I Don't Get It
22/9/05 21:42![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madrobinsCan someone explain to me the popularity of Law and Order:SVU? I don't want to yuck anyone's yum here; I know a lot of people love it--people whose opinions I value. And I keep trying to like it; I keep trying to get it. For years I was a Law and Order watcher, until they succumbed utterly to the "ripped from the headlines" thing (at which the only amusement was in trying to guess where they'd deviate from the real-life case). And SVU should be my cuppa, because I like police procedurals and I have a morbid fascination with serial killers and "sexually based offenses," as the narration puts it.
So what don't I like?
The writing. I know I'm a plot devil--even on a well written show I can usually predict some of what's going to happen; it's kind of comforting, really. But with SVU I can predict nine-out-of-ten plot developments, and about half the dialogue (the trenchant just-before-cut-to-commercial lines are very predictable). But if Spouse and I are watching SVU, half the time he predicts dialogue and plot twists. He's a sound guy; writing is my department.
And then there's the acting. Well, some of that is writing, too. I watched the season premiere, and at the point when The Bad Guy shoved a gun into Stabler's jaw, I was sitting there muttering "pull the trigger! Pull the trigger!" I find Stabler and Benson irritating beyond the telling of it. The characters are overwritten. The "sexual tension" thing is overdone. And what I would call the "character dossier twitches" (like: Olivia Benson's mother's rape getting trotted out at every opportunity to explain why she ate what she ate for breakfast...) would be a hell of a lot more interesting if they were used more sparingly. Okay, so some of what drives me crazy is how the characters is written; can't blame the actors for that. But the lead roles are so overacted. I get that they're conflicted. I get that the job is hard on them. I even get that they have to have a certain number of opportunities to get Christopher Meloni's shirt off. What I don't get is why, just because the subject matter is often over-the-top, the acting has to be. Perhaps they're directed that way (I've generally found Meloni and Hargitay to be fairly engaging in other roles, so it's not like they can't act at all).
I will say that I think the supporting players--particularly Dann Florek, Ice T and Richard Belzer--are very good. Maybe they're left alone to do their work because everyone else is focussing on Stabler and Benson?
Honest, I'm happy that other people get joy from this show. I just don't get it, and I really would like to. Anyone got a clue?
So what don't I like?
The writing. I know I'm a plot devil--even on a well written show I can usually predict some of what's going to happen; it's kind of comforting, really. But with SVU I can predict nine-out-of-ten plot developments, and about half the dialogue (the trenchant just-before-cut-to-commercial lines are very predictable). But if Spouse and I are watching SVU, half the time he predicts dialogue and plot twists. He's a sound guy; writing is my department.
And then there's the acting. Well, some of that is writing, too. I watched the season premiere, and at the point when The Bad Guy shoved a gun into Stabler's jaw, I was sitting there muttering "pull the trigger! Pull the trigger!" I find Stabler and Benson irritating beyond the telling of it. The characters are overwritten. The "sexual tension" thing is overdone. And what I would call the "character dossier twitches" (like: Olivia Benson's mother's rape getting trotted out at every opportunity to explain why she ate what she ate for breakfast...) would be a hell of a lot more interesting if they were used more sparingly. Okay, so some of what drives me crazy is how the characters is written; can't blame the actors for that. But the lead roles are so overacted. I get that they're conflicted. I get that the job is hard on them. I even get that they have to have a certain number of opportunities to get Christopher Meloni's shirt off. What I don't get is why, just because the subject matter is often over-the-top, the acting has to be. Perhaps they're directed that way (I've generally found Meloni and Hargitay to be fairly engaging in other roles, so it's not like they can't act at all).
I will say that I think the supporting players--particularly Dann Florek, Ice T and Richard Belzer--are very good. Maybe they're left alone to do their work because everyone else is focussing on Stabler and Benson?
Honest, I'm happy that other people get joy from this show. I just don't get it, and I really would like to. Anyone got a clue?