Now that Dick Wolf has announced his dual showrunner plan for Season 8 of LOCI it's natural that we should be interested about these people. They will take charge of the series and shape its future.

I'm particularly interested in learning about Walon Green, who will executive produce the G/E episodes. So far the most comprehensive resource on the Internet seems to be another fan site -- CI-US -- which is rapidly assembling links to Green's filmographies, past interviews, and surprising tidbits about his connections to LOCI and the L&O franchise. Check out the Walon Green thread there if you're also curious.

What does this info say to you about S8 G/E expectations? I have my own opinions but I'd like others to voice theirs first. Is our Bobby/VDO in good hands?

I for one am really happy about the dual showrunner agreement. And I am also happy that it's *Robert Nathan* and *Walon Green* who were picked to be the team. Not only is it D'Onofrio, Erbe & Bogosian who are in good hands, it is also Goldblum, Nicholson & Bogosian who are in equally good hands.

A dual showrunner agreement is like the dual cast agreement...it takes some of the time pressures off of the writers the way it took the pressures off of Vincent D'Onofrio. By having two teams of writers, they all have more people to bounce ideas off of, they have fewer scripts they are primarily responsible for and have more time to do as good a job as possible with the scripts they do write.

If you want to read up on Robert Nathan and to a lesser extent Walon Green check out the book 'Law & Order The Unofficial Companion' by Kevin Courrier & Susan Green. Unfortunately it's no longer being updated yearly (my edition only covers Seasons 1-9) but that doesn't matter because it covers most of the key episodes Nathan and Green wrote. See if you can check a copy out from your local library (ask about interlibrary loan if they don't have a copy) or check the usual places where you look for used books.

I would recommend adding Law & Order DVDs to your rental selections, particularly Seasons 3 & 4, but all of Seasons 1-5 are worth watching. You can also get a feel for Rene Balcer's early Law & Order episodes by watching these seasons and totally OD on Mike Logan lore.

The Vault

Excellent point. Thanks also for the book and DVD suggestions.

I went to the CI-US site and you're right, Ms Sweden -- lots of stuff congregating there about Walon Green (although I'm pretty p.o.-ed at that site -- Ive tried signing up twice and can't get an activation code. The moderator says I need a yahoo or hotmail e-mail address. Does that sound right to you?).

Thanks also, VDO Vault, for the reading and viewing suggestions.

With Rene Balcer once again at the helm of the mothership, and the appointments of Green and Robert Nathan for LOCI, it seems like Dick Wolf is returning control of his franchise to his long-time buddies, the ones who were with him at the beginning. I have to believe that this communicates something about his perceptions of the last few years of LOCI.

We know -- because he said so -- that Wolf brought Balcer back to reinvigorate original L&O, that it had gone off-track in the years following Jerry Orbach's death. Now I'm thinking that the hiring of Walon Green and Robert Nathan -- neither of whom are playwrights (like almost all of the current crop of LOCI writers) -- indicates a new direction is coming for Major Case.

Less backstory for Bobby perhaps? Wolf is on record as not liking that stuff "laddled out" but rather fed to us by the "spoon." (See his remarks in the NBC press tour last year.) Under Warren Leight and the playwrights we saw increasing amounts of personal angst and -- IMHO -- less emphasis on the "criminal intent" theme.

I wonder what you all think about that. I'm the newbie here (though a warmly welcomed one, and again, my thanks). "Frame" may be the last big backstory episode for Bobby Goren -- the final fillip for Warren Leight. The Walon Green years could likely bring back a different Bobby (Balcer hinted at such in the recent TV Guide article) who has been in a "nosedive" (Balcer's word).

I'm very interested to learn how my new pals here are viewing the prospect of possible big change for LOCI. Let's have some of your thoughts please.

Mother Night

I like this Walon Green, he's cool, and this season 8 could be very interesting for Goren and Eames... and I also like this Robert Nathan and what he could bring to Goldblum and Wheeler.

I'm thinking they going back old school when season 8 comes and I also think a ADA is coming like Carver.

Walon Green has an impressive resume. Hopefully he will bring back the CI spark with more complex crime stories and worthy adversaries for G/E. I don't want to see Eames in sidekick form again. The Goren angst is now in overplay mode. I've been kind of bored with CI and I guess I'm looking for Green to really make me an active watcher again.

I'm really interested in how Robert Nathan will do with the Wheeler & Partner episodes. Creation of a new character and partnership and hopefully engaging the L/W and G/E fans is a tough job.

I don't know who the hell he is so I don't have an opinion

My words exactly! Who is he?

LOL Jryan!!!!! I'm with you!

Walon Green executive produced, showrunned, and written some of the best cop/law shows in TV history such as: Canterbury's Law, Law & Order (1992-2007), Conviction, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, L.A. Dragnet, and NYPD Blue. And other shows and tv movies such as ER , Millennium, Hill Street Blues, Robert Kennedy and His Times, Strange New World, and Three of a Kind.

If you need more proof click on this site: http://movies.nytimes.com/person/92453/Walon-Green/filmography

Well I will hold any comments and judgement until I see what he does in his job next season. Isn't that what your suppose to do?

Well I hope he can bring some snap back to the crime stories. They really could use it. But I don't want to see the backstories relegated to a snippet here and there like they were in the first few seasons. That was fine for then, but we've started to dig here and I don't want to see that abandoned. It just needs balance. Give us 3-4 eppys that emphasize the character stories, and fill the rest with eppys like Vanishing Act or Please Note. And also one crossover double episode a la Wee Small Hours each season.

Just sayin

Walon Green's age concerns me. Men in their 70's think a certain way. I hope the show doesn't revert back to the old, formulaic crime story only approach.

Meaning, I hope we aren't going from one extreme to the other, in terms of personal character info & angst.

Alot will depend on the writers. I'm sure some will go, and others will stay. I feel confident that if Rubin, Son, O'Conner & Martin stick around, the show will be fine.

Do you really think the era of playwrights will continue at LOCI, DonnaJo? (I know they're all not playwrights, but the majority are.) Are you saying it should?

The current writers have produced some wonderful scripts but there have been times in the last two years when I thought stories lacked (for want of a better term) a "sense of television." Or maybe a cinematic way of storytelling. Theater is such a wholly different medium, certainly for the audience and the actors, so I imagine it is for writers.

Are you really worried that Walon Green is too old to do a creative job of EP?

Mother Night

WORD, pfc!!!!!

Thanks for giving me something NEW to worry about, DonnaJo!

In the absence of her response I'm interpreting DonnaJo's concerns about age to be about capability. Walon Green has an impressive resume but, at 72, he may not be at the top of his game. It's a reasonable concern I think.

Another may be that Green will be living in L.A. and producing the show from there.

No one wants any less than the best for LOCI.

I wish Rene Balcer had chosen to come back.

He directed "The Hellstrom Chronicle" (1971) an Oscar Winner Documentary about insects... and bugs, flies, spiders... Sorry, wrong thread! (I was a kid when I went to watch this one in the theater and got a phobia for insects)






I agree too. I really really like the character driven style and the subtle. They just need some balance with the crime plots. I think all the other crime shows have the same problem after several seasons, but LOCI is the best and I'll keep watching it!

I personally liked the backstory on Bobby. It adds a human element to it. I am less into the crime part of it and more into the characters. For years I craved backstory on Bobby, and finally got some. I hope they stay with it.


Either way it'll be okay though. I fell in love with it in the beginning, then loved the character backstory stuff. It'll always be my all time favorite show in any genre in any time. I just love it.

ITA, Bammi!

Concerned about him being 72? Hope your not voting for McCain? lol.

Living in LA? How will that work?

Same way it works for the other L&O shows I guess. As EP, Walon Green is also the headwriter.

All of the SVU and original L&O writers live in L.A. Only the LOCI writers (but one) live in NYC. I'm wondering if that means Green will be replacing them with more L.A.-based writers.

Does VDOVault know? Or anyone else?

Thanks,

Mother Night

I don't know if this helps at all, but USA network issued this press release today. I'm surprised someone hasn't posted it here already. It emphasizes that the two Ci series will be totally "equally" separate -- I guess that means even more separate than they are now.
Also in the news: New episodes with Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Nicholson will premiere in November. The implication is that we'll get the eight new VDO and Kathyrn Erbe episodes in 2009.

**************************************

AUGUST 4, 2008 NEW YORK, Noon EDT -- Walon Green, Robert Nathan, John Coles, Michael S. Chernuchin, Andrew Lipsitz and Timothy J. Lea will be the new production team when LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT returns for its eighth season in November on USA Network. The announcement was made today by Jeff Wachtel, USA's executive vice-president of original programming and co-head,original content, Universal Cable Productions and Dick Wolf, executive producer and creator of LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.

USA recently picked up an eighth season for the hit series produced by Wolf Films and Universal Cable Productions and cast Jeff Goldblum as the latest detective to join the major case squad.

Created and executive produced by Emmy Award winning producer Dick Wolf and developed by Rene Balcer, LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT veers from the traditional "Law & Order" format by taking viewers into the minds of its criminals while following the psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve the crimes. The seventh season of LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT airs every Sunday at 9/8c on USA Network.

"Walon, Robert, Nooch [Michael Chernuchin] and I have been working together for most of the last two decades," said Wolf. "Between them, theyhave written hundreds of episodes of the brand's various iterations. By joining CI, they are providing the best of both worlds -- a new perspective and a wealth of experience with the brand. John [Coles] is one of the most respected producer/directors on the east coast. I could not ask for a better team as we enter our eighth season."

"LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT has been a great success in its move to USA," said Wachtel. "We are excited to have this wonderfully talented and experienced team at the helm and are looking forward to fresh takes on the show's creative as we head into season eight."

The entire production team will work with Wolf and Executive Producer Peter Jankowski, who serves as executive producer of all three "Law & Order"series, as well as president and chief operating officer of Wolf Films, Inc.

Walon Green will serve as executive producer, showrunner and head writer,and Michael S. Chernuchin as co-executive producer for the D'Onofrio/Erbe episodes, with John Coles as New York based executive producer and director, and Michael Chernuchin as co-executive producer for the series.

Green has executive produced numerous episodes of the original "Law & Order" and severalepisodes of "ER." He also has written for "Law & Order," "ER" and"Conviction."

Coles served as co-executive producer of the FOX series "New Amsterdam" and the CBS series "3lbs." He has directed numerous hit televisionshows including "Sex and The City," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Damages," as well as episodes for the "Law & Order" brand.

Chernuchin has produced and written for both "Law & Order," and "24."

The producing team for the Goldblum/Nicholson episodes includes Robert Nathan as executive producer, showrunner and head writer. Nathan has been a member of the "Law & Order" family working on both the original and "Special Victims Unit" as co-executive producer. Coles will again serve as New Yorkbased executive producer and director, with Andrew Lipsitz ("CSI", "CSI: NY") and Timothy J. Lea ("The Riches", "CSI: NY") as co-executive producers.

In its unique way of dividing the series into two distinct parts, with Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe as partners, and the other with new cast member Jeff Goldblum and returning actress Julianne Nicholson, the production teams will be equally separate. Eric Bogosian will continue on all episodes as Captain Danny Ross.

LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT was the top drama series in basic cable prime for 4Q07 and brought new viewers to USA, more than doubling the Thursday 10pm time period audience from the same weeks the prior year.

USA NETWORK is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports and entertainment events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films. The #1 network in basic cable, USA Network isseen in nearly 94 million U.S. homes.

The USA Network Web site is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

SOURCE USA Network

I read the release earlier, but didn't think about posting it here....
Regarding new episodes, the release merely says the new season starts in November.
I don't see where or get the impression that the release implies that VDO/KE episodes will air in 2009. I'm assuming they will still alternate episodes as they've done for the last couple of years.

I wouldn't think they'd hand over the show's first half of the season to the untried team of JG/JN... not a pot shot at either of them, but the new formula, alternating episodes between the actor/detective teams seems to be working.