Law And Order Criminal Intent

NEST HEADS by John Allen

©2007 Copley News Service

This is usually me -- I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  I am still exposed to a lot of TV, living in a house with a husband and two kids.  But there are very few shows for which I will switch on the television.  I like (but don't watch every week) Numbers, Monk, CSI (original), and NCIS.  I also occasionally watch Cold Case and Without A Trace.  Last year I enjoyed a new crime drama called Close To Home.  But I will make the time to watch Law and Order Special Victims Unit and the newer Law and Order Criminal Intent.

I liked the original Law and Order and used to watch it most of the time.  When the spin off SVU came on the air I enjoyed it even more.  But my favorite of the three has to be Law and Order CI, for various reasons, not the least of which are the acting abilities of Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe.  CI starts its new season this Thursday on the USA Network, and this weekend they have been showing a CI marathon.  I have indulged myself!  I even stayed up way later than I should have last night watching episode after episode.

I think it is a very intelligent, sophisticated show, but I particularly like the acting and the way the main characters mesh together.  Vincent D'Onofrio has played very diverse roles over the years, and I find his character on this show, Bobby Goren, fascinating -- the way he uses his hands when he talks, the way he sits close to a suspect he's interrogating, casually propping his chin in his hand and closely studying the suspect's face, his speech cadence, even the movements of his head and neck are just fascinating; I can't think of any other word to describe it.  His character is Holmes-like in his deductive powers, Columbo-like in noticing and zeroing in on the smallest detail, and a genius who is on that borderline between sanity and having a total nervous breakdown.

Erbe's character of Alex Aemes is perfect as a foil for D'Onofrio's character.  She is calm, reasonable, smart, and she understands Gore and his methods and deals well with his quirkiness.  She also isn't afraid to rein him in when needed.  I also like seeing this kind of female playing the senior officer.

Last year the other CI duo were Chris Noth playing Mike Logan, a bit of a hothead with a good gut instinct, and Julianne Nicholson who played Wheeler, the new kid on the block.  This year Nicholson is being replaced with an actress I'm not familiar with, Alicia Witt.  I liked the combination of Noth and Nicholson and hope Witt's character meshes as well.

So, here I have given you an entry the likes of which you won't often see from me.  I rarely go ga-ga over an actor or performer of any kind, and I don't usually tout TV shows or specific actors.  But I am rather infatuated with Law & Order Criminal Intent.

Left to right: Julianne Nicholson, Chris Noth, Vincent D'Onofrio, Eric Bogosian, and Kathryn Erbe.

Note: Thank you toCathy (Carrotlife), who brought a mistake to my attention -- I had Bogosian and Noth switched in the caption but have since corrected it; I also had Bogosian as playing Logan -- it is Chris Noth who plays Det. Logan.

Tags: Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order Special Victim's Unit, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe