EPISODE OF THE WEEK: ONE

[Patcat]

Airs August 1, 2007, at 6 pm EST on the USA Cable Network

The first episode of the series, originally aired September 30, 2001.

Synopsis: Goren and Eames investigate a jewel robbery that resulted in the murders of two innocent bystanders and a member of the gang.

Directed by Jean de Segonzac
Written by Rene Balcer and Dick Wolf

Guest Actors: Jake Webber (Karl Atwood); Michele Hicks (Gia DeLuca); Lenny Venito (Jake Nathan)

Quotes:
Deakins: "How'd my luggage wind up in Amarillo last Christmas?"

Carver: "Funny thing about the law, the right hand commits the murder, the left hand pays for it."

Goren: "I lied. Sorry."

Goren: "Bad guys do what good guys dream."

Deakins: "Goren, I realize how unstimulating police work can be for a right-brained guy like you..."

Eames: "Men come and go, but diamonds..."
Goren: "Diamonds don't keep you warm at night."

At last, a chance to discuss the very first episode of LOCI! This is the pilot for the series, and shows often shake out very differently from what's seen in their pilots. Are there differences between this episode and what LOCI became? Are the characters different? Similar? How have the individual characters and their relationships changed or not changed?

What do we learn about Goren, Eames, Deakins and Carver in this episode?

A very fine performance by Jake Webber as the villainous Karl Atwood anchors this episode. Atwood is a man of great contradictions. He plans and executes this robbery carefully, but gives in to impulsive actions, coldly murdering four people. Were the murders necessary? Did they ruin the robbery by concentrating the police's attention on the crime? How does Karl rank among the LOCI villains?

Why does Gia stay with Karl? Why does Karl force Gia on the gang?

Did Karl have a sexual relationship with his cellmate? Or was Goren playing on Gia's fears?

Is Goren more cold blooded in his pursuit of the criminals in this episode than later ones?

Comments: I'm answering some of my own questions (g), but I find that this pilot presents a remarkably well formed presentation of the LOCI world. There are some rough edges to be smoothed, some dynamics to be established, but the show is very recognizable. What is particularly remarkable is the ease Mr. D'Onofrio and Ms. Eames have in their performances. The relationship between Goren and Eames is still rough, but the actors appear to have their work well in hand.

Patcat

[DonnaJo]

A quick comment ...

I remember reading that Law & Order:Criminal Intent was developed on the premise that it was different because we saw the crime story from the criminal's perspective. In the first episode "One," we eavesdrop on Karl Atwood & his cohorts preparing for the jewlery heist. We witness the heist itself as well as the triple murder. We know what happened long before the Detectives do, so they have to catch up with us, the viewer.

That doesn't happen anymore. Now they show us a variey of possible suspects & the resulting murder/crime. We have to figure out, along with the Detectives, who is guilty & what transpired.

I wonder why this unique concept was given up? When did it change, Season 3?

[diablodeblanco]

I think you nailed this one, Donnajo. That first episode is what drew me into the series. Over time something changed......and I don't believe it was for the good.

[effie]

Something I noticed a while back after the several bazillionth time I'd seen this episode... notice how much LONGER the teaser is in this episode compared to others... like around 7 minutes long...

Plus, any thoughts on how sex is handled in this episode as compared to others ones? It's always seems to me a lot gritter and rawer than most of the rest of the series, what with Karl and Gia sweating up the sheets in ways rougher than others...

[musicwench]

Are there differences between this episode and what LOCI became? Are the characters different? Similar? How have the individual characters and their relationships changed or not changed?

There certainly is a huge difference between this one and Season 6. As already mentioned by DonnaJo, the crime and who committed it was shown to us. I like both formats so it hasn't really bothered me as much but when they do the 'who dun it' aspect of it, I generally expect it to be a real good one that I can't guess in the first half hour.

The characters have changed a lot. In this episode I didn't like Goren very much at all. He came across as arrogant and it irritated me to no end that he LIED to Gia about being HIV positive.

If it weren't for my husband's insistance, I might not have watched any more episodes! [He reminds me of this every time I bring up LOCI, btw]

Goren is much older and much less brash and I find I like him better. Okay, I do miss the Goren climbing up on church pews (the first episode where I started to actually like him) and taking delight in catching the bad guy, but perhaps it's just that I can relate to the world weary Goren so he doesn't bother me as much as he bothers others.

I think Eames is a bit more subdued. There weren't as many snarks this last season than there were before. Of course with what she went through, I can understand that.

Goren and Eames are in the early stages of their partnership and it shows. There's no sense of connection like they have now. Eames is obviously annoyed that Goren made a promise to the parents of the murdered girl and her boyfriend. But they do work all right together.

Carver seems to trust Goren a bit more than you'd think in this first epi, arguing Goren's case to the DA that she should trust Goren's ability to understand Gia would not need to be wired, etc. I think as the seasons went on Carver seemed to be a lot more "I need more evidence than just a feeling" kind of guy.

What do we learn about Goren, Eames, Deakins and Carver in this episode?

We learn Goren is observant - the tapes he spent hours watching to find Gia. He understands people and their motivations, he's willing to do whatever he has to in order to bring in the bad guy, including lying. Of course what bothered me then, makes me smile now just because it's Goren and Eames. In real life I hate when cops lie to people.

We learn Eames can handle herself quite well with larger, stronger perps who try to escape.


A very fine performance by Jake Webber as the villainous Karl Atwood anchors this episode. Atwood is a man of great contradictions. He plans and executes this robbery carefully, but gives in to impulsive actions, coldly murdering four people. Were the murders necessary? Did they ruin the robbery by concentrating the police's attention on the crime? How does Karl rank among the LOCI villains?

I'd say if he just tied them up and left them they might have gotten away with it because they probably wouldn't have been found any sooner than when the girl's parents came home. I'd say Karl is coldblooded and manipulative and deserved his fate.

Why does Gia stay with Karl? Why does Karl force Gia on the gang?

I'd say she must be insecure and he must have done some manipulating of her to make her dependent on him. Perhaps he keeps her with him because he likes the fact that she will do anything he asks to keep him and/or because he can bend her to his will through manipulation or through fear.

Did Karl have a sexual relationship with his cellmate? Or was Goren playing on Gia's fears?

I think Goren was just playing on Gia's fears. I saw no signs of Karl being gay. Just because he liked anal sex doesn't mean he's gay. It just means he likes to make Gia submit and he probably is a sadist on some level.

Is Goren more cold blooded in his pursuit of the criminals in this episode than later ones?

I don't know if he's more cold blooded or he just comes off as if he is. I say this because he still uses deception and manipulation even now but it doesn't bother me. At the time I didn't know the character and I didn't appreciate him, I thought he was an ass whereas now when I watch the episode I see 'classic' Goren. I like classic Goren. LOL

I agree this is a great presentation of the LOCI world. However, I wouldn't recommend it as a place to start for people who are new to the show because I'm afraid they might also be turned off by the brash Goren. Many people who comment on how they don't like the show because of the Goren character being arrogant and annoying probably just watched this episode and gave up.

[Techguy]

donna said:

I remember reading that Law & Order:Criminal Intent was developed on the premise that it was different because we saw the crime story from the criminal's perspective...That doesn't happen anymore...I wonder why this unique concept was given up? When did it change, Season 3?

In Season 3 there was a more consistent departure from the show's initial premise. But the foundation for the change was laid back in Season 2 in episodes like "Best Defense," "Shandeh," "Suite Sorrow," and "Probability" where the discovery of clues leads to the identity of the killer and/or the mastermind behind the killings. The why behind this change in concept is a mystery; too bad we can't go back and ask Stephanie SenGupta and Rene Balcer the reason for the change.

I don't really have a preference for either format, being shown who does it or if it remains a mystery until very near the end. What I do prefer is a return to the complexity of the stories that makes me think and try to sort out the clues. In this respect Season 6 was a huge disappointment because the crime stories themselves were thin and basically transparent. Hopefully the move to USA will re-invigorate everyone involved and bring back the best of what CI offered in the past.

[batescitybabe]

What do we learn about Goren, Eames, Deakins and Carver in this episode?
Well, I think that you can see that Deakins understands what makes Goren tick, but I think that he trusts Eames much more and at this point would be more likely to listen to her as opposed to Goren.
Goren and Eames seem to be feeling each other out and even though they work well together, I am not sure that Eames gets Goren at this point. I am always surpirised when Carver trusts Goren.

A very fine performance by Jake Webber as the villainous Karl Atwood anchors this episode. Atwood is a man of great contradictions. He plans and executes this robbery carefully, but gives in to impulsive actions, coldly murdering four people. Were the murders necessary? Did they ruin the robbery by concentrating the police's attention on the crime? How does Karl rank among the LOCI villains? Ultimately, Atwood's impulsive behavior is what led to his arrest. It caused him to leave too many clues behind. I thought that as far as villians go he was great.

Why does Gia stay with Karl? Why does Karl force Gia on the gang? Gia stays with Karl because she loves him and it makes you do stupid things. I think in the end she also wanted revenge for what she believed her had done to her. Karl was a control freak and forcing her to do anything was probably fun for him.

Did Karl have a sexual relationship with his cellmate? Or was Goren playing on Gia's fears? I think it is possible that they did have a relationship. Even Gia senses that. If you watch the embrace between the two characters you will see that she is not pleased about it.

Is Goren more cold blooded in his pursuit of the criminals in this episode than later ones?[/b][/i] He is more relentless in his pursuits when it something that makes him extremely angry. The killings hit a nerve.

[tjara]

So this is were we start, where we first meet our detectives.

I think this was a good episode to launch the series. What I really like is that we don't spend any time on getting to know our detectives - they just are there, they do what they do. You basically wouldn't know if this weren't aired as first episode - you could easily switch it around with some of the others. (I guess we should once put the effort into it and check the timecards to see which ep acutally would be the first "chronologically"). Most pilot shows are very different, especially when it comes to introducing the characters. Oftentimes at least one character receives more attention in the pilot.

I also think that this ep is very much in sync with what the first season became. There weren't any major adjustments from the pilot to the other episodes...

As for the story - yeah, nice, but nothing special. I think the first season had better offerings and I wonder whether there were other ideas around for the pilot that actually ended up being filmed.

I thought it was odd that Karl would allow himself to be so "implusive" at times, 'cause someone who planned a robbery like that wouldn't strike me as impulsive, but I guess his dominant, self-centered behavior really was the key to understanding the story.

Gia puzzles me a little, but I guess there's always two in a relationship and she wanted to be dominated. It's really nice though how Goren plays her, and she never even bothers to take a peek at the autopsy report. She pretends not to care and she prentends to be strong, but really she's wax in Goren's hands.

I guess Eames gets lost a little in that story, there were other first season eps where she seemed to be more vital to the story. Yet she get's to be snarky (Go Alex!) and we get a highly appreciated shipper moment (the diamond discussion at the end). Also, she gets to hit one of the bad guys

Like Patcat, I think it's quite amazing that VDO & KE seemed to have a fairly good grip on their characters from the start. You don't really get the feeling that one of the is still "working on who they are". Of course they were, but not to an extent that it hurt the show. I also think that while the G/E partnership was still young at them time (as was the VDO/KE relationship, and that you do notice) they certainly have already found their groove. They might be working on the details, but they work well together already. My best guess would be that at that point they had been partnered from somewhere between 6-12 months.

[outerbankschick]

It's so funny to read back over these old threads and see the comments about how people didn't like Goren at first because of his arrogance. The first time I watched CI, that arrogance is part of what made him so sexy to me.

'Course, back in the day, it was Logan's swagger that grabbed me, so I suppose I find that sort of playful arrogance appealing.

[tjara]

I agree - older comments are lots of fun

I remember that I did see CI now and then and that I did think Goren was a little "over the top" in the sense that "of course he can get evrybody to confess". That tough was years back and I usually would only see parts of an ep.

Sometimes I wonder though whether I was just lucky to tune into a couple of eps that appealed to me. And I needed a while to adjust to Goren - not in a sense that I was put off by his behavior, but in a sense that I needed to learn to understand what he does and how he deceives the perps. This was something I only really understood once I started seeing whole eps

[jeffan]

Interesting to read that, overall, it took time for the Goren character to become likeable (maybe I'm using the wrong word but I can't think of another).

Way to go Zach!