lol you haven't seen much american TV have you? your description of SVU (which I disagree with entirely) still makes it better than 99% of crap on TV nowadays.
Law and Order: special victims unit
- Thread starter Hell Awaits Us All
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lol you haven't seen much american TV have you? your description of SVU (which I disagree with entirely) still makes it better than 99% of crap on TV nowadays.
I try to avoid it as much as possible, it makes my brain hurt.
I can imagine the writing sessions for SVU: the committee shows up with newspaper clippings they collected over the past week, they combine the most dramatic/shocking elements of their favourites and the episode is practically written. Since they don't have to worry about things like character development or making sure the episode flows smoothly any further than from one commercial break to the next (where they insert a dramatic cliffhanger!) the whole process probably takes only an hour or so. I assume they just make up the dialog as they go along since there isn't any need for long term planning as far as the plots go.
The characters on SVU are fantastic. I can't imagine how you think there is as lack of character development.
Though I do agree some of the storylines can be a bit disjointed sometimes but I enjoy it.
Though I do agree some of the storylines can be a bit disjointed sometimes but I enjoy it.
I watch around 16 hours of TV a week
subtract sports, it's more like 2-3 hours. I try to catch family guy/simpsons once in a while, those were my favorite shows growing up. Wrestling once in a while and sopranos of course and that's about it.
subtract sports, it's more like 2-3 hours. I try to catch family guy/simpsons once in a while, those were my favorite shows growing up. Wrestling once in a while and sopranos of course and that's about it.
What are you comparing them to? I prefer shows where the characters don't receive a memory wipe at the end of every episode. Compared to shows like Homicide, Intelligence, Oz, Da Vinci's Inquest/City Hall, etc. the SVU characters are paper thin.
Crime shows don't have to be formulaic crap like Law And Order and CSI, you know.
I remember an episode a while ago where the cast spontaneously broke out into a generic debate on a woman's right to choose (which was the topic of the week) - no progression of the storyline, just equally presenting all sides so as not to risk the mass appeal they have going for them. Subtlety is not a priority for this show.
ThisIsACoolName
Member
As I understand it, character development has never been the focus of Law and Order. The lives of the characters is not the point of the show, and so they don't waste time with it.
My brother is a police officer and my father has been in law enforcement for years. They both say that the Law and Order is a pretty accurate portrayal of detective work / legal process, with a few big (but somewhat necessary) exceptions. The same two detectives cover all of Manhattan, they get a murder or otherwise high-profile case seemingly every week, they manage to solves those cases in a matter of days, the cases they investigate are always tried by the same two prosecutors who always wrap up the case in a timley fashion and the cases almost always end with a jury decision. All those things are fairly necessary for the shows purposes, really. Other than they, they apparently do a pretty good job with accuracy. (All the incarnations of CSI, they say, are pretty much bullshit.)
That's what seperates it from other legal / cop shows on TV. Along with medical shows, most of them are really supposed to be about the people. The reason there are so many doctor / lawyer / cop shows out there is because all of those professions have built-in drama. The Sopranos was pretty much the same deal. You can make a show about accountants and have really great characters, but it's just going to become another soap opera, because there's nothing interesting about being an accountant. Law and Order has always been about the legal process, which makes it a lot easier to stomach.
None of this changes the fact that practically every show on network TV fucking blows, though.
Comedy Central was showing The Upright Citizens Brigade the other day and Tigger Happy TV today.
My brother is a police officer and my father has been in law enforcement for years. They both say that the Law and Order is a pretty accurate portrayal of detective work / legal process, with a few big (but somewhat necessary) exceptions. The same two detectives cover all of Manhattan, they get a murder or otherwise high-profile case seemingly every week, they manage to solves those cases in a matter of days, the cases they investigate are always tried by the same two prosecutors who always wrap up the case in a timley fashion and the cases almost always end with a jury decision. All those things are fairly necessary for the shows purposes, really. Other than they, they apparently do a pretty good job with accuracy. (All the incarnations of CSI, they say, are pretty much bullshit.)
That's what seperates it from other legal / cop shows on TV. Along with medical shows, most of them are really supposed to be about the people. The reason there are so many doctor / lawyer / cop shows out there is because all of those professions have built-in drama. The Sopranos was pretty much the same deal. You can make a show about accountants and have really great characters, but it's just going to become another soap opera, because there's nothing interesting about being an accountant. Law and Order has always been about the legal process, which makes it a lot easier to stomach.
None of this changes the fact that practically every show on network TV fucking blows, though.
Comedy Central was showing The Upright Citizens Brigade the other day and Tigger Happy TV today.
King Richard
Hello there
*and all those posts you made flaming the shit out of that dumb slut*
What the fuck has gotten into you? I agree with everything you just said on the last two pages.
All of the CSI shows are lame and predictable. Especially their overused "look at me im investigating a crime scene now lets let a monkey fuck with the camera to make it look uber intense because i just found a hair on a dead person" scenes.
edit: horray for kids in the hall
Whatever they're "supposed" to be about, they are disposable and formulaic, and that's the bottom line.
It's interesting to compare Law And Order and, say, old episodes of Da Vinci's Inquest. Look at the differences between the witness interviews, how much more realistic the Inquest ones are (I don't know for sure, never been to New York, maybe everyone there gets interviewed by homicide detectives every day so they're used to spouting of information in a conveniently rapid fashion). The "Law And Order witness" is such a generic character they might as well use the same supporting cast each week. Suspects and defense lawyers are similarly drawn from a few stock profiles (a necessary consequence of having a million episodes a year, of course, but this obviously shows us where the priorities of those behind the show lie).
It's interesting to compare Law And Order and, say, old episodes of Da Vinci's Inquest. Look at the differences between the witness interviews, how much more realistic the Inquest ones are (I don't know for sure, never been to New York, maybe everyone there gets interviewed by homicide detectives every day so they're used to spouting of information in a conveniently rapid fashion). The "Law And Order witness" is such a generic character they might as well use the same supporting cast each week. Suspects and defense lawyers are similarly drawn from a few stock profiles (a necessary consequence of having a million episodes a year, of course, but this obviously shows us where the priorities of those behind the show lie).
The Ozzman
Melted by feels
King Richard
Hello there
I used to surf on the same side of the island it's filmed on. It's at the north shore on Oahu. Great show, makes me miss Hawaii even more everytime I watch that and Dog.
ThisIsACoolName
Member
It's certainly a lot tougher to get into when you watch it on TV. The constant commercial breaks and the week off between episodes hurts the momentum. If you can borrow from someone the first season on DVD (and if you have a weekend to kill), you should definetley check it out. A lot of the material that gets cut for time is kept in the episodes for the DVDs, which is also a big plus.
Satanstoenail
My Larpstyle determines my Derpstyle
cookiecutter
Proceed to Ultraslamming
I had a dream last night where Gilligan was in another show except his name was "Gilligan Illigan".
monoxide_child
New Metal Member
- Jul 30, 2008
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i am definately a fan of SVU (i like it a lot more than the other L&O shows)
i also like all the CSI shows
i also like all the CSI shows
Dak
mentat
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
It is curious the sheer quantity of law-related shows out lately, regardless of genre/theme/content. There are an absurd amount of procedurals/law-related shows in the last decade or so.
and those court shows during the day are appalling.
and those court shows during the day are appalling.
monoxide_child
New Metal Member
- Jul 30, 2008
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Reno 911 was funni-er than Scrubs
yes
the amount of crime procedural type shows is absurd, but each show has some good episodes
and yeah, i agree with you
the court shows durring the daytime are appalling, they're all the result of America's "reality show" obsession
also, the court shows are cheap to make, there's no "high-payed screen-writers" and there's not really any expense to making the show, they're just placing cameras inside court rooms
Einherjar86
Active Member
I hate this fucking show. The moralizing is awful; the righteous cop figure is utterly fucking ridiculous, but Dick Wolf uses it incessantly. I can't stand the leading characters. It's as though they have this unshakable, unyielding moral core that always points them in the right direction. Stupid, stupid.
Also, it's the only thing playing midday when I'm home on Wednesdays, and it severely distracts me. It plays right into contemporary culture's obsession with explanations, and I'm not immune.
Also, it's the only thing playing midday when I'm home on Wednesdays, and it severely distracts me. It plays right into contemporary culture's obsession with explanations, and I'm not immune.
Dak
mentat
monoxide_child
New Metal Member
- Jul 30, 2008
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i thought the character's are supposed to be kinda one-dimentional
Eliot Stabler is the always-pissed-off-type character
Olivia Benson is always the ultra-sensitive-sympathizing-with-the-victim-type cop
you know the whole "good-cop-bad-cop-routine"
these 2 characters (moreso than the others) are actually supposed to look one-dementional
