1%-5% of your purchase will help support the PTC.

Worst TV Show of the Week Brought to you by the Parents Television Council	Share |
WARNING: Graphic Content!!! Do NOT push play if you don't want to see the explicit video!!!

Law and Order: Criminal Intent on NBC

The whole vampire craze shows no signs of abating. Numerous new series have jumped on the bandwagon across various networks. NBC, however, has managed to refrain from diving into the blood-sucking business. In lieu of an actual vampire series, NBC offers up a vampire-inspired episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent (Sundays, 8:00 p.m. ET) that showcased enough macabre violence to earn it the title of Worst TV Show of the Week.

By day, bright young co-ed Sara sleepwalks through her classes; but by night she’s a goth vixen exploring the dark side of her psyche at clubs frequented by self-proclaimed vampires. Accompanied by her boyfriend, Kyle, Sara enters one such club and encounters Anton, a charismatic, debonair, yet sinister figure. Anton’s apostle Virgil distracts Kyle by offering him an Ecstasy tablet resting on the tip of his tongue. Meanwhile, Anton lures Sara to the basement and offers her a glass of human blood. A short time later, Kyle stumbles down the stairs and finds Anton having sex with Sara, who is pinned against a gate. Once outside, Kyle grabs Sara and asks her if she likes it rough. He grabs her neck and forcefully kisses her.

The next day, Sara’s body is found in her dorm room, drenched in blood. It is later determined that the blood isn’t her own. In addition, the medical examiner finds traces of semen inside Sara’s body that belongs to Anton. When he’s brought in for questioning, however, Anton provides an alibi. Apparently, he works as a vampire gigolo, fulfilling the gothic fantasies of upper-crust women who have read too much Twilight and have watched too much True Blood.

The investigation uncovers a ghastly sub-culture of drinkers of human blood, apparently lead by the charismatic Anton. But when the detectives delve into Virgil’s background, they discover the psychological make-up of a serial killer. It becomes clear that Anton is actually being propped up and manipulated by Virgil, the real leader of the blood-cult, whose latest disciple is Kyle. Anton ritualistically carves markings into Kyle’s back with a razor and douses it with alcohol. Eventually, Anton convinces Kyle to kill himself by willing, deliberate exsanguination. His blood is drained and collected as sacrifice.

Evidently, romantic notions of chaste, heroic vampires just won’t fly on a grisly show like Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The episode tilted towards the other end of the spectrum where dark fantasies fuel gruesome outcomes. We certainly wouldn’t expect Edward and Bella to replace detectives Nichols and Stevens. But if NBC insists on airing this provocative series at the heart of Family Hour (8:00 p.m. on Sunday), then they should consider storylines with a little less teeth.

For blood-soaked, violent content Law and Order: Criminal Intent (Sundays, 8:00 p.m.) has been named Worst TV Show of the Week.