Post by Metella on Mar 27, 2004 21:51:01 GMT -5
His "Intent" is Clear
Producer Dick Wolf expands franchise with 3rd `L&O' series
By: Ed Bark
The Dallas Morning News
September 28, 2001
Law & Order: Crooks and Crannies isn't in development, but who knows what's coming next.
NBC's seemingly unstoppable New York police franchise now has as many weekly editions as Dateline, thanks to Sunday's arrival of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. This third family member intends to show what makes bad guys tick.
In a letter sent with review tapes of Criminal Intent, executive producer Dick Wolf said Law & Order and its offshoots are like Campbell's soup: ``Campbell's is the pre-eminent brand, but the flavors are very different.''
The original Law & Order, which premiered in 1990 and is renewed through May 2005, is still a chunky beef soup. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, beginning its third season, and the new Criminal Intent are lesser, drink-from-a-cup concoctions.
Wolf also is billing Criminal Intent as the first in the Law & Order franchise to be ``built around a leading actor.'' He's Vincent D'Onofrio (Men in Black, Full Metal Jacket), who plays hard-pushing homicide detective Robert Goren.
``It is clearly Vincent D'Onofrio's show,'' Wolf says. ``He commands the proscenium in a way few television actors have ever done. The more you watch him, the more fascinating he becomes.''
He has a point. D'Onofrio is the best reason to watch Criminal Intent.The show otherwise is weak from a story standpoint. Clues fall into place with remarkable, sometimes unbelievable precision. Wrongdoers are too easily broken down or duped during interrogations. And unlike its two fellow travelers, there are no palate-cleansing trials in Criminal Intent.
The first 13 episodes of Criminal Intent were completed early because of concerns about a possible actors' or writers' strike this summer -- well before the Sept. 11 destruction of the World Trade Center.
``Our characters will reference that this event took place,'' he said. ``But I think that it would be beyond my comprehension to see somebody try to turn this into mass entertainment.''