Was He Or Wasn't He...Cast Aside?

Well, I logged on this evening with the intentions of making a very different post. Then I went to VDO's sister's blog and found the following comment in response to a question Judith had posed regarding why Vincent, Kathryn, and Eric had been "pushed out" of Law & Order CI.

Elizabeth states, "Vincent wasn't pushed out of the show. He didn't renew his contract. You can see him quoted in many articles about him leaving that he had a great time building the character Goren, but it is now time to move on to other character opportunities. Of course, we all loved Goren and will miss him dearly, but keep watching the show and you might get surprised every so often."

Well, now don't that just make your brown eyes blue?

And don't I feel the perfect fool? Here I've been sending vitriolic emails all week long to people I wouldn't know if they walked up to me on the street and "bitch-slapped" me in defense of a man who...it appears...didn't need to be defended after all. Thank God, I didn't waste my money on sending a bunch of marshmallow fluff to the execs at USA. (I came this close, but I like to think my "momma didn't raise no fool," Yeah, yeah, I know...all evidence to the contrary.)

I have said all along, if this was Vincent D'Onofrio's decision...then so be it. I'd be disappointed. I'd moan and groan and complain and "whine" a whole lot, but life...such as it is...would go on. And now this? I don't know who or what to believe anymore. Didn't Vincent himself say that he would remain with the show as long as they wanted him? Ah, well.

I don't know. It still doesn't explain the shabby treatment of Kathryn Erbe and Eric Bogosian. Even if Vincent wanted out, why ditch Kathryn when she could "transition" to partner with Jeff Goldblum quite effortlessly? And what did Bogosian do besides have a few bad brillo-pad hair days? Why show them the door when Eames and Ross are still perfectly viable characters?

As for "keep watching and you might get surprised every so often," I think I'll take a pass on that, thank you very much. Dangling the promise of a Goren "carrot" simply will not wash this time. I got "suckered" in when D'Onofrio's imdb page listed him as a cast member in the final episode of Season 8. I would have watched it anyway (for reasons mentioned in the previous post) but I kept a vigilant eye glued to the screen in anticipation of a mere glimpse of that imposing figure, but it was all for naught.

The next day, "Revolution" disappeared from Vincent's imdb page to be replaced with "Alpha Dog." So, I'm thinking, "Yep, I got snookered but good." I'll go to my grave believing the USA Network did that on purpose to reel in all the hopelessly devoted VDO fans, hoping for a fleeting peek of their favorite detective, in order to boost Jeff Goldblum's ratings.

As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..." Well, let's just say that ain't gonna happen, folks. I am officially done, done, and DONE with all this. So, "BITE ME" USA Network! Or better still, "pucker-up!"

To Vincent D'Onofrio, I say "thank you" for giving me something to live for and look forward to the past eight years. You have no idea just how much the incredible character you created in Robert Goren meant to this short, fat, ugly, curly-haired old woman in southwest Ohio. The "idea" of Bobby will live inside me till my dying day, and I wish you "ALL THE BEST" in all your future endeavors. God bless ya, darlin'.

Going...GOREN...Gone

I began my day yesterday as I usually do; i.e., I dragged myself begrudgingly out of bed and got ready for work. I typically have several minutes to spare before I absolutely, positively have to leave for the office after I complete my morning ablutions, and yesterday was no different. So, I switched on the old laptop and started my usual surfing "routine" which eventually led me to Eliza's blog where I read the following "ominous" comment, "...I finished this morning and thought I should celebrate, then I read "The Cat" and changed my mind..."

Quite naturally, my curiosity...not unlike that of a cat's...was piqued. So, I took myself over to Tess & Diane's blog where I was acquainted with the heart wrenching news (perhaps that is a "touch" melodramatic...so sue me...but that is how I feel) that Vincent D'Onofrio will be "exiting" Law & Order CI sometime during the upcoming ninth season. Not only that, but Kathryn Erbe and Eric Bogosian will be "phased-out" as well.

To quote my all time favorite detective, "I should've seen it comin."

Well, to be honest, I cannot say that I was truly "surprised" with the news. After all, ever since the end of Season 7, USA has treated LOCI...and its devoted fans...like they were bastard stepchildren at a family reunion.

By the time I arrived at work, I felt like someone close to me had died and I was beginning to go through the five stages of grief. You know...denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The only thing is, how can one "deny" the news that has been posted on virtually every VDO blog around the world and arrived in my email via "numerous" VDO Google Alerts?

As for anger, I’m more “numb” than angry…for the time being. And bargaining? Exactly, how does one “bargain” with a faceless, heartless, brainless, dickless conglomerate? That brings us to “depression,” but since I pretty much reside in that zip code 24/7, I’ll just add this to an already exceptionally long list of things that depress me. And as for "acceptance," well, I'll accept it when they pry Bobby from my cold, dead fingers.

The thing that bothers me the most is it “appears” as if this was a USA Network-driven decision…not the actors. USA wants a “lighter” fare and Detective Goren apparently comes off as too brooding for their delicate, discerning palates. Well, la-di-da, la-di-da, la la!

I did not feel up to writing a post for my blog last night, but I did look up an email address for the USA Network, so I could vent my spleen on them. This is what I emailed to them.

“First, let me begin by stating that I realize I am in an age group whose opinion means absolutely nothing to you, but I just wanted to let you know that as soon as Vincent D'Onofrio exits Law & Order CI, so will I. I understand shows come and go, and actors come and go, but Vincent D'Onofrio IS Criminal Intent. The myriad Internet articles I read today all imply that the decision for VDO, Erbe, and Bogosian to leave the show was Network-generated because you want Criminal Intent to be "lighter" and that can be accomplished with a less "brooding" Goren. Let me just say, I have watched "Burn Notice" from the beginning and love it. I enjoy "Royal Pains" immensely. "Monk" was okay for an occasional look. I have no time for puling adolescents like the ones depicted on "Psych," and I can take or leave "In Plain Sight"...mostly leave. My point is, you've got enough "light" fare on your network. If I want comedy, I’ll watch a sitcom or the Comedy Channel. LOCI is a CRIME DRAMA, so why are you messing with it? I watched the Logan and Nichols episodes ONLY because I wanted to do my part to keep the show’s ratings UP, so the show would not be canceled. Now, I no longer care. Vincent D'Onofrio created one of the most thoroughly complex and completely watchable detectives to ever grace the television screen in Detective Robert Goren. Shame on you for throwing away such an incredible talent. Shame on you!

By the way, as much as I love “Burn Notice” and “Royal Pains,” I’ll be deleting the USA Network from my channel listings after the last Goren/Eames episode airs, so I won’t be watching them anymore either. What a disappointment you are to “loyal” LOCI fans around the world.”

Now, you and I both know that the only purpose this served was for me to let off some steam and get it off my aging, sagging chest, but at least I felt a wee bit better after I sent it. I should have added, “Detective Robert Goren, Detective Alexandra Eames, and Captain Danny Ross…three “characters” who are no longer “welcome” on the USA Network." Ah, well. That can go into today’s email. I plan to send a few more before Season 9 begins. The link for the USA feedback can be found here.

You know, I understand that Vincent D’Onofrio has stayed with the show far longer than he ever intended. From reading articles and such, I know that he has other endeavors he wants to pursue. I get that, I “respect” that and him for his integrity and unwavering loyalty to the show and to the character. That’s my dilemma. I am going to miss “Bobby” so much. I’m going to miss watching him and thinking about him and worrying about him and writing about him and analyzing/anticipating his every movement. No character before him or after him will ever affect me the way this “man” does/has.

With the arrival of each new Google Alert yesterday, more tidbits of information surrounding the disheartening news were released. For example, it turns out that Bobby will say good-bye in the show’s two-part Season 9 premiere, at which time he’ll pass the baton to Jeff Goldblum. Don’t know about you, but I’ve got a suggestion as to precisely “where” Goldblum can stick that baton when he accepts it.

So, I only get me some Bobby for one episode. That’s disappointing …to say the least.

Late yesterday, Vincent D’Onofrio was quoted as saying, “For all my loyal CI fans, I wouldn’t be surprised if Goren pops up from time to time.” While that is somewhat encouraging news, I am hardly pacified. I mean, it is reassuring to know that…considering D’Onofrio’s penchant for dying on screen…they don’t plan on killing off Detective Goren.

On the other hand, I am curious as to what he means by “pops up from time to time.” I cannot fathom my Bobby being relegated to a “cameo” appearance. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my “appetite” for Bobby will not be sated with a few "crumbs" when I am accustomed to "feasting" at the banquet that is Detective Robert O. Goren.

Vincent - "Looking Good"

Ah, the hair has grown out again. That's the neat thing about hair...it eventually grows back. Now if he can just be persuaded to not "shear" it off...again.

Must give proper credit to the Rib City Grill & Catering in American Fork, UT for posting the photo from a recent fund raiser. Of course, I "cropped out" the folks on either side of VDO to show him off to advantage. He looks a little tired around the eyes...talk about your bedroom eyes...but he does appear to be taking care of Detective Goren. Nice stubble.

There is a Rib City Grill just north of Cincinnati off of Route 4 in Fairfield...about 20 minutes away. One of these days, I'm going to drive up there and check it out. Meanwhile, I'll just keep checking out Bobby's alter ego.

"Dead" Colleagues Slideshow

Usually, I call this post the "Partners" slideshow and include photos of...almost always exclusively...Bobby and Eames. But I captured so many photos that included Deakins, Rodgers, and Carver (oh, my) that I decided to switch things up a bit and give the whole gang a little "face time" on the old blog.

Colleagues Slideshow - "Dead" - Season 2

Eames Is "Dead" On

Well, it has taken me a while, but I have finally finished most of the "prep" work on the Season 2 opener titled "Dead." I still have to sort through and delete a "bunch" of screen caps that I don't need to keep, so it may be a few days before I get around to posting the rest of the slideshows, but get around to it I shall...eventually.

I realize this is a rather lackluster lead-in for Eames. She deserves better no doubt, but since I'm feeling quite like the title of this episode, this is the best I can muster at the moment.

Eames Slideshow - "Dead" - Season 2

A Look Back At "Alpha Dog"

Yeah, I know, it’s been a minute…or two…since the final Goren/ Eames episode of Season 8 aired. Obviously, I have never been one to worry about being the first to post comments or screen caps of recently aired episodes. That’s not my style. I work at my own pace, and I do this for…well…me. But if there are others along the way who happen to glean some small measure of pleasure from my meager offerings…then that’s just dandy, too. You flatter me by stopping by my blog now and again, and I thank you for it.

And now, a few words about “Alpha Dog.”

A day or two after this episode aired, I checked the All Things Law & Order blog, and I had to agree with her…I was confused the first time I watched it. Mainly because I couldn’t keep two of the main characters straight…two of the women…the perp’s wife and the dead guy’s “paramour.” They looked too much like one another, and it took my “aged” brain a while to differentiate between the two. By that time, we were well into the story, so I dispatched the notion of trying to figure out the “who” and the “why” dunnit, and just concentrated on the best part of Law & Order CI…Bobby.

Did you check out the pictures hanging on the wall of Hamp’s (the murder victim) apartment…Gandhi, Cary Grant, and Nelson Mandela. Guess he wasn’t just another buff bod and pretty face, huh? Go figure! But I’ve gotta ask…is it even “remotely” possible for a corpse to be in that reclined position? Frankly, I don’t know how the actor maintained that pose throughout the whole scene.

I loved Eames’ little smirk after Rodgers says, “I’ll hold off judgment until after I crack his chest.” This was in response to all of Bobby’s suppositions, educated guesses, and “gut” instincts as to how Hamp had died; i.e., suffocation.

Again, I find myself agreeing with ATL&O…I thought memory foam mattresses “bounced” back. I’ve slept on them, in fact, and never had any part of my super-sized body’s indentation left for me to fall back into hours later.

Okay, I feel the overwhelming "need" to pause in my “recap” of this episode to interject a personal plea to the wardrobe department for next season…assuming we get a next season. Please, by all that’s holy, burn the damned striped shirts before next season. VDO has trimmed down again, so maybe he’ll be back to the suit & tie and French cuffs regime. If not, that’s okay, but just PLEASE, “No more striped shirts!!” she shrieked in her best “Mommie Dearest” freak-out.

Another memorable line comes from Rodgers in the morgue when she says, “Detective Goren, once again, has an irritating way of being right.” Yes, he does, Rodgers, and that is why I love him so much.

And now for...perhaps...the best line ever delivered by a LOCI guest star. It is the one said by Hamp’s ex-wife when Bobby and Eames are questioning her at 1PP, and she tells them, “I’ve played a murderess, I know how they think.” I love that line and loved equally Bobby’s reaction…that little smile and chuckle. Yeah, right…this chick “knows” how a murderer thinks.

“Remind me to never get old.” Ah, if only it were that easy. It has been so long since I jotted down these notes that I don’t remember which character said this or in what context, but I can surely empathize. I am forever telling people, “Don’t get old.” It’s not fun…nope…not one little bit.

Detective “Goblin?” I’m still chuckling over that one. My poor, picked-on Bobby. And look at Eames, rushing to correct the insipid man. I adore the look on Bobby’s face…it’s like he’s thinking, “You little pischer…I could squash you like a bug.”

It was amusing watching Bobby “brush” the photographers/ paparazzi out of the way when they went to the rally looking for the girl that Hamp hit-on in the bar the night he was murdered; i.e., Gala. I wonder if Vincent D’Onofrio does that in “real” life when he goes out. Most likely, he has "people" to do that sort of thing for him.

“Major Case Squad – the name “implies” competence and judgment,” says Captain Ross after the debacle at the rally makes the cover of a local tabloid. Granted, Bobby’s “judgment” may be off a little at times; i.e., Nicole, Nelda, and Leslie fairly "leap" to mind, but there is no questioning his competence or passion or integrity or compassion or dedication or…well, you get the idea.

I have another plea for next season, and that is for “proper” lighting please. I’m talking about the scene when they go to question the guy in prison and Bobby can be found “propping up” a wall. This is a man who should not be kept in the dark, people. They just don’t light him adequately sometimes. It is "annoying" and…frustrating.

Now, I knew it would be Eames who questioned the chick in the sauna. The one who Captain Ross said was, “…beautiful, very beautiful. That kind of beauty requires high maintenance.” (I’m starting to not like Ross again.) Anyway, wouldn’t it have been an absolute “hoot” if Bobby had been the one who stepped through that sauna door instead of Eames? You can’t see me, but I’m smiling at the thought.

And now for the most obnoxious quote of the episode. It’s one of the things Duke’s wife says to Eames in the sauna; i.e., “It’s not just money, it’s the power that comes with money. “Little people like you” don’t understand.” Well, I “understand” this much…she’s a Bitch!

When the Scotch turns up missing and Eames’ explanation is, “Well, it’s not a perfect world. Some Scotch-loving cop obviously drank it,” I love the reaction-look on Bobby’s face. We all know how he is partial to Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Now, I don’t know if Eames was “implying” that Bobby was the “Scotch-loving” cop who purloined the potent potable, but I suppose that a $2,000 bottle of Scotch from a private stock that is not for sale to the general public “could” be a daunting temptation…even to someone with Bobby’s staunch resolve. Nah, he didn’t do it…not my Bobby.

Did anyone else find it odd that a former cop was “stupid” enough to leave his prints on the crime scene seal on the door at Hamp’s apartment? I suppose that would explain why he’s a Security Cop now and no longer a member of the NYPD.

DNA takes weeks to process…says Ross…and yet they magically, routinely have it in a matter of days/hours. Well, we really can’t track that kind of thing anymore since they took away the date tracker. I'm one of the few who actually miss the "doink-doink" and the date stamp.

And I’m really getting tired of everyone taking potshots and picking on my Bobby. I’m talking about the scene near the end when Duke comes striding into the squad room, taking names and making threats and announces to Bobby that “he” is at the top of his list. Got news for you, smarmy little pipsqueak of a man…Bobby is at the top of “my” list, too…albeit for vastly different reasons. So, get in line, buddy, get in line.

As usual, in the end, Bobby very cleverly gets his man to confess and all is well that ends well. And so ends another Goren/Eames season of Law & Order CI.

A lot of people were not too happy with Season 8 overall...starting with the fact that USA postponed the original start date from November 2008 (I think) until April 2009 and then chose not to air the episodes in the order in which they were filmed to the obvious lack of continuity in the length of Goren's hairstyle and facial hair to the horrible decision to write and present "All In" the way they did to the...well...you fill in the blanks.

When all is said and done for me, however, all I can say is I was happy to have Bobby back in Season 8. And I look forward to having him come back again and again and again...until he's a doddering old man, solving crimes from a bed in his room at the "Happy Trails" nursing home. Until then...here's the "Alpha Dog" slideshow for your viewing pleasure.

"Alpha Dog" Slideshow - Season 8