Law and Order works because it provides us with engaging police procedural in the first half of the show, then pays it off with tense courtroom cases that are often quite controversial. The cast is excellent, with Jesse L. Martin still going strong, Dennis Farina proving to be an excellent "replacement" for Briscoe, and Sam Waterston still showing why he's one of television's finest actors.
L&O's first spin-off, SVU, works because it takes full-center focus on the police procedural, giving us compelling, elaborate, and plausible mysteries, meanwhile balancing them by exploring the personal lives of the show's leads. The cast is superb as well, with Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay easily the best pairing of any current crime series. As of right now, SVU is the best of the L&O's and even the best crime show on TV.
The second spin-off, Criminal Intent, obviously has to differentiate itself, and this is where it immediately falters. They give great character actor Vincent D'Onofrio a role that essentially means he's the requisite scene-stealer, meaning anyone else, even his partner, is just playing second banana. Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan, and Courtney Vance are just there to provide window dressing to L&O fans who expect similarities to its predecessors. But given what little the cast has to do, this may as well be a solo private detective show with just D'Onofrio (and a sidekick, which is pretty much Erbe's role on the show).
Worse yet, the series is far too mired in formula. D'Onofrio's Robert Goren will obviously uncover all the clues, discovering the identity of the killer early on, but with no hard proof, will instead use psychological ploys and manipulation to force a confession. There's something unsatisfying about knowing the manner in which every criminal will receive his comeuppance.
It's still not a bad show; as usual for a Dick Wolf production, the police procedural is still fairly engaging (but less so because we're made aware of who the killer is from the start), the acting is solid even if the secondary cast gets virtually nothing to do, and the show does have an authentic look and feel to it. I still watch the series on a sporadic basis, but it's not keeping me coming back week after week the same way SVU does.
L&O's first spin-off, SVU, works because it takes full-center focus on the police procedural, giving us compelling, elaborate, and plausible mysteries, meanwhile balancing them by exploring the personal lives of the show's leads. The cast is superb as well, with Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay easily the best pairing of any current crime series. As of right now, SVU is the best of the L&O's and even the best crime show on TV.
The second spin-off, Criminal Intent, obviously has to differentiate itself, and this is where it immediately falters. They give great character actor Vincent D'Onofrio a role that essentially means he's the requisite scene-stealer, meaning anyone else, even his partner, is just playing second banana. Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan, and Courtney Vance are just there to provide window dressing to L&O fans who expect similarities to its predecessors. But given what little the cast has to do, this may as well be a solo private detective show with just D'Onofrio (and a sidekick, which is pretty much Erbe's role on the show).
Worse yet, the series is far too mired in formula. D'Onofrio's Robert Goren will obviously uncover all the clues, discovering the identity of the killer early on, but with no hard proof, will instead use psychological ploys and manipulation to force a confession. There's something unsatisfying about knowing the manner in which every criminal will receive his comeuppance.
It's still not a bad show; as usual for a Dick Wolf production, the police procedural is still fairly engaging (but less so because we're made aware of who the killer is from the start), the acting is solid even if the secondary cast gets virtually nothing to do, and the show does have an authentic look and feel to it. I still watch the series on a sporadic basis, but it's not keeping me coming back week after week the same way SVU does.