Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) To the Bone (2006) User Reviews

This Definitely Needs To Be Continued

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

Wow, this was a very intense episode, the best I've seen so far in which Chris Noth ("Det. Mike Logan") and Annabella Sciorra ("Det. Carolyn Barak") are featured.

Not only do we get two grisly "Charles Manson" type home invasion slayings (with machetes, no less!) but Logan shoots a cop by mistake and then winds up battling wits with Whoopi Goldberg! What a bizarre episode.

Since the program ended somewhat up in the air, I wondered if there was second part to this story, but apparently not. That's disappointing. Goldberg, as "Chesley Watkins," a diabolical foster mom, played a fascinating character and could be a real nemesis to Logan, like "Nicole Wallace" has been to "Det. Robert Goren."

However, I looked it up here at IMDb and see no other episodes with Chesley Watkins. What a shame: Criminal Intent missed the boat on that one. This should be a continuing battle. Sad to say, the Wallace-Goren confrontations are history, too.

Like a good "whodunnit," this story keeps us guessing on who's behind all these murders: Mrs. Watkins? One of the young men? A cop? Somebody else? The program begins with a bloody and shocking scene, repeats it about five minutes later in another house, and then gets cerebral as Logan not only has to figure out what's happening but battle his own demons and the fact that he accidentally killed a cop. Whew, no that's having a tough day!

Note: I wrote this before seeing the other reviewers comments. Good to see all of us are on the same page with this. With so many people apparently having the same reaction to this story, you'd hope L&O: CI would pay attention to its fans.

Chilling to the bone

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 7 January 2021]

Logan and Barek's episodes were hit and miss, while "Diamond Dogs" and "Dramma Giocoso" (would say "In the Wee Small Hours" too but that also had Goren and Eames, rather than just them exclusively) were winners, "Unchained" and "Dollhouse" disappointed. Really liked the premise, classic 'Law and Order' sounding and very "ripped from the headlines" in style, and Whoopi Goldberg has done a lot of great performances.

Of which her performance in "To the Bone" is one of them, will come to that later. Of all of Logan and Barek's episodes, "To the Bone" is in my view the best and a Season 5 standout. Not just the episode itself, but also it's the episode where both Logan and Barek are at their most interesting individually and also together). It's not quite flawless, but nearly everything works and the best of the components are exceptional in execution. One of those episodes that is once seen and never forgotten.

Do agree with everybody that has said that "To the Bone" ends too abruptly and has too much of an incomplete feel. Agree even more so that it would have been even better in two parts to give the amount of content there is here more time to breathe and because it did feel like there was even more to the story.

"To the Bone" excels exceptionally everywhere else. As ever, the photography and such are fully professional, the slickness still remaining. The music is used sparingly and is haunting and non-overwrought when it is used, and it's mainly used when a crucial revelation or plot development is revealed. The direction has some nice tension while keeping things steady, without going too far the other way.

Some of the season's best writing in my view is here in "To the Bone". It takes no prisoners while also approaching the subject tactfully enough at the same time. The dialogue really does provoke thought and has a lot of tension, more so than most episodes of Season 5, tension that really blisters. The "ripped from the headlines"-like story (with allusions of the Charles Manson killings and the Harvey family home invasion) is exciting, tense, chills the blood and moves the heart. From as early on as the truly harrowing opening and the sheer brutality of the crimes. It really helps that the conflict is a long way from bland, the complete opposite of that. The conflict was actually really quite terrifying in a way not seen in any of the previous Season 5 episodes to this extent.

Logan's character writing here is the closest the season comes to capturing the Logan of the original 'Law and Order'. Barek is at her most interesting here too, some great perceptions but she is far from being too subdued and shows loyalty and care. The two work really well together. Watkins is a fascinating and surprisingly complex character that really unnerves the viewer, and the other reviewers are right with her being the equivalent of her being Logan's version of Nicole Wallace. Chris Noth and Annabella Sciorra are both excellent but it's unforgettably terrifying Goldberg (showing a completely different side that one wouldn't know existed looking at her previous work) that one most remembers.

In conclusion, a truly wonderful episode that should have lasted longer or been in two parts. 9/10

Barek and Logan meet their own Nemises.

[derek-mccabrey · 10/10 · 25 May 2008]

I agree with the comments above - All the players were excellent and it should have been a two parter. We have only just seen the episode in the UK on terrestrial TV and it was superb.

The character that Whoopi plays should turn out as Barek and Logan's equivalent of Eames and Goren's nemesis, Nicole Wallace, played chillingly by Olivia D'Abo.

It appears that the makers of L&O:CI have left what could promise to be a very strong character plot line, dangling in mid-air. What was that about Deakins and Officer Martinez? What happens after Watkins' arraignment? What happens to the boys? ...And what happens to the other boys out there that she influenced? How far into government does her influence spread, because it was obvious that she had an entry into the NYPD.

Her ability to out-think, outsmart and manipulate officialdom is brilliant - it's Nicole all over again, except there is a much, much darker side to Watkins that is just plain frightening.

There is much more development for Whoopi's character and her battle with Logan, which turned personal in this episode, so...

MORE OF CHESLEY WATKINS PLEASE!!!

Shouldn't this be a two parter?

[Ritag2 · 7 February 2008]

I wasn't sure when this was over what was happening. I kept looking for part two. Unless part of this was cut out when I saw it, the last line of the show has the Captain going to see about Officer Martinez. We don't know why, and we don't know how officer Martinez fits into this as he only had one line in the first part of the show. Is he also a foster child of Whoopie's? Was he purposely late in showing up at the diner so that the murder could take place? It is also hard to believe that with all of these home invasion murders that it would be easy for the suspects to get out of jail no matter who was killed. The whole story line seemed to be only a part of the original. Perhaps it was edited to get more commercials in. Also the first part the show was so gruesome that I am surprised that it wasn't on HBO instead of regular TV.

Scariest Episode Ever

[Adamst5 · 10/10 · 28 December 2007]

CI episodes invoke varying degrees of emotions in me. This one takes the cake on scaring me S—Tless.

The acting is great.

Whoopi did an outstanding job. I hope they keep this character, if she makes additional appearances. Logan stepped right up to the plate and gave a convincing performance.

I refused to take my eyes from the television screen, for fear of missing one line or scene.

Whether or not you are LOCI fan, make this a must watch on your list. Without any hesitation, a score of 10 out of 10

The runt takes the brunt

[Mrpalli77 · 8/10 · 21 September 2017]

"Sister Act" Whoopi Goldberg is the special guest star in this episode and she plays the villain. She's an aged woman whose husband died years before from Multiple Sclerosis; she was unable to have kids on her own, so she applied to get them as a foster parent. Then she started a multiracial family where she was able to brainwash all the male foster children in order to make them doing everything she wanted (robbery, murder and so on). Even a tough guy such Logan is overwhelmed by her during the interrogation. Can the criminal justice system stop her? Hardly.

Logan suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after shooting an uncover police officer. Dr. Olivet is back in helping him dealing with the issue.

Whoopi Rules

[bababear · 10/10 · 24 May 2008]

Whoopi's performance as a very, very complex character dominated the show. I always knew that Whoopi is a great actress, although she doesn't choose parts wisely. But this was dynamite.

As so often happens with this program, the material condensed within a one hour program with commercials would better have been handled in a feature length film. And if this would have been a feature film, Whoopi would have taken home an Oscar for it.

At the end of the story there are a lot of story lines unresolved. What brought me to the IMDb was the suspicion that this was a two part story: it wasn't.

Hey, ambiguity isn't a bad thing. We've gotten spoiled and mentally sloppy expecting everything to be neatly resolved by the last commercial.

Great work by everyone involved.

Most chilling episode ever

[cheetagirl-20803 · 9/10 · 16 June 2018]

One star short of perfect because of the open-ended and unresolved plot, but by far the most eerie.

Pay particularly close attention to the frantic, pale, brown-haired woman at the door in the beginning of the episode. It haunts you, so be aware.

The following scenes are harrowing and brutally violent for the program, which does not often venture into such gore-soaked territory.

When the truth of the investigation becomes clear, the vise-tight grip of tension throughout the episode escalates, until a confrontation between the normally rock-solid Det. Logan withers under intense scrutiny by Chesley Watkins.

Perfectly venal character attributable to Whoopi Goldberg taking the part as seriously as she always does. But is there a resolution to this important episode?

Do not watch this episode if you are easily frightened or agitated. You will not sleep well.

Good But Just Misses the Mark to Greatness

[bkkaz · 8/10 · 21 April 2023]

Whoopi Goldberg plays a narcissistic psychopath who fosters vulnerable kids and turns them into criminals. The CI team of Logan and Barak go after her after a series of break ins turned massacres. The episode has a lot of tension and not a little pathos, especially for one of the foster kids who has a conscience but is still under the thrall of his ruthless "mother." The ending is particular memorable.

It's a compelling set up we've seen before, in everything from Charles Dickens to Ma Barker -- a dark parental figure who uses their influence to corrupt children. For much of the episode, things ring true. So, why not a 10?

Two main reasons:

1) The dialogue starts to come apart, especially in an interrogation scene between Logan and Goldberg's spidery villain. It's meant to show her prowess at getting under people's skins and manipulating them -- and we're led to believe on some level it works with Logan. That's a mistake. Logan is too hard-headed at this point in his life for it to work so easily. He'd know going in what he's up against and play poker just as ably, even if he loses in the end. And the dialogue starts to become babble, as they seem to trade off a list of psychological hang ups one or the other might have. If you want to see a much cleaner and more effective version of the same thing, watch The Silence of the Lambs.

2) Whoopi Goldberg. In some ways, Goldberg is like William Shatner, which is to say, less is more. Both have strong faces and can communicate volumes with just an expression. So, when they overdo it, the performance starts to overpower the scene. In this case, Goldberg's psychopath is supposed to be so careful, she's flown under the radar for years. Never mind the subtext that poor children tend to be forgotten in the system. We're to believe she not only creates a successful criminal empire but also can keep it quiet for years. Yet, Goldberg can't resist the temptation to ham it up at times. This undermines the very last moment where just a knowing smile aimed at Logan is enough. Now, imagine if she'd played it without telegraphing everything throughout the episode -- that last scene of her smiling would have resonated even more.

So, this is a good episode. Perhaps had it been done earlier in the season, it might have been great.

Needs Closure

[DavidHunterErie · 7/10 · 8 January 2013]

SUCH a frustrating episode! I certainly understand license to keep the viewer guessing, but this was too much for the usual L&O "wrap it up in 40 minutes" that I'm used to watching! Whoopi Goldberg?! What are you doing here?! I suppose I can't think back to what WG was doing with her career in 2006, maybe it needed a boost at the time?

Anyhow, after a LOT of research on this episode (15 minutes worth - which is far too much already), it seems Whoopi had INTENDED to have a recurring role, but other things came up & we'll never REALLY know what happens with "Chesley Watkins". The following episode does give SOME closure (as to the Martinez involvement) though, which is nice. Overall, an above-par performance by all. Thanks LOCI

Mother Fagin

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 19 June 2020]

Whoopi Goldberg guests in this CI story about a woman who was purportedly a model for the foster care system. What she really is is a criminal mastermind of a gang of murderous juvenile delinquents who practice home invasions in a dramatic and bloody style.

Goldberg is a master manipulator of these kids as they throw themselves in the pit to avoid implicating her. She has a great interrogation scene with Chris Noth where she presses a few of his buttons rather uncomfortably.

One for Whoopi Goldberg's fans.