Law & Order: Criminal Intent - General Discussion

[Sigmagirl]

HA! Watching "Suite Sorrow," in which rich hotelier Nan Turner is murdered in her bath by a surfeit of Botox, and on comes a commercial for . . . Botox Cosmetic™, to get rid of those pesky wrinkles and laugh lines. Forever, as it happens.

[WendyCR72]

15 hours ago, Sigmagirl said:

HA! Watching "Suite Sorrow," in which rich hotelier Nan Turner is murdered in her bath by a surfeit of Botox, and on comes a commercial for . . . Botox Cosmetic™, to get rid of those pesky wrinkles and laugh lines. Forever, as it happens.

I liked Alex's answer to Bobby when he asked if Botox freezes facial muscles, when she dryly said, "Does it look like I'd know?" Also loved her little exchange with the woman in the waiting room as she tried to guess why Alex had such great skin, playing 20 questions as Alex deadpans, "Just soap and water!".

[Xeliou66]

On 10/29/2019 at 4:16 AM, WendyCR72 said:

Oh, I like that thought!

On another note, Oxygen is currently showing "Badge". I know I said this, but Viola Davis was ice cold there. And I love Goren trying to play a "typical [exaggerated] Brooklyn-accented lunkhead cop" against Terry Randolph.

Terry Randolph was such an evil bitch, I hope she got the death penalty. I also liked how Goren was in that episode and how he matched up against her. 

The one thing that I’ve always disliked about Badge was how Van Buren’s appearance was handled, Van Buren seemed OOC and it didn’t make her look good defending Randolph’s character, I never bought that Van Buren would praise someone like Randolph. While I did like seeing Goren, Eames and Carver interacting with Van Buren, and Van Buren did help them nail Randolph in the end, I found Van Buren to be somewhat OOC in her appearance. It’s too bad because CI didn’t crossover with characters from the other franchises very often, and so I wish Van Buren had been used better in her only appearance on CI.

[WendyCR72]

Actor Brian Tarantina, who played Vic Bowman/alias Mitch LeBlanc [the convict that ran away with Jenny, the evil warden's wife] in "Prisoner" in season 5 and who played the guy in the warehouse that Goren/Eames question in the season 8 premiere, "Playing Dead", was found dead at his home in NYC. He was 60. Cause of death, as of now, is unknown.

He seemed to have quite the list of credits. May he RIP.

[WendyCR72]

"Want" is about ending. This episode is one of the few that is creepy as all hell. Neil Patrick Harris did one hell of a job playing the Dahmer type, but yeah...

[WendyCR72]

Saw on VDO's Facebook page that he will be playing, of all people, Jerry Falwell in the movie, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye".

[catlover79]

On 9/6/2019 at 6:55 PM, WendyCR72 said:

I liked the reference to Lennie taking Rodgers to the opera. Funny, I don't picture Lennie as an opera kind of guy, but I guess he did it to make Rodgers happy then. Awww.

Elizabeth "Free Javelins" Rodgers was one of the greatest unsung heroes of the entire franchise!! ☺

[WendyCR72]

10 hours ago, catlover79 said:

Elizabeth "Free Javelins" Rodgers was one of the greatest unsung heroes of the entire franchise!! ☺

Yep, at least 99% of the time! (Except when douche Captain Ross tricked her into spilling Goren's personal info! But that was a lone misstep.)

Huh, right now, in late night, WE is showing "Unchained" from S5. [Logan/Barek]

[ML89]

I could swear that each time they go through season 5, they add back in episodes they left out in the first run - I don't remember them showing Unchained last time (I need to see it again). Or is it just me?

[GHScorpiosRule]

3 minutes ago, ML89 said:

I could swear that each time they go through season 5, they add back in episodes they left out in the first run - I don't remember them showing Unchained last time (I need to see it again). Or is it just me?

At least ION showed them all. 

[Xeliou66]

On 11/12/2019 at 2:41 PM, catlover79 said:

Elizabeth "Free Javelins" Rodgers was one of the greatest unsung heroes of the entire franchise!! ☺

Agreed, I love Rodgers!! She always added a real spark to her scenes and had so many great lines and entertaining moments. She was my favorite recurring character in the L&O franchise, along with Skoda. I hated the hint of romance between Rodgers and Captain Douche though and was glad it barely came up, they had no chemistry (Douchebag Ross had no chemistry with anyone) and Rodgers could do a lot better than him. 

[WendyCR72]

On 11/13/2019 at 4:45 PM, ML89 said:

I could swear that each time they go through season 5, they add back in episodes they left out in the first run - I don't remember them showing Unchained last time (I need to see it again). Or is it just me?

No, it was shown. But WE usually has Thursday/Friday marathons each week. So maybe you missed one of those over time? The only episode NEVER shown in these marathons is an episode that did not make it into the national syndication package for the show, "The Glory That Was" [a Nichols/Wheeler episode], from Season 8. It was an episode that explicitly used the Olympics as a backdrop and I guess the Olympic Committee gave NBC grief about it way back when. This did not even make the US Season 8 DVD set.

For a time, it was available to stream, but that is no longer the case. The only way to see that is by purchasing the overseas version of the Season 8 set with a different cover picture here. But you would need a region-free DVD player (I have one, not too expensive now) to see it as those DVDs are Region 2 and US DVDs are Region 1.

[Broderbits]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

The only episode NEVER shown in these marathons is an episode that did not make it into the national syndication package for the show, "The Glory That Was" [a Nichols/Wheeler episode], from Season 8.

I watched CI religiously in its original run, but I don't remember this episode at all. Now I NEED to see it!!

[WendyCR72]

Speaking of that "lost" episode, Ritchie Coster always threw me off as the consulate guy. I was always so used to his first memorable appearance in S1 as the guy that kidnapped the Coulter family and raped poor Maggie Coulter in "Homo Homini Lupus". He was a lot more refined in "The Glory That Was". (I know, acting! But still...quite the difference.)

[catlover79]

On 11/13/2019 at 11:51 PM, Xeliou66 said:

Agreed, I love Rodgers!! She always added a real spark to her scenes and had so many great lines and entertaining moments. She was my favorite recurring character in the L&O franchise, along with Skoda. I hated the hint of romance between Rodgers and Captain Douche though and was glad it barely came up, they had no chemistry (Douchebag Ross had no chemistry with anyone) and Rodgers could do a lot better than him. 

I know it was his choice to leave, but Jamey Sheridan was really missed as Captain Deakins. He is one of those ensemble actors that really leaves a big hole when he's not there anymore. JS had effortless chemistry with the rest of the cast and good lines ("The Goren Show is back in town").

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, catlover79 said:

I know it was his choice to leave, but Jamey Sheridan was really missed as Captain Deakins. He is one of those ensemble actors that really leaves a big hole when he's not there anymore. JS had effortless chemistry with the rest of the cast and good lines ("The Goren Show is back in town").

I liked Deakins. He trusted his detectives instead of nitpicking every-damn-thing like Ross loved to do. That being said, even if I initially wasn't thrilled about Jay O. Sanders being cast as Captain Joseph Hannah (because he was so damned memorable as killer Harry Rowan from "Dead", the S2 premiere), I did end up liking him. He was easygoing as Deakins was and just let Goren and Eames do what they needed to do - and used tough love on Goren when he needed it (as far as attending his mandatory sessions with Gyson).

[Xeliou66]

13 hours ago, catlover79 said:

I know it was his choice to leave, but Jamey Sheridan was really missed as Captain Deakins. He is one of those ensemble actors that really leaves a big hole when he's not there anymore. JS had effortless chemistry with the rest of the cast and good lines ("The Goren Show is back in town").

12 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I liked Deakins. He trusted his detectives instead of nitpicking every-damn-thing like Ross loved to do. That being said, even if I initially wasn't thrilled about Jay O. Sanders being cast as Captain Joseph Hannah (because he was so damned memorable as killer Harry Rowan from "Dead", the S2 premiere), I did end up liking him. He was easygoing as Deakins was and just let Goren and Eames do what they needed to do - and used tough love on Goren when he needed it (as far as attending his mandatory sessions with Gyson).

Deakins was awesome, he had great chemistry with the rest of the cast and I liked his laid back style. He was sorely missed when he left and was replaced with Douchebag Ross, who didn’t seem to trust his detectives and was always condescending to them. I liked Joe Hannah in season 10 as well, his style was similar to Deakins and I liked his relationship with Goren, it was interesting that Goren was on a first name basis with him whereas he never called Deakins or Ross by their first names (in fact first names were used very seldom on this show). 

[WendyCR72]

11 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I liked Joe Hannah in season 10 as well, his style was similar to Deakins and I liked his relationship with Goren, it was interesting that Goren was on a first name basis with him whereas he never called Deakins or Ross by their first names (in fact first names were used very seldom on this show). 

The show never said so explicitly (I don't think so, anyway!), but as I have posted prior, I got the screener version of "The Consoler" from eBay sometime ago, back when it was supposed to be the premiere - and before Julia Ormond was hired as Dr. Paula Gyson - so that version had differences. That said, it came with a DVD case and the description on the back mentions Joe Hannah being an old friend of Goren's from their academy days.

So I always fanwanked that it was Hannah that got both Goren and Eames back to Major Case because of their past history.

[Xeliou66]

15 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

The show never said so explicitly (I don't think so, anyway!), but as I have posted prior, I got the screener version of "The Consoler" from eBay sometime ago, back when it was supposed to be the premiere - and before Julia Ormond was hired as Dr. Paula Gyson - so that version had differences. That said, it came with a DVD case and the description on the back mentions Joe Hannah being an old friend of Goren's from their academy days.

So I always fanwanked that it was Hannah that got both Goren and Eames back to Major Case because of their past history.

Oh yes, I’m pretty sure Goren and Hannah knew each other for a while and Hannah used his pull to get Goren reinstated. 

[WendyCR72]

17 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

Oh yes, I’m pretty sure Goren and Hannah knew each other for a while and Hannah used his pull to get Goren reinstated. 

Also probably explains why Hannah never really pulled rank on Goren unless he had to (regarding missing his shrink appointments).

[catlover79]

On 11/15/2019 at 3:11 PM, Xeliou66 said:

Deakins was awesome, he had great chemistry with the rest of the cast and I liked his laid back style. He was sorely missed when he left and was replaced with Douchebag Ross, who didn’t seem to trust his detectives and was always condescending to them. I liked Joe Hannah in season 10 as well, his style was similar to Deakins and I liked his relationship with Goren, it was interesting that Goren was on a first name basis with him whereas he never called Deakins or Ross by their first names (in fact first names were used very seldom on this show). 

Deakins also had some great deadpan moments. He, Erbe and Vance were the perfect "straight men" for VDO.

[WendyCR72]

17 hours ago, hummingbird said:

I love to watch CI, but any Nicole ep is a click away for me, 

don't know why 

The show really should have killed the character off in Season 4 in "Great Barrier" instead of turning it into an audience poll as NBC did at the time. The S4 DVD has the alternate filmed ending of the episode as an extra.

As it is, TPTB went to the "Nicole" well one too many times, IMO.

[Gramto6]

18 hours ago, hummingbird said:

I love to watch CI, but any Nicole ep is a click away for me, 

don't know why 

Yeah, me too...any Nicole  ep I just don't watch.

[WendyCR72]

I will say, as much as I was ready to see Nicole go, it should have been Goren doing the "honors", so to speak, instead of Declan Gage off screen.

[Xeliou66]

Yes not only did the Nicole storyline go on way too long (I would’ve been okay with it had she been killed at the end of Great Barrier) but her ending was very unsatisfying, having her killed off screen by another villain instead of having her killed by Goren was a really disappointing end to a storyline that was already very far fetched and bizarre. I usually skip the Nicole episodes as well. 

[WendyCR72]

7 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Yes not only did the Nicole storyline go on way too long (I would’ve been okay with it had she been killed at the end of Great Barrier) but her ending was very unsatisfying, having her killed off screen by another villain instead of having her killed by Goren was a really disappointing end to a storyline that was already very far fetched and bizarre. I usually skip the Nicole episodes as well. 

At least by the end of S7, it was resolved, if there is a bright side. Unless you're former EP Rene Balcer...

 

And one has a region-free DVD player and watched the Rene Balcer French series [yet English speaking!], Jo, about a French police detective...and where Nicole popped up in Paris, arrested in its last episode with Balcer having CI mentioned and undoing her death. So... But I guess in CI canon, she is considered dead.

[Xeliou66]

I saw Seeds tonight, it’s interesting how similar the plot is to the Mothership episode Seed with the fertility doctor using his own sperm. Logan was a detective in both cases as well. Both episodes are just average, not great but not bad, I’m not sure who the bigger villain in Seeds was, the killer or the egomanaic doctor, I have to say though Douchebag Ross was really irritating as always in that episode, I disliked how he questioned Logan about Falacci right where Falacci could hear the whole thing and he was a condescending prick the whole time-what a douche. Deakins is sorely missed in the later seasons, and so is Carver, I miss having some legal stuff on the show. 

I really wish Falacci had stayed on the show, she added a real spark, Wheeler was incredibly dull IMO. 

[Jaded]

7 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

At least by the end of S7, it was resolved, if there is a bright side. Unless you're former EP Rene Balcer...

  Reveal spoiler

And one has a region-free DVD player and watched the Rene Balcer French series [yet English speaking!], Jo, about a French police detective...and where Nicole popped up in Paris, arrested in its last episode with Balcer having CI mentioned and undoing her death. So... But I guess in CI canon, she is considered dead.

Meh at that spoiler. CI going to the Nicole well one too many times made me not want to watch as much in the later years. I didn't get to the point I did with SVU where the constant Olivia torture porn and etc. finally chased me away completely. I'm glad CI never got to the point where it completely revolved around one cast member even if there were cast changes. Even though Goren had his issues I never felt like he ate the show alive.

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, Jaded said:

Meh at that spoiler. CI going to the Nicole well one too many times made me not want to watch as much in the later years. I didn't get to the point I did with SVU where the constant Olivia torture porn and etc. finally chased me away completely. I'm glad CI never got to the point where it completely revolved around one cast member even if there were cast changes. Even though Goren had his issues I never felt like he ate the show alive.

I loved Goren and Eames the most of the various pairings, but I think it helped that they alternated with Logan and Nichols and Barek/Wheeler over later years, so the danger of hyper-focusing on one character was not as inevitable.

With SVU, I know many became sick of Stabler's Hulkamania-like rage, but his presence helped the show maintain an ensemble feel. Once he was gone, and Benson became the sole de facto lead, I think that really ended up damaging the balance overall.

[ML89]

4 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I saw Seeds tonight, it’s interesting how similar the plot is to the Mothership episode Seed with the fertility doctor using his own sperm. Logan was a detective in both cases as well. Both episodes are just average, not great but not bad, I’m not sure who the bigger villain in Seeds was, the killer or the egomanaic doctor, I have to say though Douchebag Ross was really irritating as always in that episode, I disliked how he questioned Logan about Falacci right where Falacci could hear the whole thing and he was a condescending prick the whole time-what a douche. Deakins is sorely missed in the later seasons, and so is Carver, I miss having some legal stuff on the show. 

I really wish Falacci had stayed on the show, she added a real spark, Wheeler was incredibly dull IMO. 

Absolutely agree - Falacci had a spark that I enjoyed. She was also a better partner to Logan - I don’t know why Logan was okay with Wheeler just standing there while he got beat up in Maltese Cross. I always liked Barek and Falacci better. 
 

I was waiting for Logan to make some comment about the doctors doing the same thing - the eps have the same title. I remember it was a big deal when the first one aired after the real world story but now there’s been at least two in the last year in the real world. Has SVU done one?  I have a soft spot for the original one because it’s such a twisty ep and there’s great character work throughout with all the women and the judge and Billy from Guiding Light as the husband. Plus Claire and McCoy were good too.

[Broderbits]

Guess I'm the only CI viewer who couldn't stand Fallaci and thoroughly enjoyed the Nicole episodes!

Does anyone remember if there was a passing reference to Logan after he left the show? It would have been nice to get a little closure for such a long-standing character.

By the way, anyone who liked Stabler on SVU should check out the 2 seasons of "Happy" - it was shown on Syfy. Meloni played a cop who was Stabler on steroids and acid!

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, Broderbits said:

Does anyone remember if there was a passing reference to Logan after he left the show? It would have been nice to get a little closure for such a long-standing character.

Nope. No reference. Dick Wolf was back to hating Noth again by the time he left. AGAIN.

[WendyCR72]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Nope. No reference. Dick Wolf was back to hating Noth again by the time he left. AGAIN.

Spec or was there some war covered somewhere? I know I recall reading that TPTB thought Logan's story had all been told and conflicting reports that Noth quit. Sometimes, I think behind the scenes of TV shows should be aired!

[WendyCR72]

"Endgame" is on WE now. At the scene where Roy Scheider/Mark Ford Brady tells Goren/Eames that "false" confession to help the husband jailed for his wife's murder. Damn, but he could be both creepy and charming.

From Brody to Brady. Kind of ironically amusing.

[Jaded]

On 10/4/2019 at 10:13 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Cool! I heard about that new show, but have no idea what it is. Sounds like a game show?

On 10/9/2019 at 8:42 PM, WendyCR72 said:

If anything pops up where Chris Noth is concerned, keep us posted!  🙂

Over a month later some of Chris's episodes of 25 Words or Less aired this week as the 2nd daily episode reruns that come on after the daily new episodes. They also posted a couple of them so far this week on their YouTube channel where they post other episodes too if anyone wants to check the show out.
 

[WendyCR72]

Thanks, @Jaded!  🙂

[WendyCR72]

I think I mentioned this in the old forum, but Snapped is on Oxygen now, and the case involved a woman that helped build a bomb, made a pizza delivery guy rob a bank, and then the bomb detonated and he was killed.

I guess we know what "headline case" the Season 3 episode, "Pas De Deux", was derived from!

[peacheslatour]

6 minutes ago, hummingbird said:

This made me chuckle USA I think

is having a “don’t go to Hudson university “ marathon 

I better not watch that. I have a Hudson University drinking game that I play. I don't want to die of alcohol poisoning.

[WendyCR72]

4 hours ago, hummingbird said:

This made me chuckle USA I think

is having a “don’t go to Hudson university “ marathon 

Hudson University: Where you can choose from degrees in murder, stalking, or sexual assault.

[WendyCR72]

On 11/24/2019 at 5:54 PM, hummingbird said:

Hudson U ref in Blue Bloods as well, 

Must be some sort of licensed name. Because, according to its Wiki page, (yes, Hudson University has its own page!) Hudson University has also been used in sitcoms such as The Cosby Show, as well as dramas. The list, if I recall, was pretty lengthy!

[WendyCR72]

It's not listed on the Wiki page under the "Law & Order" title on the Hudson University Wiki page, but I do recall Goren and Eames going there to question a woman [which led them to Stephanie Uffland] in "The Pardoner's Tale" in S1. For the most part, though, the crazy was left to the other two Law & Order shows.

Surprised SVU did not have Benson (or anyone on CI, to tie it in!) as an alumna there. Instead, Benson, if I recall, went to Siena College per the show. A real college in Loudonville, NY, upstate, with close Catholic affiliation in the "Franciscan tradition" along with Franciscan monks as well as the usual professors. (Class of '95 here. For real, unlike Benson!)

[Xeliou66]

9 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

It's not listed on the Wiki page under the "Law & Order" title on the Hudson University Wiki page, but I do recall Goren and Eames going there to question a woman [which led them to Stephanie Uffland] in "The Pardoner's Tale" in S1. For the most part, though, the crazy was left to the other two Law & Order shows.

Surprised SVU did not have Benson (or anyone on CI, to tie it in!) as an alumna there. Instead, Benson, if I recall, went to Siena College per the show. A real college in Loudonville, NY, upstate, with close Catholic affiliation in the "Franciscan tradition" along with Franciscan monks as well as the usual professors. (Class of '95 here. For real, unlike Benson!)

Wasn’t the episode Anti Thesis set at Hudson, wasn’t that where Nicole Wallace was a visiting professor at? 

And on the Mothership, Cutter graduated from Hudson Law School, that was established in the episode Innocence where his former law professor from Hudson was also heading up an Innocence Project and was trying to overturn the conviction of the teen that Cutter prosecuted for a hate crime. So one L&O main character did get a degree from Hudson!! 

[catlover79]

On 11/24/2019 at 5:09 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Hudson University: Where you can choose from degrees in murder, stalking, or sexual assault.

USA ran a Sunday SVU marathon of Hudson University episodes once. 😂

Edited November 27, 2019 by catlover79

[WendyCR72]

15 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Wasn’t the episode Anti Thesis set at Hudson, wasn’t that where Nicole Wallace was a visiting professor at? 

Oh, that's right! How did I forget that one?!

[WendyCR72]

Watching "Rispetto" on WE, and they actually aired the scene where Nyle Brite asks the hooker if her father knows she is a whore. But "whore" was dubbed over as "call girl". (Normally, the scene is just omitted.) No idea who dubbed it, but there was like the tiniest of a pause before the words.

[Xeliou66]

2 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Watching "Rispetto" on WE, and they actually aired the scene where Nyle Brite asks the hooker if her father knows she is a whore. But "whore" was dubbed over as "call girl". (Normally, the scene is just omitted.) No idea who dubbed it, but there was like the tiniest of a pause before the words.

The censorship is so bizarre. I’m pretty sure they’ve used the word “whore” uncensored in other episodes. It’s especially hilarious that WE censors the episodes because WE shows a lot of reality TV trash where profanity is thrown around regularly. The censorship is really irritating and distracting. 

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

The censorship is so bizarre. I’m pretty sure they’ve used the word “whore” uncensored in other episodes. It’s especially hilarious that WE censors the episodes because WE shows a lot of reality TV trash where profanity is thrown around regularly. The censorship is really irritating and distracting. 

My first inclination was to reply that maybe because the episode was on around 5:00 p.m. But then, like you, I think of the outright reality trash marathons that WE sometimes airs during the day and, yeah...I got nothing.

Although I think there are bleeps there, but come on.

[Chaos Theory]

Two unpopular opinions.

i really liked Ross as a character.   The show of course wasn’t going to have Deakins Jr as a Captain.   That would be redundant so instead they had a by the booj guy who would put up with Goren going off on any of his tangents.   That being said once he could actually back up his theory with you know evidence Ross was all in.

I also liked the Nichole Wallace episodes. Someone who could outsmart Goren and do it on a regular basis but still lost in the end was an interesting dynamic.

[WendyCR72]

On 12/6/2019 at 7:50 AM, Chaos Theory said:

I also liked the Nichole Wallace episodes. Someone who could outsmart Goren and do it on a regular basis but still lost in the end was an interesting dynamic.

I don't think I would have minded this as much as I do because the way she outsmarted Goren usually came down to all sorts of nonsense so the character would remain out of prison. It got old after a while. No one is that good. And considering the litany of Nicole's past crimes, the constant "oops, there wasn't enough proof!" or whatnot was just ridiculous.

[WendyCR72]

Oxygen is weird. The show was apparently dropped from its very, very early Tuesday morning space for some Judge Jerry show. Yet listings now have S6 starting on Christmas Eve. Since there are actual episode names listed, I'm assuming this is legit, which makes me wonder how badly Judge Jerry had to do to reinstate the show...

Then again, I remember something similar happening with WE when it tried to drop the show for Madam Secretary. If I recall, that lasted two weeks before CI was back. (And for all the money WE spent to get Madam Secretary, it was never tried again in another slot, and it is not even on their site, so it must not have done well.)