Stephanie Sengupta OUR interview for her

[Major Hathaway]

Dear Members:

We have been extended the most gracious offer I have come across; Ms. Sengupta has agreed to do an interview with us. Please take some time to think about this, then submit questions you would like to ask Ms. Sengupta. Feel free to ask any questions you think of, I will compile the final list to submit to her. I will then post the full interview on our board.

She has expressed her appreciation for us as a fan base. Ms. Sengupta says she is a regular person swept up in something wonderful that we all care for and she is also a fan of the show and of the characters. We can show her how much we appreciate her integrity and her vision.

Please make sure I have all your questions by the end of the day on Friday.

Special thanks to Ms. Sengupta, a special member here who wants to remain modest, and the other moderators for getting this project running.

And as a personal aside - I'm Thrilled

[domenicaflor]

Thank you, Ms. Sengupta, for allowing us this special opportunity for an online interview.

And thank you moderators, for interceding on the members' behalf to make this possible.

Finally, thank you members for making this a great board.

Questions:

1)On various boards, some members questioned the casting of a large woman as the character of April in "Eosphoros". Was the character description made due to resemblances with the "ripped from the headlines" story of the atheist family of Madeline Murray-O'Hare? Was it a physical representation of a psychological condition? Or was it neither? How influential are writers' descriptions to characters in treatments and scripts upon the actual casting of the character? What do you think of the end result of "Eosphoros" and April?

2)How do you feel about improvisation by the actors in your episodes? Do you get any control of actors' "business" once you turn the final draft in to Mr. Balcer? For example, I am thinking of an episode like "Unrequited" where D'Onofrio does a little dance at the mansion, does some pantomine acting-technique practice in the one way mirror at the acting studio, plays dodge-and-weave with the suspect's mother who won't let him in the apartment, etc.

3)It seems like many of your episodes are about families gone very wrong. From "Undaunted Mettle" to "Cold Comfort", parents are obsessed with lineage to preseve their own image and name instead of loving their children. In "Tomorrow" and "Fico di Capo" we find suspects who have incomplete families who seek to build a replacement family, to little avail. In "Unrequited" and "Eosphoros", suspects with little confidence from their families seek external validation which leads them to crimes. Do you find that the family is at the heart of your thought process for writing LOCI episodes? If so, can you talk about your vision of families and how that fits into your work?

4)On another board, members who attended the Museum of Television and Radio seminar in Los Angeles this spring quoted a comment from Rene Balcer stating that the fans tend to "overanalyze" the episodes? Do you feel this is a true statement? If so, what would be your recommendation to LOCI fans as to how to watch an episode?

5)Was "Undaunted Mettle" written in response to Kathryn Erbe's pregnancy, or was the story adjusted to incorporate Eames' surrogate pregnancy?

6)I've heard comments from fans that they feel Season 5 was rather uneven in quality of episodes. Do you feel that this is the case? If so, why? Do you have a favorite season of the show?

7)You happened to not be one of the writers who dealt with the character of G. Lynn Bishop. How would you have written Bishop? What might you like to explore with the character of Mike Logan in Season 5?

8)Lots of folks have mentioned the issue of falling ratings, especially with LOCI opposite "Desperate Housewives" on ABC. Do you feel amy pressure for maintaining ratings, or are the writers shielded from that top-down marketing-economics pressure? (I certainly hope that you are shielded from non-literary pressures, as I think you all do a *MARVELOUS* job for which you should be well rewarded.)

Thank you so much again for taking the time to answer our many questions. We the fans greatly appreciate it.

Domenica Flor

[goreneames]

HOLY COW!! This is so amazing!

Ok, here are a few questions I'd like to submit:

1) Once you've decided a "headline" is something LOCI would like to persue, how do you begin to turn it into a story for Goren and Eames?

2) When did you begin writing for television?

3) What process do you and Rene Balcer follow when you're writing a script?

4) Do you have a favorite episode that you've written?

[Patcat]

What a terrific opportunity.

First, a great thanks to you and the other writers of LOCI.

A silly question, but can you reveal anything about the Santa Mug?

I've noticed that LOCI has many women writers and producers. Could you comment on this?

Could you take us through a typical show production from the writing of the first draft to filming?

Patcat (who will have more when she gets her act together"

[romulanavatra3]

okay here goes,

a quick background question,
is eames senior to goren as a detective at the major case squad or are they both equal.

how long have eames and goren been partners at the major case squad.

is carver going to appear at any stage on law and order tiral by jury.

are there going be crossovers with criminal intent and any of the other law an orders.

what type of case are normally handled by eames and goren( in relation to the law and order universe not rea life).

will eames's sister ever make an apperance in an episode.

how was the casting of kathryn erbe and vincent donofrio done, was it intentional or was it by accident.

what was the most intresting episdoe you have worked on.

how long does it take to film a scene from an episode.

thats enough for now.
post some more soon.

reagrds rom.

[Marina1511]

Here my questions:
(thanks in advance for the answers!)

1. How many episodes of S5 have you already written?

2. Do you spent as much time writing as the cast is filming?

3. Do you have to be on the set all the time for adjustments in the script, does that happen often?

4. Probably very obvious: but do you have a lot of help from real detectives, coroners, DA's, etc? Or are you from that line of business yourself?

That's it for now, I might think of some other later, maybe ..

[Metella]

What is/are the things you like most about American Culture then about Indian Culture?

What is/are the things you dislike most about American Culture then about Indian Culture?

[Cassie]

This is rather exciting!!

Thank you to the Moderators for bringing this special event to the Forum. Thank you too, Ms Sengupta

I was wondering if you could share with us, how you would like the series to end with the characters of the show?

What are your dreams for your writing future?

If you could pick a story and write it for the big screen, what would it be?

And….what’s your favorite flavored ice cream?


Thanks

[LOCIfan]

Thanks so much to Ms. Sengupta for agreeing to do this!

My questions:

Do you have a background in psychology?

Has your view of the criminal justice system changed over the course of writing for Criminal Intent?

How do you think Goren has changed over the course of the series?

What have you learned from Rene Balcer and the other writers on the show?

Is there an episode or story you haven't yet written that you'd like to write?

How do you think the series will change with the addition of Logan and his new partner?

Will certain writers only write for Logan and others only write for Goren and Eames?

I've noticed that your episodes have a certain dark humor to them. Is it important to you that humor be incorporated into your scripts?

How do you think the internet has influenced television writing?

Last question (I swear). Many of us are big fans of the titles of the episodes. Are the titles something that you decide on or is that something Mr. Balcer does when he polishes the scripts?

That's all for now!!

[BegToDiffer]

Ms. Sengupta, can you settle the lingering questions about Eames' husband? Was there a husband? If yes, was he a cop? Was he killed on duty?

[trisha]

I have a million questions, but I'll keep it down to just a few ...

1) How long does it take to write a script, and then have that script sent out for filming?

2) Do you have a "bible" for each of the characters that all the writers share?

3) (since goreneames asked about your favorite) have you ever been disappointed with the way one of your episodes turned out?

4) Have you ever disagreed with Mr. Balcer on his rewrites and polishing?

[popularlibrary]

What a wonderful offer! Thank you!

I have a question relating to one of my favorite episodes, the brilliant Fico di Capo. There are always a lot of references in CI episodes, but sometimes you can read into things. When I saw it, I felt you were making a whole range of wonderful references, but did you really intend some of these things, or were they subconscious, or not intentional:

".....It was certainly remeniscent of Richard III, but there were other hints of reductio-ad-absurdem (Richard, after all, is funny enough!). Look at the names alone. Not just Ricky, but Ricky Cozzo - the name means cock and not the kind that crows. Sopranos fans should know it's a popular Southern Italian obscenity. Then there's Ricky's mom, named Rigatello, which sounds like a play on Rigoletto, the vicious-tongued hunchback (another one) in Verdi's famous opera, a jester at a notably corrupt court who tries to murder his master. And Damiano? It means tame, domesticated and poor St. Damian is the patron saint of (among other things) barbers and hairdressers."

[NikkiGreen]

Thank you for this generous opportunity, Ms. Sengupta.

Most of the questions which first came to my mind have already been asked, except:

Is Criminal Intent the first series you've scripted for? Would you share with us what else you have written?

Have "The Powers That Be" tried to influence or change your vision of a storyline?

ETA: And if you don't mind a personal question?

Is your background Bengali, in whole or in part?

I ask this out of mere curiousity as I was born in West Bengal at an Air Force base just outside of Calcutta. My curiousity with all things Bengali gets the best of me at times, I'm afraid.

And, once again, thank you very much for this opportunity. My best to you and all of the other wonderful writers on CI.

[KellyO]

Thank you so much for taking the time (and interest) to answer our questions. And I echo the thanks to the mods for this special treat!

How did you begin writing for Criminal Intent? Did you submit a script to Mr. Balcer?

Does Mr. Balcer accept script submissions or ideas?

How would you suggest an aspiring writer get a foot in the door?

[janetcatbird]

I, too, would like to thank Ms. Sengupta for her time and efforts.

--When big-name guest stars appeared on the show (especially Claire Bloom and Stephen Colbert) were the parts written specifically for them or did an agent send the script their way?

--What are the major themes and influences on your work (writers, specific shows or movies, etc.)?

--Obviously you and the cast/crew are aware of the fan commentary, especially online. Were there any fan discussions and activities that surprised, amused, or even concerned the creative staff? (Nicole Wallace is the biggy here, but if you want to avoid that particular land mine I certainly understand!)

--Also, was it surprising to realize how much variety there was among the CI fans? We can't be easily typed into a target audience of "Horny teenagers" or "Bored housewives" or anything like that, so how does that affect the writing and other network considerations?


I can't wait for to hear Ms. Sengupta's perspective, how exciting! Thanks again to all involved in the opportunity!

--Catbird#nosmileys