Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Law & Order: Criminal Intent follows a distinct division of the New York City Police Department: the “Major Case Squad”. The Major Case Squad investigates high-profile cases, usually homicides, such as those involving VIPs, local government officials and employees, the financial industry, and the art world. Sometimes a VIP or government employee will only be marginally involved in an episode’s case which would otherwise fall outside the scope of the Major Case Squad; this is a form of MacGuffin.

Unlike the other shows in the Law & Order franchise, Criminal Intent gives a great amount of attention to the actions and motives of the criminals, rather than showing almost exclusively the police and prosecution’s side of the case.

A signature feature of each Criminal Intent episode (not present in the original Law & Order series) is that the teaser introduction before the title sequence always involves a montage; the rapid cut-scenes show events from the suspects’ and victims’ lives, leading up to the crime. Clues to the crime’s eventual solution can often be found in this teaser sequence.