Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Smothered (2001) User Reviews

Ther series was still finding its way ...

[dwdw-33208 · 7/10 · 4 February 2021]

... so this wasn't the most compelling ep. Still, it's worth watching for the performance by Will Lyman (an underused actor who is better known for his exceptional narration of myriad documentaries).

And, two corrections to the review by ccthemovieman-122:

The early scene that shows the murderer doing the deed isn't a flaw -- it's a *hallmark* of this series, which is about how Goren and Eames (but mainly Goren) track down the killer. It's a feature, not a bug.

And, the show didn't take a cheap shot at Dubya; the character's allegiance to him was completely in keeping with who he was -- *and*, the character is based on an actual person with a militaristic background. (This ep is based on the murder of Pati Margello, the down-at-heel girlfriend of Dean MacGuigan, the son of DuPont heiress Lisa Dean Moseley.)

Law & Order:Criminal Intent-Smothered

[Scarecrow-88 · 9/10 · 11 November 2010]

A junkie named Lois(Funda Duval), attempting to go straight, pregnant with another user's child, hoping to marry him, is strangled and left under a mattress in a hotel(set up by her friend, a strip dancer). It's up to Goren and Eames to determine why she was murdered and left for dead. Lois' fiancé, Dale(Geoffrey Nauffts) is actually the son of a very wealthy woman, Priscilla Van Acker(Kathleen Chalfant). Becky, was paid, it seems, to "get rid of" her friend Lois by Dale's stepfather! Perhaps it was because Lois might've been considered the reason behind Dale's inability to stay clean(that and she brought a blight to such a prominent family's reputation). Becky(Susan Misner), and her cohorts Billy and Larry(Stephen Beach and James Hanlon), are warned to get out of New York or else. Roger(Will Lyman), a military man and Priscilla Van Acker's current husband, is the one who paid Becky 20,000 dollars(money Roger attained from selling a horse since his "allowance" from his wife was a "mere" 10,000 dollars a month)and there's a specific detail in his wife's late husband's codicil which might condemn him. The emphasis behind Lois' murder could include a mommy's love for her son and Goren believes the forged handwriting of the victim(a letter to Ms. Van Acker)by an expert might catch the one responsible if he can prove that Dale knew more than he has admitted. Truly tragic is the fact that money and greed can lead to a horrible murder through a set of circumstances masterminded because of a need for power and control over someone(one has him, the other wants him completely).

Haunting story of a narcissistic mother's "love"

[teich-34296 · 9/10 · 1 December 2021]

Some of the other reviews seem preoccupied with their own politics or fixations on their pet episodes. This one stands apart -- both for the careful character development of Goren and Eames, and the shocking performance of Kathleen Chalfant as the antagonist mother. A veteran NYC actress, she owns this episode even against the powerhouse Vincent D'Onofrio. The script is wonderfully fleshed out with many details about several of the characters that really make the story click. Also great is the actor who plays the son, heartbreaking in his final destroyed moments. Recommended as one of the top season one eps.

Smothered by control

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 20 July 2019]

'Law and Order: Criminal Intent's' first episode "One" was very good and promising, if with a finding its feet feel (which is understandable, it's true for a lot of shows even some of my personal favourites). Instead of being on the same level or going a step backwards, "Art" showed an improvement, the opposite of the original 'Law and Order' and 'Special Victims Unit' in the same opinion, the quality going from very good to great.

Found "Smothered" to be a step backwards from "Art", being closer to "One's" quality. That is not disparaging it, because that still means that the episode was very well done. It's just that it is always nice when a show gets better and better with each episode, which part of me was slightly preferring it would the case, but instead the first three episodes had a bit of a not too big or steep roller-coaster effect. "Smothered" still had more than enough to make me want to continue willingly, it takes me a lot to bail out on a show early on and it has very rarely happened.

Will admit that the premature over-obviousness of the responsible was a bit of a let-down for me, and this is just personal opinion. When watching detective/mystery shows/dramas, part of the intrigue and fun is being kept guessing until the last fifteen minutes or so with some nice twists and misdirections along the way as long as they are plausible. That is personal preference though and am in no way intending to come over as a snob that doesn't accept change if it comes over that way.

There is not really much to dislike about "Smothered". While the perpetrator was obvious and too early, the how and why aspects were not so much and it was great to be kept guessing on those. Often about 'Criminal Intent', a large part of the charm and why it works is not just the mystery aspect but the methods of the detectives and how they get to the truth. That's the case here, and they continue to be unsual but fascinating in their psychological approach, with Goren, a neurotic, not particularly likeable character but an interesting one. This aspect is intriguing and doesn't feel overdone.

"Smothered's" writing is a good balance of not being overly-simple or too complicated, treating the viewer with respect with neither making them feel dumb or losing them. Likewise with the storytelling. The slickness in the production values still remains, as does the controlled but not dreary direction and the music not being intrusive too much. Vincent D'Onofrio doesn't disappoint as Goren, neither does the softer contrast of Kathryn Erbe.

In conclusion, impressive but with room for improvement. 8/10

From the upper crust to the moldy bread of society

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 28 October 2015]

The interesting thing about this episode is that normally no time would be wasted on the death of a junkie, even a pregnant one. But the father is a junkie who also is the heir to a fortune and has roots on Park Avenue.

The father is Geoffrey Naufts and his mother and stepfather are Kathleen Chalfant and Will Lyman. Lyman is former career military kept on a strict allowance and prisoner of a pre-nup agreement. Talk about kept man.

The keeper is grand society dame Kathleen Chalfant and she's quite the evil witch. Bit by bit it is revealed just how evil she is. I'm in agreement with a previous reviewer, this is one episode where you enjoy Goren and Eames collaring the conspirators, especially her.

You know the problem is the allowance that Chalfant had her husband on. He had to depend on strung out junkies who work cheap, but don't have the skills and wherewithal to pull off what is a contract hit.

I guess the lesson is, don't do murder on the cheap.

Nasty Family Business

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 22 August 2007]

This was a so-so episode, one in which the main characters were all unappealing and we knew who the killer was right away, except for the question of who hired, or inspired, the killer.

In a nutshell, the girlfriend a junkie son of a well-to-do high society mother is killed and Goren and Eames try to find out to murdered this woman, who was also a junkie but trying to go clean....and she was pregnant. Suspects, of course, are headed by the boyfriend who would financially benefit from getting rid of the girlfriend, getting clean and getting back into the good graces of his wealthy mother. That mother and her husband, however, are the ones that look guilty. Are they?

Everyone knows Law and Order's Liberal bias, but it's usually not as pronounced in this spin off of the regular L&O show. However, there is cheap shot here against "George W." and it's repeated in case you didn't get it the first time. It wasn't necessary, but they just can't resist.

Still, it's always interesting to see how the good guys go about proving their case. You'll feel good when you see the murderer being led away in handcuffs.