Just finished my fourth viewing of the SVU episode. Four times? you say… four times only?? you say….
Listen, SVU isn’t Tennessee Williams for television. I get my kicks from it two ways: dissecting character motivation and ogling really good-looking actors who play them.
And the former I’ve done little of since season 5… everything after is watchable on mute to do the latter. Which is sad because, as you know, I am in love with Olivia Benson. Like, I wanna have your babies kind of in love. But that love only covers the early seasons. The Olivia of late makes me want to examine her neck for implants.
Far be it for me to judge anybody’s acting– oh hell, what am I saying? I live for this stuff.
While Mariska is fun to look at and all, she doesn’t hold a candle to Gillian Anderson in terms of acting. Not even close. I’ve a sneaking suspicion that because the non-sensical raving-mad angsty Olivia won her the Emmy it caused her and the writers to assume that we want more of that. The outcome – some seriously WTF character development.
One of the reasons I really get into a tv show is the belief that there is some payoff in the end for buying into the character’s story/motivation. You might call it tvgasm. When a show lets you down by having monkeys write scripts that take a left turn in Albuquerque then you’re left with your pants down with, well… to complete the metaphor, tv blueballs.
As a fan of SVU, I’ve had tv blueballs since 2003.
Stephanie March returning to SVU is like bringing balance to the Force; she is light to the darkness of muddled storytelling and over-the-top angst by the two main stars. Just having Alex Cabot snark at perps seemed to kick the show back into orbit where it felt like the old SVU world once more. The chemistry between her and the other actors is so easy and so evident, and the entire mood of the show is the better because of it.
[On a side note, is this the second episode in a row now where someone, usually the perp, makes a pass on Olivia by calling her pretty/attractive/preferable-over-Elliot? I could write a freaking thesis about the hardon the writers of the show have for Mariska.]
Still, the damage of four ever-increasingly horrible seasons cannot be undone with just one episode. Acting and writing problems is just the tip of the iceberg – I mean what is UP with the FUGLY top on Olivia in the last scene?!! My eyes still burn! Wardrobe people die! (ok, not the person that gave Olivia the cute beanie, they don’t die.)
Olivia to Alex: “You really are back, aren’t ya?”
Yes, Olivia, she is. Now what about you?
Hey, I completely agree on your statements about Olivia – If you ask me, Mariska got a bit too powerful and she’s now wearing HER clothes at work. No way our Liv from the early seasons would ever show up in stuff like that really awful horrible top you mentioned. It so completely boggled my mind that I actually shouted out “What on earth is she wearing?!” WHILE my beloved Alex was speaking!
(Ok, it’s on tape, of course, but still, it was the first viewing and that horrific piece of clothing distracted me from the return of my most fave character!)
No. Those clothes are a clear sign to me that whoever’s in charge of character (Hello, Mr Bear, I’m talking to you, I think) should do his job better. But, both, Liv and Eliott are wearing clothes that are much too expensive for their salaries. And, more and more, we’ve seen Liv in clothes that are either totally impractical or actually dangerous (like chasing perps with a long scarf wound around her neck…).
Sigh. I sooooo much want the old Liv back. No, not as she was then but the way she would be now.
On the other hand, maybe she indulged in shopping sprees (yeah, right, imagine that for the “old” Liv!) because Alex was gone.
oh, the wardrobe for the two main stars has definitely gone upscale. maybe all that overtime gave the detectives lots of money and nowhere to spend them. Cause, you know, Elliot doesn’t have a family to support.
And don’t get me started on the impracticality of Benson’s clothes. Whatever happened to the reason that her hair had to be short because, as Mariska herself mentioned, it’s not very practical to be chasing perps or getting down on a crime scene and having hair in your face. >_<
Well, it’s not just about hair in your face. For police officers on the beat, it’s an absoulte must that they offer as little as possible for the perps to grab a holt of. In other words: that pretty flowing scarf could easily turn into a weapon of sorts for the perp. grab it and pull and watch the officer turn blue…
Btw, Elliot has a family? Are you sure? They’re all MIA this season. Maybe Kathy took the kids and ran, so she wouldn’t be subjected to Truly’s truly awful writing.