In Part II of our interview with Law & Order: Criminal Intent producer Warren Leight, we learn more about the surprises in store for fans during November sweeps. We also find out how Leight feels about recent articles charging the Law & Order franchise with excessive violence, and what goes into writing an episode of Criminal Intent.
Criminal Intent and the other Law & Order series are drawing heat this season. Some critics feel the shows have taken the level of violence too far, specifically the Elisabeth Hasselbeck case, where a character with a similar name was raped and murdered.
It’s funny; it’s something I’ve been talking about. I don’t know if it’s a shift in graphic violence. But to compare, and I’m not attempting to rationalize it, this show to what is on virtually every other show that deals with crime, we’re way behind the pack. We’ve done more stylized shooting with the teasers and we’ve faded to red where it feels more shocking than graphic. We have people who were upset that Detective Eames was kidnapped in the first episode, and then Detective Logan getting knocked around in a firehouse. You can’t sustain that sort of emotional intensity for all episodes. Episode One of this season was, in fact, shocking, but I wanted the audience to worry about Eames. I wouldn’t say it was gratuitous in any way.
Do you ever anticipate trouble with any of the “Ripped from the Headlines” stories you write?
I know when the lawyers are upset about something. They’re vocal. The first episode I ever did was “Suite Sorrow,” about a murder with Botox. The people who manufactured it were very upset. I’d spoken to a dermatologist about it. In order to do what happened in the episode, you have to take over the recommended dose. It was my first episode, and nobody gave me a warning on research or anything. I walked in and Rene (Balcer) said, “There are lawyers on the phone. I hope you have good notes.” I thought, “Shouldn’t you have told me that in advance?”
Article comments