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Waiting on Jeff Goldblum and Criminal Intent
by Nick Zaino, posted Jun 29th 2009 12:05PM
When Chris Noth left Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Jeff Goldblum was announced as his replacement, I was kind of excited. I'm a fan of Goldblum's, and he's always entertaining, whether he's a guest on a talk show or doing something decidedly strange like his guest spot on Tim and Eric: Awesome Show, Great Job!So far, not so good. Last night's episode, which tried to weave together the stories of a washed-up celebrity chef, a hip hop mogul, and a flighty socialite, still didn't provide the punch I was hoping for. It was better than most of his episodes so far - and a good deal better than his first episode. And there are some elements I like; Goldblum's Detective Zach Nichols can't seem to keep from correcting his co-workers, seemingly with no ill will, but irritating them in the process.
But the character's quirks haven't yet settled. It still seems jarring to see him take time out of an investigation to play piano at his alma mater. And in the climactic scene where the plot unravels, he seems to be a bit of a parody of himself, mumbling the facts of the case while the criminal is goaded into giving himself up.
Comparing them to most of the D'Onofrio episodes, it sometimes seems like an entirely different staff of writers work on the show depending on the lead. The D'Onofrio episodes tend to be better written so far, although this week they were about even, thanks to a convoluted cross-dressing subplot.
Maybe the relationship between Goldblum and the show just needs time to develop. D'Onofrio's neo-Columbo took a few episodes to settle, as well. I look forward to the episode where it finally starts to click.
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