L&O CI started out as a very interesting franchise in the Law & Order family, but IMHO it got out of hand and lost its footing along the way. The idea of an incredibly intelligent albeit a bit dark and even socially awkward detective (Goren) was interesting, but soon it got to be too much. Goren picks up on clues the M.E. misses, he always needs to explain things even to his own seasoned partner, and eventually became downright disrespectful and belligerent as his family life fell apart around him.
As with most shows that have one character that is meant to stand out from the rest, it just didn't know where to stop. The Eames character, although she was technically the senior partner, was often left in the dust as Goren steps in and does all the interrogating at the end of each episode. While I'm all for showing a character's flaws, Goren's ruffling of feathers with the brass was unnecessary and often overdone, as were his family issues. I loved the difficulties he had with his sick and demanding mother, but wasn't anyone in his family just normal and not a junkie or murderer or locked in a mental hospital? The revolving door of detectives brought in after D'Onofrio's health issues didn't help matters either, as it was difficult to attach to characters that just come and go. I actually enjoyed Goldblum's character by that point since he seemed more constant and reliable than all of Logan's partners and was obviously in a better place than Goren's character by that point, and I would have loved to have seen more years with him.
In the end it felt as if the entire series and the characters weren't really thought out from the beginning but just made up as they went along, and by the end of the series, I really wasn't all that sorry to see them go.
As with most shows that have one character that is meant to stand out from the rest, it just didn't know where to stop. The Eames character, although she was technically the senior partner, was often left in the dust as Goren steps in and does all the interrogating at the end of each episode. While I'm all for showing a character's flaws, Goren's ruffling of feathers with the brass was unnecessary and often overdone, as were his family issues. I loved the difficulties he had with his sick and demanding mother, but wasn't anyone in his family just normal and not a junkie or murderer or locked in a mental hospital? The revolving door of detectives brought in after D'Onofrio's health issues didn't help matters either, as it was difficult to attach to characters that just come and go. I actually enjoyed Goldblum's character by that point since he seemed more constant and reliable than all of Logan's partners and was obviously in a better place than Goren's character by that point, and I would have loved to have seen more years with him.
In the end it felt as if the entire series and the characters weren't really thought out from the beginning but just made up as they went along, and by the end of the series, I really wasn't all that sorry to see them go.