# Why are the Law and Order SVU detectives such judgmental jerks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066 "2014-12-23T23:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/21 "2014-12-27T22:56:50Z")
Well, in the ep I’m watching now, Munch just pointed out that a biker gang’s logo has an unnecessary apostrophe. What’s not to love? Fin just cracks me up. There’s a fun moment where Stabler’s bitching about his stolen credit card charges, and Fin is forced to partner with him and makes snide remarks every few minutes. I could definitely have watched an entire ep of that. My new fun hobby, though, is spotting Orange Is the New Black stars guest starring. Big Boo! Gina! And now Leanne. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/22 "2014-12-28T02:11:38Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Criminal Intent is a much better show IMO. Given a choice between the oh-so-deep psychobabble of _Criminal Intent_ and the over-the-top weirdness of _SVU_, I’d take the latter any time. Too bad that Olivia has not aged well. She’s starting to resemble my sister as of 20 years ago, which is not a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/23 "2014-12-28T02:32:10Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Given a choice between the oh-so-deep psychobabble of _Criminal Intent_ and the over-the-top weirdness of _SVU_, I’d take the latter any time. It’s wonderfully surreal. “You thought we were going to show you an episode about entitled high school football players and how their sexist attitudes leads to rape? Gotcha! Turns out the victim actually took part in the art of underground kangaroo boxing! Now it’s up to Stabler to go undercover and take down the kangaroos once and for all!” If I start watching regular L&O after this, is it going to seem hopelessly dull? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/24 "2014-12-28T02:43:09Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Given a choice between the oh-so-deep psychobabble of _Criminal Intent_ and the over-the-top weirdness of _SVU_, I’d take the latter any time. Stick to the Chris Noth episodes. Not a psychobabble to be found. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/25 "2014-12-28T03:22:30Z")
It seems either a lot of folks never watched the first time around or really like looking at old shows. Half the people / characters being complained about have been gone for a long time IMO of where the show is at & going. Criminal Intent for me is not about the ‘phyc-bable’ but the interplay between the characters as the seasons progress. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/26 "2014-12-28T03:49:39Z")
Between this show and the various CSI incarnations I think it is the way to bring the latest whackey fetish du jour to middle aged soccer moms. “They call it balloon loving, it is where a person has fixated sexually on a balloon” ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/27 "2014-12-28T03:58:25Z")
I made my peace with CSI/NCIS/L&O/ETC when I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t supposed to like any of these horrible people do their jobs badly. Please don’t break my rationalisation, for my sake. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/28 "2014-12-28T04:07:12Z")
To be honest, now that I think about it, I don’t hate most of the characters. Ice T’s just hilarious. I like Munch. BD Wong can do no wrong. Dr. Warner is pretty cool (and hey, didn’t I see her in Devil’s Advocate?!). Captain Cragen seems like a good boss and solid guy. I don’t even hate Benson and Stabler–they’re fun to eye at but not worthy of hate. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/29 "2014-12-28T05:47:19Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > You may yet catch the one where the detective guy browbeats a priest about how he \*should \*break the confessional seal if it means catching a pedophile. Oh, that one makes me so stabby! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/30 "2014-12-28T06:33:49Z")
Since _L&O:SVU_ was the very first spin-off, I assumed that they deliberately made the detectives personally affected by the crimes as a way to distinguish it from _L&O Prime_, where the detectives were preternaturally distant from the death and mayhem going on all around them. Call it product differentiation. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/31 "2014-12-28T14:29:33Z")
It isn’t just _ **SVU** _. Most of the protagonists on all of the L & O shows are judgmental jerks, and they’re almost always LIBERAL judgmental jerks. Why? Because Producer Dick Wolf and his writers are judgmental, liberal jerks! Wolf and his writers seem to inhabit an alternate universe in which: 1. Most murders are committed by rich white people. 2. Most rapes are committed by rich white fraternity boys 3. New York City is crawling with creepy, rich, powerful white fundamentalist Christians 4. Murderous homophobes dominate the New York City Council, and get gay-friendly detectives busted down to street patrolmen. Every episode is written to advance a particular agenda, and our heroes are regularly given the opportunity to dress down the assorted Christians, conservatives and businessmen Dick Wolf doesn’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/32 "2014-12-28T18:59:53Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > …Every episode is written to advance a particular agenda, and our heroes are regularly given the opportunity to dress down the assorted Christians, conservatives and businessmen Dick Wolf doesn’t like. I wouldn’t go so far as to say \*every \*episode is written like that, but yes, I have noticed it a time or two. Usually using Jack McCoy of all people as the mouthpiece of liberal enlightenment. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/33 "2014-12-28T19:13:39Z")
I was a fan of most of the L&O franchises. Of course they weren’t realistic but better than most shows. But then again most trials are boring and long so you have to punch it up. I am a SVU detective and I can’t watch that show. It’s ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/34 "2014-12-28T22:27:30Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > It seems either a lot of folks never watched the first time around or really like looking at old shows. Half the people / characters being complained about have been gone for a long time IMO of where the show is at & going. > > Criminal Intent for me is not about the ‘phyc-bable’ but the interplay between the characters as the seasons progress. > > YMMV To be fair, it’s pretty easy to catch older seasons in syndication all over the dial at all hours of the day it seems while catching new episodes of SVU requires being on NBC on only one hour a week. Also, I like the original and absolutely can’t stand CI. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/35 "2014-12-29T01:34:01Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > “It’ll be easy to find him. It’ll be whoever downloaded the most crap.” _YEAAAHHHH!!!_ (Wait, wrong crime spinoff.) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/36 "2014-12-29T02:07:36Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Lenny Briscoe was the king of the pre-credit one-liner; not usually a pun though. Although the best line in the history of the franchise came from Dr. Rodgers. Which one? the javelin one? Dr. Rodgers is one of the best characters in all of TV. I always thought one of the things that makes British TV generally better than US TV is the quality of the secondary and background characters. Dr. Rodgers is as good as anyone whoever stayed at Fawlty Towers, or wore a maid’s uniform in a BBC costume drama. SVU has become a disease-of-the-week soapbox. I used to love it, but I’ve stopped watching it. I was a huge fan for the first four years or so, and I stuck it out for about ten years, but the scene that comes about 25 minutes in, which is about as convincing as a PSA, with the stilted dialogue, where the detectives are supposed to be voicing all the sides of an issue is just too much. It’s worse than an Afterschool Special. I really wish I could like it again, but I can’t, and I miss it. I miss the original even more. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/37 "2014-12-29T04:25:06Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Stick to the Chris Noth episodes. Not a psychobabble to be found. I dunno, there was that one about a murder among an S&M crowd (with the future mom on _Six Feet Under_ playing a dominatrix) that was pretty babbly. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/38 "2014-12-29T05:50:42Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Which one? the javelin one? Yeah, the javelin one. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/39 "2014-12-29T12:09:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > It isn’t just _ **SVU** _. Most of the protagonists on all of the L & O shows are judgmental jerks, and they’re almost always LIBERAL judgmental jerks. > > Why? Because Producer Dick Wolf and his writers are judgmental, liberal jerks! > > Wolf and his writers seem to inhabit an alternate universe in which: > > 1. Most murders are committed by rich white people. > > 2. Most rapes are committed by rich white fraternity boys > > 3. New York City is crawling with creepy, rich, powerful white fundamentalist Christians > > 4. Murderous homophobes dominate the New York City Council, and get gay-friendly detectives busted down to street patrolmen. And when a woman commits a crime against rich, white men…why, she’s probably a victim herself! Let’s figure out what they did to deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066/40 "2014-12-30T06:23:18Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > _YEAAAHHHH!!!_ 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-law-and-order-svu-detectives-such-judgmental-jerks/708066.md?page=3)