Law And Order - Criminal Intent - Series 1 - Complete (DVD)

...it begins.

Law & Order has been a mainstay on US television for many years due to it's solid storylines and knack of packing a great story into 45-minutes. Crime is a multi-faceted part of life and therefore many stories can be told. Based on this Law & Order spawned a spin-off in 2001 entitled Criminal Intent. The show can be seen on Channel 5 as well as Hallmark on Sky Digital. But if you've missed the show then I'd definitely recommend ...
...well worth a blind purchase. If you've seen Law & Order then don't dismiss this as the same thing as it's not. It's an entirely different angle and to be honest out of the three Law & Order franchises currently on UK tv it's my favourite.

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"In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad. These are their stories"

This phrase starts off every episode of Criminal Intent and so it begins.

Law & Order has been a mainstay on US television for many years due to it's solid storylines and knack of packing a great story into 45-minutes. Crime is a multi-faceted part of life and therefore many stories can be told. Based on this Law & Order spawned a spin-off in 2001 entitled Criminal Intent. The show can be seen on Channel 5 as well as Hallmark on Sky Digital. But if you've missed the show then I'd definitely recommend it on DVD.

Law & Order takes a crime, investigates it and ends up with a trial. Criminal Intent focuses purely on the crime and the minds of those behind it. The two main characters are Detective Robert Goren and Detective Alexandra Eames. Both are played brilliantly by Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe.

The show opens with the staging of a crime; of course we never see the instigator. We only see characters involved in the story or maybe just a body on the ground. Throughout the course of 42-minutes Goren and Eames patrol the streets of New York interviewing witnesses, associates and anybody who comes up in the investigation. They then target a suspect and this is where Asst DA Ron Carver (Courtney B Vance) comes in make the prosecution and secure a confession.

This may sound fairly routine stuff but where Criminal Intent succeeds is it gets behind the motives of crimes and the procedures. It does all this through the character of Goren. Throughout the 22 episodes of this first season you see Goren explore the most abstract theories. He's an excellent character that becomes absorbing through the performance of D'Onofrio. In the first season, Eames acts as a foil for the most part but as the season draws to a close she gets more involved.

I have never been disappointed with any episode of this series that I've seen. It's amongst the finest police shows currently on TV. Its production is classy but never flashy and it always manages to be diverse in its plots. In this first season there are some strong episodes. 'Homo Homini Lupus' is a disturbing story about a family abducted by a loan shark. 'Faith' is an excellent story that involved a fraud of an obscure nature.

-DVD DETAILS-

Season One is a six-disc box set that features all 22 episodes of the first season. Each episode runs for around 42 minutes so that's a whole lot of viewing pleasure you're getting for your money.

-VISUAL/AUDIO PRESENTATION

The show is presented in 1:33 full frame. I've never seen it shown in widescreen and believe this to be the correct aspect ratio. The picture quality is pretty good; it's sharp and offers equal picture quality to what you'd get on a digital broadcast. The sound mix is Dolby 2.0. As it's a TV show you're not expecting a soundtrack with all the whistles and bells expected on DVD. What this track does is reproduce a good viewing experience with clear dialogue and a good ambience.

-EXTRAS-

Extras for season one are a little thin on the ground. The only extra included is a 21-minute featurette on the making of the show. It features interviews with cast and crew as well as the thought process behind the general premise. It's decent stuff, not groundbreaking but better than some featurettes I've seen.

-AND FINALLY-

If you like crime drama then I'd seriously recommend this to anyone. If you shop online the first season can be picked up from most good retailers for about £17.99 delivered. To be honest for that price it's an absolute bargain and well worth a blind purchase. If you've seen Law & Order then don't dismiss this as the same thing as it's not. It's an entirely different angle and to be honest out of the three Law & Order franchises currently on UK tv it's my favourite.

 

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