Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent

I liked the first show, but they need to tone down the platitudes. The two main characters are interesting, but they are a little too intensely focused on delivering clever repartee instead of solid police work. A few too many cliches. There is one point where the two detectives are walking at a break neck speed across the plaza at city hall speaking to what is supposed to be someone in the Crown Attorneys Office. Are they trying to suggest the C. A. is a D. A.? It feels off. Are they also trying to quickly set the series scene with recognized landmarks? The scene would have been better in an office with more dialogue, where they could introduce other characters. Instead they chose the quick fix that was entirely without context.

The series first episode gets off to a lukewarm start, but it seems to have possible potential. That is if the writers can avoid some of the platitudes, and numerous cliches, and if the producers can restrain their rush to introduce a new series without letting characters, and stories drive the series. Do they have a tiny budget, or are the producers too inexperienced; I guess time will tell.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent makes a surprisingly good case for itself in its series premiere - using its Canadian setting to its advantage to introduce a new and fresh side to the franchise, with potential to become a fan favourite entry.

The characters are somewhat under-utilized, focusing more on the individual "case-of-the-week", opening the door for possible character development in the near future - if the show lives to reach one.

The cases are interesting and make for a good time filler, but as with any procedural, the appeal can wear off and the cases can become somewhat dull.

Case in point, Law & Order Toronto has its priorities set on establishing its Canadian roots while ensuring the cases-of-the-week shine - at least in the beginning.

I am from the U. S. but I like this better than its U. S. counterparts- with the exception of the original Criminal Intent with D'Onofrio. It stays true to the Criminal Intent series in that the lead detectives are using knowledge, reason and logic to uncover evidence, unravel the truth, and solve the mystery. They're not stereotypical hot-headed, hard-boiled detectives like I've seen in the original L&O and SVU.

Every lead in this cast is doing a knockout job - both detectives, deputy, inspector, m.e., and Mark are all well cast and talented actors and actresses. With that said, Aden Young is absolutely crushing it. The original male detective from Criminal Intent played by D'Onofrio was inspired by Sherlock Holmes. Aden Young, in my opinion, is performing a unique yet wonderful homage to Sherlock and Vincent D'Onofrio. I hope to see him in more films and series.

I'm a fan of Criminal Intent and for me, this is a very welcomed addition. Please keep this going!

I have to laugh at some of the reviews here.

I'd like to point out that Law & Order Criminal Intent does NOT include a trial. The episode always ends with the case solved and the bad guy getting arrested. So no, there is nothing "missing" in the Toronto formula, it's exactly the same format as the original Criminal Intent.

My review: I found the two leads to be pretty good, and Karen Robinson is terrific as usual. Character development should be interesting.

I found the acting of the guest cast cringe-worthy at times, but some of that may be the dialog. Perhaps the director? And the plot was pretty lame. If this was "ripped from the headlines" I sure don't recall the story.

My biggest complaint was how fast everyone was walking. And even the talking seemed really fast. It was weird.

Hopefully the following episodes will have better actors in the guest roles, and a more thoughtful script. The plot in the first episode had some major holes in it.

The show is pretty good... straight to the point, engaging, surprising and the star characters are dry yet get the job done... the DA role seems useless on this show tho.... While it's in no way comparable to Gorum and Eames, these guys are about business and the dudes thunderous voice keeps me awake the whole time lol.... The stories are very good as I'm always looking for similarities in stories... they are brutal sometimes and surprising! I'm not sure how many episodes there are as I may have missed a couple but boy the show is captivating! I just hope they don't try to put the two starring characters together in any way... That's my pet peeve with shows!