NBC’s ‘Intent’: Save ‘Law & Order’ spin-off

by Joshua Maloni
Niagara Frontier Publications, October 1, 2007

Kathryn Erbe and Vincent D’Onofrio star in “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
(photo courtesy, copyright NBC Universal)

Usually, when a show switches from network to cable television, it means the program has bombed and its corporate handlers are looking for an inconspicuous place to burn off remaining episodes.

Ironically, though, the lowest rated network primetime shows generally outdraw cable’s top programs. “Knights of Prosperity,” for example, a cancelled ABC skein, averaged 5 million viewers last season, placing it in 117th place. Last week, The Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana” ranked No. 2 among all cable shows with that same audience size.

Presumably then, a ratings-challenged network show, given the right marketing formula, could become a hit on cable if its viewership remains intact.

NBC is hoping that theory proves true this season. The Peacock is moving once hugely popular, now slightly faltering, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” from its primetime roster to sister cabler USA Network in an attempt to revitalize the 6-year-old show.

To ensure the move pays off, NBC and USA have blitzed Web sites with ads and aired tongue-in-cheek commercials boasting the show’s new home. It’s a signal to fans that the show is far from banished.

Ten new episodes will air this fall. Next spring, 12 more will be seen on Thursdays at 10 p.m.

For television critics and executives, NBC’s strategy may be viewed as somewhat unorthodox. For “Criminal Intent” stars Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, switching to cable is, indeed, a breath of fresh air.

“I think it feels like there may be less pressure on USA – that they may not be as affected by the daily up and down, you know, feeling of the numbers in the same way,” Erbe said this week in a phone interview. “So it actually feels – I felt more relaxed when we heard that we were going to USA and very, very relieved.”

Added D’Onofrio, “We’re happy to be on USA. We think – I think – I feel like it saved the show.”

“Criminal Intent” tells the story of the fictional New York City Police Department’s Major Case Squad, a team of investigators tasked with solving high-profile cases, most often homicide. It’s the second spin-off of “Law & Order,” the Dick Wolf franchise that has become a stalwart of primetime and cable television (via syndicated reruns) since its debut in 1990.

At the center of “Criminal Intent” is Robert Goren, a Sherlock Holmes-inspired detective played with gusto by D’Onofrio. His offbeat genius, it can be said, has become the model for characters such as Tony Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk (“Monk”), Jeff Goldblum’s Michael Raines (“Raines”) and Damian Lewis’ Charlie Crews (“Life”).

D’Onofrio is quick to deflect such admiration.

“Well I’m not sure if our show influenced the other shows or not. I don’t know. It’s hard to say who came first – the chicken or the egg, you know?” he pondered. “I don’t know. But all I know is that the first few years of the show were about – with Rene Balcer as the show (runner) – was (about) making the show work and making it different. And we worked very hard to do that.

“And then (in) the last three years were, you know, I brought it back a lot, and I was just more internal. I was also very tired. And now it’s – now – the best thing about right now is that because Warren Leight, our new show runner, is very good at writing characters – he’s a playwright and he writes really (well) – and his writers – his team of writers – they write very good character-driven scripts.”

Entering its seventh season, “Criminal Intent” will feature heavier storylines for Goren and Erbe’s Detective Alex Eames. A stronger focus will fall on their personal lives.

“We just did – we just finished … Goren and Eames’ third episode for the season. We’ve just finished shooting it, and the final line really led me to believe (that Goren) (isn’t in) as great shape as I assumed,” Erbe said. “I – my personal feeling was that they were – they had been through, you know, all this stuff and have come to another place – a place of much more – I mean this – and this is probably still true, no matter what – the way this third episode ends – that they have a lot more respect for each other, they rely on each other a lot more. They’re much more of a team and they know each other a hell of a lot better because their (wounds) are more apparent.”

D’Onofrio is excited about where the characters are headed this season.

“The season opener’s going to be great,” he said. “It’s really Kate’s episode. It’s going to be really good. It deals with Kate’s past a lot and the trials and tribulations of her as a – of her past as a police officer.

“And, you know, during that show, there were connections between the two characters – Goren and Eames – that we hadn’t touched upon before. It was kind of a role reversal thing going on a little bit. And it’s all – it’s – whatever happens, it’s going to be interesting.”

He added, “What’s nice for us as actors with them doing that is that we have the last six years to fall back on – that we have everything that happened in the last six years. And our fan base knows exactly what we’ve hinted towards and what we’ve said about our past and about us as the characters that we can play with that now.”

Last season, “Criminal Intent” began dividing storylines. That is to say, D’Onofrio and Erbe were the featured stars half of the time, while former “Law & Order” star Chris Noth (Detective Mike Logan) and Julianne Nicholson (Detective Megan Wheeler) took the lead in the other half. That approach will continue this season, with Noth also teaming with Alicia Witt (Detective Nola Falacci) while Nicholson is on maternity leave.

“Law & Order: Criminal Intent” debuts on USA (Ch. 36 on Time Warner Cable) on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 10 p.m.