ADA Ron Carver: Without Him, The Show Was Just "Order"...

[WendyCR72]

Or is it Law?  :-P

 

Talk about Ron Carver and his sometimes cool, sometimes sanctimonious self here!

[GHScorpiosRule]

What I love about Carver was that he never lost his cool. And when he was pissed/angry...his voice just got softer and more deliberate.
 
You hardly saw him crack a smile...which is why I so enjoy "the Collector"--to see him AND Bobby, who he always had issues with/knocked heads against, oohing and ahhing and lusting over those vintage cars with Bobby.

Edited May 14, 2014 by GHScorpiosRule

[WendyCR72]

At the end of S1's "The Extra Man" (the one with the French guy impersonating a DuPont), Carver and Bobby seemed to get along pretty well, although Carver was a bit surprised that Goren felt sorry for the perp (as the perp was raised in orphanages, etc.), and Goren said...two people who teach you to ride a bike and think you're special? Everyone wants that. Carver replied others have gotten by with much less, and Goren says, "They shouldn't have to."

 

Nice scene, and not wallowed in misery. Bobby felt sorry, but he didn't seem overly involved. Then again, a lot of Bobby's past was mucked up a lot later, so no wonder he seemed fine in this scene with Carver.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Yeah, but that scene in "The Collector" is my favorite, because they both turned into such 12 year old boys!

[WendyCR72]

And I loved Alex looking all exasperated at the both of them.

 

Also loved, in that same episode, when Bobby was relishing revving the engine to that red car, and Alex tells Bobby that he has to get out of the car now.

 

The look on Bobby's face was classic. That episode always made me think how Sam Baker's Dad in "Sixteen Candles" turned into a crotchety murderer.  :-P

[WendyCR72]

Courtney B. Vance is joining Season 2 of Masters of Sex (which also mentions another CI alumna as a cast member in the article, Julianne Nicholson; I guess it is a small [acting] world...).

[WendyCR72]

Speaking of Carver, and maybe I missed it even seeing many of these episodes more than once, but was it ever explained what happened to him once S6 rolled around? I know the female lawyer mentioned him, saying Carver called Major Case "Major Hunch", but I don't recall any real explanation for Carver being gone. Was one given?

 

If not, that kind of sucks.

 

Then again, I don't think the show ever mentioned Nichols, Wheeler, Stevens, and Callas after they went poof, either, but Carver...well, I actually cared about that character, so...hee.

Edited May 22, 2014 by WendyR72

[GHScorpiosRule]

No, they never did. I think the only mention of Carver I remember was that she wasn't "Carver" or didn't do things like him or something.  Truth to tell, after Theresa Handle (who I liked and wish had stayed), the other ADAs they showed SUCKED monkey balls. Especially the one from season 6? 7? You know, when they revisited that kid who was a gambler, and he killed that one mark, and thought there was a blank in his gun? The stupid twat of an ADA gave his girlfriend immunity or some such shit.

[WendyCR72]

No, they never did. I think the only mention of Carver I remember was that she wasn't "Carver" or didn't do things like him or something.

 

Well, that blows. CBV was on for 5 seasons and no explanation? Boo! And I do agree that most of the subsequent fill-in ADAs did royally suck, but I do think, as much as I did like Carver, that there should have been a permanent replacement, like SVU and the Mothership did.

 

The ADA angle - while peripheral - helped give the cases some depth, and it was a missed component.

Edited May 23, 2014 by WendyR72

[GHScorpiosRule]

Well, that douche Leight did take over as show runner in Season six, so there's your answer! He's just as bad as that douchecanoeratbastardffuckwit Carlivati, so there you go.

 

Wow. Guess I'm still bitter.

[WendyCR72]

Oh, I know all about bitterness. Hee. Especially where Carlivati, hack extraordinaire, is concerned. He and Leight should go bowling.

[roseha]

Yes, I missed Carver/Vance so much that I really fantasized about him returning with Goren and Eames for Seaon Ten.  I had the setup figured out:

 

Carver has to reopen a cold case!

He needs Goren and Eames to solve it in the worst way!

"I don't care what you have to do, I don't care what I said before, get them back!"

 

Well maybe some day there will be a CI movie or TV movie financed by Kickstarter and we can have Carver and Deakins returning...I usually don't like that kind of thing since they rarely live up to the original but I'd like to in this case since it would be nice to tie up some more loose ends...as long as we have another satisfying ending of course :)

Edited June 6, 2014 by roseha

[WendyCR72]

Well maybe some day there will be a CI movie or TV movie financed by Kickstarter and we can have Carver and Deakins returning...I usually don't like that kind of thing since they rarely live up to the original but I'd like to in this case since it would be nice to tie up some more loose ends...as long as we have another satisfying ending of course :)

 

Looking at YT interviews and such, while I do think VDO appreciated the Bobby Goren role, I think he is done with it altogether. But that's fine. CI had a great end. (Even if SVU tried to screw it up. I deny that episode. I'd like to think Goren is still solving puzzles at the NYPD, especially as he was adamant about not losing his job when in therapy.)

 

But yeah, Carver should have/could have also returned. And while serial killer-lookalike Joe Hannah was fine for me, I would have easily handwaved Deakins coming out of retirement. I liked Deakins.

 

And was thankful Danny Ross was dead so he couldn't come back.

 

GHScorpiosRule did once pose an interesting question, however: I wonder why Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's Zoe Callas didn't stay for S10? Jeff Goldblum cited the show's uncertain future as a reason for leaving, but my cynical self thinks since ALL S9 members left, that it was a face-saving measure and all three were fired.

Edited June 6, 2014 by WendyR72

[cooksdelight]

And was thankful Danny Ross was dead so he couldn't come back.

God and amen to that. :)

I think all three or four or however many from S9 were fired due to shitty ratings. I know I stopped watching until Goren and Eames came back.

[WendyCR72]

I think all three or four or however many from S9 were fired due to shitty ratings.

 

I think you're right there, cooksdelight. I didn't watch in real time, either. (I have seen these episodes via the marathons on Ion out of boredom. Didn't miss much. And I do have all seasons on DVD, but I'll be honest: I bought S9 only for "Loyalty", since it had Goren/Eames.)

 

Still, yeah, if ratings were good enough with Jeff Goldblum, I doubt USA would have gotten VDO/KE back at all.

Edited June 6, 2014 by WendyR72

[roseha]

Even if SVU tried to screw it up. I deny that episode. I'd like to think Goren is still solving puzzles at the NYPD, especially as he was adamant about not losing his job when in therapy.

 

 

I deny it too Wendy, or in any event I simply figure Goren and Eames reunited after that and are solving New York's weirdest cases again.

[WendyCR72]

All for G/E meeting up yet again to solve crimes, roseha!  And to relate it to this thread, Carver should resurface while he's at it. Add in Deakins, and perfect!

 

Was watching some S10 episodes not too long ago and, as much as I actually did like that season (for the calmer tone, meaning a more normal G/E again!), well...I'm still wondering why a few of these cases were passed to Major Case, but I guess that's for another thread for another discussion for another day!

[WendyCR72]

You know, I think I understand why Courtney B. Vance left after S5. In all of the other franchise shows, the ADAs did usually just stick to cases. But every now and then, even they had snippets of personal stories going on. Especially Alex Cabot. But even McCoy on the Mothership had to deal with Claire's passing and such - even if it was always peripheral.

 

But, sadly, of all the ADAs, I can't recall Carver ever having anything with real depth to play. His job just seemed to rattle Goren and Eames and make some jaunty remark. Which is a shame since I think CBV could have handled such an arc. Even Deakins had a moment in the sun.

[WendyCR72]

I wonder when Courtney B. Vance told TPTB he was leaving? Because, in watching S5, I notice he was on less and less.

[WendyCR72]

Congrats to Courtney B. Vance on his Emmy win tonight in his role as Johnnie Cochran in The People vs. OJ Simpson.

[Xeliou66]

I loved Ron Carver, he was a great part of the show and one of the reasons why it weakened so badly in season 6 was his departure. He was always very calm, stoic and serious. It's a shame he never got many stories or episodes centered on him, he was a good character. I liked when we got to see him prosecute a case in court, such as in The Good Doctor and In the Wee Small Hours. Also when we got an episode with a lot of Carver such as Best Defense, Semi Professional or Crazy. It seems like they decreased his role as time went on, which is probably why Vance left the show. He was an essential part of CI to me.