The Worst Episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent

The body of a bright young college student is found completely drained of blood. What appears to be a sex game gone wrong leads to a world of underground clubs, blood dealers, and a fanatical cult who believe themselves immortal.

Director: John David Coles

Writer: N/A

Nichols takes a very personal interest in a case that turns out to have many layers when an old friend is murdered, and somehow the reclusive book dealer's troubled daughter is also involved.

Director: Darnell Martin

Writer: N/A

The murder of a magazine editor reveals his predilection for young girls, leaving Nichols and Stevens investigating not only his staff, but a Russian prostitution ring.

Director: Christopher Zalla

Writer: N/A

A boxer's career is derailed when authorities discover he leads a dog fighting ring.

Director: Michael Smith

Writer: N/A

A former Olympian now working in the Belgian consulate is killed. Her death is soon linked to an aspiring Olympian, a blackmail DVD, and the owner of a private security firm. "The Glory That Was..." is an eighth season episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent the 163rd episode overall. This episode marks the half-point of the season. This episode was originally set to air after "Faithfully" which was set to be the season premiere episode.

Director: Norberto Barba

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf, Robert Nathan

When poker genius Josh Snow loses $80,000 in a card game, backer and bookie Lou Cardinale forces him into collections to work off the losses. Lou gives him a .38 and a box of blanks to extract gambling debts, and sends along his mistress, Angela, to keep an eye on the money. Detectives Goren and Eames enter an elaborate game where they must join in the play, or be played.

Director: David Manson

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf, Walon Green

A government official blackmails two doctors for overcharging patients before he is killed. The doctors have another secret to protect, however, and worry that someone will find out mobsters financed their practice.

Director: Jean de Segonzac

Writer: Michael Angeli

When Goren and Eames investigate the death of a prominent atheist and her kidnappers, they discover that the crime, fueled by a need for sympathy and publicity as well as greed, began close to home.

Director: Alex Zakrzewski

Writer: Stephanie Sengupta

Logan and Wheeler must sort through multiple motives as they investigate an award-winning music producer's death.

Director: Bill L. Norton

Writer: Warren Leight

A rap artist is shot after a radio interview, and the only witness is an undercover cop whose task force specializes in rap-world crimes.

Director: N/A

Writer: Charles Kipps

A woman who married a billionaire winds up dead under mysterious circumstances shortly after her son dies.

Director: Darnell Martin

Writer: Julie Martin, Warren Leight

A celebrity chef’s star is on the rise as he plans the opening of a trendy restaurant with powerful partners. Yet his world is upended when his tabloid-friendly, gorgeous girlfriend and business partner is killed under mysterious circumstances. Detectives Nichols and Wheeler enter the seductive world of power and privilege and discover desperation and murder.

Director: Steve Shill

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf, Andrew Lipsitz

Egocentric poet Jacob Garrety would do anything to keep his poetry journal, The Village Quarterly, afloat. When foundation president Don McCallum shows up and announces he is cutting funding to the journal, Jacob appeals to assistant and lover Lauren to use her sexuality to change Don’s mind. Though reluctant, she agrees. While Jacob enjoys the advances of arts patron Sandra Dunbar at a poetry reading, Lauren carries out Jacob’s wish, and winds up dead on the street. Detectives Nichols and Wheeler discover the deadly passion that exists behind the arts.

Director: N/A

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf

The detectives find themselves in the cutthroat world of professional ballet as they investigate the murder of the star ballerina at a conservatory.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

The murder of a private investigator, who was tracking down the whereabouts of a prominent high school basketball player, has the detectives searching the local courts to discover a link to gamblers and college recruiters until they learn that several other prominent players were transferred to the same school - one with a championship tradition.

Director: Christopher Swartout

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf, Stephanie Sengupta, Jim Sterling

A nanny confesses to a murder and an attempted murder that she claims God told her to commit. The link is that both victims lived in the same building, which was poorly constructed, and were rumored to be having an affair.

Director: Alex Chapple

Writer: Jim Sterling

The kidnapping of a popular video blogger and her boyfriend--which is witnessed live on the Internet--seems suspicious to Logan and Wheeler.

Director: Tom DiCillo

Writer: Warren Leight, René Balcer, Dick Wolf, Stephanie Sengupta

Genetics drive the murder of a doctor and the subsequent investigation.

Director: Jean de Segonzac

Writer: Warren Leight, René Balcer, Dick Wolf, Stephanie Sengupta

Det. Zach Nichols' first case involves the murder of an artist, but it's unclear whether the neighborhood he lived in was a factor in his death, or something more personal.

Director: Bill D'Elia

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf

Nicholas and Wheeler investigate when the partner of a con man who used his charm to scheme a lonely single mother, is found dead.

Director: Norberto Barba

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf

A body that's been decapitated, initially thought to be a mob hit, leads Detectives Nichols and Stevens to an escort service and the financial would-be gods who utilize it.

Director: N/A

Writer: Ted Sullivan

Four men who have been friends since high school discover they're being blackmailed over the death of another childhood friend. When one of the four turns up dead, it's up to Nichols and Stevens to uncover the truth behind a 22-year-old mystery.

Director: Ken Girotti

Writer: N/A

The killing of an abortion doctor who was shot in his own apartment sends the detectives on a search for the sniper before someone else becomes the next victim. Carver worries that the case will end up being all about abortion rights.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf

When a schizophrenic obsessed with Marilyn Monroe and the cult of the blond and the blue-eyed commits a series of murders to eradicate those he feels are responsible for promoting the homogenization of appearance rampant in society, Goren and Eames suspect that a person close to the man may have taken advantage of his illness and his crimes to commit extortion.

Director: Frank Prinzi

Writer: René Balcer, Dick Wolf, Stephanie Sengupta, Jim Sterling

Santeria cultists kill the son of a women that believed from them she had psychic powers.

Director: Alex Zakrzewski

Writer: Marlene Meyer, René Balcer, Dick Wolf, Marlane Meyer, Marlane Gomard Meyer, Stephanie Sengupta