Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) F.P.S. (2004) User Reviews

Absorbed in the world of gaming

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 27 December 2015]

A jealousy angle is at the bottom of this Criminal Intent episode with Samantha Buck once again riding shotgun with Vincent D'Onofrio due to Kathryn Erbe's maternity leave. I hope Buck is learning a lot from D'Onofrio.

This case certainly would be a learning experience. A woman is thrown off her balcony by a push in intruder. By all accounts she was quiet and unobtrusive, most didn't even have a nodding acquaintance with her as a fellow tenant in the building.

She was absorbed in the world of video gaming. I've never seen the passion in that for myself but I've sure observed it in others. She's involved in some kind of league playing a particular game.

The perpetrator is one highly skilled computer programmer who throws the cops in a hundred different directions for possible motives. T.R. Knight fits the profile of a computer nerd. He and his partner Jordan Bridges have invented this game.

There's a homoerotic angle in this case where Knight becomes jealous of the on line relationship between Bridges and this woman. Bridges himself was a chubby and geeky type who slimmed down, started working out and turned himself into quite a hunk. There was no Iago needed to encourage the green eyed monster in Knight.

This was one interesting story.

A Gamer's Need

[pepper_f · 9/10 · 6 April 2022]

A woman is found pushed to her death and Goren and Bishop start looking into a spyware program downloaded on her computer. However, they soon find out that someone's setting up false leads.

This episode was pretty great. I was worried about how they would portray the main subject of this episode but fortunately, they seemed to portray the "gamer" characters and the whole topic pretty well. I also liked the plot with its usual twists and turns. I also liked how the villain set up red herrings especially later on when they try to trick Goren by reading about his past cases. It does get a little complicated near the end, but I was still able to understand the plot. The villain also has great characterization in my opinion especially in the ending scene.

Overall, "F. P. S." is a pretty good episode mainly because of its plot (I especially liked one aspect about it) and its twists. I did also like how they characterized the antagonist and I'm starting to warm a little to Goren and Bishop.

A gaming murder

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 3 August 2020]

Was not sure before watching "F.P.S" it would be up my alley. Gaming is not an area of expertise of mine and has never been much of a hobby strictly speaking, meaning that anything that has a subject that doesn't connect with me in general risks leaving me cold. 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' was a great show in its prime though and it, and the franchise in general, is the kind of show that has always fascinated me, so there was hope at the same time.

"F.P.S" on first watch was a very good episode with a lot to love. My positive feelings didn't change at all on re-watch (have re-watched all episodes of 'Criminal Intent', some more than once), it was just as good second-time round and even better perhaps due to getting more out of the story. It was a pleasant surprise that "F.P.S" also made a very interesting episode revolving around something that is not usually my cup of tea, and allowed me to be invested a lot in it, which is not an easy feat to achieve.

Vincent D'Onofrio is wonderful as usual, especially shining at the end. And even more so when Goren makes it clear how much he misses and values Eames, something not seen before and it was very touching. Goren as ever is a fascinating character and although his and Bishop's chemistry never quite ignited with me, it is at its most interesting here in terms of dynamic. One of Bishop's best ever moments in, along with "Sound Bodies", one of her better appearances was how she reacted to Goren's demonstration re-enactment.

Their tension here is entertaining in a way not seen before and one can definitely understand Goren's frustration. The case is a very interesting one and is never what it seems to be at first glance, showing fully and accurately what excessive gaming can do to your mental health without passing too much judgement. The perpetrator is one devious piece of work and unsettlingly played. The ending is great and classic Goren, which will make Goren fans (speaking as one) squeal with delight. The episode looks good and the music fits very well without being over-used or over-dramatic. Nicely directed too.

Carver however is pretty wasted and didn't seem necessary, just there.

Maybe there are a few too many twists and turns which made the latter half of the middle act a touch over-complicated at times, more time for the viewer to fully digest what was shown was needed.

On the whole though, "F.P.S" is another very good episode. 8/10