LAW AND ORDER: C.I. Opens 10th And Final Season Tonight On USA Network

LAW AND ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT opens it's 10th and final season tonight on the USA Network, NBC's sister cable network. IN PLAIN SIGHT, the excellent witness protection series based off a character who appeared in a LAW AND ORDER episode also premiers tonight as well. Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe both agreed to reprise their past roles in the series for the final run of the show.

Cost cutting moves at NBC at NBC led to the producers hiring Jeff Goldblum to play the lead in the series up until August 2010. Then the producers were faced with the decision whether to bring the series back for another season. It was then decided to bring back D'Onofrio and Erbe to complete the series with a season 10.

Financial woes at NBC also led the network to end the popular MONK series last year as escalating production costs led the network to look for cheaper ways to fill the schedule with lower cost original programming yet to maintain decent ratings. LAW AND ORDER: C.I. has always been a fan favorite, and seemed too attractive for the USA Network not to give it more season as DVD sales should also be respectable as well.

Vincent D'Onofrio has always been an awesome actor. He manages to play his character Detective Robert Goren with amazing complexity. On one level, he's a police detective with incredible abilities, although he seems mentally troubled and disturbed just enough to understand the psychology of criminals. It's an incredible acting job from one of the best actors in the business.