9:04 - "Delicate" 2010-04-20

[Patcat]

Well, I find it unsettling that it's the next day, and I'm the first to post regarding this episode.

I'm not quite sure how I felt about this one. I was distracted while I was watching it, and I'm not sure if my lack of focus was because of the other things I was doing or because the story failed to hold my interest. I was pretty sure scary piano girl did it from the first moment she appeared. It seemed to lack something, and not just Goren and Eames. Not fair, I know...

Patcat

[Patcat]

The USA site has a nice video on how the murder was staged for the cameras.

Patcat

[DonnaJo]

I wasn't able to watch it until this morning. I really liked it. It held my attention and I found the interaction between Nichols and Burrows quite fascinating.

Of course there were Goren-isms abound - Nichols sniffs the dead girls mouth to check for alcohol. He also gets up close and personal with the crazy friend - whispering and cajoling her into anger and confusion. Very classic Goren stuff. It makes me miss the Robert Goren I used to love all the more.

But I must give JG props for his performances this season. He is totally and completely invested in his character and it shows. Stark contrast (IMO, of course) to VDO's recent performances as Goren. When I say that I miss Goren, I'm not referring to the recent episodes, but the older seasons where VDO was so totally invested in the role. I see that now with JG.

And I think MEM is awesome! Love her so far. I also was intrigued by Burrows and her comments about her own teenage daughter. At the end, when you see the stalker girl and her Mom embrace and cry, her expression was so sad/interesting. Nichols notices it too, and the show ends. So I take it we're in for learning more about that relationship.

[peterinmanhattan]

I liked it very much as well. It reminds me of something an old professor of mine would say when I was writing a paper: keep it simple stupid, great advice, hurt my feelings every time. "Delicate" held true to this formula. There were no exploding Somali ships, no rocket launchers no FBI agents, just a well plotted out story of the psychosis of a killer. While I felt the guest stars tended to outshine the main actors, that was only because their acting was so good and so believable. Being an "artist" himself, it also seems like these cases are the ones Nichols enjoys the most. I also found the hinting towards Stevens's relationship with her daughter to be reminiscent of the old CI formula from earlier seasons of hinting, but not showing personal life. However, it remains to be seen how that progresses, as this only is Episode Four. I've read someplace (and I forget where), that we've yet to see Stevens smile. Now that I've noticed this, especially compared to Nichols, who grins fairly often, I'm curious as to what sort of occasion might cause her to do so.

[Moonbeam]

Apr 21, 2010 10:24:25 GMT -5 DonnaJo said:

Of course there were Goren-isms abound - Nichols sniffs the dead girls mouth to check for alcohol. He also gets up close and personal with the crazy friend - whispering and cajoling her into anger and confusion. Very classic Goren stuff. It makes me miss the Robert Goren I used to love all the more.

That is exactly why I can't bring myself to watch USA's LOCI.

[Techguy]

Back in the US of A...

Delicate, adj. Fragile, easily damaged. The same can be said for the status and future of CI given the recent upheaval in the cast and characters. However, based on what I observed while watching this episode, there's solid evidence that there is still strength left to build on.

Once I suspended my disbelief about the mind-reading relationship or whatver that was going on between ballerina student JessieLynn and the ballerina wannabee Paulette, I got really engaged in the story and enjoyed this episode a lot.

I'm becoming even more invested in the Zach Nichols character as Jeff Goldblum continues to impress me about how he approaches the role and the nuances he provides. Yes the body sniffing is very Goren-esque, but I wasn't turned off by it. I enjoyed how he calls Paulette out for her "appropriation" of Brahms to reinforce his musical background. We continue to find out more details about his unhappy childhood as a piano prodigy as he recounts his "command performances" for his parents and their cronies.

I'm also becoming intrigued by the Saffron Burrows character Serena Stevens. The personal details about her teenage daughter and experience in college provide some interesting backstory to develop her character. I also note how Nichols observes her sadness at the end when the murderer and her mother embrace and cry, and this too is ample fodder to delve further into what's gone on in Stevens' life and how it might impact her partnership with Nichols.

I also want to recognize the super fine performance by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in her relatively brief appearance as Capt. Zoe Callas. Her presence makes me want to find out more about this character and how she got to where she is at MCS.

Overall this is a very fine early early presentation of the new cast and characters, and gives me optimism about theirs and the show's future. I look forward to what lies ahead for them.

ETA: for those interested in the ratings, this from TVbythenumbers:

Bucking the conventional “after Goren & Eames ratings will fall” wisdom, USA’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent was up to 3.537 million from last week’s 3.219 million viewers and had the same 0.9 adults 18-49 rating.

[lovesong]

I haven't had time to watch this one, or even Loyalty part 2. that said, I'm glad to see the numbers holding, and it sounds like they are really returning to CI as it was in the beginning, just with a different actor playing the Goren persona. Frankly, this is fine with me b/c I never cared to the changes anyway.

[Patcat]

NBC will air this episode Saturday, July 24, at 9pm (EST).

Patcat