User reviews

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 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.

My personal favorite. The most riveting episodes. The deepest and most endearing backstory. Genius with the temperament of an excited teenager with a mastery of affect, Incite and subtle manipulation. The perfect detective.

I originally didn't care much for Criminal Intent, focusing my energy toward Special Victims Unit. I have done this for years and never much thought about it. How wrong I have been. Vincent D'Onofrio has evolved his character to be hard-nosed, yet sensitive,intelligent, pure, tortured, and easily identifiable to the suspects, not to mention, able to solve a crime off the top of his head to a certain extent. His own past with sexual abuse is beautifully understated. Bobby Goren is the heart and soul of the entire series, constantly stunning me with his genius and beautiful crafting, even being a little bit sexy. I think Goren is magical. All the utter brilliance of his work has made me wonder: Why has D'Onofrio not won an Emmy?

I am objectively obsessed with the darkness of the human mind. The incredibly savage and cruel things one can do to another. The neverending scale of evil. And, to me, that what this show is all about. Vincent D'Onofrio's character just steals each and every one of the shows with his incredible insight and craving for more knowledge, for understanding why. Eventhough the show itself is sort of a standard criminal procedural he brings an incredible depth and curiosity to the whole thing. You can even see on Kathy Erbe's face how honestly moved, captivated and surprised she can get from witnessing this incredible layered performance he brings again and again. He has brought me to tears, bursts of laughter, a feeling of absolute compassion and empathy.. What an amazing experience from a NBC show. Even more if you take into consideration how shallow and empty are all of the other shows not only from the Law and Order family but the whodunnit genre as whole. Thank you, Vincent.

What makes this series unique is how Goren's character is able to empathize w/the criminals in order to see things other detectives might overlook. In a really great episode, you simultaneously sympathize with and loathe the criminal in equal portions. It's easy for a show to get you to hate someone or to portray them as a good person caught in a bad situation but it takes a rare talent to both feel sorry for someone and be be utterly repulsed by them at the same time.

They rotated detectives in episodes to use Goren sparingly, think of a football player who is great at rushing the quarterback, you can't play him on every down. At first I was put off by this but I grew to like Mike Logan the more I saw them. I also grew to like Danny Ross who replaced Don Carver a very solid performer. I did find the rotating parter situation with Mike Logan a bit jarring but what are you going to do. I liked this more than the original and put it on a part w/SVU.

This is a spin off of the popular TV series 'Law & Order', except it doesn't follow its formula. This show follows NYPD Major Case Squad's Detective Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) and his partner Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe). The biggest difference is to concentrate on these two detectives. In that way, it is much more reminiscent of police procedural in the past.

Vincent D'Onofrio created an uniquely memorable character. Kathryn Erbe provides a great calming presence. Together they have a great watchable chemistry. It lasted 10 seasons.

Criminal intent was based around true detective genre. It was still grounded in the franchise but also all kinds of hard-boiled, Sherlock-inspired, drama-noir! Each episode is basically a novella. Vincent Denofrio is legendary, and Jeff Goldblum gives me the will to live.

For me nothing beats the original LAW AND ORDER series. But Criminal Intent has sometimes great cases, great stories, where you really want to KNOW what's going on and why. Sadly what's really bothering me is how they are solved. It's OK to have a genius like Detective Robert Goren who is so much more clever than the usual detective or his partners. But he is an expert in EVERY little thing in the world, including special import candies from Europe and so on and so on. For me he is just an unbelievable character, no one can know everything. Always. He doesn't even have to sit down and study in a library, he just knows. Thats spoils the series a lot for me, cause solving the case is of course the main part of every episode. If just now and again he would be wrong in something....

"Criminal Intent" was my introduction to "Law & Order", and watching reruns of it on TV was what got me to get out my mom's DVDs of the original "Law & Order" and then I was hooked.

First of all, the cases are really interesting and the way they are shown makes them even more interesting. They don't do the lawyer bits like they did on "Law & Order", but the stories are always meaty enough to keep your attention just on the investigation for the full hour. They show both points of view, not just the cops investigating but also the criminals while the investigation is going on. Really intriguing and great fun when you have that moment when you figure out what is going on for yourself.

An amazing part of "Criminal Intent" is the characters. I'm a very character-based viewer; the people in the show are a big part of whether or not I like it. Goren and Eames are amazing, I just love them, especially Bobby. He is definitely my favourite Law & Order character from all the shows. He is so smart and a really good guy, I just love him. Kudos to Vincent D'Onofrio, he was great in the part. That being said, I still really like the episodes with Chris Noth on them and I think it's really cool the way that Mike from Law & Order came back in the different series. It's interesting to see him as the older, more experienced cop. Of his partners on it my favourite was definitely Falacci, and I was very disappointed that she wasn't on it for longer. I thought she was a great match for Mike.

All in all, a great show, lots of fun to watch:)

I hate lawyer/cop shows. I make exception for CI. Vincent D'Onofrio plays Detective Robert Goren with a touch of class and detailed knowledge of obscure facts worthy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle most famous character Sherlock Holmes as grand eloquently played by Basil Rathbone. There is a cheerful playfulness that Vince D'Onforio adds to the Goren type of police character that Basil Rathbone lacked.

Goren's Watson is very much unlike the bumbling muttering Dr Watson played by Nigel Bruce. Kathryn Erbe plays the role of Detective Alexandra Eames as an equal, equally tough and so straight that she'd impress Sir Arthur and even Basil Rathbone himself.

The two detectives are often assisted by A.D.A. Ron Carver played by Courtney B. Vance who is quite the fashion plate of the conservative look.

Their occasional Moriarity is Nicole, an Australian homicidal maniac who manages to elude them at every turn. I'd like to see more of Nicole. Said Basil Rathbone of the bay-guy in a film: The bad guy has character that the heroes lack. We see in him //her// all the human faults with which we can identify.

CI takes embellished versions of some of the most fantastic crime stories that appear in the tabloid and deals directly with sensitive issues such as the integrity of federal under-cover probes but always treats with them with the series' signature touch of class.

The series may have been inspired by the old Columbo TV movies but I see more of Basil Rathbone in the three characters Gorn - Eames - Carver than Peter Falk's Columbo who played out the wisdom of Sherlock Holmes with the bumbling manner of Dr Watson.

I am sorry to read that D'Onforio has tired of the role but so too did the archetype of the police detective Basil Rathbone who refused to make more films even though the series was still popular.

For fans of L&O and L&O: SVU, this third L&O series may prove a disappointment. Vincent D. portrays Detective Goren, a major case squad cop who loves getting into the worst criminals' minds. The show is completely built around Goren, so your interest in it will depend on how you feel about Vincent D. and his interpretation of the character. For me, the show is much too slow going, without enough character variety to keep me interested. At some point, the show's producers decided to bring back Chris Noth's Logan character from L&O to alternate episodes with Vincent D. Noth is now a bit long in the tooth for this role but he is a nice break from Goren.

After a while, I finally got annoyed with "Criminal Intent". The main character, Detective Robert Goren, is all-wise, all-knowing, can give a psychiatric diagnosis in an instant, finds clues right away, regularly breaks suspects when there is no evidence available, etc. All this with his "stuttering" approach that just looks like bad acting.

You can make one or two episodes as described above, but you just can't make all of them that way. Makes me feel I'm watching the same episode all over again.

The original Law & Order, and even SVU series always gave me impression of real events being behind the episodes. Not CI series. Stopped watching it.

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 supercede 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 storylines, clever and insightful characters, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is one of the finest crime dramas on television.

I have watched the first three seasons of this show, and that's it. (I became spoiled with DVDs and refuse to watch a show anymore interrupted constantly by tons of commercials.)

Anyway, I saw the first and third seasons back-to-back and then waited a long time until the second season was released on disc. I'm still waiting for the fourth season. I'm not sure why the holdups all the time with these DVD releases. What's the deal?

For the most part, I very much enjoyed these first three seasons. I like Sherlock Holmes-type characters and Vincent D'Onofrio's "Det. Robert Goren" certainly exhibits the famous British detective's deductive powers. He's also a strange dude who has a unique way of usually getting the suspects to talk. I doubt in real life it would be that easy to verbally trapping these people into admitting their guilt but, hey, it's only a TV show and they have to wrap it all up in about 40-42 minutes.

Kathryn Erbe as "Det. Eames complements partner Goren just beautifully and when she was absent from the show for a short time, due to her pregnancy, she was missed. Her low-key sarcasm at times elicits a number of laughs, even from Goren at times. I also like their two bosses, played by Courtney B. Vance and Jamey Sheridan. Sometimes I wish those guys had more air time, as they are always interesting.

My only complaint with the shows is the political and cultural bias they show here and there, but they don't do it much, not nearly as often as the parent show.

I understand D'Onofrio is now just a part-time performer on this show and when I heard that a couple of years ago, I was disappointed. I'm sure all the other fans of this show were, too. I don't know how it's been worked out and if the show is any good anymore, but I'll buy the fourth season and find out....if it is ever released.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent certainly had a ready made audience with the success of the two previous Law and Order series. Still when it came out the producers were treading on some thin ice by making the detectives as quirky as they were. The original Law and Order series had cops with personalities, but were generally all business.

Vincent Donofrio's Robert Goren was all business, but he was totally consumed by the job. He certainly had a few issues as we later learned concerning his mother, Rita Moreno who was in a few episodes, but his lack of involvement with the rest of the human race may have made him more detached and able to ferret clues with the skill of Adrian Monk. Not even the remotest kind of pass was ever made at the beautiful Kathryn Erbe who partnered with him for the first half of the series run.

Law And Order fans already knew Detective Mike Logan and all of his good and bad points that Chris Noth brought for the CI series. Still it was great to see a more mature Logan, doggedly honest work through his caseload on alternate weeks. His run in actual life years given a bit of time before the original Law and Order series debuted was about the working life of a police detective.

One thing I didn't like was the dropping of Courtney B. Vance's character of ADA Ron Carver. We only got to see him on trial pitted against defendant Rob Knepper in one of my two favorite Criminal Intent episodes. He was outstanding in that one. I presume the producers and writers wanted to concentrate more on the cops than on him and he was dropped. But if I were the producers I'd work him into either of the other series somehow and pay him whatever he wants. Vance is worth it.

Now we have Jeff Goldblum who has the unusual background of having a psychologist dad and he combines that training with police training. Goldblum seems to have found his own character and like Donofrio and Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, you can see the little gray cells at work all the time.

Not as factually based as the original series, but CI has a great set of writers to come up with some novel stories every week.

Law and Order: CI is very dramatic show. It takes you through real-life everyday crimes. The shows takes you from the actual crime to who did crime and why. It literately takes their story lines straight from the headlines. Their stories deal with everyday crimes in our society. The writers have real done their homework when it comes to technical terms and medical terminology. The writers also do a good job in the way, they write the shows, especially on the way they throw the side comments in. I like how the show ends with Detective Gorman fills everyone end and wraps up the whole story. It is great when you have missed the beginning and how it helps you to fill in the blanks. A lot of crimes that Criminal Intent deals with is greed and revenge on other, which is why it is named Criminal Intent. To show the audience what people will do and what people are willing to do to make they feel better or keep things a secret. There are not many cops' shows that do what law and order series does. There are many reasons that the show has last as long as it has. They keep coming up with different branch offs of Law and Order and in society it growing when it comes to crimes as well. They are trying to cover the different types of crime there are in the United States as well.

Detective Gorman has a lot of knowledge of different area such as science, medical and chess strategies. Which help him determine his criminal is going to do next. Then he device a plan on how to set that particular criminal up to tell on themselves and come clean on what happens. Then at the end he walks you through the crime step by step and also explains things that we as common people may not know to better understand something.

Detective Emes is the sidekick; she follows what detective Gorman is thinking. She is the one that looks up record and mostly does the research into people past like DMV records or old case files. Then when it is time to take down the criminal she usually plays some kind of role like a sexy woman or mother like figure to get the criminal to talk. Then sometimes she just comes and plays bad cop and makes Gorman look like the good cop. She a way of being intimidating to criminal even though she is a short woman, I guess it is how she is able to use her words to scare them.

Then there is good old Captain and he is there to ensure that his detectives are following the law and don't over step the law. He holds all the pieces together and makes sure things are going smoothly.

I read all reviews and I'm happy that most of them are positive.I'm relatively new to CI and after a quick count it became clear that I saw only third of the episodes so far. I can hardly explain how much I love the series. It means Goren and Eames to me - the stories with other detectives do not interest me at all. I began to watch because of the cases, but soon Vincent D'Onofrio lured away my attention. He is such a fine and talented actor, a true artist, and his Goren is such a pleasure to watch!He is clever, funny, overwhelming, awesome..I simply adore his little mannerisms, strange movements and flexibility which made Bobby so unique.He's a gentle giant, I find him so sexy and handsome even in the later seasons when he's older and heavier. What a gorgeous man!

I think Goren is one of the greatest fictional characters, just like Sherlock Holmes, whom he is based upon. Some reviews say he is irritating - if you want to see really irritating "acting", try CSI:Miami and look for red hair..

My opinion is that Kate Erbe is as superb as Vincent. I do not see Eames as a mere sidekick, she is a great character and complements Goren totally. She is a smart, clever, brave cop in a tough manly environment. I like her sarcasm, the show needs that tiny amount of fun she provides. What I like the most in the Goren-Eames partnership is the deep respect they have for each other, but I'm not a shipper at all.

I love every episode I saw, it is really hard to pick favs, but those with super villain Nicole Wallace are phenomenal. I really liked Art (1.2.), Jones (1.5.), Badge (1.20.), Chinoiserie (2.5.) and Prisoner (5.3.), just to mention a few.

I'd like to say big thanks to all the fine actors, writers and crew who created such an amazing show.

Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan, and Courtney B. Vance shine as they give performances that supercede 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.

As Wally Stevens in this episode of Criminal Intent. Not to take away from Kathryn Erbe or Vincent D'Onofrio, but they're just slow pitching to Mark in this episode. He really deserved an Emmy (at least a nomination!) for his work as an insurance executive who has Asberger's and who is helping the detectives with their case. His acting at the end is jaw-dropping, sad and beautiful.

The other detectives are dry!!! Vincent is creepy and aggravating. I only watch for the guest stars and don't care for any of the detectives except for Chris Noth

Chris Noth was such a big part of the original series "Law & Order" and he was indeed my favorite actor on the show! After becoming world renowned on "Sex and the City" he has returned to "Law & Order" by way of the compelling spin off series "Law & Order Criminal Intent". I like the episodes that he stars in, I am not all that crazy about the episodes that those other two people are in (Ha Ha!!). "Law & Order" will probably be the longest running prime time series in the whole history of television. I definitely can fathom all of the "Law & Order" television show's appeal!! Chris Meloni is extremely convincing in "Law & Order Criminal Intent". I do feel that Chris Noth has been an integral part of the success behind "Law & Order" and "Law & Order Criminal Intent"!! This string of "Law & Order" television shows has revolutionized the small screen in terms of how the average American perceives justice and criminal activity in New York City. Budget restraints are what determine a verdict of innocent or guilty. Plea bargaining becomes the necessary evil which placates all parties concerned! Chris Noth has always played a tough guy, and has always been very believable at doing so too! I strongly recommend seeing the television show "Law & Order Criminal Intent" and Chris Noth is a big reason why!!

I really hate "L&O." But this well-done and fascinatingly detailed series outranks the others in the line by giving us promising stories and delightful performances. The best are given by Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe in the established leads. They are New York City's best crime solvers, and they always get the cases no one else can solve. It works much better than the formulaic work established by its predecessors, and its twists are nowhere near as easy to figure out. This comes pretty close to the outskirts of my "Will Buy on DVD" pantheon, but it's not quite there yet because I've never been big on either procedural shows or mysteries. But when CI comes on, I don't instantly flee, which is more than I can say for the other dramas of its type. This is by far the best of the L&O franchise, and hopefully it continues for a little while longer, at least. And I'm glad its recently been taken out of the hands of the NBC mother network, which has a history of canceling greatness in favor of garbage.