Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent

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.

This is a well-executed, engaging, entertaining Canadian version of Law & Order CI (the series franchise that focuses on the police investigation and not so much the courtroom). Detective Graff is gruff, experienced, canny, distanced, and perhaps cynical about human relationships. His accent is classic rural Ontario and for foreigners, immigrants and first gen Canadians who've only ever lived in a city, you'd need to visit Sudbury to get it. It is the speech of hockey arenas outside the GTA. Bateman is probably intended to be the urban, less experienced counterpoint (the character went to university in Montreal and is a single mom from a two-ish-night stand). Canadians pride themselves on not being slick, brash, Americans and that contrast definitely comes through. If you need bombast and machismo in your characters you aren't going to like it. The colour-palette is also much less gritty than the NY versions - the old chestnut is that "Toronto is New York run by the Swiss" and there is a consistent cool blue-grey-green-glass tone-International style to the series settings. I bet the Australians will get it and like it.

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.

I am really liking this show. It has some of the feeling of the old L&O Criminal Intent. That was my favorite spin off from the original series. I like the actors, and I am enjoying the stories. As an American, it is always nice to watch a show shot and set in another country and with actors I am not familiar with. I feel like the formula works very well and moves along at a fast pace.

One thing I appreciate is the lack of political agenda in the episodes. All the American versions are so preachy and you can tell the political leanings of all the writers. I am glad it got a season two. I highly recommend this version of a classic show.

The main detectives Graff and Bateman almost mirror the American counterparts Goren and Eames. Which was my favorite partnership on the American version of Criminal Intent. And I like K. C. Collins. I hope the writers give him some more screen time.

It does have potential. Toronto is a super diverse and beautiful city. There is abundance possible concepts for the writers to use that would not only set the show apart but showcase the city.

I would love to see the show follow the basics of the Law & Order brand but it needs to set it self apart. It has big shoes to fill. With the shortest current spin off on its 5th season.