"Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
In the Dark (2004)

Director:

Alex Chapple

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator)
Rene Balcer (developer)

TV Series:

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001)

Original Air Date:

31 October 2004 (Season 4, Episode 6)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

The murder of a homeless worker leads to the discovery of seven murdered homeless men, and a mechanic who'll do anything for the woman he loves. |

Plot Keywords:

District Attorney | Prosecutor | Trial | Gun | Handcuffs

Cast

Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Detective Robert Goren
Kathryn Erbe	...	Detective Alexandra Eames
Jamey Sheridan	...	Captain James Deakins
Courtney B. Vance	...	A.D.A. Ron Carver
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Butch
Amelia Campbell	...	Vicki Hale
Devin Ratray	...	Kenny Miles
Paul Lazar	...	Donald
Leslie Hendrix	...	Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
Rosemary De Angelis	...	Melanie (as Rosemary DeAngelis)
Rutanya Alda	...	Rose
Angel Caban	...	Taylor
Russell G. Jones	...	Gil
Matthew Maher	...	Bo
Jason Edwards	...	Lee

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | New Zealand:M (DVD rating)

Dementia Makes For A Disturbing Episode

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is one of those 'Criminal Intent" episodes that leaves you with a bad taste, a frown on your face when it's over. To be honest, I didn't quite get all of the story, but I think I have it. Like an old Charlie Chan film, it was wrapped up with all the facts in the final few minutes and not easy to digest them all.

In a nutshell, it was about a middle-aged woman with dementia pretending she had a baby, or that it was still inside her (confusing) and a boyfriend she was with who apparently believed she had a now-32-year-old kid somewhere but also committed nine murders of homeless people, all to show her love for her (I didn't get that part) and to sell off body parts for money. Why all of this happened, you'll have to watch. Maybe you'll understand it all better than I did. The title to this episode is appropriate, because that's what I was: "In The Dark." All I know is that it's a very disturbing ending when everything is revealed.

Along the way we get another plug for abortion, something Law & Order does a couple of times each season. It's mentioned twice in here about the years before Roe vs. Wade being "the dark ages." Law & Order, and the spin off series such as this one, routinely inserting its Liberal political agenda. It's shameful they don't stick entirely to the crime story.

We also get to see an actor who was very visible in the 1970s and 1080s: Geoffrey Lewis, who was about 70 when he filmed this TV episode. He plays "Butch." Lewis played a lot of wacky characters in both film and a number of TV series. He was in several Clint Eastwood box-office successes back in the late '70s. Younger people might know his daughter, Juliette, who has played some sleazy-but-always fascinating role. She was the infamous "Mallory" in "Natural Born Killers." To her credit, she's turned to theater the last couple of years where she finds some of the best actors, actresses and directors.