Rating: 
Summary: Smart and intense
Review: I was so glad to get Criminal Intent on DVD - without commercials! Vincent D'Onofrio is amazing as Detective Goran, he is more the brains and his partner Eames (Kathryn Erbe) is a good fit as the 'brawn'. The crimes of Major Case are all wicked nasty and sometimes Goran will leave you scratching your head with his leaps of faith and logic, but at the end you go 'aha!' Of the L&O series, this one is the best, gripping and witty.
Rating:
Summary: GET THIS!
Review: A six disc box set, 22 eps and a special feature of Criminal Intent. It seems too good to be true - but fear not people, it's right here. And it's glorious.
Television can be so cruel that it will re-run Seinfeld episodes every weekday, have Everybody Loves Raymond on at least three times in a five day period, and offer nothing better than a double episode of the OC ... then make you wait A WHOLE WEEK in between Criminal Intent episodes. I tell you, in some countries it's illegal, it has to be! Is there no mercy at all???
Mercy has arrived in a blue box, with four of the coolest cop show cast members since Starsky and Hutch. And they don't even need a rockin' car to make you want to watch every episode one after the other without stopping for breath. Of course everyone initially watches Criminal Intent for Vincent D'Onofrio's unhinged Goren, but you become enamoured with the rest of the cast very quickly. Katherine Erbe is on fire with her one-liners and sharp tongue, Courtney B. Vance's smooth voice convinces you every time, and Jamey Sheridan is just such a groover I want to keep him in my house!
The only thing that's lacking on this is commentary. To have the cast chime in on a few of the episodes would have been a nice addition, as well as hearing the scriptwriters talk about how they develop their scripts from their starts as factual stories. Be that as it may, it's lacking in nothing else.
By heavens, I love it so much I'm going to get off this computer and watch a couple of eps right now!!!
Rating:
Summary: Five stars just for the episodes
Review: As one less than praising reviewer commented about most positive reviewers of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, I am already biased in my review of this show, because I am a die-hard fan. And Lord Almighty, do I ever love this show. Just to get the gushing out of the way right now - it is, without a doubt, my favourite show on tv at the moment.
Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to catch Criminal Intent right from the beginning. Having seen episodes of both the original Law & Order, and Law & Order: SVU, I wasn't at all interested when Law & Order: CI came to our screens in Australia. More fool me. I watched the show one night with my parents purely because there was nothing else on and I couldn't be bothered choosing a video to watch. I couldn't get over the quirky character of Goren, and found myself tuning in each week until I was well and truly hooked.
Another reviewer said it, and they were right - you either love Goren or you hate him. There is no in-between.
D'Onofrio's bizarre character got me hooked on CI, but I love it now for a much broader spectrum of things.
Criminal Intent is not the most original cop show that has ever been on TV, but it is definitely one of the most entertaining - depending on your own preferences, of course. And where the two previous Law & Order franchises have been ensemble casts, this is the first show that has relied so heavily on the performance of one actor to hold things together.
Also, from a completely personal point of view, I like the fact that Criminal Intent for the most part stays away from the courtroom. My greatest frustration with SVU was that more often than not they seemed to lose their cases once it went to court. There is no such frustration with CI. Whether or not Goren and Eames get their man (or woman), the show very rarely moves into the vicinity of courtroom drama. Consequently, 98% of the time the outcome of the show is more than satisfying.
First and foremost (naturally) there is Vincent D'Onofrio as Detective Bobby Goren. (I like to imagine that perhaps he was named after his father - `Robert Goren Jr', or something similar - because I have yet to meet any man called Robert, who prefers to be known as `Bobby')
It has been absolutely fascinating to watch the character develop over the three seasons that the show has been running. Where, in the first season, Goren was something of an enigma, in the second and third seasons we have gradually been given a look-see into his psyche. Indeed, the fact of his mother's schizophrenia and his father walking out on them when he was only a child have served to be interesting catalysts for confrontations with suspects - most particularly, the episodes with Nicole Wallace/Elizabeth Hitchens.
Goren gives me the impression of a man who, knowing his mother's condition and knowing that schizophrenia is hereditary, is constantly teetering on the brink of that same mental illness. All his quirks and odd mannerisms, his phenomenal range of knowledge and his extraordinary intelligence are all signs of a man who runs the very real risk of a complete mental and emotional breakdown.
Kathryn Erbe is absolutely brilliant as Goren's partner, Detective Alex Eames. At first glance it might appear that she is little more than a shadow to Goren's all-encompassing presence, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It is more obvious in some episodes, but throughout the show, Eames is constantly the stabiliser to Goren's eccentricities. They are such complete opposites, and yet they are a perfect match for each other.
Bobby Goren is a great cop, but that is only the case because he has Alex Eames for a partner. This was particularly obvious in the third season episodes, during which Kathryn Erbe was on maternity leave. Whilst Samantha Buck did a reasonable job, it just wasn't the same. It seemed that the character of Bishop spent most of the time trailling around behind Goren like a lost puppy, who was never quite sure of where she was supposed to be. Not that this was surprising. It was summed up quite aptly in an early episode when, after Eames had announced her surrogate pregnancy and Goren wondered who his interim partner would be, Eames commented rather blithely, 'I pity the poor soul'. Too true.
Though it isn't always made blatantly obvious, it would have to be clear to anyone who pays attention that Goren and Eames know some fairly intimate details about each other's lives. It is partly due to this that their partnership works so well. This was what was lacking in the Goren/Bishop partnership of the third season. She knew next to nothing about the man she was working with, and constantly regarded him as a difficulty to be tolerated only until she could move on to better things. He, on the other hand, found himself in a bind more than once without Eames, and sorely missing her presence.
Goren's anger and frustration at not having Eames there to counter-balance him was very real, and only showed just how good they are together. (I particularly liked it when, in a moment of frustration, Goren picked something up and threw it in anger at Eames' empty desk)
Both characters are good, but they only attain brilliance when they are together, and I think that is what really makes this show so good.
Rating: 
Summary: Show, great. DVD, almost...
Review: Being an owner of the original Law & Order and SVU, I bought this dvd on good faith. I must admit that I hadn't seen the show, but had talked to several people who were religious watchers; plus I researched it a little on the net. The bottom line is that my gamble paid off. I throroughly enjoyed every single episode. From the excellent ending of the first episode to the credits of the last, I was hooked. It was money well spent. Some people don't enjoy D'onofrio's character, but I think that he is a wonderful take on a modern-day Sherlock Holmes (who WAS quite the know-it-all, if you hadn't noticed). Plus, there is an interesting back-story to Detective Goren, involving his mentally ill mother. It makes you more sympathetic and willing to follow the character development.
If you are debating on the investment, it's worth it. The only down side, like the other Law & Order dvd's, is the sad absence of extras. There is an informative and entertaining featurette, but it's mostly everyone tooting everyone else's horn. For the show, though, check it out!
Rating:
Summary: Show, great. DVD, almost...
Review: Being an owner of the original Law & Order and SVU, I bought this dvd on good faith. I must admit that I hadn't seen the show, but had talked to several people who were religious watchers; plus I researched it a little on the net. The bottom line is that my gamble paid off. I throroughly enjoyed every single episode. From the excellent ending of the first episode to the credits of the last, I was hooked. It was money well spent. Some people don't enjoy D'onofrio's character, but I think that he is a wonderful take on a modern-day Sherlock Holmes (who WAS quite the know-it-all, if you hadn't noticed). Plus, there is an interesting back-story to Detective Goren, involving his mentally ill mother. It makes you more sympathetic and willing to follow the character development.
If you are debating on the investment, it's worth it. The only down side, like the other Law & Order dvd's, is the sad absence of extras. There is an informative and entertaining featurette, but it's mostly everyone tooting everyone else's horn. For the show, though, check it out!
Rating: 
Summary: You've Gotta check it out
Review: BEST SHOW OUT THERE! Loved it. It's a real great work of acting and writing.
Rating:
Summary: Get it! You won't be disappointed.
Review: Criminal Intent Fans Rejoyce!
This DVD set delivers on everything as advertised.
22 episodes / No commercials + interviews with Dick Wolf, Vincent D'onofrio, Kathryn Erbe and all the others.
Every so often, if our weekend is slow, my wife & I will put on our own little Criminal Intent Marathon. It's absolutely wonderful.
BUY THIS!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT SHOW! BEST SPIN OFF!
Review: Great show with some great performances by Vincent D'Onofrio and the rest. Really great directing.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I definitely enjoyed the 6 dvd set. The image quality is perfect. Not many bonus features, the adverts on dvd1 and no French audio are minor faults as the box is a good bargain. I'm waiting for the next release from this spin off
Rating:
Summary: When Law & Order Criminal Intent is good it is Very Good
Review: I expected to enjoy the DVD of the first year and I have very, very much. Not only have I been able to re-enjoy shows that I had seen, but I was agreeably surprised with those that I missed. Without giving away plots, I hope, my favorite was "Poison": The sheer unswavering, selfish, determination of the lady was very interesting and made the show completely entertaining. There were others as well that I had not seen [and there were more than I had realized]. I am very glad that I sent for Law & Order Criminal Intent 1st Year.
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