Law and Order - Criminal Intent

Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer and airing on NBC, the series premiered on September 30, 2001 as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama Law & Order. The series aired on NBC for the first six seasons but was moved to the NBC Universal-owned USA Network starting with the seventh season to share costs and due to declining ratings. Episodes continue to rerun on NBC. The ninth season ended on July 6, 2010 on USA Network. The series has been renewed by USA for its tenth season, scheduled to be its last.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent focuses on the investigations of the Major Case Squad in a fictionalized version of the New York City Police Department set in New York City's One Police Plaza. In the style of the original Law & Order, episodes are often "ripped from the headlines" or loosely based on a real crime that received media attention.

On September 22, 2010, Variety announced that Criminal Intent had been renewed for its final season on USA Network. Original cast members Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe will return to the series as Detectives Robert Goren[2] and Alexandra Eames, respectively.[

(Source: Wikipedia)

Vincent D'Onofrio - Det. Robert Goren
Kathryn Erbe - Det. Alexandra Eames
Courtney B. Vance - A.D.A. Ron Carver
Jamey Sheridan - Capt. James Deakins
Eric Bogosian - Capt. Danny Ross
Chris Noth - Det. Mike Logan
Samantha Buck - Detective G. Lynn Bishop
Julianne Nicholson - Det. Megan Wheeler
Jeff Goldblum - Det. Zack Nichols
Annabella Sciorra - Det. Carolyn Barek
Saffron Burrows - Det. Serena Stevens
Alicia Witt - Det. Nola Falacci
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio - Capt. Zoe Callas

Awards Won
2002 PPFA Maggie Award for Media Excellence ("The Third Horseman")

2005 Edgar Award for Best Episode in a Television Series Teleplay (René Balcer and Elizabeth Benjamin, for "Want")

Awards Nominated
2002 Peoples Choice Award for Best New Series

2002 Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (Courtney B. Vance)

2003 Edgar Award for Best Television Episode (René Balcer for "Tuxedo Hill")

2004 Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Series, Drama (Vincent D'Onofrio)

2004 Edgar Award for Best Episode in a Television Series Teleplay (René Balcer and Gerry Conway, for "Probability")

2005 Edgar Award for Best Episode in a Television Series Teleplay (René Balcer and Gerry Conway, for "Conscience"; René Balcer and Warren Leight, for "Consumed"; René Balcer and Warren Leight, for "Pas De Deux")

2006 Reims International Television Festival for Best Drama Episode ("In the Wee Small Hours")

2006 Banff Television Award for Best Drama ("In The Wee Small Hours")

2006 ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Television Drama or Comedy (Norberto Barba)

2008 Edgar Award for Best Television Episode Teleplay ( Warren Leight, Siobhan Byrne, & Julie Martin for "Senseless")

2008 Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (Darnell Martin for "Bombshell")

2008 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Series, Drama (Kathryn Erbe)

2008 ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Television Drama or Comedy Nominated Norberto Barba

Eames: How'd he get into prison without leaving his prints in the system?
Deakins: How'd my luggage get to Amarillo last Christmas?

[Goren tweezers a small object off the heel of a dead woman found in a hotel.]
Eames: What is that?
Goren: Fish scale.
Eames: Great, she was attacked by a shark.
Goren: [Seriously] Sharks don't have scales.
[Eames sighs.]

[Deakins and Eames watch Goren shouting and cheering bravo to a homeless man in the Interrogation room.]
Deakins: Great. The Goren Show's back in town.

[After Goren interviews a manic, schizophrenic homeless man.]
Eames: You were good talking with Howard.
Goren: Mmm. Lots of practice.

Goren: 10 to one he'll call me back. He has something to prove to me one.
Carver: 10 to one?
Eames: I've taken him on before, Mr. Carver. I'm down 18 bucks.

[To a witness.]
Goren: Boo! --Made you look.

Dr. Kelmer: You stupid idiots.
Eames: Sticks and stones.

[Goren goes through a law article written by the victim.]
Goren: "Fair Speech and the Fair Use Doctrine: The First Amendment and Encryption Software."
Eames: Stop it. You're making me hot.

Eames: The only money I got from my family was the 50 bucks my dad gave me for my prom dress.
Goren: Is that the same year you were selling apples outside city hall?
Eames: It was matchsticks, and it was snowing.

Eames: Serial killer groupies. And I thought I was pathetic with my ABBA fan club card.

[Deakins watches a pothead witness leave the conference room.]
Deakins: So that's what a brain looks like on embalming fluid.

Uses a re-mixed version of the theme music from "Law & Order" (1990), but a different re-mix than "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999). The episodes produced for the USA Network use the mix first heard on "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005).

Kathryn Erbe's real life pregnancy was incorporated into the show's plot line by having her character be a surrogate mother, carrying her sister's child

Olivia d'Abo's fate as a recurring villain was once held in the balance by a phone-in poll. An overwhelming majority of fans voiced their desire for her to get away again.

The character of Detective Robert Goren is based on Sherlock Holmes, but instead of relying upon physical evidence like Holmes, D'Onofrio's character focuses on psychology to identify the perpetrators, whom he often draws into confessing or yielding condemning evidence. The character of Nicole Wallace is a direct attempt to play on the part of Sherlock Holmes' female antagonist Irene Adler, also known as "The Woman." Wallace is employed as a 'Professor of Literature' during her first appearance, which could be a parallel to Holmes's nemesis Professor Moriarty.

The show's format was partially inspired by the NBC Columbo mystery movies staring Peter Falk. Both started out with the crime being seen from the criminals point of view and with them confident that they can get away with it. However, they then get outsmarted by a brilliant detective. The shows differ in that "Columbo" usually shows the full crime in the beginning while in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" the viewer is only shown enough to be a few steps ahead of the detectives in knowing what happened. Goren and Columbo also have very different styles in analyzing the crime and the suspects.

Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe both previously guest starred in episodes of the series "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993), which crossed over with the original "Law & Order" (1990)

The words to the opening narration are spoken each week by Steven Zirnkilton since 2001

The Major Case Squad is located on the 11th floor of One Police Plaza.

In 1997, Vincent D'Onofrio guest-starred as John Lange in "The Subway", an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. In the very next episode of Homicide, "All is Bright", Kathryn Erbe guest-starred as "Rita Hale". It should be noted that Homicide, having three times crossed over with the original Law & Order and sharing the character of Det. John Munch with SVU, takes place within the same universe as the Law & Order franchise.

Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe), Jesse L. Martin (Detective Ed Green), Fred Dalton Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch), Carolyn McCormick (Dr. Elizabeth Olivet) and Leslie Hendrix (Elizabeth Rodgers) are the only actors to play the same character on all four Law & Order series (Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury). As of the 2005-06 season, Criminal Intent is the only Law & Order series in which Richard Belzer has not played the SVU / Homicide character Detective John Munch.

While many cast members of the various Law & Order shows are "repeat offenders" (actors who previously appeared in other roles), there are a few 'multi-repeat' offenders:

Courtney B. Vance previously played two different characters on the original show (a mayoral aide in "By Hooker, By Crook" and a stockbroker in "Rage").

Julianne Nicholson appeared in one episode of the original L&O ("All My Children"), then starred on Conviction before joining Criminal Intent as Detective Barek's replacement.

A planned miniseries which would have featured Detective Goren and united the casts of Criminal Intent, SVU, and the original Law & Order was cancelled because of the events of 9/11. The plotline centered around a terrorist attack using biological weapons.

D'Onofrio's real-life father, Gene D'Onofrio, appears in the episode "Slither". He is seen walking within the Major Case Squad.

Fans of the show frequently refer to it as LO:CI (prounounced Lo Chi).

(Source: Wikipedia)

The NYPD does have a "Major Case Squad" but unlike the Major Case Squad on Criminal Intent, the real "Major Case Squad" Only handles the following types of cases.

* Kidnappings as directed by the Chief of Detectives

* Burglary or Attempted Burglary of a bank or bank safe

* Larceny by extortion or attempt, from a bank

* Robbery or attempted of a bank by a perpetrator not armed

*Burglary of a truck contents over $100,000

* Larceny of a truck contents over $100,000

* Robbery of a truck and contents by hijacking

* All robberies in warehouse depots or similar locations where the objects of the crime is a truck or its contents

* All commercial burglaries in which the value of the property stolen exceeds $100,000

* Art Theft

The "Major Case Squad" does not investigate homicides. All homicide investigations are conducted by precinct detective squads and borough homicide squads.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Logan: So just in case I need an interpreter, how many languages do you speak?
Barek: Spanish, Yiddish, Italian, Polish, some Creole, some Russian, some Cantonese from working in Chinatown. You?
Logan: I can say "Stop, police" and "What's your sign?" in fifteen different languages.

[Goren and Logan head off to a club to look for their suspect. Baren and Eames watch them go.]
Eames: There they go. Ocean's Two.

Sean: I don't know where I heard it. Maybe I read it. On the internet.
Logan: No, we googled and doodled it. It's not anywhere.

Goren: You worry about what she said, that your career is tainted by me?
Eames: I used to.
Goren: And now?
Eames: It's too late.

[After telling the Captain that she will be a surrogate mother for her sister.]
Eames: He said when the time comes, he'll hook you up with a temporary partner.
Goren: Oh, no. I didn't even think of that. Well, what did you say?
Eames: I pity the fool.

[Goren is prevented for the third time from trying to enter Mrs. Gruenwald's apartment.]
Goren: You are tough, Mrs. Gruenwald, 'cause normally Detective Eames and I, we'd be in the living room by now.

Goren: I need to use my most important investigative tool. My library card.

Goren: Sometimes a whale is just a whale.

[Discussing a grad student's poor quality thesis.]
Wallace: It wouldn't butter your parsnips.

Goren: That's a nice, uh, what you're wearing. I mean, where'd you get that from? From Peru? What do they call that? A serap-- s ... serape. No it's a s... s... s--
Martinez: ...Sweater.

[When Goren and Eames try to get Carver to get a juvenile file unsealed based on the fact they found peas lined up in a row next to the body and one of the nannies lines corn kernels up in a row.]:
Carver: All you have is peas and corn kernels. You're a few lima beans short of succotash, Detectives.
Goren: [Goren looks puzzled.] Uh, Succotash?
Carver: Your evidence is anecdotal. I line up my shoes at night.
Eames: Why am I not surprised?

Goren: Botox works by paralyzing the--the nerves around the facial muscles, doesn't it?
Eames: Does it look like I'd know?