Law & Order: Criminal Intent

[Vincent] D'Onofrio is so eccentrically entertaining, even his costar Kathryn Erbe seems fascinated. ... Add tight plotting, and CI is the L&O of the year.

On the surface, the concept of Criminal Intent seems like a gimmicky way to milk some of the success from its predecessors, but in the capable hands of exec producers Wolf and Rene Balcer, who also serve as the show's head writers, it makes for taut, engaging television. This self-perpetuating franchise of cops and lawyers is hardly running out of steam. [28 Sept 2001, p.8]

The best thing about the show is that its cast is so overqualified for it. Vincent D'Onofrio is one of the most inspired and versatile young actors of our time. He was unforgettable in an episode of "Homicide: Life on the Street" in which he barely moved; he spent most of it trapped under a subway car.

Seldom has a fatally flawed concept been better executed than on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Criminal Intent is yet another watchable Law & Order, which has become TV's most popular cop/lawyer show. But does three Law & Orders constitute too many Law & Orders? Maybe. [29 Sept 2001, p.E08]

Cold and stale...Though sharply staged against New York locales, the show simply offers more of the same. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf came up with a marvelous formula for telling stories, but he's exhausting it. [30 Sept 2001, p.4]

It's not a bad show, just nothing special or innovative. It's another plot-driven, bland character drama from executive producer Dick Wolf. [29 Sept 2001, p.C-6]

They've already shot 13 episodes in New York City (long before Sept. 11), and the title's name recognition could draw a crowd...Without better scripts and acting to back it up, though, this Law & Order spin-off could wind up eating some of those first 13. [29 Sept 2001, p.9]

The best thing Criminal Intent did was dump its low-brow, lower-IQ pilot. What remains, though, is routine at best, the violent master criminal planning a million-dollar diamond heist in the premiere naturally proving no match for the brilliant, X-ray-sighted Goren.

Told mainly from the perspective of the criminal, L&O:CI has a superb cast (Vincent D'Onofrio, Courtney B. Vance, Jamey Sheridan). But you can't get past the fact that you've seen this all before, just assembled differently.

It looks like a lot of cop shows that have gone before, no matter what Wolf says about its criminal-based perspective. [29 Sept 2001, p.E1]

But it's going to take more than two or three minutes of near-art near the end of each hour to keep this series on the air. [29 Sept 2001, p.2D]

The talented Mr. Wolfwould disagree, but frankly, three is two too many. [29 Sept 2001, p.1E]

Mr. D'Onofrio is the best reason to watch Criminal Intent, particularly when he's in full metal insult mode...The show otherwise is weak from a story standpoint. Clues fall into place with remarkable, sometimes unbelievable precision. Wrongdoers are too easily broken down or duped during interrogations. The criminals' minds frankly aren't all that interesting anyway. And unlike its two fellow travelers, there are no palate-cleansing trials in Criminal Intent. Episodes instead end in abrupt arrests. [30 Sept 2001, p.3]

Criminal Intent should make the bird's tail-feathers droop with embarrassment. [29 Sept 2001, p.E-6]

Not only does this sort of McDonald's approach to crime drama represent a serious lack of network imagination, it also threatens the dignity of the original "Law & Order" as it clones its formula. Think of the show's trademark ching-ching as the equivalent of the Golden Arches. [29 Sept 2001, p.F1]