But more often than not, the SVU of today is a markedly different show than it once was, which would be a given for most scripted dramas to produce over 300 hours of television, but is a profound compliment for a spin-off of a show that prided itself on its slavish devotion to a meticulous formula. SVU’s willingness to evolve is what left it standing among the rubble of the once-impregnable L&O franchise.Or maybe the longevity is because SVU has always been the most prurient of the L&O franchises.
The original L&O was a long-time TV staple for me and, for a time, I was a devotee of all the spin-offs. Criminal Intent's first few seasons were the best of the franchise. SVU was the show that I got into last and got tired of first.
As usual, I was in the minority and probably for the very reasons that writer Joshua Alston finds exciting in the new era of SVU. He enjoys the serialization of the stories and the increased attention to the lives of its characters.
My slowness in appreciating SVU and the subsequent loss of that appreciation came from the show's insistence that every case had to be someone's Worst Case Ever. I didn't like having to watch the actors grimace and ask each other, "What's going on with you?"-- I wanted to see the case play out.
That was the original's strength. Thankfully, every story wasn't jerry-rigged with a "shocking twist," but you knew that the case would take at least a couple of turns before the verdict came in. By splitting the focus between investigation and prosecution, the writers had more moving parts to play with, which I think was the secret to its extended freshness.
Certainly something had to change in the SVU formula. I've been catching up with the series thanks to constant marathons on USA and the most recent seasons have been just terrible. I like to think that I can see disgust on Christopher Meloni's face in his last seasons; procedural dramas are notoriously boring for actors and Meloni has enough respect in the industry to do a lot more interesting work. When the work went from dull to dull and stupid, it's time to renegotiate one's salary.
But I'm curious about Alston's automatic assumption that "serialization=better." I suppose I can chalk it up to The AV Club's new, young staff--they simply believe that each season of a show should be a an extended film.
They're not in the minority, at least among the chattering classes. I think, like everything else in America, there's a polarization within the mass audience that wasn't nearly so pronounced as it is now. The youngsters writing online these days think that entertainment is life, that the advances to the televisual arts supplied by Mad Men and Breaking Bad are monumental.
Well, I'm a grown man with a job and a family and a million interests. When the television is on, I'm not interested in dropping everything else in my life and sitting with rapt attention, lest I miss a knowing look or a subtle clue. The cult of serialization is not for me.
It's not for the general public, either: take a look at the top shows of the 2012-2013 season. Of those, I only recognize two, The Walking Dead and The Following, as serialized dramas. The rest non-reality shows are episodic.
I think we'll see a return to episodic television among the chatterers eventually. That's where the money is and money draws talent.
Television has the ability to tell long, multi-hour stories but that's not its strength. The television, in case you haven't noticed, is a piece of furniture, even with a Chromecast attached.
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