"Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
Unchained (2005)

Director:

Alex Zakrzewski

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator)
Rene Balcer (developer)

TV Series:

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001)

Original Air Date:

16 October 2005 (Season 5, Episode 4)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

After mafiosi kill the wrong man by throwing him in the water with chains on his feet, detectives Logan and Barek are faced with the job of unraveling the chain of responsibility for this murder. |

Plot Keywords:

Prosecutor | Trial | District Attorney | Gun | Handcuffs

Cast

Chris Noth	...	Detective Mike Logan
Annabella Sciorra	...	Detective Carolyn Barek
Jamey Sheridan	...	Captain James Deakins
Courtney B. Vance	...	A.D.A. Ron Carver
David Keith	...	Detective Mark Virgini
Nick Sandow	...	Detective Albert Kirkoff
Kelly Karbacz	...	Renata Virgini
John Michael Bolger	...	Officer Long
Leslie Hendrix	...	Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
Frank Santorelli	...	Peter Taglioti
Lee Wilkof	...	Dr. Melowitz
Stelio Savante	...	Phil Bartoli
Jim Bracchitta	...	Arkin
Jarlath Conroy	...	Shea
Frankie Shaw	...	Marrissa

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | New Zealand:M (DVD rating)

Trivia:

This is the first episode where detectives Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio ) and Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe ) are replaced by detectives Mike Logan (Chris Noth ) and Carolyn Barek (Annabella Sciorra ).

"Logan" & "Barek" Okay, But Need Some Charisma

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There was a shocking scene in here early on that haunted me for a bit: a man put in heavy iron chains which were then dumped in the water, soon yanking him off his feet and overboard. The shot of him disappearing was a haunting one, especially when we soon learn he was an innocent victim. The men who "executed" him - Mafia thugs - had the wrong guy! Not that (knocking off the wrong guy) doesn't happen to often, at least on screen.

Detectives "Mike Logan" (Chris Noth) and "Det. Carolyn Barek" (Anabella Sciorra) investigate. This was their second case together and it was odd to see them in the opening credits, walking with Courtney Vance and Jamey Sheridan, instead of Vincent D'Onofrio ("Det. Robert Goren") and Kathryn Erbe ("Det. Alex Eames") I have watched this show in chronological order so this was the first time in over years that "Goren and Eames" weren't featured at the introduction credits part of the program. From what I heard, the two teams of detectives trade off episodes in this fifth season. I'm not as upset as I thought I'd be because Noth and Sciorra are fine, but after seeing them paired in two shows so far, they don't have the charisma of the other two. Why the writers made "Barek" so bland, I don't know. Sciorra is an accomplished film actress and certainly could handle something with more spark.

This episode winds up with the detectives and the Major Crimes Unit trying to both get a Mafia leader indicted for murder and, at the same time, expose two dirty cops. One of them is especially unlikable because of the way he uses his daughter. That guy, "Det. Mark Virgini" is played by an actor who is familiar to a lot of movie and television viewers: David Keith.