Criminal Intent - Verbrechen im Visier

Dick Wolf has created quality television once again with the latest series in the "Law & Order" franchise. Wolf combines intelligence, intensity, clever characters and stories as well as great charm and wit to create a successful formula for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan, and Courtney B. Vance shine as they give performances that supersede those given on "NYPD Blue." Like the cast on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," D'Onofrio, Erbe, Sheridan and Vance feed off each other as if they were veterans working together for a long time.

One of the biggest reasons It is especially fun to watch D'Onofrio's character Bobby Goren at work as he uses deductive reasoning combined with his great intellect to pick out the perpetrator. D'Onofrio gives insightful performances with each episode he stars.

Like their co-star, Erbe, Sheridan and Vance are welcome additions to an already wonderful series, who each bring their own unique brand of style and talent to their respective roles, a quality that sets them apart from other crime drama casts.

Quality writing and riveting performances set "Law And Order: Criminal Intent" far apart from the other crime dramas on television. Each episode is riveting, written with intelligence, and contains characters with great depth. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is one of only a few crime dramas that contains all of these elements. I will always set aside one hour every week to watch "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" when the writing is this good.

It was a pleasant surprise to watch the writers' come up with an original idea, which they think of stories that delve into the criminal mind and the motives behind the crime. Also, they drew me in with their ability to create a detective with skills similar to Sherlock Holmes and a partner that rivals Dr. Watson.

The outstanding writing and great performances make me care about this outstanding series. With involving story lines, clever and insightful characters, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is one of the finest crime dramas on television.

I was and am still a big fan of Criminal Intent. Vincent D'Onofrio was the best and it took me some time to appreciate Kathryn Erbe as Alex Eames. The more I watched the two of them together the more I liked their chemistry. The only two characters I didnt like were Captain Ross who had his good moments and Fallaci who irked me in every way possible. I couldn't stand her. I always liked Alicia Witt who played her but not that character. Logan, Barack, Wheeler, were also characters I really liked. Jeff Goldblum and Saffron Burrows were good together alsi for their season. I look back on CI now thru the repeats and I'm amazed at the guests stars and bit players who were just nobody's starting out back then and who became superstars today. The number of actors who played multiple characters in multiple episodes is another thing I didn't realize until I started watching the repeats. I still laugh about the fact that Jay O Sanders played a killer in season 2 and was the Major Case Captain in season 10.

I originally wondered if the character played by Vincent D'Onofrio was written that way or did he create his characters personality. I have since watched Daredevil and see that it is D'Onofrio's acting skills that create his odd character roles. I believe that you can compare his character in this to Dustin Hoffman in Rainman & Billy Bob Thorton in Slingblade. 10 years was not enough for this show but I loved every episode and now find myself watching anything he is in.

I am a long standing fan of Law and Order,the original series. I never could get into SVU, but I love CI. The intelligence of Vincent's character is wonderful and I have fun watching him "trip" the bad guys. There is humor and sarcasm that I find refreshing, it keeps the show from being too dark. I don't find this show overly violent at all. The acting and writing are top notch. Definitely my favorite series this season.

Admittedly I am a huge fan of Law & Order, so I am probably a bit prejudiced with regard to Law & Order Criminal Intent. I have found that the story lines are up to standard the original series set. I feel that the character development in LOCI has tremendous potential.

Intended or not, one of the main characters, Goren, evolves as the central character in each episode. His ability and desire to understand the reasoning behind the actions of the criminals is captivating. He appears supremely intelligent but without a superior attitude. Each episode Goren is called upon to draw from his own eclectic knowledge base which, depending on the episode, might be a foreign language, the psychology behind the criminal mind, odd medical conditions, rare art values or something equally unexpected. His knowledge seems to be acquired because he is driven to know more, to understand more completely, to totally get inside the criminal's head, dissect whatever thought processes are happening and add this to his vast 'file' in his own head. This desire coupled with D'Onofrio's unusual mannerisms create a unique approach to 'cracking' a suspect and makes you sweat right along with the criminal. (Added bonus: D'Onofrio is INCREDIBLY sexy!!)

The other characters are standard Law & Order issue. Very competent, fairly easy to understand without being too simple. They have lives and feelings and issues that some times conflict with their duties which gives them a dimension frequently lacking in television but always existent in Law & Order shows/spinoffs.

I am hoping that this series will be renewed for enough seasons so that the audience will have a chance to peek into the depths of Goren's mind and understand how HE works. All in all, I believe this is a series well worth your time and I sincerely hope that it continues. (I also want to see more of D'Onofrio!!)