L&O: CI changes

I like Law & Order: Criminal Intent. I think I've said this before. I don't usually otherwise care for Vincent D'Onofrio's performances, but he's perfect on CI. I think I've also said this before, but the usual "revolving cast" MO that they have on the Law & Order shows wouldn't really work for CI--the show is so strongly about how Det. Goren works that it would be utterly ruined if D'Onofrio was to decide to leave.

Well, maybe "ruined" is a bit hyperbolic, but given that the show was conceived and built around Goren's style of police work, any cast change would perforce change the show.

They're changing the show.

I read on CNN that Chris Noth is going to take about half of this season's CI episodes. D'Onofrio has been battling exhaustion; he collapsed on-set last year, if I remember correctly. They'll be bringing Noth's character, Max Logan, back into the city. I wonder how they're going to accomplish that--Logan was exiled (see "Exile: A Law & Order Movie") after punching a City Councilman on live TV. It will be mildly interesting to see how it's done, but after that...I admit, I don't like those early L&O episodes with Chris Noth, so I can't help thinking that CI is going to go downhill fast.