however it didn't take long before some reactive consequences reared up...the children were the first to show how uncomfortable, bewildered, and eventually contemptuous they were about actions of their elders which destabilized their families...then the swinger participants themselves realized how a lack of expectations led to a lack of the security, comfort, and stability in their lives which after all things considered they really couldn't do without....and then finally some couldn't handle the emotionally crushing psychological devastation that resulted...one because she was too naive to know what had really been happening around her and the other because he was too young and too full of adolescent libido to really process what an older, more experienced person would have realized was a reactionary flirtation, not a demonstration of genuine sexual interest....

....yet just like the 70s, the aftermath led to some favorable changes in one's awareness....our once repressed schoolteacher finally comes to realize that she had spent her whole life following others' footsteps and that true self actualization was realized not by holding on to someone else but within her own self, and she had to do this on her own. This reflected the change in thinking that occurred from the 70s to the 90s with many people in the USA.

As in previous episodes, the music really set the stage....again here I would have used a different song for the end, however..."Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac would have been a better choice although it was already the closing song for another episode (Fireflies)...another good choice would be "Songbird" again by Fleetwood Mac (a band which made a career of making record-selling albums dealing with individual instability from failed relationships)....Or for a really unique music application, try "Winter" by the Rolling Stones....a little known track off the otherwise mediocre "Goat's Head Soup" album of 1973... a song which takes a wistful look back at the mixed results of the past and a dimly hopeful wish for the future...