So the other night, almost completely by accident, I watched the latest Law & Order: SVU, and to my considerable surprise it was not the surreal nightmare it was when last I watched it. I dropped it from my schedule years back, when Benson went undercover in prison in a calculated move to strip Mariska Hargitay naked and (nearly) get her raped for sweeps. The utter stupidity of that episode’s plot, coupled with the show’s unrelenting grimness and unapologetic exploitiveness, was just to much for me.
But Tuesday’s episode was actually decent. I don’t know who these two new detectives are, but I rather liked them, and unlike Eliot Stabler they did not seem to be one missed cigarette break from killing someone. A male district attorney was odd, for this show, but I assumed they have some two-woman maximum rule in effect.
I missed Warner, though. Tamara Tunie, in a just world, would be headlining her own show. No, scratch that, she’d be sharing the lead with Leslie Hendrix.
But that’s just me. Anybody else suddenly rediscover a show that you’d given up for lost?
I agree the the new L&O:SVU is quite good. The crimes aren’t as gratuitouslysensational as formerly, and there’s more crime-solving. Getting rid of that hothead Elliot Stabler was a good move. I also really like the new D.A. (or A.D.A.). He’s passionate and devious. I like that in a man.
This is the opposite of jumping the shark - there’s a page on tvtropes that calls this “Growing the Beard”, because Star Trek the Next Generation noticeably improved after Riker grew a beard in Season 2.
But I think L&O:SVU is an interesting case, because it had so many seasons before it improved (I think it’s on season 13 now?). I think most of the examples of tv shows that improved on the tvtropes page are ones that improved mid-way through the first season, or in season 2 or 3. I think that’s not so unusual. I think it’s much harder for a long-running tv show that’s already jumped the shark to then un-jump it.
I haven’t seen it recently, glad it’s getting better. I liked the sensational crimes, but I disliked the lack of realism in the aftermath.
The episode where Stabler went undercover and Benson pretended to be a prostitute to check on him the first night was well within shark-jumping territory. I rather enjoyed Stabler getting shot afterward, though. God *damn *I hated his character. Now that he’s off the show, I might check it out again.
I kinda liked Olivia’s immediate checking up on him, and not simply because it was an excuse to show her only in a bra. The only person who didn’t realize that Olivia was in love with Eliot was Olivia herself.
His absence is one of the best things about it. Also, Olivia isn’t the energetic focal point of the squad room; it’s more of an ensemble now. Munch has silver hair. He’s always been my favorite.
Come to think of it, that whole secondary plot about Olivia hunting down and getting involved with her “brother” was also shark-jumping territory.
If it’s not sucking now I might try watching it again. When I’ve seen it in the past every episode seemed identical, all the same dialogue, just changing the crime committed. Kind of like the original Law&Order.
As I recall, several years ago Munch took the lieutenant’s (?) exam. Then Cragen was suspended for a while and Munch was acting supervisor. It caused some conflict between Munch and Finn.
I haven’t watch SVU this lat season. Maybe I’ll picked it up on reruns if it’s improved.
Not totally lost, but I’ve re-found considerable enjoyment from CSI post season 11 now it’s stopped being “the Laurence Fishburne show”.
(Not that I dislike Mr. Fishburne, he was very good early on, but the increasing focus on the one character to the detriment and loss of minor characters made the show less enjoyable).
I was dubious at first when I heard the new star was Ted Danson, but he’s been really good to watch and the shows have moved back to more of an ensemble focus.
(Yeah, it’s bad science, and bubblegum TV, but I like it, so sue me).
I object to your slander of the original and greatest member of the franchise, and I have directed the French-maidbots to reduce your chocolate pudding ration by 1/2.
It’s hard to believe, but this is actually the 14th season of SVU! And on April 26, 2013, NBC renewed it for a 15th…
I’m pleasantly surprised that the show survived Stabler leaving. But if Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) had been the one to leave, the would’ve been THE END! Her HOTNESS and acting ability are the only reason it has survived for so long…
It may be that with the rest of L&O having been put to pasture, SVU’s crew can now actually put some attention into creating producing decent episodes, as opposed to just by-the-numbers plugging in the Rape-of-the-Week or Moral-Panic-of-the-Month extrapolated and exaggerated from some current scandal or recent headline in the Post into three or four different shows (TBH, by the time they got to “Tonight’s episode: Will Our Leading Lady Get Raped or What?” I had already stopped watching).
