You're Under Arrest For... Being Fat?
You're Under Arrest For... Being Fat?
The title of the latest episode of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" has viewers astounded, baffled, even amazed. And it hasn't even aired yet. Episode 20 of the seventh season, simply titled "Fat" has left many of the long time viewers of SVU wondering "What could possibly happen now?"
Episodes as of late have been lacking, and that is on good nights. The twists and turns of mind boggling cases are nowhere to be found, and neither are most of the detectives on the squad. The CSU Tech, Morales, makes more appearances than our detectives do! Wolf reeled us in with charming wit and jaw dropping cases. There's none of that left now amongst the heavy plots that don't resolve completely and tamper tantrums from the squad members.
It's obvious that Dick Wolf has been fiddling with the SVU formula that has allowed the show six fabulous seasons. First and foremost, where has the shock factor gone? SVU used to be the show to watch, because it was hard to believe where they went, and how seemlessly they went there. Jumping from rape to homicide to torture to kids in the blink of an eye. People gasped when the detectives found young Ilena locked in a coffin under the bed. Or cried when they watched the victim become the abuser. When Alex was unmercifully shot down, there was tension and anguish. Casey was ambushed, and the audience watched in horror. But, this is no longer the case. Over dramatic previews contribute to this problem, but the real issue is that these episodes just can't compare! During "Raw", the courtroom scene ended with Elliot shot in the arm and Munch in the behind. These shots were never seen! Elliot was
seen falling to the ground, Munch was ignored completely. Casey being held hostage was a big part of the pre-episode circulation, yet the actual occurance lasted seconds, and ended with her being tossed aside. No negotiation, no lucky "just missed Casey" shot. It was there and gone so quickly that all that could be said was
"huh?" Everyone expected a doosey for Mariska Hargitay's last episode before maternity leave. "Officer Down" rumors were flying, videos were circulating. But the actual event lasts for a mere ten seconds, and Olivia walks away with nothing more than a scratch. A huge revelation comes later, but to little, too late for my attention.
This season has also seen more character centric episodes that any other season. But, all these episodes are featured around the same two characters! "Law and Order: The Benson and Stabler Show" accurately describes most of this season. Elliot's growing anger problems and Olivia's growing belly have certainly made for some interesting episodes, but when is it time to walk away from the beaten path and explore somewhere new? There are five other major characters in this series that could all have their own episodes, if Dick Wolf and company would simply take the time to write them.
John Munch, a character who has been around from the beginning, is lacking some serious screen time. He's been through it all; Homicide, Law and Order, Law and Order: Trial by Jury, Arrested Developement. You name it, John Munch (AKA Richard Belzer) has been on it. Munch is the longest running character on television, starring in seven series! And yet, he seems to get more screen time on OTHER shows, rather than his new home base, SVU. Munch has seen an episode or two in the last few seasons. Amy Solway has played a huge role in his life, and there's room for her in many more episodes! Munch's past has been left unexplored, save for a few comments on ex-wives, and one about his suicidal father.
Donald Cragen has also been around since day one, first on Law and Order, then transfered to our Special unit. Not much has been said about his life either, and any fan is hardpressed to name an episode off the top of their head that featured Captain Cragen. He may be the one just giving the orders, but Captains sometimes get field time too!
Casey Novak holds a wonderful opportunity to explore the "Law" side of the show, which is rarely visited. She is bothered once and a while for a search warrant, but not much else. Her cases are all slam dunks or "not in a million years" prosecutable. Even though she is the baby in the SVU family, she has still seen more screen time than Munch or Cragen, which is a start or a setback, depending on how you look at it. But, she's still in need of some serious screen time. Also a serious set back for the character of Casey Novak: Where is her gorgeous red hair? She has slowly transitioned from a fiery redhead to a conservative blonde, who seems to remind me of someone we've seen already... Ah! That's right! We used to have an ADA named Alex Cabot. Emphasis on USED TO. We're now in the age of the Novak, where no Alex clones are allowed. It is getting to the point where the unit has to use their own facial recognition software to tell Casey apart from Alex. Should we be expecting blue contacts and a second pair of the "glasses of justice" next? In addition to restoring her hair color, her original demeanor should also be renewed. In more recent episodes, she has gone down the road of right and wrong. Give us some of the old Casey, who always traveled the "lets get some justice!" road, no matter what.
Odafin Tutuola was a late addition to the team, and is still waiting for that really big episode. He's been given episodes before, but nothing that quite reaches the limit that Ice-T is capable of acting to. We've seen his gay son... much more than we probably wanted to. But do we really know Odafin Tutuola?
George Huang is just a fine bottle of wine waiting on the shelves to be opened. And this wine has been aged long enough. Coming on in season two, we have yet to see George in a truly compromising, confusing, or conflicting situation. We know the professional side of Dr. Huang, but not the personal. What are his likes, his dislikes? What makes him tick, what makes him happy? Who is he close with, where does he live, what kind of food does this man like to eat? Being a psychologist, he has been exposed to many different types of people, and that no doubt has taken some sort of toll on his mind. Give him a case where the victim is his sister, his brother, his best friend. Where the perp is someone he was best friends with in college.
Those are just the possibilities of character centric episodes! What about going back, way back... all the way to season one? Where it wasn't focused on just Olivia or just Elliot, or just anyone. It was a team effort. The team won, the team lost. Take a look at the ending scene in "Slaves", where the last thing the viewer sees is a playful team taking a breather, interacting with each other without being on the other's throats. Give us another "Charisma" beginning; as horrid as it was, it brought the squad to a common place. Give us an episode like "Night", where one
of our own is physically involved. Give us something that will convince us to stay tuned.
The title of the latest episode of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" has viewers astounded, baffled, even amazed. And it hasn't even aired yet. Episode 20 of the seventh season, simply titled "Fat" has left many of the long time viewers of SVU wondering "What could possibly happen now?"
Episodes as of late have been lacking, and that is on good nights. The twists and turns of mind boggling cases are nowhere to be found, and neither are most of the detectives on the squad. The CSU Tech, Morales, makes more appearances than our detectives do! Wolf reeled us in with charming wit and jaw dropping cases. There's none of that left now amongst the heavy plots that don't resolve completely and tamper tantrums from the squad members.
It's obvious that Dick Wolf has been fiddling with the SVU formula that has allowed the show six fabulous seasons. First and foremost, where has the shock factor gone? SVU used to be the show to watch, because it was hard to believe where they went, and how seemlessly they went there. Jumping from rape to homicide to torture to kids in the blink of an eye. People gasped when the detectives found young Ilena locked in a coffin under the bed. Or cried when they watched the victim become the abuser. When Alex was unmercifully shot down, there was tension and anguish. Casey was ambushed, and the audience watched in horror. But, this is no longer the case. Over dramatic previews contribute to this problem, but the real issue is that these episodes just can't compare! During "Raw", the courtroom scene ended with Elliot shot in the arm and Munch in the behind. These shots were never seen! Elliot was
seen falling to the ground, Munch was ignored completely. Casey being held hostage was a big part of the pre-episode circulation, yet the actual occurance lasted seconds, and ended with her being tossed aside. No negotiation, no lucky "just missed Casey" shot. It was there and gone so quickly that all that could be said was
"huh?" Everyone expected a doosey for Mariska Hargitay's last episode before maternity leave. "Officer Down" rumors were flying, videos were circulating. But the actual event lasts for a mere ten seconds, and Olivia walks away with nothing more than a scratch. A huge revelation comes later, but to little, too late for my attention.
This season has also seen more character centric episodes that any other season. But, all these episodes are featured around the same two characters! "Law and Order: The Benson and Stabler Show" accurately describes most of this season. Elliot's growing anger problems and Olivia's growing belly have certainly made for some interesting episodes, but when is it time to walk away from the beaten path and explore somewhere new? There are five other major characters in this series that could all have their own episodes, if Dick Wolf and company would simply take the time to write them.
John Munch, a character who has been around from the beginning, is lacking some serious screen time. He's been through it all; Homicide, Law and Order, Law and Order: Trial by Jury, Arrested Developement. You name it, John Munch (AKA Richard Belzer) has been on it. Munch is the longest running character on television, starring in seven series! And yet, he seems to get more screen time on OTHER shows, rather than his new home base, SVU. Munch has seen an episode or two in the last few seasons. Amy Solway has played a huge role in his life, and there's room for her in many more episodes! Munch's past has been left unexplored, save for a few comments on ex-wives, and one about his suicidal father.
Donald Cragen has also been around since day one, first on Law and Order, then transfered to our Special unit. Not much has been said about his life either, and any fan is hardpressed to name an episode off the top of their head that featured Captain Cragen. He may be the one just giving the orders, but Captains sometimes get field time too!
Casey Novak holds a wonderful opportunity to explore the "Law" side of the show, which is rarely visited. She is bothered once and a while for a search warrant, but not much else. Her cases are all slam dunks or "not in a million years" prosecutable. Even though she is the baby in the SVU family, she has still seen more screen time than Munch or Cragen, which is a start or a setback, depending on how you look at it. But, she's still in need of some serious screen time. Also a serious set back for the character of Casey Novak: Where is her gorgeous red hair? She has slowly transitioned from a fiery redhead to a conservative blonde, who seems to remind me of someone we've seen already... Ah! That's right! We used to have an ADA named Alex Cabot. Emphasis on USED TO. We're now in the age of the Novak, where no Alex clones are allowed. It is getting to the point where the unit has to use their own facial recognition software to tell Casey apart from Alex. Should we be expecting blue contacts and a second pair of the "glasses of justice" next? In addition to restoring her hair color, her original demeanor should also be renewed. In more recent episodes, she has gone down the road of right and wrong. Give us some of the old Casey, who always traveled the "lets get some justice!" road, no matter what.
Odafin Tutuola was a late addition to the team, and is still waiting for that really big episode. He's been given episodes before, but nothing that quite reaches the limit that Ice-T is capable of acting to. We've seen his gay son... much more than we probably wanted to. But do we really know Odafin Tutuola?
George Huang is just a fine bottle of wine waiting on the shelves to be opened. And this wine has been aged long enough. Coming on in season two, we have yet to see George in a truly compromising, confusing, or conflicting situation. We know the professional side of Dr. Huang, but not the personal. What are his likes, his dislikes? What makes him tick, what makes him happy? Who is he close with, where does he live, what kind of food does this man like to eat? Being a psychologist, he has been exposed to many different types of people, and that no doubt has taken some sort of toll on his mind. Give him a case where the victim is his sister, his brother, his best friend. Where the perp is someone he was best friends with in college.
Those are just the possibilities of character centric episodes! What about going back, way back... all the way to season one? Where it wasn't focused on just Olivia or just Elliot, or just anyone. It was a team effort. The team won, the team lost. Take a look at the ending scene in "Slaves", where the last thing the viewer sees is a playful team taking a breather, interacting with each other without being on the other's throats. Give us another "Charisma" beginning; as horrid as it was, it brought the squad to a common place. Give us an episode like "Night", where one
of our own is physically involved. Give us something that will convince us to stay tuned.
posted by Trublu at 10:06 PM
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