TVSquad

(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.

There's this artist out there named Brandon Bird who has a special place in his heart for everything that is Law and Order. I own his original Law and Order coloring book ("An Adventure to Color!"), which follows Briscoe and Curtis as they seek a murder suspect and then on to the trial. The last page is a word scramble to figure out the verdict: LYTIGU. Funny stuff.

Now Brandon has it in for Law and Order: SVU. He has created some Valentines featuring the main characters from that franchise. My favorite is Ice-T, with the saying, "I'm on your tail". You can actually order these things for Valentine's Day. Check 'em out here.

In addition, Brandon does a bunch of cool Star Wars drawings, including this Ewok poster that I totally want. He also seems to have a bit of an obsession with James Woods, Christopher Walken (who doesn't?) and Edward Norton.

[Via Boing Boing]

Isn't she just so cute as a pregnant woman? The New York Post reports that she's having a boy and he's due in late Spring.

Mariska's blog says the producers of Law and Order: SVU decided not to write her pregnancy into the show so I guess she'll be doing a lot of hiding behind coats, desks, pillows, etc in upcoming episodes. A yet-to-be-named guest star will fill in for her when she goes on maternity leave, starting in March.

[Via Celebrity Baby Blog]

The child actor who plays Walt on Lost has a starring role on next week's Law and Order: SVU. He's even the topic of the promo that was played after last Tuesday's rerun. The promo said something like, "starring Lost's Malcolm David Kelley." Lost isn't even on NBC, yet NBC apparently recognized how big Lost is for ABC and it's trying to capitalize on the success by casting Kelley in a guest role. Of course, Kelley has all sorts of time on his hands these days, except for the random appearances where he's speaking backwards and spitting out water. On SVU, he plays a kid who is traumatized after witnessing a shooting and then gets into a little trouble himself (NBC's website gives away the entire story). Malcolm has some good acting chops and I'm excited to see the episode, which airs Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 10/9c. I would watch it anyway because I really dig SVU. Is Kelley's appearance going to get any of you Lost fans to watch SVU?