Season Four: Goren and Eames...And Hi, Mike Logan!

[Maherjunkie]

He had a strange sense of honor too.

[WendyCR72]

On 6/18/2016 at 1:23 PM, Maherjunkie said:

He had a strange sense of honor too.

At least he was truly appalled the wife killed the appraiser.

But then the actor (David Harbour) went on to come back in "Family Values" in S8 as the father who wiped out his family to bring them to God, so he did creepy well then!

[Maherjunkie]

Kinda hot too.

[WendyCR72]

USA has "Gone" from S4 listed for the dead of night, the one with the crazy chess player who kills a woman and leaves her in a dumpster. He is played by Robert Carradine and, funny enough, his real-life niece is none other than Martha Plimpton, who played Jo Gage! I guess the Carradine family likes playing unstable/crazy people!

[Maherjunkie]

Ya think?!!!

[WendyCR72]

On 8/1/2016 at 9:35 PM, Maherjunkie said:

Ya think?!!!

Just guessing here.  :-)

[Maherjunkie]

Death by auto eroticism is quite eccentric.

[WendyCR72]

4 minutes ago, Maherjunkie said:

Death by auto eroticism is quite eccentric.

Oh, you meant David Carradine. Yeah. But I read that is still contested.

[Maherjunkie]

I sense they're all nuts.  Hollyweird, you know.

[Maherjunkie]

On 4/5/2016 at 4:10 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Fisher Stevens seemed to excel at playing slimy people, now on "Semi-Detached" and later in S7 in "Self Made". I cannot picture him with Michelle Pfeiffer all those years ago! (They were an item for a while, I guess.)

 

Anyone recall him as the Indian tech guru in Short Circuit? (Yeah, Short Circuit!)

Not so much.  He fooled around with a teenager on set while they were dating.

[WendyCR72]

10 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

Not so much.  He fooled around with a teenager on set while they were dating.

Well, that certainly explains why she isn't with him! How classy of him to do that.

[Maherjunkie]

And he is a homely dude who should have been grateful he had her.

[WendyCR72]

21 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

And he is a homely dude who should have been grateful he had her.

Oh well, Michelle Pfeiffer ended up marrying David E. Kelley, (creator of a bunch of TV shows including Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Picket Fences), so I'm sure she ended up just fine!

On topic? USA finished S4 and...went back to S2. Their order has no rhyme or reason.

[Maherjunkie]

They used to be the one we could rely on.

[WendyCR72]

23 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

They used to be the one we could rely on.

USA? I think they are the only network that just jumps around. ION (when it aired there) and WE seem pretty decent about going in order. Even my local MyNetwork affiliate airs the show usually in order.

But luckily, these shows can go out of order without much confusion, so maybe USA does it because it can.

[Maherjunkie]

Maybe I am misremembering, but season 6 is on tomorrow on WE.

[WendyCR72]

13 hours ago, whimsey98 said:

USA isn't the only jumpy network.  My local station is KUSI (I don't have cable or satellite) and they jumble the episodes regularly. I suppose they figure no one cares.  They also have replaced it with a locally produced entertainment show once a week, which I wouldn't care about but it is a really bad show and I hope doesn't expand.

Yeah, I guess it depends on the station/network and what it figures it can do. Luckily, procedurals tend to repeat well because people can just tune in and not feel they have to catch up, etc. So I guess the "either/or" formula in terms of the way the show airs works here.

And my condolences about the crappy entertainment show.  :-P

I wish Netflix would bring this and the Mothership back to streaming as they were before.

[WendyCR72]

Maybe I just never paid attention to the credits all that much, but S4 on WE began today with "Semi-Detached", which is airing now. Well, I knew VDO/KE had their pics switched from the first 3 seasons in the credits. But the only pic I ever saw with VDO was with the curlier hair, etc.

Yet today's credits showed a completely different picture that I'd never recalled seeing before! A couple in the opening, actually. No curly-haired pics, and one included a pic of Bobby in his wool winter cap. Maybe this was always in this episode's premiere, but if so, it's strange it changed once more to the latter seasons pic that was forever used. As an aside, the rest of the cast had their usual S4 on pictures.

Just sort of surprised/amused me there, as I thought there was nothing new left for this show.

[Maherjunkie]

This  appears to be the only episode with him in a head tilt/sweet smile in the promo.  After that for some reason they yanked that pic.

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, Maherjunkie said:

This  appears to be the only episode with him in a head tilt/sweet smile in the promo.  After that for some reason they yanked that pic.

Which is a shame. I liked those one and done pics more!

[WendyCR72]

You know, "Inert Dwarf" has a huge hole. At the end, G/E get Manotti because they know he is not as sick/frail as he seems. But wouldn't any of the nursing staff know? How could he never slip up in front of the wife he lived with?

As a case, it was okay, but it just seemed to have one huge flaw.

[Maherjunkie]

And screwing up the daughter's name!  It was a sorry ep.

[WendyCR72]

21 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

And screwing up the daughter's name!  It was a sorry ep.

I did like Eames pressing the wife about their sex life in the interrogation room. Surprised she did it as it seemed Goren was usually the one to push things. "Well, if you're going to be a prude about it!" indeed!

[Maherjunkie]

An odd flip, yes.

[WendyCR72]

13 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

An odd flip, yes.

Should have done it a bit more! Not that I don't love Bobby needling people, but Alex seemed to have fun with it.

[WendyCR72]

Watching S4 on WE back to back, it occurred to me that as dark as the second half of the series was, this season wasn't sweetness and light. A psychopathic organ donor, a serial killer, an incestuous chef celebrity and, earlier in the season, the Jeffrey Dahmer retelling and the artist that killed women resembling family members.

Funny how the "Body By Jake" killer on now in "Shibboleth" returned in S9. And all I could recognize there was his voice as he looked eons older.

[Maherjunkie]

He was also on the Good Wife.  Looks like a midget to me.

On 9/22/2016 at 4:29 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Should have done it a bit more! Not that I don't love Bobby needling people, but Alex seemed to have fun with it.

I never really thought of Eames having much of a sense of humor, despite her snark.

[WendyCR72]

6 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

He was also on the Good Wife.  Looks like a midget to me.

We're talking about the same actor, right?  I swear, though, in 5 years between CI appearances, it looked like he aged 20 years. As for Eames, I think she was more into dark humor, hence the snark. And to be fair, this show didn't give her a lot to laugh at. Although (and I don't know if it was Alex or KE breaking character) I do remember Eames smiling behind her hand in the observation room when Deakins commented on "The Goren Show" in S1. (VDO/Bobby was in rare form there with the singing crazy perp.)

[Maherjunkie]

On 9/22/2016 at 4:29 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Should have done it a bit more! Not that I don't love Bobby needling people, but Alex seemed to have fun with it.

I never really thought of Eames having much of a sense of humor, despite her snark.

 

The little red headed guy who was the killer dad? Yeah.

I think that was who she was.  Even Logan and Goren had their moments of levity.

[WendyCR72]

2 minutes ago, Maherjunkie said:

I never really thought of Eames having much of a sense of humor, despite her snark.

 

The little red headed guy who was the killer dad? Yeah.

I think that was who she was.  Even Logan and Goren had their moments of levity.

Yeah, creepy killer dad. As for Alex, I liked her sarcasm. I think Barek was even more serious than Eames. At least Alex seemed to play up those rare "pretend"/under moments with Bobby and seemed to get into the spirit. Barek was just so damned serious. Mike should have tried to get her to lighten up, and that's not counting the pass he made to her!

[Maherjunkie]

I bet she's a dud in bed!

[WendyCR72]

23 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

I bet she's a dud in bed!

Who? Barek?

[Maherjunkie]

Yes.

[WendyCR72]

On 11/24/2016 at 0:16 PM, Maherjunkie said:

Yes.

I prefer not to think about that too much.  :-)

On another note, Chris Noth's first episode as a regular on CI, "Diamond Dogs", is on next on WE. And the male perp actor went on to be a detective now on SVU.

[Maherjunkie]

Yes, I caught it.  My spark has come back.   I still want Barek  and him to bang.

[WendyCR72]

On 11/25/2016 at 8:32 PM, Maherjunkie said:

Yes, I caught it.  My spark has come back.   I still want Barek  and him to bang.

Eh, you can always imagine they hooked up. Maybe after Logan left the NYPD again? Like I said before, the show did a lousy job explaining Barek's exit. Hell, and Carver's. I wonder if it was simple ineptitude with the old BTS people leaving and new folks coming in or if there were issues backstage with Sciorra and/or Vance...

[Maherjunkie]

I think it was just lazy.

[WendyCR72]

On 11/27/2016 at 1:40 AM, Maherjunkie said:

I think it was just lazy.

Probably. But damn. Carver was on 5 seasons. He deserved some acknowledgement!

[Maherjunkie]

It was never quite the same without him.

[WendyCR72]

15 minutes ago, Maherjunkie said:

It was never quite the same without him.

No, it wasn't. I know the show tried with that female ADA in S6, but then she went poof. After that, it was random ADA person when there was an ADA at all.

[Maherjunkie]

It was like trying to replace Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac.  Just didn't work.

[wknt3]

On 11/27/2016 at 0:37 AM, WendyCR72 said:

Eh, you can always imagine they hooked up. Maybe after Logan left the NYPD again? Like I said before, the show did a lousy job explaining Barek's exit. Hell, and Carver's. I wonder if it was simple ineptitude with the old BTS people leaving and new folks coming in or if there were issues backstage with Sciorra and/or Vance...

 

On 11/27/2016 at 1:40 AM, Maherjunkie said:

I think it was just lazy.

You are probably on the right track @Maherjunkie , plus the franchise as a whole has a tendency to kind of half ass writing off characters when it's a network choice or a cost cutting issue as opposed to a creative choice or the actor deciding to move on. Everything I've ever read or heard suggests that Vance is a professional so I don't think it was any sort of animus. There probably was BTS issues going on since it seems that there always were from that point on, so maybe not ineptitude as much as lack of time, nobody to make decisions, and not wanting to commit to anything that might have to be changed later?

[Maherjunkie]

Yeah, it's probably easier to let the characters walk around in the ether till needed.

[WendyCR72]

I do still wish that, somehow, Carver and/or Deakins could have made one final cameo in S10, since it seemed to circle back around, with just Goren/Eames as the show had begun. Maybe Carver could have commented how Captain Hannah looked a hell of a lot like that perp, Harry Rowan, they put away years before.  :-)

19 hours ago, wknt3 said:

There probably was BTS issues going on since it seems that there always were from that point on

Probably. Seemed like there were cast changes/upheavals in the latter half. One departure that did seem rather abrupt to me, though, was Julianne Nicholson's. I know she was pregnant (again) and the second was written in, but Wheeler's end just seemed like a quick fade. Wheeler simply never came back. Not saying JN had issues as she has clearly worked steadily (and is now the lead on USA's Eyewitness as...a sheriff!), but it just seemed so abrupt in that case! Wheeler goes into labor (which was a rare lighter scene when Eames chastises Ross/Nichols with a simple "Detectives!" because they were clueless) and then out with the old (Wheeler) and in with Stevens (though I know she actually came in a season later).

[wknt3]

4 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

 Probably. Seemed like there were cast changes/upheavals in the latter half. One departure that did seem rather abrupt to me, though, was Julianne Nicholson's. I know she was pregnant (again) and the second was written in, but Wheeler's end just seemed like a quick fade. Wheeler simply never came back. Not saying JN had issues as she has clearly worked steadily (and is now the lead on USA's Eyewitness as...a sheriff!), but it just seemed so abrupt in that case! Wheeler goes into labor (which was a rare lighter scene when Eames chastises Ross/Nichols with a simple "Detectives!" because they were clueless) and then out with the old (Wheeler) and in with Stevens (though I know she actually came in a season later).

Yeah. If I had to guess all the abrupt departures probably were related to all the changes with producers, execs, and the various juggling of deals to keep it on the air. Which lead to not only the cast changes, but a general unevenness in the writing. And that time period (seasons 8&9) seems to be particularly intense for both production upheaval and bad writing.

[Maherjunkie]

They just disappear like Cher's boyfriends.

[WendyCR72]

20 hours ago, wknt3 said:

And that time period (seasons 8&9) seems to be particularly intense for both production upheaval and bad writing.

Yeah, S8 took a downturn. And "Loyalty" for the first two S9 episodes was a downer, but it was a nice goodbye (or so folks thought) for Goren/Eames. At least they didn't die. With the way things were going, I could have seen such a scenario, so it could have been worse, even as bad as it was. But once it was Nichols and Stevens...some of the episodes made even the dullest G/E episodes (some in S5, IMO, some in S8) look like Hemingway. To this day, I have no idea what the hell "Palimpsest" was trying to do.

In terms of the actual actors, I had heard both that VDO/KE wanted out and, alternately, that USA wanted to go less serious as the channel was in its "Characters Welcome" phase with quirky shows like Monk. I think VDO is plenty quirky, but Jeff Goldblum also has a rep for it and maybe USA wanted a clean slate. Either way, I recall reading that USA let the contracts of all S9 actors lapse and the show uncertainty with regard to its fate was the reason Jeff Goldblum gave for his exit. Don't know if that was true (quite possible) or it was saving face for being let go (as, I think, the VDO announcement came not long after, with KE not long after that), but the whole thing was a roller coaster.

Even the BTS staff in S9...there were very few names from the earlier years that I recognized. Can't recall if director Jean de Segonzac directed any episodes in S9. But he did all other seasons including the series finale. So at least he stuck around!

[Maherjunkie]

I thought they did want to stick around but USA took a different tack.

[WendyCR72]

9 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

I thought they did want to stick around but USA took a different tack.

Like I said, that could be. I just heard both rumors. Considering Vincent and Kathryn did return, maybe that was true. I mean, if they wanted to leave, would they return so quickly? In any case, at least their ending was a bit more upbeat than in "Loyalty".

[Maherjunkie]

Fan loyalty.  They were touched at our uproar,