Law and Order: Criminal Intent
By
User:AllieCashel @timeAndDate(1277149677)
"In New York City's war on crime," states the show's opening narration, "the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad. These are their stories." Thus begins the second Law and Order spin-off: a police procedural TV Drama which follows the Major Case Squad as they investigate high profile cases (cases involving VIPs, local government officials and employees, the financial industry, and the art world). Similar to the original Law and Order style, almost all the cases are loosely based on real New York City crimes and most have do to with murder, occasionally even serial murder. The show's primary focus is on the motives and minds of the criminals and always features interesting flashes back into the criminals minds before or during they committed the crime. Although not as highly regarded as the other two Law and Order series, this show provides an interesting, thrilling look into the minds of New York's darkest criminals.
The Characters
'''Detective Robert Goren''' is one of the primary detectives for the Major Case Squad. Played by Vincent D'Onofrio, he is an intense, often imposing but incredibly intelligent man who uses his own understanding of human nature to size up suspects and analyze the details of his crimes. During the first season he is despised by his partner '''Detective Alexandra Eames''', a pragmatic, calm, veteran detective who serves as a nice balance to his instinctual moves. Eames, played by Kathryn Erbe, eventually looses her disdain for Goren and the two become a successful pair. The two are reigned in by '''Captain James Deakins''', played by Jamie Sheirdan, creating an interesting balance of tension and respect between the detectives and their Captain. '''District Attorney Ron Cavor''', played by Courtney B. Vance, controls the legal side of the teams crime work.
In the fifth season of the show, the the detectives were introduced to two other detectives, '''Mike Logan''' (played by Chris North, a reprise of his role from the original Law and Order) and '''Carolyn Berak''' (Annabella Sciorra). After one season, Berak was replaced with '''Detective Megan Wheeler''' (Julianne Nicholson) who remains Logan's partner through the 8th Season of the show.
The Seasons
Seasons 19, none of which are currently available on DVD. Reruns of all seasons often run on both NBC and USA however, so you can still see your favorite episodes from the later seasons on TV.
Other Interesting Information
* During the first season of the show, several characters from both the original Law and Order and Law and Order: SVU appeared on the show.
* Legacy Interactive released a
Criminal Intent computer game in November of 2005.
* Although many think of Criminal Intent as the weakest of the Law and Order shows, according to
tvbytheratings.com it was the sixth most watched show on television in 2008 with a viewer base of over four million people.
* On the show, Detective Eames admits at one point that she has an Abba fan club card.
Quick Picks
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Law and Order
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