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To be fair they have realized they were overdoing the he said, she said cases with wealthy white victims and perps and given us more variety in the past few years. And yes this is an area where Mariska's influence is a primary cause - when her influence is strongest we get more (i.e Season 18) and when there is a stronger showrunner counterweight we get more types of crimes. I think it's not just about her ego - her work with her foundation exposed her to a lot of advocates and experts who pointed out that the vast majority of sexual assaults involve victims and perps who know each other and a smaller majority involve a power dynamic. And I suspect the focus on wealthy young white women as victims is more about target demographics. As far as fewer recurring characters and showing the crime I would bet that this is all about the budget. You can show the crime in cheesy, poorly edited montage and use actors who you are already paying for the later acts and avoid paying recurring guest star money for the MEs, CSU techs, etc. needed when you are doing whodunnits every week. Of course Mariska plays a role there as she is getting a larger slice of a smaller pie, but I can't entirely blame her for using her leverage and the ultimate blame lies with Dick Wolf and NBC.

I think there was a clear vision at the beginning, but there was never execution. As far as the other ideas I don't think Meloni was interested in coming back to SVU as he felt (correctly) that they had done just about everything they could do with the character. Also there was no way that Mariska was going to take the pay cut that would be needed. I don't think that NBC would be interested in bringing back Criminal Intent at the same time they were bringing back the mothership and it was probably for the best as given the difficulties they had maintaining the formula the first time around I can't see them recreating it. I do wonder what the heck is going on and I am losing what little respect I have left for Dick Wolf. Why bring over someone with their own problems? Is the show already dead? If not and they don't want to bring in someone who is seen as a candidate for the permanent position why not Julie Martin who was involved in the development and has more than paid her dues? Or given that the plot has to be mapped out (I would imagine that those decisions were the creative differences) why not turn this into a PR move and have Dick Wolf himself actually step in as the titular showrunner?

I suspect that it's more about his being a writer who has an established comic voice and has very talented writers who understand that voice combined with him having creative control over what he says on the air - so even if he's not actually writing the copy it's still written in his style and he edits out anything he feels doesn't fit his style. I doubt there is a lot of improvisation as there is a lot of coordination with graphics, prepared bits, etc. so even his talented staff would probably have problems getting things together between film and air if it was heavily improvised.

I'm sure somebody else has missed the second half of the series' run! Was it great? No. But there are a LOT of worse episodes out there, especially in the "Benson showcase with big name guest star" category. The glaring flaws that are foundational to current day SVU were there and there were some choices I would not have made, but it was mostly competent and Mariska was actually somewhat reined in compared to her previous directorial episodes (seriously she actually framed, lit and costumed a shot so Benson looked like an actual avenging angel come down from heaven. So I will stick with my appraisal of flawed, but solid and much better than we could have expected from the promos. It was an interesting idea and an attempt to do something different. I don't think they quite pulled it off, but I appreciated the intent which I took to be showing both how lasting their love was and graphically show the slipping grasp on reality. It's the most unsolvable problem with the series - they have done just about every story out there and every episode is almost inevitably a rehash or will have something a bit silly or forced when it tries to be different without having the budget to really do so. And also when it comes to the idea of giving up the moon for your loved ones, Mariska Hargitay is no Jim Henson...

The Good: Bradley Whitford. This was a good use of a special guest star for the most part and he gave a good performance and didn't give in to the temptation to overdo it. I'm hoping Mariska was studying it while she was watching the dailies. The COTW. It was actually pretty well structured and gave us a good story reason for splitting up Benson and Carisi from the rest of the team. It's a small detail and pretty much just doing the job competently, but it's the kind of Screenwriting 101 element that has been mostly missing the past half decade, but has now been done twice in a row. Maybe we have reason to hope? Carisi. They made good use of him and his story. He was acting like a lawyer, who was also a seasoned investigator and did a good job of having him reworking the case with Mariska without forgetting that he was an ADA now. Fin and Velasco. The actors played a weak hand pretty well and managed to make this stupid plot mostly tolerable. And the writers managed to keep everyone in character. The tribute to Richard Belzer. Hopefully they will do more and there was definitely room to trim some fat and do something more, but they ended up with what was actually a really appropriate episode to dedicate to his memory. He always did have good timing, even at the end. The Bad: No Muncy. Normally this would be addition by subtraction, but it is an odd decision to give her the assignment of investigatimg Velasco and then resolve it with one of the Bronx team instead of her. Mariska was better than she has been as a director, but she still can't check her ego at the door. This would have been a better showcase for her and Benson if she could have gotten over her need to have every man that passes through tell Benson how special and attractive she is. Whitford should win a special Emmy for delivering those lines and only seeming mildly embar1rassed. The Velasco plot. Yes they put it out of it's misery and did it about as well as they could given the buildup (except for not having Muncy and for having his accuser as part of the interview) but it is just such a bad idea. Even if they have a new direction they want to go in for Velasco there has to be a better way of setting it up. The real perp's confession. The one area where the writing still seems to be missing the basics is the interrogation scenes. Again they could have trimmed some of the other scenes to have the confession seemed earned after real questioning. It would have made Benson look better too - show us instead of talking about her ass! Overall this was another good episode and much better than I expected based on the previews. Either Mariska has actually listened to some feedback or someone at NBC has quietly insisted on some discreet adult supervision. It was a rare special guest star showcase that worked, while giving a poorly conceived subplot a merciful end. And it was a worthy hour to dedicate to the memory of Richard Belzer, which is probably the most important thing it could be this week.

No E Street Shuffle?

Yep. One of the very rare moments of comedy (as opposed to snark/sarcasm) outside of the cold opens in the Mothership (SVU and CI wemt there a little more often)

Yeeeaah I don't think we want these writers doing another canine plot any time soon...

I don't think they could given Schiff a full tribute, but they could have had a mention at some point on SVU or had some sort of end of show mention at the end of one of the reboot episodes (instead of the "shocking" twist). Given all that he did to build the franchise I don't think something along the lines of what they did for Briscoe on CI is too much to expect. And I'm not saying that TBJ made the right choice, just that it wasn't necessarily a matter of neglect and that they may have made the decision they made out of respect even if it's not the decision we would have made.

According to what David Simon has said previously the lawyers screwed up and they don't have music rights for streaming. Sort of like what happened with WKRP. My understanding is that the contracts mentioned home video, but didn't have language that covered streaming or other technologies that might come along as other series did. And given the amount of music that was used and tightly integrated artistically (so not easily replaceable with something in the catalog) it is probably prohibitively expensive for what would be a prestige pickup and not a major draw on the level of The Office or Friends.

I think there is a strong possibility that the TBJ team felt that it might come off as trying to capitalize on the outpouring of love for Jerry Orbach as a last ditch attempt to save their sinking ship. Also both TBJ and the mothership never really got into the personal lives of the ensemble unlike SVU so that might have played a role as well in feeling that it would be out of place. I am willing to cut them some slack on this. If any actor/character did not get proper acknowledgement/tribute it is Steven Hill and Adam Schifff. And as long as we're comparing the two actors/characters...

Not only Warren Leight, but other high ranking SVU writers and producers in addition to folks like Richard Lewis, Larraine Newamn and Jon Stewart who knew him personally. And he has serious health issues for years which has always come up when people here have asked why he wasn't guest starring more often.

Unfortunately sometimes the news is depressing.... RIP Actor and Comedian Richard Belzer, Munch of “SVU” and “Homicide,” Famous for Dry Sense of Humor

Probably at least a dozen future recurring villains. Oh you mean who was supervising Noah? Who cares as long as he's not on screen? Nah. Ice-T has stated publicly he's there until the end, even if he's spending more and more time on the beach every year and he's pretty central to the brand still. The whole thing about him stumbling and barely able to walk was to explain why he didn't simply kick Dutch's ass and why he didn't notice something was off. And the pickle jar was all about setting up the metaphor at the end and giving Fin a reason to share a little bit instead of just coming out and telling us without any reason. You probably are just a bit confused as it's good writing and competent storytelling and it's been a long time since the show worried about that kind of thing.

Actually as soon as I saw him there at the scene in uniform I knew something was up. He did do a great job, but none of the surprises were actually surprising. I honestly would have preferred different casting just so that it wasn't so obvious something was up. Or perhaps if he had more to do up front so that it wasn't obvious that Chekhov's beat cop was waiting for Act 3?

The Good: Fin! We actually got a Fin-centric episode when we were promised one, and not just all about Benson with a veneer of Fin. I was more than a little worried during the opener, as it seemed we were going to get Fin filtered through Benson's self-help "empowerment" nonsense even if we did get him front and center, but they mostly played it straight down the middle. Hell we even got a Munch reference! The guest cast. Pretty great performances all the way around, even the roles where there was a lot of temptation to chew the scenery. Bruno. For the first time in quite awhile they have a new character that they seem to know what to do with. Not since Garland has it felt like they had a fully developed personality and a plan to start off with. Carisi. They finally managed to use him to cover for missing squad members while still keeping it feeling that he was an ADA and not a cop, and he was pushing for a legally sufficient case without being antagonistic - one nice thing about taking an established member of the "family" and moving them to the ADA role is that they have finally (mostly) broken out of the SVU trope of making the DA's office the enemy instead of a separate, yet equally important representative of the people. The COTW. A solid investigation without unnecessary twists and teamwork. It flowed nicely without being too predictable. Benson. She actually let the team do their jobs and acted like an experienced leader who had worked with Fin for 2 decades. The Bad: The promo for next week looks like a suckfest and a half. Although it probably kept Mariska busy enough to not ruin this week's episode. No effort I can recall to explain where Muncy and Velasco were and why Bruno was there and they weren't. I understand how even the newbies on entry level contracts need weeks off now with the budget cut to the marrow, but shouldn't we have gotten some exposition? And a least a nod to the Velasco subplot they seem to insist on giving us despite no one wanting it? Overall this was an actual good episode. Even very good. And not just on a curve. An A- with a solid script and many of the flaws being a matter of forces beyond the control of the writers - Mariska's ego and influence, the show being on the air too long and having covered every story at least twice, and the budgets being tighter than an amoeba's anus. They should be proud of this one and look to it as a model if NBC ever does the right thing and announces a valedictory final season.

I can also buy it and would add that even if they don't turn out to be as bad or worse there is often an extremely bloody and violent period where the collaborators and supporters of the old regime are purged and scores are settled. After all you may have joined the revolution to fight for liberty, but after years of seeing your comrades, relatives, lovers, etc. tortured, wounded, and killed and being constantly in mortal danger it's not hard to see how you are willing to overlook your ideals and even believe revenge is justice. Eventually it can burn itself out, or new leadership emerges that is more focused on moving forward than looking backward. If the show ever revisits Kansas City they could depict it as an independent democratic oasis, an even worse dictatorship than FEDRA, or completely collapsed and desolate and you could find parallels in history to support it.

No they get paid by the episode and only egomaniacs in the William Shatner mode worry about having the most lines. Actually if most lead actors are talking about lines in contract negotiations it's about limiting their screen time to avoid overwork (and paying guest cast less). There is actually a pretty well known story about this from the L&Overse. Vincent D'Onofrio had no experience as a series lead and it seems his agent did not have experience either although both had done a lot of work in the industry, So he never insisted on any limitations on his workload and it took a toll on his physical and mental health. This smells like one of those adjustments for the modern audience that NBC was talking about when they announced the revival and were insisting that it would not be totally retro and would be like how the series would have evolved if it never went off the air. And they probably would have made them do more chases and big "twist" endings if the series had stayed on the air too. And we'd probably complain and have absolutely no impact as well. I'm doubtful that a show has been improved by NBC program executives' mandates/suggestions since Must See TV was a thing. I wish NBC would realize that there is nothing they can do that is going to bring in a younger audience and realize that a high quality "throwback" is going to do better both creatively AND commercially. I mean FFS the biggest thing on Peacock right now is Poker Face so I don't think old school L&O is too retro for modern audiences.

It's not like that. Muncy doesn't see color! And Benson only see's what's deep in our hearts and minds. In all seriousness this is just a reflection of the overall sloppiness and lack of attention to detail and they either never bothered to explain to casting how important it was for them to strikingly resemble each other or it is just one more example of dialogue that never got polished from the early draft to filming. We've seen a lot of that, especially lately, where they never make the effort to go beyond the idea they want to get across and think about putting it into a character's "voice" or what else they might be conveying.

The Good: The COTW. A solid sexually based offense solved by team work with everyone having a hand in it. It was also nice that they had a good idea and didn't completely waste it while they spent time on nonsense. Partially yes, but not completely. Carisi. His time on sceen was limited, but it is nice they are letting him make the legal decisions as ADA without waiting for Benson. And he wasn't involved in any of the melodrama following off the time with Bronx SVU so that was another plus for him this week. Bruno. It's nice to have another detective around, especially one whose personal issues are in the background, instead of the police work being a distraction from the soapy plots. The promo for next week. Let's hope it's an actual spotlight episode for FIn and not 5 minutes in a sea of the usual nonsense or all about Benson saving the day. They handled a hostage situation competently! The Bad: Muncy. They continue to be unable to write younger women. Also they are unable to do any sort of subtle interpersonal dynamics. It's a good idea having Velasco being concerned for her. Maybe if they had done it with any sort of subtlety and nuance it would have been an interesting way of developing the new characters instead of a sledgehammer over the head? Velasco. Not just the OTT writing, but they do seem to be doing the subplot about him having skeletons in the closet. Yuck. I can't see this going well. Either it continues the trend of eating their young or it's a tease that almost certainly ends with Benson being the ultimate moral arbiter of the NYPD and his character being tarnished with the viewers. Either way it seems like a mistake. Benson. Not only did Provenza from Major Crimes pull off her hat better, but the whole nonsense with Bruno having to prove himself worthy of sitting in Rollins' chair. He should have gone off and slept with someone inappropriate, gambled away his settlement and then come back and made a judgemental comment about the victims and asked her if he was worthy now. She was better than usual, but still not a net positive. Overall this was a solid episode dragged down by the hangover from the Bronx arc and by a continuing lack of polish in the writing. Much better than what came before and hopefully a sign that they are going to try to give us some new variations on sexually based offenses investigated by elite detectives. Take away the Velasco/Muncy clumsiness and it would be a solid B. Possibly a B+/A- if they used the extra time to smooth over some of the rough edges.

I think there are two possibilities here. One is that everyone realized it was in their best interest to negotiate a surrender/truce of a kind and NYPD knows he is a gangster with all that implies including the whole twisted sort of honor code and that the show simply did a bad job of fleshing out the idea like with everything else this episode. The more likely explanation is that Benson knew he was being truthful because she used her wisdom and insight and peered into his soul, much as she will when she sits at the right hand of the Almighty at the end of all things* and judges the living and the dead. *Almost everything. SVU will still get a 2 season renewal.

The Good: We have probably reached the end of our Bronx Tale for now. Fin. Not necessarily a great week for him as he had the same weak script to work with as everyone else, but he at least kept my interest and they weren't swinging for the fences and missing with him like they were with the rest of the team. Carisi. Some decent plea negotiation scenes and it was nice to see him as the one making legal decisions without taking orders from Benson. The Bad: Mariska. Holy crap was she bad in this. Even when she was with Meloni who usually brings out her best she was overacting while somehow also being flat and boring. Much like her bruise makeup she managed to be too much and not enough at the same time and was garishly fake and unconvincing. The dialogue. Just terrible throughout even when they had an interesting idea. It really read like they filler that was mean to be polished and brought to broadcast quality later and they somehow never got around to it. The courtroom scenes and the scenes with the potentially interesting Bronx SVU case were comically bad examples of just writing down the gist of what the writers were trying to convey without bothering to actually try to make it sound natural or fit it into context or character. The Velasco plot was very weird and just sort of petered out. Are we actually supposed to believe he is crossing the line? Is this supposed to be some sort of running plot or cliffhanger? They managed to somehow make it feel like all of the major plot elements were underserved while somehow also making the episode rather slow and not having enough story to tell. All filler no killer. They do not have to send Noah away forever. Overall this was a marginal improvement over the past couple episodes, but it was still mostly a waste of potentially interesting ideas with nothing new to offer and no reason to exist other than that everyomne involved was contractually obligated to produce an hour of television.

So I guess it wasn't everyone who had technical issues? Although given how few posts there are it may be widespread. Or maybe the nonsense has pushed some of us over the line. Apparently I didn't miss anything too good or bad. I'll have to check it out on Peacock after work. Maybe it will go down better with a cocktail? Or three?

Not to the Eminem song?