The Second Season

Law & Order: Criminal Intent is the second spin-off series from Law & Order. "Criminal Intent" takes a much different approach to the television crime genre than its parent series. The focus between the balance of law and order is replaced with thought-provoking crimes and a genius detective. The series deals with a pair of detectives working in the major case squad, who handle high profile crimes. The series is very similar to Columbo, with the lead detectives solving a particular mystery involving the wealthy and white collar crimes. For more details about the series, please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one and season three.

This review covers the second season, which comes years after the first and third season releases; the release schedule for "Criminal Intent" has been slightly out of place. Season one was released in October 2003. In September 2004, season three was released, skipping season two. A little over two years later, season two finally comes to DVD. Fans of the series should be more than happy with to have this collection of episodes on DVD. The second season has twenty-three engaging episodes.

As for the second season's content, I had a great time sitting through the episodes. In the past two years, I have really gotten into "Criminal Intent", watching my season one and three DVDs, as well as re-runs on cable television. I have come to appreciate the show, the characters, the format, the villains, etc. "Criminal Intent" has become a favorite. Vincent D'Onofrio is great in his role. He is unrealistically smart, but it is his genius that makes him such an intriguing character to watch solve the toughest cases.

Specifically, this season has Goren and Eames dealing with some pretty big white collar crimes that take them into corrupt police officers and district attorneys, terrorist attacks, and many other high profile crimes dealing with some of New York's richest citizens. What is done well with these crimes is how intense they get. There is always a lot of mystery and intrigue that lead detectives Goren and Eames must unravel surrounding one murder or another. The mystery always brings about a bigger picture that makes the cases very interesting.

My favorite episodes this season is "Anti-Thesis", which introduces Nicole Wallace (who makes several appearances in the series). Wallace is labeled as Goren's nemesis. She is a bright, cold-blooded killer that Goren can't touch. The episode deals with a university president who is murdered. The problem is that there are several people who have motive, from a PhD candidate to professors. It is a very interesting episode, and even more so to see Goren find someone who is able to match wits with him.

The remaining season two episodes are also all pretty strong. Some that stand out include "Best Defense", a case hits home with Carver when an assistant district attorney's wife is implicated in a murder, "The Pilgrim", the detectives stumble upon a sleeper cell that is planning a terrorist attack in New York City, "Probability", Goren works with a neurotic insurance claims analyst on a multi-million dollar fraud case, and "Cuba Libre", a paranoid man is released from prison and everyone around him starts dying. What makes these episodes so intriguing is how smart the criminals are and how the cases pan out.

Overall, I thought season two of "Criminal Intent" was an excellent collection of episodes. Season two offers twenty-three enticing episodes. D'Onofrio is great in his role as the genius detective who always sees the right clues that lead him and the rest of the "Criminal Intent" cast to solving their latest mystery. It is his charm that really drives this series, as well as the thought-provoking plotlines.

Episode Guide

1. Dead: The death of a funeral director leads to the gruesome discovery of over a hundred bodies buried behind a crematorium, and subsequent link to a mob hit man.
2. Bright Boy: A double murder is traced to the over-ambitious father of a 10-year-old math genius.
3. Anti-Thesis: The president of a prestigious university is killed and there are multiple suspect at the college, all with a motive. The episode marks the introduction of Nicole Wallace.
4. Best Defense: After an Assistant District Attorney kills a hit man in self-defense, all the evidence points to the ADA's wife.
5. Chinoiserie: A Chinese woman is shot and killed in Chinatown after she threatened to expose a criminal from her homeland. But the case is far more complicated because it involves rare and ancient artifacts smuggled in from China.
6. Malignant: The hijacking of a pharmaceutical truck leads police into an investigation of a pharmacist who is doctoring cancer medication.
7. Tomorrow: The brutal slaughter of a rich man's kids and their friend is perplexing, until the detectives uncover a bizarre link to the neighbor's nanny and her favorite soap opera.
8. The Pilgrim: A woman who was dating an Islamist militant goes missing, leading the detectives to a terrorist plot against New York City.
9. Shandeh: The wife of an orthodox Jewish man with a secret life is brutally murdered, and the socially conscious family's reputation is at stake.
10. Con-Text: A family member who was brainwashed by a cult kills a scam artist and his son, and the detectives attempt to hold the group's leader responsible.
11. Baggage: An airport baggage supervisor is killed after her car stalls; her abusive co-workers are then investigated for the crime.
12. Suite Sorrow: The owner of one of the city's most elegant hotels is killed, and her daughter is the prime suspect.

13. See Me: A psychiatrist's murder leads to a disturbed ophthalmologist with an unusual approach to mental illness.
14. Probability: A homeless man is killed, uncovering a massive insurance company scam.
15. Monster: A "preppie" murderer is freed from prison. When his mother is murdered shortly after, he is the prime suspect, until Goren and Eames discover a bad cop in the mix.
16. Cuba Libre: A rich, white ex-con, just released from prison, watches those close to him get killed - coincidence or a plot?
17. Cold Comfort: A powerful senator die, his daughter is killed shortly afterwards, and cryogenics may be the motive.
18. Legion: The disappearance of several young boys leads to a pied piper who was using the boys to steal bicycles.
19. Cherry Red: A cherry red Ferrari is the key to solving a string of murders.
20. Blink: A young math whiz is murdered, uncovering an intricate gambling scam run by a thrill-seeking psychopath.
21. Graansha: The black sheep of a family of grifters is murdered because of her involvement with "outsiders".
22. Zoonotic: A voyeuristic doctor gets revenge on his dates by infecting them with rare viruses. When chasing the source of deadly anthrax used by the doctor, the detectives make a disturbing discovery.
23. A Person of Interest: An investigation into an anthrax conspiracy turns up Goren's nemesis, Nicole Wallace, whose involvement is at the core of the investigation.

The DVD
Season two has twenty-three episodes spread across five single-sided, dual-layered DVDs. Two discs have four episodes and three discs have five episodes. The DVDs are stored in three slim pack cases and housed in a cardboard box.

Video:
The video in this release is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality looks good. As found with the earlier season releases, there is a slight roughness, grain in the picture, and hints of edge enhancement. Overall it is a solid picture.

Audio:
The audio track supplied with release is English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The sound quality is good, the track is pretty clean and spoken dialogue is easily heard. Like most TV on DVD releases it is fairly flat and there is not much to it, but it fits the presentation well.

This release also comes with subtitles in English and Spanish.

Extras:
For extras, deleted scenes are included for "Anti-Thesis", "Best Defense", "Chinoiserie", "Malignant", "Tomorrow", "The Pilgrim", "Shandeh", "Baggage", "Suite Sorrow", "Probability", "Monster", "Cold Comfort", "Legion", "Cherry Red", "Graansha", and "A Person of Interest".

Final Thoughts:
When I first sat down with the season one DVDs, I was not very impressed with Law & Order: Criminal Intent. The main reason I did not fall in love with the series was due to the fact I was expecting a different kind of show; I was expecting Law & Order. But as I have watched more and more of the series, I came to realize what kind of show "Criminal Intent" is. And I have since found I love this show. As for season two, the episodes are great. The content is intelligent, the characters carry themselves well, and the cases are generally well-written. They also have high replay value. In the end, Law & Order: Criminal Intent - The Second Year comes highly recommended.