Hello all.

My girlfriend and I have been longtime fans. I mean, to the point where we watch Law & Order (all flavors) for hours a night. Criminal Intent has always been our favorite. The stories, the chracters, the plot- all are the makings of a gripping show. Never pretentious, the show stood on its own merit without the "gimicks" you might see on other shows.

With the new season, we've been sorely dissapointed. There are new camera angles that seem to go against the tradition of the Law & Order formula. The show also is missing the famous "dun dun" cut scenes in between segments which indicate where the characters currently are.

Everything seems to have taken a turn for the worse. Vincent seems to be a caricature of his former character, and the dialogue has lost its edge. All you need to do is watch one of the older episodes and then watch the new one. They are worlds apart.

Sorry for the long rant, but it had to be said. I wonder what you all think; have you guys noticed this as well?

I am sure Criminal Intent is destined to be ruined for as long as it lasts. Oh well, there's always SVU. At least that hasn't changed its formula... for now.

It's different, but not ruined, all seasons change, you just have to get used to it. Nothing stays gold forever.

I still love Criminal Intent, and i feel SVU has changed as well too, i actually switched off of SVU since this last season, and put the high heat under my passion for CI.

It really just depends on what you love about the show, and then if what you love about the show gets changed, then i guess you have every right to be disappointed.

BUT as far as my opinion goes, i am happy with CI. I'm just hoping this season ends up more like Season 6.

You know what they say though, always be happy--never be satisfied. There is always room for improvement.

I hear you, but (IMO) the things that made this show and the series so great seem to have been dropped.

I remember watching the clock with such anticipation up to the last minute- there was always some event or final twist. What other show does that?! The very last 5 minutes had as much weight as the first 5.

Not any more

That's "doink doink". ;-)))


spook

They use it on the recaps that you can watch in the videos section.

I also miss those "dun duns" with the markers showing us the date and where they are. There are a few other things I miss, too. But overall I like the direction it is taking. Of course I'm a bit dense, so most of the time the last 5 minutes is a surprise to me. You are right, however, there is nothing like those early episodes.

Good morning Spook! What in the crap is "doink doink"? LOL!

Me too Bubba! LOCI rocks!

Sounds to me you people do not like change.

I think to say the show is ruined is a bit extreme. Yes, it has changed, but i don't think it's for the worst. I do agree that some of the new camera tricks and the introduction of some steady cam shots don't fit with the rest of the series and are a bit distracting, but i do like the direction the show is taking. I think the Logan episodes are still weaker than the G/E episodes, which i think have started really strong. I really feel the Goren and Eames eps are doing well with incorporating the personal with the cases/professional. "Smile" is good proof of this in the way that the villians are reflecting Goren's own demons.

As for Goren, I think we're actually starting to see a bit of the old Goren, but i definitly don't think he has become a charactiture of his former self. Sure the character has change, but i'd be less impressed with the wirters and actor if he hadn't. I love character dirven shows and i think in episodic TV evolution in charater archs is vital to keeping things interesting. Goren from the get go has been a very complex character and i'm looking forward to where they take him. The aria in Smile was great, particularly with the inhaler huff (very classic Goren in my opinion).

Personally i don't miss the doink doink. I'm not a huge Law and Order fan, just CI, so i guess i don't notice it as much. But i don't see how the doink doink is any less gimicky than the new direction the show is taking. CI has always been different from the other Law & Orders, so in a way it's fitting that they would seperate themselves from the others.

O believe it is "bonk,bonk" or "dun,dun" not "doink doink".

maybe its boink boink!

When it's CI w/VDO it's definately "boink-boink"

*coughs* ummm innuendo perhaps?

haha

Good ol' VDO. =]] and his hottness.

There are a lot of fans who don't like the way the show has been developing since last season - it's been a little more into the detectives' lives instead of as case-oriented.

I like the new direction CI is going in. After 5 years of the writers throwing fans an occassional backstory bone I think they've earned the right to get more personal with the detectives. I'm biased, since I am a backstory whore.

Although I did find it annoying that Ross didn't take Eames off the case when G/E had to reopen her husband's murder in Amends. Same with Goren in Endgame, he shouldn't have gone to interview Brady alone. That was lame. Even with a suspended disbelief.

Spook - lol! I think the noise is more of a 'bum-bum'. My dad says 'ding-ding'.

Your observational seduction is noted. check my sig.

Yeah i'm loving the backstory aswell. I absolutely loved season 6 and how deep it dug into the detectives lives.

HAHA! I've been quoted in a sig! hee.

I really did enjoy season 6, but I thought some of the guest stars were not that great (compared to previous years). For example: Dock in Blind Spot. That actor annoyed the dickins out of me, and I didn't buy his side of the relationship with Bobby.

Of course VDO can do no thespian-wrong in my book.

I don't know, in my opinion the more guest stars that appear, the more fake it seems, like if i see a famous person, [besides of course the cast], the show becomes farther away from reality, and to me, i like to be sucked into the show for an hour and believe that they aren't really acting...

if you get what i mean...

ITA. There are a few eps that make me go, "hey, there's a famous person" and completely take me out of the story. I meant that the unknown actors who have a large part in an episode haven't been as good IMO. At times I find myself critiquing the acting rather than enjoying it. It could be a writing issue, or direction, etc. :/

Ooh, plus there has been a lot of double casting with actors who were previously established in earlier eppys. Like the woman from the cyanide-asprin ep being in Endgame. She was great in the earlier season, that I couldn't see her as a different person.

The Dun Dun Or Doink doink as some refer to it. Is still in the opening.

boink boink, bonk bonk, ding ding.

the list goes on and on.

Bump

Bump bump! =D

i noticed the double casting too. like in last epi "smile" jim gaffigan was marty palin and was used again the "dead" epi. its hard for me to see the same actor but playing a new character, but what can you do. i just turn all my attention on VDO ^__^() hehe

That's the way that L&O does it, though.

S. Epatha Mackerson (sp?) [Lt. VanBuren] guest starred in the first season as a mother who's sone committed a crime.

Diane Neal [ADA Casey Novack] guest starred as a woman who was into s&m on svu

Michael Gross [ the dad on Family Ties] guest starred on SVU and on CI (twice I think) as two (or three) different characters.

All great episodes! IMO.

I should clarify that Mackerson guest starred in the first season of the mothership. Not CI.

My brother and i were just talking about doubling casting, on SVU and CI. We think it's kinda funny.

Are you talking about the guest stars on both LOCI and SVU?

Well since all three Law and orders are filmed in NYC, and most other shows are filmed in California, NYC actors will be seen in all three shows. Instead of flying to California to audition there. Most of them aren't big names they live and work in NYC, so they work in NYC. Even some shows that seem to take place in NYC are filmed in California on lots and only outdoor shots are taken in NYC. with stock footage. Dick Wolf has helped a lot of NYC actors find work.

Chris Meloni calls it the "doink doink" and I miss it too, but I think the show is still compelling and written better than most other shows out there. I remember when Aaron Sorkin left West Wing, we were all poised for doom, but even though the writing no longer beared the Sorkin signature style, it was still one of the best written shows on TV, and I have to say CI still does it for me whereas, I sort of gave up on SVU.....

I don't think the show is ruined in the least - it's changed, and I have a feeling the actors are pleased with the direction the show is heading. I have no real complaints- for now .

Yeah, i was. It makes sense, we like it actually. Cause then we are like OH REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS ON SVU..!

I think its kind of fun to see how many actors I can recognize in the different L&O shows. In this week's SVU the doctor who ran a clinic for people who had been tortured by the US military was on the CI episode "Scared Crazy" as a therapist trained in torture techniques (which she was trying to use in behavior modification with disasterous results). I thought that was terribly ironic. I think it was the first season of L&O Jerry Orbach played a defense attorney for a Betty Broderick-like woman.

I actually like the direction the show is going, though I do miss this:

"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."

and the original theme music.

Whoa...did I miss something? Isn't the spoken intro still there?

it is

It is? I'm probably not changing the channel to the show fast enough.

My life no longer has any meaning to it. I realise that waht you say is true, and now I'm sorely depressed. The SF golden gate bridge just keeps looking better and better. (I realise I may sound like a beezy, but know this: that's not my intention. I mean, I don't know anything about camera angles, or anything, but donde esta el 'dun-dun'???) Man, this bites, hecka much.

Danke, enlightened thinker.

Tuba Girl Faith

I'm sorry but...this is all because of less of the doink doink...