A Disappointing Finish for 'Criminal Intent'

Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Series Finale


2 out of 5 stars

Last night, my long-time favorite brand of Law and Order, and crime drama in general, solved its last murder. I have loved Detective Goren (and to a lesser extent, Eames) for quite some time now. I even made it through the Chris Noth episodes - while I like him, he is still no replacement for Goren. For me, Goren represents one of the best fictional detectives on TV, right up there with Inspectors Morse and Frost.

As much as I LOVE Goren, last night's finale was a huge disappointment. It felt tired and old, and although there was a huge opportunity for a touching, tear-jerking farewell to longtime fans, I have to say no tears of mine were jerked. In fact, the writers seemed to disregard the years of setting up Goren's fragile emotional state in favor of implying that he goes on to live a normal, mentally-well life.

The parting shot was more like an indifferent shrug.

What. A. Cop-out. Pun intended.

Even the case they were investigating felt canned - they almost literally just retold the plot of The Social Network, based around a fake dating site called Kizmate. This was just a dismal showing on behalf of the writers.

I'll tell you that my dad, who has been a huge fan of the Nicole Wallace-arch-nemesis side story, was desperately hoping that they would at least give a wink and a nod to the fans in this regard, but no joy.

Overall, a disappointing bowing out. At least we have the previous seasons to watch while we reminisce about the years when Criminal Intent was good.