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Celebrating 1,000 NCIS-franchise episodes

Zack Nichols: The Anti Goren?

WendyCR72

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Donny Ketchum

Donny Ketchum

I think the show played way too heavily on Jeff Goldblum's ability to play quirky, oddball characters.  Without those oddball characteristics, Nichols could've been a better-rounded character than he was.  Also, I didn't really appreciate how he completely overshadowed Wheeler after she'd spent two seasons working about evenly with Logan.

 

However, I did like him better when Stevens was his partner.  Her seriousness seemed to balance him out a lot better.

 

I wouldn't call him the anti-Goren, though.  He pretty much took the lead in busting his and Wheeler's perps (and sometimes his and Stevens's perps) in the same way that Goren would with his and Eames's perps.

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rujasu

rujasu

I would say if anyone was the "anti-Goren" on CI, it was Mike Logan.  Nichols was more like Goren Remix Version.  Like Goren, he was cerebral, solved cases by getting in the perp's head, and generally overshadowed both of his partners, but he came with a different batch of quirks.  In contrast, Logan didn't have time for the quirks or the dramatic psychological breakdowns of the perps, he wanted to solve the case, put somebody in jail, and go home.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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In contrast, Logan didn't have time for the quirks or the dramatic psychological breakdowns of the perps

 

I agree with this, @rujasu , but it was a problem, IMO, if only because the whole point of CI was the psychological breakdowns of the perps. Which is why, as admittedly good as it was to see Mike Logan again, his comfort level/domain still seemed to fit better on the Mothership. (My apologies to @GHScorpiosRule , who now is probably sharpening a pitchfork to wave at me as I type. LOL!)

 

And as for Nichols, it hit me in his intro episode where it was mentioned that he sort of went incommunicado for 7 years before coming back as a cop. Was he even qualified to be at MCS? Then again, CI never explained how G/E came back (satisfactorily, IMO) after being fired/quitting, respectively, so... At least when Goren went through his S7...whatever...it was established that his undercover work was on orders, and probably why he was allowed back in the end...

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

No way, @WendyCR72 ! I agree with you, that I would have loved to have Mike return to the Mothership, after his appearance in "Stress Position."

 

However, though he wasn't as good as or hell, even in Bobby's league regarding the psychological aspect of the cases, he did his part; by using his many years of knowledge, in the few times he had a few perps in interrogation.  It would have been PERFECT for Mike to have come back after Rey left. Or when Lennie did; since that would have coincided with Orbach's retirement.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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It would have been PERFECT for Mike to have come back after Rey left. Or when Lennie did; since that would have coincided with Orbach's retirement.

 

That would have been PERFECT. I agree.

 

As for CI, I do readily admit Mike was still a great cop. I have no qualms there. Only that his style clashed with CI's very premise, as he was more by the gut instead of by the psychology, but he still got his perp in the end!

 

Still, to tie this to the topic (Zack's forum), as much as I had no use for him, he seemed to have his own quirks and idiosyncrasies, true. And with the shrinks for parents background, he probably got to put that stuff to use.

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rujasu

rujasu

I agree with this, @rujasu , but it was a problem, IMO, if only because the whole point of CI was the psychological breakdowns of the perps.

 

Wasn't a problem for me.  To me, the show didn't really need another Goren.  Nichols was too much like another Goren for me, where Logan was a nice contrast.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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Why is everyone comparing only the male detectives?  In Logan's case, it was always Barek and Wheeler who dealt with the psychological aspects of their cases.  So the Logan teams weren't that much of a contrast.

 

Forgot Barek, but can you blame me? She was in and out in the blink of an eye. And while Wheeler was capable, I never recalled her getting all up into the psyche of the criminals, but I could be forgetting something!

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rujasu

rujasu

Why is everyone comparing only the male detectives?  In Logan's case, it was always Barek and Wheeler who dealt with the psychological aspects of their cases.  So the Logan teams weren't that much of a contrast.

 

Not saying I like it, but LO:CI always followed the pattern of the male detective being the lead and the female detective taking more of a supporting role.  (This was also a problem on Mothership -- only once was there a female detective, and the prosecuting team always centered around a male star with a female assistant.  For all of the flaws LO:SVU has, Benson/Stabler was a fairly equal partnership.)

 

Logan didn't completely dominate the show the way Goren or Nichols did, but he was certainly the star of the show in his episodes.

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aradia22

aradia22

I think I've definitely seen Zach Nichols episodes before but perhaps I wasn't paying very close attention. I watched one today. I saw a little bit of the end of Palimpsest and then I watched through Three in One. It was very odd. It barely felt like Law and Order: CI let alone regular Law and Order. Part of it was of course the creepy serial killer thing which I usually stay away from with my crime shows. It's a little too disturbing and also voyeuristic which is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of SVU. Still, everything about it was off from the framing device to the way some scenes were shot. Were all of the Nichols episodes like this? I also watched an episode that involved dog fighting and boxing even though I usually dislike both of those plotlines on procedurals because I was curious to see what Michael B. Jordan would be like. He was fine but not exceptional.

 

It was also interesting to see Saffron Burrows. I had a review a movie she was in a while back. I've never taken notice of her before that movie but I think I would have remembered her being on Law and Order.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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I think I've definitely seen Zach Nichols episodes before but perhaps I wasn't paying very close attention. I watched one today. I saw a little bit of the end of Palimpsest and then I watched through Three in One. It was very odd. It barely felt like Law and Order: CI let alone regular Law and Order. Part of it was of course the creepy serial killer thing which I usually stay away from with my crime shows. It's a little too disturbing and also voyeuristic which is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of SVU. Still, everything about it was off from the framing device to the way some scenes were shot. Were all of the Nichols episodes like this?

 

Aradia, to answer your question, yeah, most of the Nichols episodes - at least during his lone (brief) season in S9 - were odd, maybe minus "Broad Channel" (the first post-G/E episode [they appeared in the first 2 episodes of S9, "Loyalty", Parts 1 and 2]) and "Traffic", investigating the death of a magazine editor.

 

The rest had a quirky strange tone which, at the time, sort of made sense since the show was, by then, airing on USA and they were in their quirky phase with Monk, etc. But, like you said, it didn't feel at all like CI or even part of the franchise.

 

Nichols seemed halfway okay in S8 when he and Wheeler were alternating with G/E, but as a standalone character was still weird.

 

My guess (and I stress that as I have no evidence) is people didn't take to the changes in S9 and that's why USA got VDO/KE back for the show's last hurrah.

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aradia22

aradia22

 

Nichols seemed halfway okay in S8 when he and Wheeler were alternating with G/E, but as a standalone character was still weird.

Ah, OK. Those must have been the episodes I watched. Also, checked Netflix and darn it I can't watch CI from the beginning.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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Ah, OK. Those must have been the episodes I watched. Also, checked Netflix and darn it I can't watch CI from the beginning.

 

When I got my first Roku in 2012, the first 5 were there, so it sucks that's no longer the case (even if there are some good later episodes amongst the rest). I know in the Netflix comments, others are pleading for the return of those seasons, so maybe someday...

 

The Mothership also only has the first 8 seasons available.

 

Amazon has Seasons 1 and 5 and then 6-10, but it's not the free Prime streaming, i.e. you have to pay for either individual episodes or for the season. But both that and Netflix are still missing S2-4. Weird.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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Maybe you and he should have a talk...

 

Actually, he thought it was a huge joke with his friends, so he posted that. Maybe it is. He thinks JG is cool from those action roles. Maybe I should make him watch him on CI to change his mind.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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Aww, be nice, @Maherjunkie! I may not be a fan of the man as an actor much and Zack annoyed me, but as a person, I'm sure he is a nice guy, so I wish him and his wife all the best.

 

But - and I'm trying not to be ageist here - in doing the math, by the time the kid is born, JG will be 63, meaning he'll be 81 when the kid turns 18. But I guess if he remains active and healthy, maybe it'll work out...

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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Just thinking of "Fly" imagery. I worry for him and Chris too, though he is a little younger.

 

That's right, Chris Noth has a baby/small kid. Although I think his kid is around 4 now, and Chris turns 60 this year. Not a lot of difference from JG's situation, but somewhat younger.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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Apparently, Jeff Goldblum was in the audience for the SNL 40th Anniversary show. I wonder whom he knew to get such an invitation? (I don't think he had any prior connection with the show, but maybe I'm wrong.)

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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So, Jeff Goldblum is doing commercials now. "The Tonight Show" went to commercial and he was in a commercial for Apartments.com. The name said Something Bellflower, but it was definitely him. The voice is unmistakable, even if I barely recognized him. (Very short plastered-down gray hair, sort of a goatee - also very gray, and glasses.)

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Donny Ketchum

Donny Ketchum

So, Jeff Goldblum is doing commercials now. "The Tonight Show" went to commercial and he was in a commercial for Apartments.com. The name said Something Bellflower, but it was definitely him. The voice is unmistakable, even if I barely recognized him. (Very short plastered-down gray hair, sort of a goatee - also very gray, and glasses.)

That was definitely Jeff.  I have no idea why he used a different name there.

 

He was in the audience for the premiere of this season's Dancing with the Stars, too.  Grayed up completely, but it was definitely he.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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Saw on Facebook that Zack Nichols' portrayer, a.k.a. Jeff Goldblum, became a first-time dad as of July 4th. He and his wife, Emilie, had a baby boy they named Charlie Ocean Goldblum. So congrats to them. The kid picked quite the day to enter the world!

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