omni-not:
La crème de la crème of the L&O franchise:
Law and Order: UK
You’ll never go back to SVU : guaranteed.
Those “solid scripts” were adapted from the original series.
Although I would like to see Law and Order: UK. Perhaps BBC America will air it.
Jackmannii:
SVU is still way better than Criminal Intent, which is mainly about watching Vincent D’Onofrio getting older, grayer, fatter and weirder while conducting plodding, psychologically deep investigations. Sort of like a chubby Hercule Poirot on downers.
This is beautiful.
My own biggest problem with SVU is that I can’t mentally get past the fact that Ice-T is Ice-T. There’s a thread right now about actors playing characters that are fictionalized versions of themselves, and in my mind, that’s what is happening here.
Every time Fin goes to investigate a crime, I picture the family of the victim answering the door. The person says “Honey, the police are here. Oh … and um, Ice-T is with them.” Then the poor people spend the rest of the interview giving the police information (and also working in their garden) while they are thinking to themselves “WTF? He seems supportive, but I don’t understand why Ice-T is here.”
It actually lends a very surreal quality to the show that can be entertaining.
delphica:
This is beautiful.
My own biggest problem with SVU is that I can’t mentally get past the fact that Ice-T is Ice-T. There’s a thread right now about actors playing characters that are fictionalized versions of themselves, and in my mind, that’s what is happening here.
Every time Fin goes to investigate a crime, I picture the family of the victim answering the door. The person says “Honey, the police are here. Oh … and um, Ice-T is with them.” Then the poor people spend the rest of the interview giving the police information (and also working in their garden) while they are thinking to themselves “WTF? He seems supportive, but I don’t understand why Ice-T is here.”
It actually lends a very surreal quality to the show that can be entertaining.
Victim’s relative to Stabler: “You, uh, do know he’s the ‘Cop Killer’ guy. Doesn’t that bother you at all?”
aldiboronti:
Take any episode.
A few of the regulars are in the office discussing their latest case. “The problem is we have no idea who this scumbag is”. Finn walks into shot. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that. I just found …”
Later in the office, discussing again. “We can’t even prove he drugged them.” Doctor enters. “Oh yes we can. I just ran another tox screen …”
Still later, the Captain, Stabler, Finn and Munch, do another round robin (one line each). “Where the hell do we start looking for this guy?”. Olivia appears. “How about at his home? I just got a hit on the driver license …”
After some action sequences we find most of the squad assembled in the office again. “We haven’t got a thiing on this guy. His computer gave us nothing.” Enter computer technician (with knowing smile). “Actually it did. I just found an encrypted section …”
More action. Another hitch in the case. Another session of one-line-each from the squad. “This perp is gonna walk!” Munch strides in. “No, he won’t. I just found our witness …”
Later. Blah blah blah. “This case is history!” ADA enters scene. “Not on my watch! I just got our evidence back in …”
Even later. Mumble mumble. Doom and gloom. “Nothing we an do, guys.” Janitor walks in. “Oh yes there is! I was sweeping the floor and I found …”
OK, no janitor, but I swear to God I just watched an episode where no less than five times we get a character entering with a snappy answer that continues the previous conversation and a vital break in the case. If I wanted to write a parody of SVU I could save time by just producing this script. (It’s the one where a serial rapist is drugging his victims so they remember nothing).
It’s just lazy writing, writing by rote. This show stinks. I love the other two franchises, the scripts are mostly well-written and the acting is good. But this …
And yet it’s this piece of dreck that picks up all the Emmys. Unbelievable. Perhaps it’s the subject (it’s certainly nothing else). Mariska catches pervs and pedophiles. Give her the Emmy!
Surely they can’t continue like this for long? I mean, somebody will notice, right?
Enter media guy. “Actually we can and they won’t. I’ve just pulled up the Nielsens for …”
I think you’ve just written an entire seasons worth of episodes right here!