Law & Order: SVU season 11 – Can Elliot and Olivia clean up their act for 9PM?

One summer, however many years ago, my wife and I discovered that our TiVo had a vast wasteland where recorded items should be — remember those summer days of old? Fearing the outdoors, and activities, we decided to try a number of series that were airing, in endless syndication, in advance of the new fall season. That’s how we picked up Criminal Minds, Cold Case, and NCIS.

It’s also how I began watching Law & Order: SVU (my wife added The Closer to her list that summer). At the time, I actually tried all three incarnations of Law & Order — hell, we even gave Conviction a shot when it aired live. But with cookie-cutter shows, it’s the characters that stand the lone chance of drawing you in. And SVU has quite a cast of them.

Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) are the rock that holds this thing together. I think they can, at times, get a little too uncomfortably close — were we supposed to think, for a really long time, that these two were going to get together? Because I certainly did — but there’s no question about where the heart of the show lies. John Munch (Richard Belzer), too, is an iconic piece of the Law & Order mythology, a conspiracy-theory-twirling nut who adds some class to this down and dirty unit. Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) was a really smart addition to the show way back when, although, for me, Ice-T’s never been better than he was as Danny Up on New York Undercover.

George Huang (B.D. Wong) was also a smart casting call, even if it’s no fun trying to guess when he’ll pop up next. Can you believe that this is the same Wong who played Howard Weinstein in the Father of the Bride movies? Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) is a solid character who sometimes seems a bit too lonely at the top (unlike John Stillman, on Cold Case). Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) should play a larger role, but her, like Huang’s, appearances are too few and far between for my tastes.

The “Law” side of things, for me, just isn’t quite as interesting. First of all, there’s constant disappointment when the criminals our detectives chase down get off on technicalities … and that’s real life. But, second, the revolving door of ADAs attached to the SVU unit haven’t always worked so well for me. Casey Novak (Diane Neal) is actually kind of a wimp, in my mind. Alex Cabot (Stephanie March), on the other hand, was the pinnacle of public lawyers on the show, but she’s mostly out the door now. The rest have kind of floated in and out. The best of the “Law” side is Judge Elizabeth Donnelly (Judith Light), who gives an astonishingly profound and powerful performance for the former Angela Bower.

But the problem, at least mine, with the “Law” side of things, actually extends a little into the “Order” of it all. After forming the nucleus of the show (with Fin coming to complete it later on), SVU has failed to branch out and infuse itself with fresh blood. A number of characters have made tentative steps — most memorably, for me, being Adam Beach — but no one’s made it out the other side with any longevity. Even Noel Fisher, as super-creepy tech (and murderer) Dale Stuckey clearly has no future on the show. Nor does Tech Ryan O’Halloran (Mike Doyle), great as a supporting star for 50 plus episodes, now dead at the hands of Stuckey.

SVU does well in putting its characters in danger, but how many times can we see Elliot suspended for crossing the line? Or see Olivia wonder how her being the product of rape has affected her? Someone new needs to be challenged on the show, or else it may not live to get into another salary dispute with its stars.

However, I may not be around to see it through, even if it does succeed in adding some new blood to the old recipe. Since having a baby, I’ve found it somewhat difficult to watch a show that, lately, has focused most of its cases on the child-crime aspect of the unit. Terrible things exist, and we definitely shouldn’t be sticking our heads in the sand about them, but we also don’t necessarily need to watch them on TV. I’m not saying I’m abandoning ship, just that the thought has crossed my mind. Certainly not, however, for lack of series’ quality.

So, where are we as season 11 commences? Well, there isn’t much story continuity on this series, but we should be smack in the middle of an ADA juggle; Alex Cabot will appear for most of the season, although with Sonya Paxton (Christine Lahti) warming her seat as we get under way. No word yet on the new permanent ADA going forward (guess it’s not Cabot). Meanwhile, what will a shift to 9PM do to this dark show?

That’s right … Leno didn’t just make new 10PM NBC dramas obsolete. He also shifted the returning ones an hour earlier (and in this case, a day later, as well). How will the earlier air time change the tone and nature of the show? It may actually have enough of an effect to make me comfortable with it once more … who knows? But, can SVU survive in a more family-friendly slot? Then again, doesn’t Criminal Minds somehow manage it? And man, is that show scary (and amazing!).

Find out either way, as season 11 premieres on Wednesday, September 23, at 9:00. For all your other premiere needs, check out our fall 2009 schedule.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Sep 16, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT