Point well taken. Still, we suspect that Balcer wasn't exactly on pins and needles. Criminal Intent aside from emerging as one of the 2001-02 season's biggest dramatic"

(page 18/19)

The show prides itself on being different than the two pre-existing L&Os in that it cheerily gives away the criminal's identity before the opening credits. Last fall, critics were particularly vocal in their disapproval of that format, though Balcer says it's not a new idea by any stretch. 'With Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky wrote a whole book about knowing exactly who the bad guy is,' he says. 'It's a closed mystery and that's one way of doing it. I wasn't worried about it.'

But there is another way in which Criminal Intent distinguishes itself from its brethren: the show comes from Balcer's unique school of storytelling. 'What keeps people coming back are the stories and the writing itself,' says Courtney B. Vance, who plays assistant district attorney Ron Carver. 'It's so good, and consistently good. But it begins with Rene [Balcer]. He comes in with the concepts and ideas. He is the person that is at the helm and one of the reasons we're doing so well.'

In the early '90s, Balcer cut his teeth on an episode of the much-lauded Star Trek: The Next Generation and went on to score eight Edgar Allan Poe mystery writing award nominations for Law & Order. Balcer set the tone for CRiminal Intent by writing the show's première episode. 'I have a somewhat different approach to storytelling than [Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU],' he says. 'I think that translates into how the stories are told, and the twists and turns and characterization.

One of the major attractions to Law & Order in all its incarnations has always been its characterizations. What usually begins with a cat-and-mouse search for clues, eventually leads to the criminal's capture, which leads to psychological tension and, of course, conflict. 'Rene writes really good villains,' says Kathryn Erbe, who plays Det. Alexandra Eames. 'So we're blessed with these great, primarily theatre actors who want to come and play these parts.' The apeal for these actors is they often get to spread theit creative wings, playing roles they normally wouldn't get. Case in point: Michael Gross. The indelible TV dad of Family Ties -- and recently ER -- puts in a chilling performance playing a twisted psychiatrist. Says balcer: 'You never get to see [Gross] play a Machiavellian killer. Here, he gets to play against type.' Following Gross, as well as Griffin Dunne and Robert Knepper, expect more apperances by solid character actors in future episodes that ate 'ripped from the headlines.'

Oops. There's that saying, a term Balcer seems to play down even though it was practically invented by NBC's promo machine to describe Law & Order episodes. Balcer says that the characters he writes for Criminal Intent 'may or may not be based on real-life individuals' but he does admit that many stories are taken from newspapers, books and police boards. But 'ripped from the headlines?

I think Shakespeare will have to take credit for that with Julius Ceasar', jokes balcer. 'He ripped more stories from the headlines in his work than we have in ours.'

Hmmm. Law & Order: Macbeth. It has a nice ring to it."

 

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