The first episode showcases a burglary gone bad, one that targeted a rising young actor and hospitalized his girlfriend, so we're instantly inserted into the nightclubbing party atmosphere of young Hollywood, and we go on to touch on reality television and mother-managers. Plus, the cast features some Hollywood semi-luminaries -- Skeet Ulrich of Scream and Jericho fame as a detective, Regina Hall of Scary Movie notoriety as a Deputy District Attorney and Alfred Molina, who most recently starred in An Education and Prince of Persia, as a senior Deputy District Attorney. (Terence Howard will act as Deputy in alternating episodes, and Peter Coyote will play the District Attorney as needed.) While I'd rather see Molina in more films, I have to applaud the casting director that landed such a big fish for this show, because it earns my respect right out of the gate, and I can't really find any fault with his performance.

The similarities between this show and that other recent crime-show spin-off, NCIS: LA, should be remarked upon -- a washed-up '90s pretty boy (Ulrich/Chris O'Donnell) is paired up with a bald partner. Coincidence? ...Yeah, possibly, since Ulrich's Detective Winters, an ex-Marine with a wife and a new baby, is nothing like O'Donnell's mysterious loner, and while O'Donnell now posses a kind of ragged desperation, Ulrich is still as much of a blank (read: boring) slate as he always was. And Corey Stall, playing the mustachioed Detective Jaruszalski, is no LL Cool J, especially since his character seems to find all of this fairly amusing. He also has an interesting "in" with the starlets he questions, since, as the son of a famous Polish director, he used to be part of that club life. None of this background is made much of in the episode, but hopefully we'll get to explore both of their lives at some point, since that was always the most fun part of Criminal Intent.

The best thing about the show may be the class of guest stars they get, since they shoot in L.A.. No longer restricted to the same revolving group of New York-based actors, this episode is filled with familiar faces for premiere, with Shawnee Smith (Saw franchise), Jim Beaver (Supernatural) and Oded Fehr (Resident Evil franchise) all appearing. If they can keep up that "Hey It's That Guy" factor, and if Howard can adequately fill Molina's shoes, this may be the Law & Order that puts me back under Dick Wolf's thrall.

Did you watch Law & Order: Los Angeles? Let us know what you thought below, then see how you can tell apart all of this fall's cop shows!

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