Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

I noticed a change in mood in the episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent that they showed last week. I chalked it up to it being the first episode of the season and trying to make it more "blockbusterish." But, watching last night's episode, I saw much the same thing. The music is bleaker (and no "dun dun"), and they have abandoned the hand held camera work that has marked the other "franchises" in the series.

Criminal Intent was always different than the other Law and Order series anyway because its plot never followed the familiar arc that makes the original so addictive. It was compared to Columbo when it was first on the air, because the audience saw the crime and knew who the killer was, and the lead detective figured out who was guilty through intuition and trapped the perp through mind games. Over the past few seasons, the plot has become more like that of a Sherlock Holmes story, there were odd situations and the crimes get solved through the careful reasoning and attention to detail of a irritatingly brilliant detective.

Now, the series seems to be in a new direction. Many police dramas these days tend toward being "gritty": messy desks, bad suits, odd camera work. It looks like this show instead wants an atmosphere of "moody." When I saw last night's episode, I thought not of Law and Order or even any other American program. Instead, I thought of British police dramas such as Dalgleish, Cracker or Inspector Morse. Heck, throw in some sleazy saxophone into the music and last night could have easily been an episode of A Touch of Frost.

I'm not saying this is bad, I love those shows. I just wonder if an American audience that likes the glitz of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or the grittiness of NYPD Blue can get into it.


The teaser for the next episode looks even grimmer...Detective Logan being stomped by firemen? What does Carrie Bradshaw have to say about that?


By the way, when are they going to bring back Detective Goren's bête noire, Nicole Wallace? It was always funny when they would try to suprise us when she showed up. It would have been more of a suprise if Olivia D'Abo's name didn't appear in the opening credits.


Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.