I, too, have done some "what's happened"-type thinkin - where the two characters went off to, what are they doing now, would there be a possible way to bring them back to Major Case...etc...
a) Depending on exactly how many college classes Goren may have taken in the past, and how much time has elapsed before the next season begins --- he could have gone back to college, may even have earned a graduate degree. (Doubt he'd have had enough time for a doctorate - but could be possible, but a masters degree is certainly within a believable potential reach...it only takes about 2 years of study after college. And, if I could do it - ANYONE can!) He has further honed his profiling skills - "MCS" catches a dilly of a case, and realize that, as much as Goren might have been a "liability," he is even a greater asset, given his skill-set. He is brought back to assist in this case (perhaps, dealing with a schizophrenic suspect, teetering on the edge of a break?), and ends up being offered his position back.
b) He is working towards his doctorate (criminal psychology), and as part of an internship, is assigned (kinda like Dr. Huang on SVU) to assist MCS, but realizes that he cannot just "sit back and analyze" - he longs to join the hunt as well.
*Sharon's note: Yeah, I guess I do have a bit of an educational fetish...I work in a college, I've been thru college, etc...yada, yada, yada...
c) Donnie (nephew) is arrested in connection with some heinous crime. Goren is called in (nearby next of kin), but in talking with his nephew, he realizes that the young man is innocent. Although he is no longer NYPD himself, he enlists the help of Eames (still with MCS) to clear the boy. Impressed by Goren's performance, a new commissioner reinstates him.
d) Dare I even say it...Nicole Wallace? I know, I know...we're supposed to believe she's dead because her heart was mailed to Goren...literally. But...I dunno - I think if anyone in this world could figure out how the Hades to fake something like that - it'd be her. She be one crafty bee-yotch...
e) Maybe even better than "Nikki" herself: the return of the REAL "Sebastian"! By this time, Jo Gage has passed on (she was in a coma after chompin' off her tongue); and Declan is in failing health - and declining fast. The original "Sebastian" killer comes forward again - now gunning for Goren. Again, Goren needs to enlist the aid of his partner Eames - and rely on the feeble mind of his once brilliant mentor - in order to finish Sebastian once and for all. And again, his performance in this situation leads to his reinstatement.
There is one thing that I would like to see in these last 8 episodes - give Goren a break from tragedy, okay?!!! Ever see this other show, "NYPD Blue"? Every year, it was something else weighing Sipowicz down - nasty divorce in first year, second year - his first partner gets caught up in a scandal and is reassigned, so he has to adjust to a new partner. He eventually marries a lawyer, and has a son. Then the son from the first marriage decides to join the Army, then the police force. That son ends up being killed. The NEW son gets cancer! THEN wife #2 is shot and killed outside a courtroom. THEN partner #2 develops a heart condition and dies....I mean, it goes on and on and on... Very much like Goren. It's not bad enough that he had a difficult upbringing, but his mother had to be "crazy"...and his brother a louse...then bring in this femme fatale (Wallace) who's out to nail him (not in a good way!)...then let him discover that the man he thought was his dad was in fact NOT his dad, but that his real dad is a SERIAL KILLER!...then kill off his mom...then let him lose his mind in a psych ward helping this kid he knows nothing about other than its his nephew...then let this nephew disappear...and now let's also kill his brother off too. And best of all, make it his mentor who's behind it! AND we'll also implicate his boss in an international scandal, and kill the boss too!
ENOUGH!!!! Now, I'm not saying turn Goren into freakin' Mary Poppins...but just give him a break. I don't need to see him involved in a serious fling...but it'd be nice to see him heading out to go on a date once in a while. Or going to a concert or movie or something. Give him a little "happiness" in these last 8 episodes. (And...while I know there are a lot of "shippers" out there - honestly, this was one reason I liked "Criminal Intent" over "SVU" - if Stabler wasn't married, you know damn well he and Benson would "get it on"...and that just kinda cheapens the "vibe" for me. With Goren and Eames - they were friendly (and you could say they were friends), but they were professionals, too.
WARNING: PRUDE ALERT: It's actually refreshing, in this day when the majority of TV plots revolve around who's sleeping with whom, and who wants to sleep with whom, and who used to sleep with whom, etc... - to see an actual relationship between a man and woman that's NOT dependent on sex. They are co-workers and good friends, but that's it. I, for one, appreciate that.
As for Alex Eames, I would easily assume she's still on the force. (Daughter of a cop herself...hard to break family ties...) Might even still be with Major Case (just because we don't see her doesn't mean she isn't there...) People assume she left NYPD; I'm not sure (if anything was said in the subsequent shows with Jeff Goldblum, as to her actually leaving the force...). All I heard was her saying she wasn't going to take that upcoming Captain's Exam. Doesn't necessarily mean she's gone.
It's too bad that "Ross" really can't be brought back. I mean, we saw him get shot...(on SVU - we never saw the intended victim in that van when it exploded - it was just hinted, as I recall - vaguely - I may be wrong...I often am ;-) ). And he was positively identified - his face was intact (grotesque as that might seem - DNA results could be fudged, and/or dental records could be faked - but seeing him there - too definitive). The only way out of that would be to use the "dream-sequence" plot - or a variant thereof (i.e., Goren himself had a psychotic break, and that whole storyline was his delusion...or Eames got mugged or something and was in a coma...) But...doesn't mean Eric Bogosian can't make an appearance. (Maybe they nab a suspect - portrayed by Bogosian - and Goren/Eames have a difficult time because he reminds them of Ross...)
