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I don't like Rollisi as actual textual on screen material (I do think the actors have good on screen chemistry and the way they sometimes write Carisi as too good to be true made it fun to joke/speculate about why he was helping with the kids so much). That said I agree that it was past time to end the whole secret romance thing. Although to be fair to Rollins maybe she was trying to protect Carisi's reputation given her track record? Although it does make Fin just a little bit more awesome that he is the only one who has managed to spend a long time in the unit without getting involved with a colleague. Although I'm sure that there is plenty of fanfic out there about him and Munch...

Yeah it's almost part of the formula for them to have one partner be overly aggressive/abrasive and antagonistic towards their partner before they gradually come to develop a mutual respect. And for the writers to sand off the rough edges of characters originally intended to be a source of dramatic conflict. The only exceptions I can think of to the gradual softening are Fontana, which was mostly realistic and interesting and worked, and Cassady, which wasn't and didn't. As was mentioned previously AA has been on TV a lot more than CL so we've watched the changes over time. Plus with the coats and suits it's not really as obvious. And she doesn't have the beard to hide the facial changes... A lot of the commentary and complaints reminds me of the Roseanne reboot. They were a little too focused on trying to prove they could still be relevant to today that they missed some of what made us want the show to come back and some of the actors needed a little bit of time to get back into the swing of things. Heck there was even a lot of talk about different John Goodman looked! A lot of premature declarations that it's time had passed too. But that pretty much worked out. I just hope Sam Waterston doesn't go crazy on Twitter and end up needing to be killed off...

Yeah I'm sure it's a matter of bdugets and ice-T taking his raises in time off instead of cash as we've talked about before. That said his last CarShield spot did have a much stronger script than this episode so maybe there was an element of choice...

I agree with this. It was very promising and I'm willing to give them a little time to figure out what needs to be tweaked and to adjust some of the elements as they go. As we've discussed before this has pretty much always been a part of the show, but they're usually not replacing so many characters at once. And I think that the promos were pretty honest that they want to stick with the classic formula with only minor updates - basically what the show might be if it had never gone off the air. I would say the one classic element that I really really really missed was the cold opening with the body being discovered during some very prototypical NYC activity. I know that they did switch it up occasionally during the original run, but those scenes were often comic gems and this opening was a little too CI or SVU for my tastes and that formula would have done a lot for me to really emphasize that the mothership was back and doing what it does best right from the start.

The Good: Khaldun. He was likable and professional and I enjoy the character. Finally a d-bag perp realizes the obvious set up and just comes out and calls BS. They didn't magically get a full confession and conviction through sheer force of moral righteousness so at least there was some sense of realism and nuance/ The Bad: Benson. Did you know she's a child of rape? And has empathy? No? Would it help if we repeated it over and over again? Doesn't matter we're going to anyway. Rollisi, Somehow it managed to be soapy and boring at the same time. And it made me want to see less Carisi which takes some doing. I Benson. Did you know she's a child of rape? And has empathy? No? Would it help if we repeated it over and over again? Doesn't matter we're going to anyway. No Fin and Velasco. We really could have used a break from the Benson and Rollins Hour. Benson. Did you know she's a child of rape? And has empathy? No? Would it help if we repeated it over and over again? Doesn't matter we're going to anyway. They take the lead in of the mothership revival and instead of building on the momentum they've been developing they decide to show off all of the worst tendencies of late period SVU and give us an episode without Ice-T, the one actor besides MH who might draw in lapsed casual viewers? WTF? Benson. Did you know she's a child of rape? And has empathy? No? Would it help if we repeated it over and over again? Doesn't matter we're going to anyway. Overall this was a complete dud. It would be one note, but there was the Rollisi subplot so it was more like one and half notes, both off key. I honestly can't believe they thought airing this episode for their return from hiatus and following up the revival's premiere was a good, or even acceptable, idea. What a disappointment and a waste of all the good work they've done this season. I don't think even Mariska making earnest constipated faces and whispering encouraging affirmations can ease the pain and violation I feel.

It's not surprising that a lot of the old timers returned since the remit was to give the show's fans what they wanted and go back to what had made the show worked instead of trying to do everything else (USA blue sky procedural!, copy CSI but not too much and don't spend as much! be more like the other series! be less! change the cast! change it again!) For all of the stupid decisions NBCUniversal has made with the franchise this was probably the smartest one they've ever made with the possible exception of greenlighting the pilot of SVU. I'm not sure without basically admitting they had gone off course and giving the fans that last season to go out on a high note if it would have lasted as long as it has as a staple of cable schedules.

True, but after it moved USA definitely had creative input and that played a part in it becoming farther removed from the other series in the franchise. Part of the creative drift was that USA wanted one thing, NBC wanted another, and the writers and actors wanted to do something different from either of them. It's kind of amazing that anything actually made it to air and even more amazing that some of it was actually good.

True as far as it goes, but the show had a pretty good track record of writing those young and hot actresses as smart and competent. But in this case as you said they screwed up the writing from the jump. And they never corrected to make her more believable and sympathetic which they also had a history of doing. I have heard, but not authoritatively and on the record, that during this time period NBC was really pushing the entire franchise to go younger and more attractive and that they really resented it. So they may have deliberately sabotaged the character so that they could say they tried it NBCs way and it didn't work. I doubt that they had Sisto waiting in the wings too or they wouldn't have had him do the whole guest star audition thing in the season finale, although they may well have had someone else in mind who was no longer available.

My memory is apparently not much better than AA's. I did not remember the altercation at all or him being much of a hothead!

That's the writer's job. And ours. Although I am sure he will be set straight by someone as given that they are pretty similar characters and that episdoe was pretty much his audition for a regular role in the franchise they don't want to give the writer's agents a claim that he deserves royalties for Bernard!

According to various DVD commentaries there actually are writers' guild rules concerning title credits. Basically it's determined by previous experience, tenure with the show and/or production company, and how many other writers are on staff. As far as actors/etc. are concerned it's solely a matter of what you negotiate with the exception of "produced by," "created by," "developed by," etc. where the unions have negotiated specific criteria and, I believe, guaranteed compensation.

One thing that has me optimistic after the Super Bowl is that NBC seems to be leaning heavily on promoting continuity with Anderson and Waterston front on center on just about every promo and everyone else in the background and copy featuring the classic formula. Which doesn't necessarily mean that it's an actual reflection of the content (NBC promo monkeys live to mislead) but is a good sign in that it means what NBC wants and thinks will appeal to viewers is the same thing most of us here including me want - the classic format and sticking to what worked so well.

The difference in credits here is just a reflection of seniority. Chernuchin had been with Dick Wolf for a long time by then and Leight was new. Executive Producer is a very nebulous title given to everyone from senior writers to actors looking for an ego boost to show runners to actual production executives. It's more about looking very impressive in the opening credits than any sort of defined duties or contributions.

Law & Order: SVU Showrunner Vents About Unvaccinated Actors Interesting. I guess OC promos aren't the only thing distracting from focusing on the details that would really put the show back at the Season 17 (first half) level of quality.

Troy McClure did more than that before breakfast...

Of course the squad room looks pretty much the same. The entire renovation budget for the NYPD has been spent on the SVU!

That would be Season 13's "Hitman" ripped from the headlines (Google Ted Ammon) with a twist.

As long as we're being fair to the writers let's not forget that what we see of Atlanta on SVU is the people who have a connection to Rollins. I mean it would be pretty much straining credulity even more than usual if that family came from anywhere other than the "Staten Island" of the Atlanta metro...

The Good: Fin! For the fist time in a quite awhile they actually gave Ice-T some good material. A nice mixture of snark and dramatic moments and he was well used as a connected NYPD veteran and Benson's confidant. Rollins!!!??? Have they finally figured out how to write her as a functioning adult? With the exception of her spur of the moment trip to the bar to watch the fight there were no real WTF moments. She was professional and non-judgemental. And Giddish continues to have great on-screen chemistry with all of her cast mates. I just hope that they don't make the same mistake they have in the past of taking that natural chemistry and ruining it by making it textual. Let's keep her and Velasco friends who happen to have a lot of scenes in the field together because they are young enough to run. I don't need to see Carisi acting like a jealous middle schooler or Rollins being, well, Rollins. Velasco. Once again he was well used as the newbie to SVU without being unbelievably naive or stupid. Just a good detective who hasn't seen this all a million times. The COTW. Just a good old fashioned sexually based offense being investigated by an elite unit of detectives and exploring some of the social issues connected to said crime. The investigation flowed nicely and it did keep me guessing a bit. I figured the PT was involved because he had gotten so much attention and then disappeared, but I wasn't sure what the motive was or who his associate(s) was/were. All the stuff that wasn't there. No Benoah. No badly edited musical montage opening showing the crime. No Benson speeches saving the day. No detectives as experts in fields other than criminal investigations. With the exception of McGrath and Mariska's overacting there was none of my usual pet peeves. The Bad: Benson/Mariska. Can't Benson show some real flaws that are acknowledged as such? No once again she is a saint. And they need to tell Mariska to dial it down. In an otherwise excellently acted episode moments like Benson's big sweeping gesture putting her hand over heart are even more glaring and clunky and disrupt the flow. McGrath. Yes it's good that they are trying to give him another 1 and 1/2 dimensions so he is at least finally a 2 dimensional jerk boss, but it just never quite gelled. And I am getting a queasy feeling that instead of being a political hack who is a cause of police dysfunction he will turn out to be a victim of toxic masculinity who is redeemed by Benson's holy earth mother wisdom. Yuck! Overall this was another solid episode that makes me even more cautiously optimistic that we are on the right track. It had that classic SVU feel and if there was nothing really new or fresh, well that's just a function of being on the air for too long and it being time to end with your head held high.

Because Benson is just that super special and empathetic and understanding - duh! Have you not been paying attention to the show the past decade or so? It's just like the into says. "In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses and some other random loosely connected or adjacent crimes are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detective who investigates these vicious felonies and understands the victims and everyone else and solves all their problems by whispering and making constipated faces is Olivia Benson. These are her stories." Maybe. I did say back when he was introduced there are only two ways this can go. Benson wins and he is forced to leave or Benson wins him over and he becomes another acolyte of the Prophet Oliva, blessings and peace be upon her. Although maybe they are going to go both ways and he will be forced to admit how special she is before he is forced out and they find someone even cheaper to replace him at the end of the season?

Sure, but as a NY state resident a NY governor ignoring that team out of some mixture of arrogance, ambition, expediency, and stupidity is all too believable. And heck there was another politician out of NYC not too long ago who had a higher office than governor and a bigger team of aides and made decisions consulting with people who were much worse than Wheatley. So it's not all that unrealistic. Or maybe reality needs better writers? Wheatley has been an expert in cyber crime from the beginning - both his criminal activities and his legitimate business front were tech oriented,

We don't even need a NEW plot. We just need to move on to the much more interesting Marcy Killers plot that they keep teasing us with before going back to the whole supervillain nemesis nonsense.

Frankly my dears, I don't give a damn...

It's even stranger as this week's episode has the actual NYS flag on the stage with the same fake seal on the podium in front of the governor. Maybe some sort of legal concern? Or maybe they figured that since they were basically putting Andrew Cuomo on screen and photoshopping out his name they might as well keep it up everywhere?

The Good: The COTW. A nice blend of straightforward and twists and the specifics naturally leading into the exploration of larger issues. Perhaps they might want to consider doing more of this? I mean it seems like a a variety of sexually based offenses investigated by elite detectives could work? And so could using the crimes to explore larger social issues. I would watch that. Maybe even multiple series... Carisi. He got a lot to do this week and it was all good, solid legal material. Maybe they've finally figured out how to depict the natural tension between the separate yet equally important groups that represent the the people in the criminal justice system without turning the DA's office into cartoon political hacks? Velasco. He was written well this week. A good detective who was the new guy on the team without being an idiot. The guest cast. Good nuanced performances all around. And it was nice to see the diversity of NYC reflected. The Bad: Benoah. Yeah it didn't take up as much time as we thought it might, but it still didn't add anything and the execution was lacking. Fin was criminally underused. These victims and this case are completely in his wheelhouse and he got less screen time than Noah. The ending, An emotionally disturbed barricaded suspect with Benson taking charge (because she has such a great track record in these situations) followed by Benson whispering making it all better for everyone and then showing what a wonderful progressive mother she is. It was a turd at the bottom of a pretty good punch bowl. Overall it was good, adding on to the momentum they've built up in going back to basics and actually executing well. If it's not up to the level of the first half of season 17 it's still much better than most of the last decade of SVU and first time in a long time it really feels like the show might be on track for sustained competence with the occasional detour into OC promo stupidity and coasting in to a dignified ending.