Law & Order Criminal Intent - The Second Year (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)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 abrupt 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. Season 3 was released on DVD prior to this season, but thankfully this does not create continuity problems as each episode and season stand alone as a set piece drama. 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 second 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. 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 23 episodes of season two are solid, the plots are often inspired by real life crimes just familiar enough to make you think you know who did it. Guess what, it's usually not who you think. The DVD box set may be light on the extras, but we watch Law & Order for the drama, and just finally having Season Two fills the hole on the shelf. Overall, Criminal Intent showcased the best acting of any of the L&O franchises, 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 4 of this great series to be released. Recommended.
A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO



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From the most successful franchise on television comes Law & Order: Criminal Intent - The Second Year. Experience life on the wrong side of the law as perpetrators plan and execute the crimes that lead them into the fascinating, frustrating and sometimes frightening justice system. This highly collectible 5-disc set contains all 23 powerful episodes and features the original cast - including Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan and Courtney B. Vance. Law & Order: Criminal Intent - The Second Year is mastermind Dick Wolf's most innovative creation yet.

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Law & Order Criminal Intent - The Third Year (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)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.

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LAW & ORDER:CRIMINAL INTENT SEASON 3 - DVD Movie

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Rebus (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)With wonderfully complex plots and recurring characters, Rebus is an absolutely first-rate crime drama based on the novels by Scottish author Iain Rankin. Though set in Edinburgh, it is not the charming, picturesque, historic old city as seen by the casual visitor that we are privy to; rather, the viewer is taken on a journey through the dark, gritty, cankerous underbelly of what, on the surface, is one of Britain's loveliest old cities. This is a series peopled by characters who are all too human, and it holds back no punches in its realistic portrayal of the criminal world.
Detective Inspector John Rebus (John Hannah (McCallum)) is one of the most curious, indeed fascinating, DIs I've come across. He's a competent and committed police officer, but a flawed human being with his own set of personal demons with which he must contend. He's a deep, multi-faceted character for whom nothing is black and white, and he's not immune to making serious errors in judgement, to lying in order to achieve his objective, or to experiencing the temptation of a "pact with the devil." He often makes decisions which shock the viewer, for we know that, even though we may understand his motivation, they are decisions which would never be condoned by the police. Indeed, is it any wonder he drinks a little too much and has more than a little trouble sleeping? Nor are we surprised to find that he has more than a little trouble forming and holding on to relationships with women.
Rebus is a wonderfully rich, dynamic, and interesting character, and I personally felt that John Hannah did a superb job in bringing him to life. I don't know why Hannah left the series or if he did any more series after this one, but I do know that I prefer these episodes and Hannah's portrayal much more than the recent pair of episodes wherein Ken Stott has taken over the title role (I just didn't warm to the character as portrayed by Stott).
The set consists of four 100-minute episodes and a very interesting dvd extra on the making of the series, which features informative comments about the nature of the series and the character of Rebus by both John Hannah and Iain Rankin.
In conclusion, this is a series I recommend unhesitatingly to fans of British mysteries and crime drama in general. There may be less in the way of comic relief, but I would still say that if you enjoy shows like A Touch of Frost or Delziel and Pascoe, chances are you'll really enjoy this one.
Highly recommended!


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Rebus is adapted from the novels of award-winning writer Ian Rankin - the UK's number one best-selling crime writer. At the center of each story is Detective Inspector Rebus, an enigma, fighting his own weaknesses, while dealing with the sad consequences of human frailty. He's seen it all before, but his cynicism is redeemed by an unexpected humanity that reveals he is more disillusioned with himself than others. As he scours the streets looking for answers, Rebus is actually seeking the truth about himself. Episodes The story of a copycat killer from 15 years ago comes back to haunt Rebus in Black and Blue. He finds himself taken off the case when an official investigation is opened into the death of a convicted murderer, who Rebus helped put behind bars, 15 years ago… True to his nature, Rebus refuses to let the matter lie. He soon finds himself in pursuit of two killers, past and present. The Hanging Garden follows Rebus as he pieces together the trail of a war criminal who appears to have gone into hiding in a respectable part of town. After rescuing a young Chechen girl from a local gangster he is drawn into a vicious running battle between rival gangs. But when his daughter Sammy is deliberately run down in the street, it soon becomes plain he will stop at nothing to find the man responsible. Rebus and his colleague catch sight of a known convicted pedophile taking photographs at the zoo in Dead Souls. It transpires he has been released early from prison, is under police protection and is the key witness in the trial of two suspected abusers. The next day, Rebus' colleague is found dead in the center of Edinburgh in what appears to be suicide. Devastated, Rebus sets out to discover what exactly happened. And in Mortal Causes, the case of an underworld execution unfolds as Rebus makes a link with racist attacks that raises the chilling specter of terrorism on the streets of Edinburgh.

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