Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Ex Stasis (2005) User Reviews

Self sacrifice in the extreme

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 23 July 2017]

One of the more off the wall stories that Criminal Intent or for that matter any of the Law And Order shows ever had was this one where a woman who didn't seem like she had any enemies in the world is killed.

On the table at the Medical Examiner's Office Leslie Hendrix discovers that the victim had a transplanted kidney. Goren and Eames discover that at one time she was going to be involved with a charitable non- profit but now opted for a business that will allow her to be a stay at home mom.

This episode is the Faust legend and the whole Christian story about sacrifice with an alarming twist. The perpetrator is a man who has given away bits of himself in transplants and it's like a contract with old Scratch, he owns your life and what you do with it.

It takes all of Vincent D'Onofrio's twists in his eclectic mind to bring down a man who thinks he's sacrificing himself for humanity and hasn't done anything wrong.

Another Very Unusual Story

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 1 July 2008]

Man, some of these stories are far out. In fact, most of them are; it's one of the trademarks of this "cerebral show." No, you have to really pay attention to understand what's going on in "Criminal Intent," and even then it's tough to digest it all, especially in the first half of each story.

This very unusual story involves someone who looks at giving away his body parts - as a live donor - as a duty in life; that if you don't, you are tantamount to a murderer. "Detective Alex Eames" asks this "good child" if he means "if I don't donate a some organ of my body at this point, I am a murderer." Yeah, basically, he replies.....you answer it.

Well, if you've followed this show you know you see a lot of crazy people who have very, very twisted ideas of what is right and wrong. This guy, who only donates his organs to people who are doing good in the world (helping their fellow mankind in a big way), sounds noble but - to say the least - he takes it to extremes.

Without giving anything else away, that's the story here as we trace two murders to who is responsible and why. It's another weird one!

One worth more than the others

[Mrpalli77 · 7/10 · 14 September 2017]

Another villain who likes to play God. He's ready to sacrifice one life to let another person fulfilling special commitments. A doctor (James Saba) performs surgeries involving organ donation and a trust fund middle aged man (Gregg Edelman) chooses the right person just regarding on the patient's life purpose (non profit issue such as stop-smoking program in Harlem and hardened cardboard school projects in war zone); he's even eager to donate his own organs. However the patients didn't have to change their purpose, otherwise their lives would be at stake.

Next time I suggest the perpetrator cover his neck with a scarf: if you had something to hide, you wouldn't overlook anything!

Sacrificing one's self

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 14 October 2020]

The concept sounded very intriguing, will agree that it is very "off the wall" but it sounded creepy too. Was very interested in how the concept would be executed, as 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' was no stranger to off the wall type episodes but the execution varied. Really didn't want "Ex Stasis" to be a waste of potential or be too bizarre, and wanted it to be fascinating and suitably unnerving. Would have appreciated the effort though regardless of execution as this does not sound like an easy subject to pull off.

"Ex Stasis" on the most part fits in the latter category and does very well with a subject that could easily have gone so wrong in execution. It's not perfect or one of my favourites of Season 4, which had a lot of fine episodes but was not as consistent overall as the previous three seasons, but it is a fascinating and creepy episode that on the most part doesn't come over as too strange. It is thankfully not one of the season's worst episodes either and with a lot to admire about it.

It does start off a bit on the routine and standard side with not much new or unique happening.

When things become a lot less obvious and more alarming, there was a spell where the episode did get somewhat bizarre and some of the information was not easy to get the head round.

Luckily, things do get clearer and when it begins to fall into place the truth is just about buyable and is interesting. As said the execution is as off the wall as the synopsis sounds, but on the most part "Ex Stasis" doesn't go overboard on the weirdness or become vague, issues found with other "strange" 'Criminal Intent' episodes such as "In the Dark" and "Collective". When more is revealed, there are enough twists in the plotting to avoid over-simplicity without trying to include too many. One does not expect the motive or what the perpetrator was up to, which were unique for the show at this point of its run.

Furthermore, the writing is thought-provoking and not too talky and the direction has control without being over-deliberate. The production values are stylish and slick with a brighter and more refined look, while maintaining the show's grit. The music doesn't overbear and is not overused. The characters are written well, with Goren still fascinating without being too dominant and his rapport with Eames is so entertaining and intriguing. The acting is on point, especially Vincent D'Onofrio.

Overall, had an interesting if "it could go either way" subject and executed it mostly very well. Starts off conventional, but as it progresses it becomes one of Season 4's, and one of the early seasons', most unconventional episodes. 8/10

He Just Keeps On Giving

[pepper_f · 8/10 · 3 May 2022]

I will admit the concept did seem pretty odd but reading it the first time, it fascinated me on how the story would go. Thankfully, the episode didn't go too over-the-top with this concept. This episode was pretty good, in my opinion. The plot is fascinating and once we realize the villain's motives and overall character, it is a bit of a surprise. I also liked how this time, the antagonist had a pretty unconventional motive that's not often seen in shows like this as well. Acting is pretty good and I do always like seeing Goren's personality come into play. Cinematography is pretty good overall.

"Ex Stasis" was a great episode mainly because of its unconventional plot and antagonist. It was interesting to see both of these elements portrayed and I do always like the final confession scenes with Goren and seeing how he gets a suspect to confess. Otherwise, great episode with a well-executed concept.