Greetings,
If you've ever read my blog before, you may have noticed that there are things I love, things that I love so much that they make many appearances in what I post. Two of those things are Vincent D'Onofrio and the magical television show on which he appeared, Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Now I can fully admit that he was the reason I really wanted to start watching that show, but is he the reason why I continued to watch it? Well, yeah, a little. A lot. However, he is certainly not the only reason why I did so. Sure, D'Onofrio is a great actor and his character, Robert Goren, was one of the best ever on television, but need I remind you all of who I have always considered his better half as far as this show is concerned? That's right. I am talking about the wonderfully gifted Kathryn Erbe and the compelling character she created, Alexandra Eames. Since her co-star has such an overwhelming presence, I feel as though she has always been, if not shoved aside, certainly overshadowed by him. So I have decided to give this great actress and her character a bit of a tribute today. It's been a long time coming, Ms. Erbe/Eames, but you deserve it.
Kathryn Erbe was born in the fine state of Massachusetts, which is, of course, most famous for having a Bee Gees song named after it. Right? She is the oldest of three children and the daughter of Elizabeth Magnarelli and Dr. Richard Erbe. Yeah, I do my research. When she was older, she attended New York University, and when she was an undergraduate student, she got cast in a television series with Lynn Redgrave called Chicken Soup. I may have heard of that, but my brain can't seem to find the file. Although, if I can locate some episodes, it may be a candidate for my "One Sesoner's Club". Moving on.
After the experience of that series, Kathryn got involved with some theater work. In fact, she became a member of the Steppenwolf Theater Company. You know the Steppenwolf, right? It's that place that produces future acting stars as easily as a rainbow produces colors. She was in several productions, including A Streetcar Named Desire and The Grapes of Wrath, and then eventually garnered a Tony nomination for her role as Mary in The Speed of Darkness. Good times. But, like a lot of theater actors, Kathryn decided to move on to other ventures.
Though her movie resume isn't what I would call ginormous, Kathryn did have a few roles that people may remember. She was in D2: The Mighty Ducks. Meh. (Sorry, not a fan of the "Ducks"!), and she was also in a great film which I have always felt was very underrated, Stir of Echoes. That is one that should be checked out. And, of course, she was in the film that contained the greatest performances by both Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss, What About Bob? That movie is awesome, and hats off to Kathryn for being about twenty six years old, but still convincingly playing a girl who I am pretty sure was supposed to be a teenager. Hard to believe she never honed those talents on the set of Beverly Hills, 90210.
Kathryn also did some more television work before her time on L&O:CI. Apparently, she had a recurring role on Oz, a show that I tried to watch, but it proved to be too much for me. She also appeared on one of my other favorite shows, Homicide: Life on the Street, so, major points on that. And she was also in the excellent TV movie, George Wallace, alongside her Steppenwolf alum and my favorite actor, Gary Sinise. But whatever about all of that. Let's get to the meat of this post and talk about Kathryn Erbe's run as Detective Alexandra Eames on Law and Order: Criminal Intent.
So Law and Order: Criminal Intent debuted in September of 2001. Like I said and like many other people, I was drawn to the show because of D'Onofrio, and as the years went on, he kind of overtook the show. But thankfully, some of us, who are not blind to superb acting talents, certainly noticed how amazing Kathryn Erbe was as Alex Eames. I was wise enough to notice that the character of Eames was just as complex and compelling as that of Goren, even if it was in a more subtle and quiet way. She had a great back story, and she had a lot of depth. Frankly, Eames was the absolute perfect partner for Goren. She was a bit more grounded and relatable, and she certainly had the gift of wrangling him when necessary, and it was necessary quite a bit. And whilst Goren didn't often care about what people thought of him or his methods, he did seem to care about what Eames thought of him. That means a lot. And yet, somehow, in amongst all that phenomenal presence, Alex Eames was often forced to play second fiddle in a lot of people's minds. Well, you know what? Not in mine.
There is one particular episode where Eames is upset with Goren, and she says something like, "Oh, I get it. You're the genius, and I just carry your water". Somehow, in those few words, she summed up my own personal annoyance about how unappreciated Alex Eames was as a character, as well as Kathryn Erbe as an actress. There was always this thing about Goren being Sherlock Holmes or something, which, I suppose, meant that Eames was the Watson, or the sidekick, or the person who hangs around while the brilliant dude figures everything out. Well, to that, I say, no! No, Alex, you were not that. You were never "less than". If people want to call Goren Sherlock Holmes, so be it. But let me take this opportunity to dub you, Alexandra Eames, the grown-up Nancy Drew! And if you know anything about me, that is highest honors. Congratulations!
And so there it is, my tribute to the amazing Kathryn Erbe and her alter ego, Alex Eames. I must say, few things make me angrier than actors and actresses who are underrated, and she is one of them. This woman should be named alongside the greatest of our female thespians. I see that, and I know all of her fans feel the same way. I pray that one day she will be thought of that highly by the masses. I also hope that she continues to produce more entertaining work for us to enjoy. And should Kathryn Erbe ever happen upon this blog post, I hope it only serves to remind her of just how much she is loved by myself and many, many others.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
