Law & Order: Criminal Intent - The Complete Third Season

I am a huge fan of the show and really got into it at the end of the first season, which I own on DVD. It's curious that they're releasing the third season before the second, also it's a bit disappointing, since I have to wait longer to get that set. CI's second season was addictive television: I looked forward every week to the episode to come on Sunday, to see Vincent D'Onofrio nail another clever would-be criminal mastermind. The third season was good throughout, but it had fewer flashes of greatness than its predecessor and it seemed to produce more clunkers than the other two seasons.

Some of the highlights include an episode about architects, murder, and polygamy (Undaunted Meddle), a corporate travesty to challenge Enron (Mis-Labeled), an Anti-Semitic serial killer (A Murderer Among Us), a very unhappy family (Shrink-Wrapped), and a master con artist (The Saint). There were a few more star appearances: Judd Hirsch (Ordinary People), Stephen Colbert (tv's The Daily Show), and Brent Spiner (Star Trek). On the negative side, Kathryn Erbe gave birth to her second child during the season, so we got Samantha Buck for a few episodes instead. The show, to its credit, tried new things, some of which worked (the above shows) and some that didn't (the flat F.P.S. and Mad Hops, plus an embarassingly banal D.A.W.).

All in all, the third season was weaker than the first two, but real fans will enjoy its charms. If you are among them, check it out, but if you're wondering what this whole Criminal Intent thing is about, I'd recommend holding out until the second season is released.

I was not a Law and Order fan. Sure I have seen the original and SVU, but something about the format never resonated with me. Solving the crime halfway through seemed abrubt and packaged, despite the wealth of acting talent the shows have produced. Having said that, I have become increasingly impressed with Criminal Intent, starring the ever intriguing Vincent D'Onofrio. Season 1 saw a show that was in its birthing phase: acting was occasionally hit or miss as the actors developed their characters. No idea about Season 2 since they released Season 3 before it. This does not create continuinty problems, however, as each episode and season stand alone as a set piece drama, with few re-occuring story arcs throughout multiple episodes. So you can watch in any order and still be part of the drama. This is a show that is hitting its stride in the third season, and well worth the buy.

Vincent D'Onofrio is just short of brilliant as the character of Detective Robert Goren. He invokes a spirit that is both intriguing and whimsical, provoking the audience to understand the psychology of both crime and criminal. He sees and hears what most do not. He is also a master manipulator of emotion, as seen in the interrogation room, but just when you think he has gone too far or is showing his dark side, he taps into the emotion of the moment and shows a new side to his character. Anyone who saw Full Metal Jacket and how powerful he was in his brief 15 minutes, will appreciate the depth and range he brings to this character. Hands down, the finest pure actor on TV today.

Kathyrn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan, and the ever cool Courtney B. Vance round out the cast as the partner, Captain, and district attorney respectively. Their roles are mainly to support Goren, but given the second billing, they play the roles well. Erbe is a nice partner to D'Onofrio, but the writers have yet to let her carry a show's dramatic arc. Everyone loves Sherlock Holmes, but everyone wants to see Watson get the spotlight once or twice. The surrogate pregnancy takes her out of a few episodes in Season 3, she has a temporary substitute redhead who makes you miss the Goren/Eames partnership. Sheridan does his best as the Captain, but his role is limited and is fairly interchangeable with any other cop show. Vance, the man of cool, brings a distinguished acting career, a great wardrobe, and a no nonsense attorney's search for justice to ADA Carver.

The plots are often inspired by real life crimes, which makes them just familar enough to make you think you know who did it. Guess what, it's usually not who you think. The acting is wonderful, and you begin to wonder how long they can keep this up; How long can each episode intrigue you?. For me, I'll be staying tuned to find out, and can't wait for Season 2 and Season 4 of this great series to be released.

'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' is one great cop show. With a detective like Goren to surprise us every week with his skills is something to behold. Which, of course, in the real world means this series has incredible writers. Dick Wolf's 'Law & Order' franchise includes some great series - the original 'Law & Order', 'Law & Order SVU', but Criminal Intent is my favorite as I like like good old-fashioned detective, cop shows. It's rarely been done better.

However, unfortunately, this is a NBC-Universal project which means it's a Universal DVD property. For those that don't know - they are NOTORIOUS for beginning series on DVD and after a season or two, dropping them cold. No release for this series in going on two years now, it looks like another Universal casualty. Add that to classics like Dragnet (one season and out), Adam-12 (one season and out), Emergency (one and out); and even classic comedy series that deserved the best treatment: Leave It To Beaver - two seasons and no more. Universal does this time and time again and it's getting where I don't trust Universal when they begin a series release on DVD. Season Four for 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', anyone???

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