Law & Order: CI - Kathryn Erbe and Vincent D'onofrio by Eric Ogden/NBC
Law & Order: Criminal Intent's (Sundays at 9 pm/ET, USA) seventh season picks up six months after the December episode "Untethered," in which Det. Bobby Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) faced suspension for going against orders by going undercover in a mental institution — where he came frighteningly close to losing his mind. Now the super-intense lawman is without his shield and not returning calls from his worried partner, Eames (Kathryn Erbe). "He's in a bar, kind of contemplating how he ended up where he is," explains executive producer Warren Leight, "[when] he's approached by another suspended cop [played by Dean Winters of HBO's Oz] who tempts Goren into going into private security work for some dishonorable people."
Goren going over to the dark side? "Up until this episode he's been impeccably honest, only interested in the truth, and [now] that's brought into question," says Leight. Meanwhile, Eames gets teamed up with someone new when The Wire's Seth Gilliam returns as an NYPD Gang Squad detective.
If you're worried this could spell the beginning of the end of the Goren-Eames partnership, Leight isn't about to ease your concerns: "They've gone through a lot and it's a question of do you keep going, or do you bail." — Megan Walsh-Boyle
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I can't believe that of all the possible actors to replace(?) Goren, that the casting director could only come up with Christopher Noth?? He was good on the original Law & Order (not great), but he is not creative enough to develop a strong/complex character that has the amazing array of demented nooks and crannies that this role requires.