My crush Julia Danforth

(Humiliation)

It's hard to fathom but it's true:

They break the rules, they give great arguments, it's often an entertaining mixture of stressful drama, well-acted yet complex characters, mostly timeless social commentary, political but much-needed discourse and thrilling slam-bang action-crime thrills.

Who could honestly ask for anything more?

I dig the mother show's 3 part structure (much like how I dug the ticking clock on 24, everyday persona who's also a criminal mastermind on various gangster shows, the law boundaries of every War/Western epic and the all-inclusive space fleets on Star Trek) and incorporating it with the style of all of Sidney Lumet's compelling crime dramas.

I still find that SVU kept the edgy nature of other shows previous to it (X-Files, Prime Suspect, NYPD Blue, Homicide) and one-upped it with the different ways in which gritty crimes are solved while staying relevant and actually helping real-life victims to make it even more culturally impactful,

Criminal Intent got stolen from the most (from Lie to Me to Criminal Minds) with its Sherlock Holmes laid-out modern-day structure and then keeping it to just the criminal confession. There were also so many unusual Nazi, war criminal, unstable snipers and prison wardens on that show that added new meaning to the description "atypical criminal." I was never in the "Nichols or Goren; Eames or Wheeler" camp- they're all special and they did the partner switch up even better than the various Briscoe and Logan partners.

Trail by Jury and SVU: Conviction I remember seeing ads for back in 2006 and that's when it really hit me that I had to check out this acclaimed series. I owned the former on DVD and the latter can be bought by some digital affiliates and has a wonderfully atmospheric soundtrack. The former should've just been blended back into the main show while the latter was unfairly compared to soapy crud like Grey's Anatomy (NOT AT ALL ALIKE. NOT EVEN CLOSE!).

Organized Crime I truly dug the Michael Mann style homages, Sopranos/The Shield villains, corruption takedowns, arresting of racketeers and the Taken-like comeback for the beloved Stabler character while he goes thru venting his demons, repairing the harm done to his family's legacy, having a coming to Jesus moment and having some well-cast villains each season. All I can ask for with a Miami Vice meets Equalizer type vice squad show- Meloni should've at least gotten more awards to make it all right.

The first two FBI shows I always tune into (haven't ventured into the CIA spin-off) but FBI was literally 24/Speed/Die Hard each week with Bourne Identity type spying and Most Wanted was another neat manhunt type show for the Profiler/Criminal Minds/Millennium crowd to observe. I tried with International but despite the foreign spying premise and cast change-ups, it still has failed to grabbed me (shouldn't had been cancelled; I believe every show should stay on the air if it's got a loyal fanbase and viewers).

Chicago Fire still has a spark (pun intended) as they always change it up and make you feel like all the characters are vulnerable and can lose something. No, it's not Rescue Me but it's not something schlocky like Station 19, Emergency! or Backdraft either. Chicago PD and Med i feel both lost their momentum by the 9th season and are deadly average post-Season 10 but they always have some unique crossover events as you literally can't miss them; they're like ER meets every classier disaster movie and Dog Day Afternoon type "can't look away" takeover.

So the only Achille's Heel for me truly has been Law & Order: L.A.- I truly felt like Dick Wolf got all high and mighty there and was too busy giving NBC something else to program that it became a blander L.A. Law/CSI type mash-up with such reckless abandon for structure, care and proper developing. I don't know if everyone was overworked or there was too many cooks in the kitchen but it wasn't properly ironed out and I felt like it showed as there was excess soundtracks, episodes aired out of order and retconning. The actors kept me watching but the joy and commitment was null.

Nevertheless, I'm proud to be a fan of this saga. I know more people like it than they do hating or hate-watch it (allegedly). I have no jealousy in my heart for everyone and could never have it for any of these talents involved with this saga. I admire the friendships Wolf has with other TV bigwigs like David E. Kelley and Tom Fontana and can't blame him for being like most producers where he comes up with the concept and then gives the keys to his cars to some other big talent.

I seriously feel like they've done the best torch passing you could possibly ask for, I dig the docudrama look/feel each week and admire how stuff like this is always going to be on while doing its own spin on modern stuff. Can I dismiss the case that this is entertaining AF?

Can anyone tell me what the D pin on Lenny's lapel is for?

In the scene where Alex and "Mr. Little Dance in Hell" are at the computer looking for the chat Carmine was in, what's Bobby doing in the background? He has a black box in his hand and then holds it up to his face. I *think* I know what he's got, but I don't know what the gadget is called or the correct words to describe it. It's one of those novelty things they used to sell in high-end stores like Sharper Image, with rows and rows of small nails in the box. If you put your fingers or your hand in it, it would make a perfect impression of it, and then you could put it on your desk or whatever and show it off like a sculpture. You would turn it upside down, and all the nails would reset so you could "mold" something else.

I've seen them in toy stores in the past few years made with cheap plastic nails, too.

But I think that's what he's doing behind their backs, putting the imprint of his nose and cheeks in one of those gadgets.

Anyone else notice this?

🎶 Call J.G. Wentworth, 877-Cash-Now 🎶

SVU day 1 of filming, OG is also probably starting today

Maybe next cycle.

Or there's always Peacock!

What other cast & crew do you notice from other movies/shows being incorporated into the many Dick Wolf productions?

I've always noticed plenty of NBC Universal regulars (so everyone from one of their film franchises like Jurassic Park and The Purge to other TV sagas like Battlestar Galactica and Murder, She Wrote);

Given how it's in New York, there's of course plenty of talent from Sesame Street, Oz and Sopranos incorporated into there all the time.

There's always some Bones, Star Trek, X-Files and even Criminal Minds level talent that come into the fold; it's been neat seeing some writers, directors and key actors from the 24 saga be utilized (esp. on the FBI shows).

Who are your favorites?

Caught Alexandra Borgia aka stripper Jasmine Blake on season 12 ep 22 before Annie joined as ADA in season 15.

And I realized for the first time Claire went into Jack’s existing office.

For some reason, I always thought Jack was moving into Ben’s office.

Also noticed Jack mentioned Ben.

(Second Opinion)

Just re-watched this episode on Sundance TV and my gosh, is it a doozy. Between the judge's incomprehensible decision making and Lennie's daughter, I was sobbing by the end. Lauren Ambrose's acting is superb though.

Sorry, Malcolm MacDowell. You're a great actor. But this episode needs a flow chart to understand the whos, whats, and whys.

And Jonas Slaughter was a vile, evil man.

The franchise sure loved some names more than others, didn't it?

Declan

Alexandra

Frank

Mike

Serena

Watching seasons 26 & 27 of SVU I'm starting to feel that it's back on the way up - Benson's team is shaping up nicely and the cases are interesting and well written. L&O, on the other hand, is a car crash. Boring cases, hardly any detectjve work, they seem to want to turn Brady into Benson by having her too involved in the cases (why is she handling all the interrogations?), and every case aeems to have some personal connection to the DA team. Yawn.

And all of this was given sharp focus in the crossover episode in S27 of SVU. Showing Price next to Carisi in court highlights just how poorly written Price's character is in comparison. And the whole episode just dropped to the level of L&O rather than rising to the level of SVU

From Odelya’s Instagram, announced today! 🥹🥹

Curious if this will be written into the next season, or if it will be completely ignored like what was done with Mariska’s pregnancy back in Season 8 of SVU

Congrats to her!