TVSquad

(S08E05) Det. Stabler wears tightie whities! Is that what stood out to the rest of you in this episode, too? Maybe it's just a girl thing but he makes those undies look goooood (she says, in a Will Smith/Men in Black sort-of way).

We finally learn exactly what happened when Det. Beck's husband was killed on the job: two 15-year olds stole a car and decided to get stupid when they got caught by 'Mike'. They shot him in the head. I thoroughly enjoyed Dani's iciness when Det. Stabler attempted to talk to her about the crime. He figured out that she went up to the prison, but not to see the shooters. She went to see the dead body of one of the shooters who was killed in a prison brawl. All ice, that woman.

(S08E04) This week we're back to the case and off the personal issues of the detectives. And the case is particularly disturbing. A single mother and her 10-year old daughter are found bound, raped and murdered in their apartment. The initial suspect is a very dirty, mouthbreathing Jerry Lewis.

Lewis really stole the show, didn't he? He was heartbreaking as a man who was so depressed that he became demented. He ended up being Det. John Munch's uncle who came up to NYC from Florida in June to see him but forgot what he was doing and ended up on the streets. He experienced a remarkable change in personality. Basically, he turned from crazy homeless man to, well, Jerry Lewis. And then he changed to crazy Jerry Lewis.

(S08E03) What a waste of a good villain. The crime in this episode was a rape, which led detectives to a serial rapist with what should have been an apalling past. But, since the focus of this episode was really on Detective Beck (Connie Nielsen), the crime fell by the wayside.

Don't get me wrong- Det. Beck is an interesting character. She's definitely a fish out of water in the Special Victims Unit with her intense approach to investigations. She's used to chasing down bad guys who have warrants out for their arrests, not taking time to talk to a victim of a sex crime. She's rude to most of the victims but, predictably, learns a little bit about investigations when she interviews a beautiful, elderly French woman, played by Leslie Caron, at the end. (I think Caron's agonizing performance was most memorable) We also learn that Beck is from Denmark, which explains the real-life accent, and that her husband was a NYPD cop who was murdered.

(S08E02) SVU is doing this funky editing thing this year that is annoying me. The characters will start a conversation in one place and then pick it up again in another place. Totally unrealistic and kind-of jarring because, instead of telling the story, it just tells me how clever some writer and/or editor thinks he/she is. For instance, Det. Tutuola is questioning Conner about Janey. The interview starts in the apartment and suddenly jumps to the interview room. It happened last week when Det. Benson was talking to Star about an FBI case.

(S08E01) Good Lord, how disturbing was that opening scene? A girl shows up to the emergency room with a shaved and wounded head. She won't give her name or allow a rape kit even though it's obvious that's what happened to her. All she wants is a morning after pill. Det. Olivia Benson (a very pregnant Mariska Hargitay) catches her as she's leaving the hospital and trails the woman to her apartment. From the super, she learns the girl's name is Hailey. She gets into Hailey's apartment but the woman refuses to give any information and she cries as she gets into the bathtub and washes away all evidence of her rape. Luckily, Olivia is snoopy. As she's leaving the apartment, she swipes the girl's underpants for evidence.

Yeah, I know, it sounds like the idea for an SNL, Mad TV, or Conan O'Brien sketch, but it actually happened on yesterday's season premiere of Sesame Street. Here's the video.

Now, I'm all for edgy humor and irreverence, even on kids shows, but I think this is an odd choice. I mean, Law and Order: SVU is all about sex crimes, many of them involving children, and that's the show that Sesame Street decides to lampoon? Will kids even get it, or is this something more for parents (I assume the latter). It's called Special Letters Unit, but it's still a bit odd, though enjoyable. They even use the show's sound (they call it "chung chung"), and that's the original cast doing the voices for their puppets too.

Next on Zoom: a tribute to Deadwood.

Update: You might have trouble playing the video (not sure why, though I know YouTube is down right now). Here are some screen caps and more from the episode.

(S07E22) Well, here we are at the end of the seventh season of SVU and we delve into familiar territory; teenage sexual activity. We also focus one more time on Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) who has a good portion of screen time this episode (although A.D.A. Casey Novak (Diane Neal) has some decent screen time as well).

Sigh.

Folks, I'm sorry. I been hitting the wall with this show for the past few episodes, and actually the entire season. I've just felt that most of the focus has been on Benson and Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) this season in order to flesh out their characters a bit. As I've mentioned previously there hasn't been nearly as much of Detectives Munch (Richard Belzer) and Tutuola (Ice-T) this season. Heck, even Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) had some focus episodes in the past. No, this season has been about Stabler and Benson, whether together or solo, and I'm kind of burnt out. That may be the reason that I wasn't too impressed with the episode.

So I'm doing the daily "What's On Tonight" post, and I see that The Sci-Fi Channel has three episodes of Law and Order: SVU on. Um ... can someone tell me why (and don't say it's because NBC owns the Sci-Fi Channel).

Is this a new show that has a similar title? Does the SVU actually stand for Space Visitation Unit? Is Mariska Hargitay an android?

"In outer space, the people of Earth are represented by two separate but equally important groups: the Space Visitation Unit, who investigate claims of alien visitors, and space attorneys, who prosecute the evil aliens. These are their stories."

As if having all the Law and Order shows on USA and TNT 90,000 times a week wasn't enough.

This year, Bravo is holding Celebrity Poker Showdown in New Orleans and all the actors will play for Hurricane Katrina-related charities. Much to the frustration of poker fans, Phil Helmuth is taking the place of Phil Gordon.

Here's a list of notable actors (the full list is here):

• May 31: Jorge Garcia (Lost), Michael Ian Black (Stella), Andrea Martin (SCTV);
  
• June 7: Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle), Jason Alexander, Susie Essman, Kevin Sorbo;
• June 14: Fred Savage, Jennifer Tilly, Brett Butler, Doug E. Doug;
• June 21: Jenna Fischer (The Office), Rocco Dispirito, Mario Cantone;
• June 28: Christopher Meloni; Joy Behar, Andy Dick, Macy Gray

Well, it was pretty obvious to me where the writers got the idea for this episode. Last summer, a pedophile killed the oldest members of an Idaho family and took the two youngest kids. Just like on SVU, the dead parents were involved in drugs and the biological father of the youngest children was not in the picture. I found tonight's episode incredibly disturbing simply because that real story was so upsetting.

Add comedian Jerry Lewis to the list of guest stars on Law & Order: SVU. But you'll have to wait until next season to see him.

The 80-year old actor will play the homeless uncle of Detective Munch (Richard Belzer). In the episode, titled 'Uncle', Munch finds his uncle living on the streets and ends up arresting him for homicide.

We'll it's about time! As I mentioned last week, Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) have been getting a lot of screen time this season, both as a team and in individual episodes that highlighted and enhanced their character backgrounds. There was a small piece earlier this year that dealt with Detective Tutuola (Ice-T) and his son, and little or nothing done on Detective Munch (Richard Belzer).

Now, it looks like Fin Tutuola will be the focus of this week's show as his son Ken and nephew Darius (Hustle & Flow actor Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) are arrested for an alleged homicide. Also in the mix this week is Lisa Gay Hamilton (The Practice) as Fin's ex-wife, Teresa. So, it looks like it's going to be a Tutuolalapalooza show!

And now, let us retire to the television programme.

 

Ludacris, the rapper-turned-actor who did a remarkable job in the Oscar-winning movie Crash and in Hustle and Flow, will appear on a new episode of Law & Order: SVU tonight. As Adam mentioned last month, he'll play Det. Tutuola's (Ice-T) nephew, who has a secret that gets exposed when Tutuola's son is accused of homicide.

Said Ludacris, "There was no way I could turn down this amazing opportunity. The character was so rich and the storyline so complex, that I knew it was something I had to do." I'm sold.

SVU airs at 10 pm ET tonight on NBC.

Tonight on the show, Stabler and Benson are reviewing the new Cadillac Escalade. Oh, wait, this is Law & Order: SVU. I was thinking of Law & Order: SUV.

BWAH-HAHAhaha. . .hahaha. . .haha. . .Oh. forget it!

Come on, this is SVU! When is the last time you had a good guffaw at the expense of the police or the victims or the DA on this show? Sometimes you need a shower after the show airs because it feels icky (for lack of a better word). Not that this isn't a great show, because it is. And, it has the very beautiful Mariska Hargitay (who should be producing a beautiful baby soon). Is it me or do you think Mariska looks better with the longer hair she has now then the short bob she had a few years ago?

This season has been a bit different for SVU.  There have been a number of episodes focusing on just Detective Stabler or Detective Benson only. They've been very personal shows that shined a brighter light into their personalities. This week, they were definitely back to the basics of the show as Benson and Tutuola tried to determine who murdered a college student from Hudson University (is that next to New York University? I can't find it on the map).

 

Connie Nielsen will guest star on the last six episodes of Law and Order: SVU this season, while Mariska Hargitay goes on maternity leave. The actress is having a boy and her maternity leave begins next month even though she's not due until mid-June.

Nielsen will play an NYPD detective who fills in when Det. Olivia Benson goes on "special assignment". That storyline is pretty typical of SVU, which seems to have shied away from personal storylines for any of its cast members lately. Most of Nielsen's acting credits are in movies. She was in Gladiator, The Ice Harvest, and One Hour Photo. Looking at her IMDB resume, it looks as though SVU will be her first crack at episodic television.