For those of us hooked on Law & Order: Suburban Vehicle Utility or SVU – the conclusion to the 15th year was a bit anti-climatic but still some of the best television on the broadcast networks. There’s always some drama with the detectives, and despite the show’s longevity, it’s those internal problems which detract from the show. Law & Order SVU is a crime drama as close to Perry Mason as we have on television today. A long-running program with bad guys that usually get caught. But where Raymond Burr’s character’s personal life was not part of the black & white TV series (that changed for Fred Silverman’s movies based on the fictional lawyer) in Law & Order SVU we got Elliot Stabler’s myriad problems (Chris Meloni’s original character,) Alexandra Cabot getting shot at, Captain Donald Cragen’s drinking and getting arrested, Amanda Rollins having a gambling problem. Really, the illicit activities of the detectives of the Special Victims Unit take away from the compelling crime stories.
This fan of the show believes that had SVU stuck to the cases it would be far more effective, but since those cases are the core of the show, we put up with Nick Amaro in jail, Olivia Benson behind bars (Captain Donald Cragen waiting before freeing her as he wanted to “savor” the moment) – and now with the season ending, actor Danny Pino, a wonderful replacement for Chris Meloni, is on the hotseat for the summer while – and this is hardly a spoiler as the show has it in a trailer – Olivia Benson is adopting an illegitimate child, which is something she has toyed with over the 15 seasons.
Yes, we can watch the re-runs all summer and get acquainted with all the episodes from Season 15, and yes, the excellent storyline was marred by the personal business of the detectives once again, but there is no show that works the meat of the show like SVU does. Not CSI, not JAG, even the wonderful Listener (a young consultant for the police has the powers of the X-Men’s Professor X and can read minds) – all these well-done programs don’t have the sparkle of SVU. And perhaps the writers and producers take liberties they should not take because they know they have something special. It’s just too bad that the pimp and his victims had to take a back seat to the personal issues of the main characters, the alleged “good guys.” Having them push the envelope is one thing, having the detectives hunted by Internal Affairs and the D.A. blurs the line between the cops and the criminals…making it too much like real life.
Oh well, they have a few months to find some creativity that will give Season Sixteen enough sizzle to keep this veteran show relevant.
Nicholas “Nick” Amaro, most likely born in the late 1970s to early 1980s, is a detective who transferred to the Special Victims Unit from narcotics and warrants in 2011. He is charismatic and charming, often using his charm to get difficult witnesses who won’t cooperate to talk.
Watch Law & Order SVU 15th Season Finale Streaming Free Online Below.
Joe Viglione is the Chief Film Critic at TMRZoo.com. He has written thousands of reviews and biographies for AllMovie.com, Allmusic.com, Gatehouse Media, Al Aronowitz’s The Blacklisted Journal, and a variety of other media outlets. Joe also produces and hosts Visual Radio, a seventeen year old variety show on cable TV which has interviewed Jodie Foster, director/screenwriter David Koepp, Michael Moore, John Cena, comics/actors Margaret Cho, Gilbert Gottfried, Gallagher, musicians Mark Farner and Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad, Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals, political commentator Bill Press and hundreds of other personalities.
