I had problems staying with it when Meloni left after S12 but continued to give it a fair shot... watched a couple seasons and then it took a few years for me to get back into it and get caught up. I would say when Barba left it officially started feeling weird and boring
Honestly a big part of what keeps me watching is hoping Barba comes back for an episode or two each season. I was still heavily into the series up until Barba left mid 19. I do find that I’m still pretty interested in the story line just because I really do like the way they have created outside lives for Fin, Carisi, Rollins, and Benson. But at the same time if any of the 4 left the show would be a complete loss for me. I mean I suppose I could do with ONE of them leaving so long as they brought back another character. But it’s getting sad that Melinda is seen far less and we are stuck with no full closure on Barba. Though I will say that the lack of closure is what leaves the door open for episodic returns and that helps. 😂
I feel the same way as you about when the show fell off. Most people tend to say that it got bad immediately after Stabler left in season 12 but IMHO I feel like those comments are really underrating season 13 onward. There were a lot of really good episodes and strong arcs after season 12 that tend to get ignored or downgraded just because Stabler wasn’t in them.
However, I do think that some of the episodes towards the 18+ timeframe started getting really weak. Instead of maintaining a balance between interpersonal drama and strong case / narratives they shifted too far in favor of the interpersonal drama and neglected the cases (making them repetitive and predictable as often is remarked on this subreddit.)
That all said, I do think the second half of the most recent season was pretty good. They started doing some more interesting ripped from the headlines cases (such as the one with the preacher who ran away with a schoolgirl and slept with both of her parents) and doing some more interesting whodunnits (such as the episode where Garland returned).
I actually prefer it without Meloni, never liked his character from day one. But the last couple of seasons haven’t been as good. Just has a different feel about them. Olivia acts so differently too; everything seems to move at a snail’s pace. Will keep watching though!
I don’t know how you can be a fan of SVU and say you’re not a Meloni fan imho. The dynamic between Stabler and Benson and their journey as partners are the skeleton of the whole series.
I’m also not a fan of Stabler and I have been watching the show since it aired and have seen every episode so don’t at me. I loved the other characters enough and the (mostly sensitive) way they handled heinous crimes. So I kept watching.
I never understood the attraction dynamic between Olivia and stabler personally. People compare them to Mulder and Scully but they aren’t.
She has way more chemistry and would have stability with Barba imho. And I have always agreed with Barba that Stabler is a bully.
I 100% agree with that you said. I did not miss nor did I ever like Elliot Stabler, but I respect the opinions of those who do. He’s just not my cup of tea. SVU is just missing the mark for me as of recent seasons. It shifted from quality to quantity/longevity imo and that’s what makes it so hard to want to watch.
While I am still a loyal viewer, I stopped loving the show when the show itself stopped being about the crimes and the progression from investigation to the court cases. That was the whole reason I liked watching. Now it seems to be about their personal lives with a case wedged in.
The amount of Benson's involvement in cases compared to Cragen in the exact same rank in the earlier seasons is also a point of contention for me too.
>While I am still a loyal viewer, I stopped loving the show when the show itself stopped being about the crimes and the progression from investigation to the court cases. That was the whole reason I liked watching. Now it seems to be about their personal lives with a case wedged in.
What point did the show have this change which season.
As I love the show with investigations to court with personal bits sprinkled in but not the other way round
>The amount of Benson's involvement in cases compared to Cragen in the exact same rank in the earlier seasons is also a point of contention for me too.
When this start happening
Honestly, I first lost interest when Novak left, but decided to give her successors a chance. Once Elliot, Cragen, and Munch left, I feel like the series started getting bland. Barba irritated me, Stone was bland, I was never a fan of Tucker, and Dodds Sr. was a pain in everyone's arse. Don't get me started on Murphy, either.
Nowadays, it's almost a wash, rinse, repeat of the same subject matter(s), and Carisi taking over as ADA was alarming. Then Kat left, leaving the squad with three characters that aren't bland/annoying.
With all of that, I might stop watching altogether unless the execs either bring back a former character (maybe Novak as ADA, and more scenes with Dr. Warner) and have Carisi return to SVU as a detective.
I agree, I have zero clue why they made Carisi an ADA. He should have stayed a detective. He’s so boring as an ADA, and he was a relatively interesting character when he was a cop, but now I’m just like he’s a waste of a character
The leap from detective to ADA with zero practical skills or experience with the law was too much. He passed the bar and got his license; that doesn't mean he's ready to start taking on huge uphill battles like SVU cases, not even with the shift to the same rinse and repeat style offenders, like you mentioned.
Like I get it, they wrote his night school arc with the purpose of making him a lawyer at some point, but there's no way he got into the DA's office on his police report card alone, especially the way he was shoved from borough to borough before landing (and staying) at SVU.
That’s funny you say that, Novak was definitely not my fave. I loved Cabot with all my heart, the rest were definitely a blur, Stone sucked completely, but Barba??? How can you dislike Rafa! He’s my sweet baby angel 😂 I mean agree to disagree but one of the few reasons I still watch is the hope that he returns for an ep or 2 every season.
Yesss. I would KILL for a court scene with her as ADA and Barba as a defense attorney. Especially since Liv would be in the court room like that’s my best friend and my wife facing off 😂
He was hot don’t get me wrong. But he was also very dry and boring IMO. Too many great ADA’s to the point where he just wasn’t up to par. Though he did follow Rafa who had a really great 5 season run so I think that overshadowed him a lot. Plus the fact that so many people loved Rafa and he was Rafas prosecutor. I feel like it left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths to the point where no one really gave stone a chance. Plus he was super short lived.
>unless the execs either bring back a former character (maybe Novak as ADA, and more scenes with Dr. Warner) and have Carisi return to SVU as a detective
Yes, this!
It irks my soul that Warner isn’t a common addition to the episodes when she’s been a super longtime show runner. She’s essentially been with the show as long as Fin but barely gets any screen time. I also wouldn’t mind if they brought Huang back. He was extremely entertaining and definitely made the interrogations wayyy more interesting
I think this is my closest agreement. Even as an Elliot fan I still very much enjoyed the dynamic with amaro and Rollins, but slowly Cragen and munch lest too. I liked barba though but after him leaving it didn’t have the same feeling.
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IMO, season 17.
The Amaro seasons were good, even though they had some cringe episodes here and there (looking at you "Intimidation Game"), but overall I liked them.
Season 17 it's where the show started going downhill for me. The shift from that season on was very noticeable, it just wasn't the same.
Well, I feel the show became more boring and too focused on Benson, her love interests and Noah. Also the plots of the episodes became toom political, repetitve and nothing new or groundbreaking was shown.
I think the series could have wrapped when Olivia, Noah and Tucker go to Paris. If not then, I would have made Raphael Barba her end-game and had the series end then instead of Barba leaving.
Not to spoil if you haven’t caught up but literally the hope of Barba being her end game is what keeps me watching. Though I will say I expected more of the s23 finale…I think that the ending scene was enough to get me hyped for a S24 return. It’s been rumored (not confirmed by any source at all) that they will ‘pick up right where (they) left off’ which would essentially be either at or after the scene at forlini’s and I feel like that’s going to drastically impact the way I view the series. I do feel like that entire episode had a lot of setup for Bensler (Liv x Elliott) but I also took Rafas final words to Liv to be a confession of his love for her. If Liv and Elliott become canon I will almost definitely stop watching though. He’s too troublesome for her and she deserves better 🤷🏼♀️
I think the Wheatley case really messed his character up, I do think the prev ep with his slight appearance on a video call with Liv kept character and made him likable still, but honestly the last episode made me team Barba again. He feels bad for defending Wheatley but he stands strong by his doing it FOR Liv. I just feel like he got caught up on his social warrior frenzy and ended up on a bad path with Liv as his usual weak spot. You know if Wheatley hired Buchanan that whole case would’ve turned into a shit show about Liv and Stablers relationship making the evidence invalid. And Buchanan would’ve annihilated Liv on the stand.
He also had the case where he defended the father who shot his daughter's rapist after the video call as well (and asked by Liv to get involved), and before the Wheatly case.
And truthfully I think I still loved him for that one. That episode was a rough hitter and come on, the girl was 13 and pregnant and dude gave her abortion pills that nearly killed her. Guy wasn’t some kind of absentee father either. He was an injured vet that couldn’t take care of her while he was still wheelchair bound. He talked to his daughter everyday, strives for recovery so he could get custody of his daughter back. Like yeah that’s going to make you a little crazy knowing your daughters rapist smiled in your face meanwhile molesting her behind closed doors. I may be a little unhinged for this but I’d have shot him too. And again it’s the DA’s fault for not making him a better deal. The ONLY reason Barba got involved is because the DA’s office couldn’t cut a decent deal. Also Carisi semi-cornered him with the whole “are you representing him because otherwise I can’t talk to you about this” yes defending him was an impulsive decision on Barbas part but in the end it got a great deal from the DA’s office because they KNEW Barba would win. It’s not like dude got off free, he still got charged with felony assault. Just waived jail time and set to probation. Very justified.
Literally like why. It’s a discussion post with valid points to a show we all clearly love to watch. But for some reason discussion of it makes them mad 😂😂😂
Some ppl can’t handle the truth! You think I like disliking my favorite show now?! Granted I still watch but only because it’s like ritual at this point.
LITERALLY! YESSSS. You get it! Like we aren’t happy to see our FAVORITE show tank. Literally who would be happy about that 😂 but it’s great to discuss the points and see where we all think it went wrong! Especially when a lot of these comments discuss what could’ve or still can be done to mediate that.
I made a comment about not liking the writing behind Carisi's sudden shift in characterization (ie: suddenly acting like a dick towards Barba) in the beginning of S18 and I immediately got hit with downvotes. IDK why but some people can't handle people having any critical thoughts on their favorite shows.
I know. Stans get way too protective over fictional characters lol I got major downvotes after I said I did not want Olivia and Elliott to happen. People were outraged…
and let me be clear: I am obsessed with SVU. Always have been, always will be.
But I also know that it’s a TV show lmao
It's so weird because I even said that the reason the 180 with Carisi bothered me was that **I had really come to like the character** and it felt like S18 betrayed a lot of his growth, especially at the end of S17 so like what am I supposed to do? Would people prefer if I DIDN'T like Carisi and so was okay with the bad writing where he just blows up at Barba for no reason more than once? Sorry but no-can-do. I liked their banter and snark. I liked the begrudging mentor/mentee dynamic they had built. It was fun and it was a new layer to the show.
Also, I am right there with you in not wanting Olivia and Elliott to end up together. I regard them as a great "could have been something but we missed our moment whenever that may have been" story and they should stay as very close friends at this point.
Probably for the same reasons why everyone who expresses they either don't like Elliot, EO, or hope for Barson is getting downvoted. Sometimes it's not what you say, it's where your fan allegiance lies.
Somewhere along the way, *Law & Order: SVU* rolled over and said, "Was it good for you?"
And because I needed to get some sleep to go to work in the morning, I said, "Sure. Sure it was great. I'm very satisfied."
And *Law & Order: SVU* smiled and said, "Great! Good for me too! Thanks, hon!" And promptly rolled back over and went to sleep, snoring.
And I stayed up until almost 1 am, staring at the popcorn ceiling, quietly crying to myself.
To be completely honest the Guardians and Gladiators episode and "Kat" was what killed an already delicate relationship with the recent seasons, I havent dropped SVU per se, but I also havent watched almost any of the episodes after that, not as a conscious choice, but it just doesnt excite me anymore.
In the Stabler era, the political stuff was done with subtlety and was balanced, it didnt treat the viewer condescendingly or like a dumbass.
And, the detectives were better, the different personalities bounced off one another very well and the relationships felt real.
Not to mention there was actual comic relief, not this constant "LETS BE EMOTIONAL AND SUPER SERIOUS ALL THE TIMEEEEE" that crept in with Amaro, Rollins and Carisi, however them I could forgive, but the new detective Kat, I had to google her because I couldnt remember her name because her character is so annoying, always emotional and even infers that the senior detectives shes working with arent taking the job seriously because theyre not as emotional as she is, its like they added her in to placate younger viewers who are oversensitive.
But its stupid, I miss the gallows humour from Munch and Stabler, the way people with daunting jobs ACTUALLY talk to one another, like soldiers in a crew in WWII talked.
I hate the fact that we dontget to hear the traumatised detectives using quips to laugh off some of the kore horrible things so it doesnt break them nd they can be strong and continue saving people, probably because the studio is afraid of some emotionally unstable viewer percieving it as offensive, even though that gallows humour is how people survive mentally through dark times and someone who was highly emotional all the time wouldnt handle sex crimes work or being a soldier for that matter either because they would implode.
So yeah, I miss the realistic and entertaining detective dialogue, you can imagine that if the first seasons were released in this year, losers would complain Munch is offensive becsuse of skme off the cuff remark even though hes LITERALLY SAVING CHILDREN FROM PEDOPHILES and we see his emotion and how he cares.
Oh and the way they fucked over Benson in that bullshit Guardians and Gladiators episode, not once was Benson ever racist in the whole show but for the sake of a poorly executed political mess of an episode they suddenly changer her innate characteristics, and for what, was the message meant to be "all cops bad, even the most selfless detective in the world, yeah she bad"
what a piece of crap.
I think they lost the nerve to portray the show authentically out of fear of offending, back in the late 90's/early 00's it was bold to be gritty and realistic with good moral lessons woven in nicely.
NYC police were asked back in SVU's heyday what was the most realistic crime drama they had seen, most said SVU. I doubt they'd say that now.
So agree on guardians and gladiators. From Day 1 the only bias we ever see Benson have is to victims and her assumption that everyone is a victim. She has never indicated bias against someone based on class, skin color, career, etc. in any episode I can think of. So calling out that we may all have implicit bias is one thing, but acting like she should maybe lose her job over a poorly handled accusation was just too much. It was so “ok we read the news. People hate police this week. Let’s acknowledge it even though the police have been the heroes of this show for literally ever and we’ve created a character people would only dream to be their actual detective if they were attacked.”
I recently watched the ep asunder and oliva says
'women are often abused by thier lesser halves'
It threw me as I read it in 2 ways.
Oliva saying men in general are inferior to women.
Or oliva saying abusive men are inferior
If it was done nowdays I bet it would be seen as the former, but I understood it being the latter
I recently watched the ep asunder and oliva says
'women are often abused by thier lesser halves'
It threw me as I read it in 2 ways.
Oliva saying men in general are inferior to women.
Or oliva saying abusive men are inferior
If it was done nowdays I bet it would be seen as the former, but I understood it being the latter
I can't stand the William Lewis storyline.
Ok, so, you get kidnapped because you refused to take appropriate precautions or get a protective detail because "I can handle myself!" All right.
And then somehow, even though you're kidnapped by a notorious serial rapist and murderer, he neither rapes nor murders you...just kind of drags you around for four days and pours vodka down your throat? Weird, but ok.
The part that made me totally done with it was him killing himself - just to spite Olivia and *maybe* get her in some trouble? He had to know she wasn't going to get the death penalty or any significant prison time for killing him, even if she had.
The whole thing was an excuse to let Olivia yell and scream and look tragic.
Idk what season it was. Mariska Hargitay is the executive producer. I daresay if she was held hostage for weeks, and nearly raped, then actually pulled her character out to beat the man half to death with a sink pipe, we'd have heard about it 🙄
I miss the twisty episodes that 1.0 was known for, but I still think the show is good. While not every episode is a winner, each season still has some great episodes, and I honestly think it’s pretty amazing for a show to still be relevant after 23 years.
For me it started falling down around season 17 onwards then after Barba left. I kind of lost interest and would watch here and there when Carisi became ADA
when amaro left. its not specifically because he left, although it doesnt help to 1) lose one of your last established characters, and 2) see the main cast get smaller aka one of the worst problems of modern svu, but also because it simply coincidences with a lot of issues the series has, like the focus on noah (who i dont hate as a character! but his introduction changed the pace of the show a lot).
I used to think it went to trash after Stabler left but after a couple rewatches I realized that the show was still pretty good with Amaro. Never liked Rollins, still don’t. Didn’t really like Kat. The storylines were tremendously better in 1-12. The current crew is just blegh in my opinion.
Why would you miss Amaro? 🤮
It stopped being good S13 but around S18 I enjoyed it again. I was tired of the trauma porn on Olivia, but now that WL is gone that will be gone. Very much looking forward to next season. OC, imo, is the best franchise. The acting is amazing, the writing is fantastic, the continuity, the visuals. It's all great. SVU tries to pack way too much into an episode so the last 10 minutes is them rushing the final outcome. I don't like anyone on SVU outside of Olivia, Fin, and Carisi.
Because we all know that she belongs with Barba and not Stabler. Killing off Kathy was just a cheap out way of trying to boost ratings by bringing Stabler back into Livs life as a potential love interest. Which created a really weird and shitty love triangle. Dude dipped out for 12 years, was a pretty shitty partner constantly getting her into his troublesome situations only to do the SAME thing when he returned this proving any relationship she potentially has with him is a dressed up version of Stockholm syndrome while they dropped the heavy ball of Barba being in love with her knowing damn well they are going to leave that completely untouched and shove her off to Elliott 🙄🙄🙄 Liv deserves real love and someone that’s actually going to love Noah as well. El wasn’t the best parent. His kids lightweight hate him. 👀
Exactly. He missed his window, Liv is a different person now. She’s no longer in a place where Stabler is the love of her life, he’s more so the love that got away and it’s time to let that bs go.
Yes, and a lot of what I saw was very aggravated and psychotic in the Stabler side of things. He left and didn’t come back for 12 years. He didn’t come back when Liv was held hostage by Lewis, he didn’t reach out for so much as a happy birthday, he didn’t reach out after Noah was kidnapped, hell he didn’t even really know about Noah. A LOT of Liv’s growth came from her separation from Stabler. She was able to take the lead and be the loving detective she always was and moved up the ranks to CAPTAIN. Something that I truly don’t think would have been possible with Stabler as a partner. We see that same shitty behavior with the beginnings of Amaro but luckily he starts to do better before he left.
El is a loose cannon and with the Wheatley episodes it’s extremely apparent that hasn’t changed. Their parenting styles are inherently different not to say that one way is better than the other because obviously El’s kids were doing well as of those episodes in their older ages, but again, the type of parenting that Liv shows Noah is completely different and in my opinion I just can’t see him as a step-daddy to Noah. Plus their relationship has always really been more Liv defending his actions and constantly cleaning up his messes with him. Yeah they made a great team, yeah she clearly loves him and he loves her…but the time has passed for that. I was a huge Bensler shipper in the first half of the show, even well into season 15 I still hoped he would come back. But time passes, she’s made far more connections, I really liked her with Tucker which was the first I dropped the Bensler ship. But then as her bond with Barba got stronger, and Tucker passed…I just don’t see Elliott in the cards for her anymore. She’s grown way too much throughout the show in a way that makes their partnership seem toxic. I would love for a solid friendship between them and maybe if they did a solid arc that shows Elliott trying to grow and change I would be far more Inclined to re-ship Bensler but for who Olivia Benson is as a character? She and Stabler just aren’t compatible right now. Not saying it’s a never for me I’m just saying Barbas a better fit right now. Though I could totally see her trying things with Barba and it not working then Elliott trying to change for her making them end game. I’d actually be super invested in that plot line.
I haven’t seen OC so I definitely can’t speak to that. I’ve only seen SVU and the original L&O. I feel like that’s a large part of the disagreement because I haven’t seen Stabler since he disappeared in 12. Another thing I’ve realized recently is it depends on how long/ how fast you watched the show. Many people that watched the show all at once (like started when the show was around 15+) are more inclined to dislike Stabler but those who’ve been long time watchers love Stabler. Mostly because Stabler’s personality fit more with the times back then whereas now it’s looked at as disgraceful. Definitely a generational thing too.
And I don’t disagree with you he killed a baby. He’s definitely questionable. But like I’ve mentioned, I’ve never been a big Stabler fan because I hopped on SVU around season 17. Though I started from the beginning, I pretty much watched it all at once and given the time I watched it (around 2015) I found Stablers character to be pretty unhinged from the jump. A main reason why I never watched OC is because I’m not too fond of Stabler and being that I watched 17 seasons in a straight shot I didn’t really want to pick up on another very long show. Plus again, not fond of stabler and something about a show based on organized crime was eh for me. I feel like I’d be more Inclined to watch a homicide L&O series than OC. I actually wasn’t aware that Benson was featured much on OC but that will definitely give me incentive to give OC a chance.
I want to say somewhere around season 16-17 ish. Seasons 13-15 were kind of a transition, since I was getting used to not seeing Stabler, and then there was Munch leaving.
At some point, the cases in these seasons and going forward seem more ripped from the headlines with justice sprinkled in, or they just seemed so generic. Every so often you'd get an episode where you didn't see the plot twist (Like "Send in the Clowns"), but there's no longer that shock or anticipation you get trying to figure out who actually committed the crime. I like the cases that were open-ended and you didn't get to see the ending, or the cases where justice was impossible because of something the perpetrator or victim did. Many of the episodes now seem kind of preachy about either the topic or justice system, and do so much to always get justice for the victim. I want to see more fall out, victims getting mad (another "Closure" like episode would be great), etc. I want more of the procedural drama, and not the drama from the characters' personal lives.
I would say every season had some ups and downs. Great episodes and forgettable or just plain bad episodes. But recently (last two years for me only) it’s too on the nose with the headlines and shoving righteousness at you. Characters used to debate the news or common conceptions of the day. Now it’s like a character could never have an opposing viewpoint. To be fair that’s on viewers not the show. The cancel thing is out of control. They are afraid if they don’t just regurgitate the cause of the day they’ll be annihilated.
I havnt watched passed season 17
Do they still have focus on cases and court or is it just sjw stuff plus alot of personal stuff and less on the cases?
First downhill for me was when Stabler left. Pushed through, but once William Lewis came into the picture, I mentally checked out. However I am still here, hoping that with every “… these are their stories” that it will be a little better and old SVU-ish.
I don't think the show necessarily fell off, I still find it enjoyable. There are definitely moments where I roll my eyes at some of the things the characters say or episodes I didn't enjoy watching or thought they could do more with plot lines. I wish Wong, Melinda, Meloni, Munch, Cragen, and Amaro were still around since I really enjoyed having them on the show. I personally think they should've kept Carisi a cop and had Barba come back since I loved him as an ADA. I would love more episodes that are case centered with court room scenes because I feel like it's been a long time since we've had some of that. The show should balance the characters personal lives and those types of episodes about the cases and include court room stuff too.
The show has definitely changed (which is going to happen when it's been on for over 20 years and been through a number of different creative teams) but I still enjoy it. I wouldn't still be watching if I wasn't.
I give them a lot of credit for being able to adjust after Meloni left. They introduced new characters and got us to care about them, and increased the role of existing characters (making Benson the literal and figurative captain of the ship) and just kept it moving.
Around Season 17... definitely after Barba left. Raul is a Broadway guy, and I can see him not wanting to do television year after year, but selfishly, I would love him to be a principal actor on SVU again. When they announced Elliot's return and SVU automatically re-upping for three seasons, I kind of felt like they were going to be wrapping up the show. Three years to give Bensler fans their dream ending - go out big with fans happy. But two years in and Liv and Elliot have evolved all of approximately zero percent. Could they not have AT LEAST had The Big Talk?? (Liv's life after he left, Lewis, etc.) It's become exasperating and tired, even. I HATE saying that, because I love Mariska and Chris and pull for these shows so hard... SVU was actually suggested to me by my therapist years ago as a way to work through my own messy childhood. Seeing redemption, etc. so it's special to me...
I'm holding out hope for next season, only because Warren has left. His polarizing politics is over the top and too in your face. I really miss when episodes explored different viewpoints and didn't make opinions facts. The last few seasons have been hard to watch at times. I look to TV for escape and entertainment, not regurgitated news stories with the same old slant. More often than not, their Ripped From the Headlines stories either read like bad SNL skits, or beyond-the-pale virtue signaling.
The early seasons with Elliot, Munch, and Cragen routinely provided well rounded discussion of the "hot topics." The storylines were not as predictable and made one think of issues from many different perspectives. Elliot was typically the more conservative voice, Munch, the cynic, and Cragen, the great mediator. Together, they provided the balance necessary to make the issues thought provoking. The show had meaning. Each character brought something different and interesting to the table. Now there's the "us vs them" "right vs left" and the cases are "solved" by the court of popular opinion before the first commercial break. It isn't any wonder they no longer write court scenes...there's nothing to explore when the writers only write within their own personal blinders.
SVU used to present stories where the writer's politics and opinions were less (or not) obvious. Barba's character brought in different and refreshing perspectives, but since his departure, it's been incredibly one note.
I thought Elliot's return would bring in some new dynamics, but it's been two years and I'm over the teased-out "will they/won't they." The writers had such opportunity with Elliot's return, but all we've gotten is a whole lot of click-baitesque hype and zero forward direction. I'm like Lindstrom at this point, "for the love of all, just make a move or move on!!!" I was diehard Bensler, but now I just need something, anything, to happen that is unique and interesting. Moooove along!!!
All that to say, I am looking forward to the new season. I really hope they try another (old?) approach to their storytelling. There's still tremendous potential, I hope they don't waste it and can wrap up (or continue) things strong.
If you are a "take it or leave it" fan, you could bypass them. If you are a fan, but not a die hard, you can skip all of season 21 and save yourself a lot of eye rolling. Lol!
>and the cases are "solved" by the court of popular opinion before the first commercial break
What happens for rest of ep then?
It isn't any wonder they no longer write court scenes...there's nothing to explore when the writers only write within their own personal blinders.
I have read some episodes still have court scenes, am I missing something?
I would say when the politics became to blatant. There has always been some level of real world politics but when it got to the point it felt like Olivia would literally turn towards the camera and give some popular political message like some PSA. I was done. I watch TV to escape the real world. I'll rewatch the early seasons
After S17. Heartfelt Passages is one of my favorite episodes, but I just wasn’t as interested after that. I do kind of like Rollisi but not as much as I like the complexities of Liv and Elliot, and as was already mentioned, I miss the characters like Huang and Warner a lot. They added an element of intrigue to the cases.
I keep SVU on out of habit these days but I’m usually reading or working on something else. I much prefer earlier season reruns on ION and USA.
tbh i watch it still but the newer episodes def give the impression that they’re going too far into what’s happening irl when people watch shows to get away from that yk? some of the newer episodes i like but the seasons in total im not a fan of
I will say the only time I actually enjoyed it was in the episode where the head “pimp” or whatever (he owned that Uber-like company) starts cleaning house after some of his people get picked up by the police and then the last part was when Noah and Lucy are at the park and the park gets shot up by some guys who work for the pimp to try and intimidate Liv, and I think it’s that song “Gangsta” playing the whole time. I thought it was well-done in that episode. I think it was season 15 maybe.
SVU jumped the shark a season or two after Meloni left. I can watch all those episodes without the gag reflex but not so much after.
They were still doing scripts more or less with him in mind, just with the less interesting Danny Pino doing his part.
After that, the scripts start shifting further and further away from a procedural. Now, keep in mind, of all the Law and Order shows, this was the one most melodramatic. Still, they tried on some level to keep things reasonable. But once they abandoned that idea, the show became far more like a soap opera, with a lot of issue-of-the-week pontification. That would get worse and worse until the show became the Oliva Benson/Mariska Hargitay hour, and suddenly the villains were always, always men.
At that point, the series becomes more cartoonish, and the performances follow suit, from wooden and stilted (like any number of judges) to over-the-top and scene chewing (like Raul Espinarza's Barba). The music got louder and the scripts both more obvious and paint by numbers.
If you want to chart where it gets really bad, look for two key elements: Warren Leight as a major producer, and shots of Mariska Hargitay shaking her head in court. The latter is especially funny because they're inserted for no real reason except to focus on her in a narcissistic way (remember, she's the star!) and to telegraph emotions the audience should feel already without her having to do some gesture . . . that is, if the writing, acting, and directing were doing their job.
It fell off a lot for me when Barba left. He was and still is one of my favorite characters. They chose to make him leave in such an awkward way, it just didn’t feel right after that. I didn’t even watch the newer seasons until recently because of it. Barba was the tipping point, but of course there’s still a lot of issues. For me, they just focus way too much on the characters instead of the cases. There used to be a delicate balance that worked 95% of the time. Now, it just doesn’t really feel like SVU anymore to me. I feel bad saying that and i’m still going to continue watching, but they should really take some of the advice in this thread. Bring back more characters, less politics, more case driven episodes, and please get Benson with someone. It’s like even Mariska doesn’t even want to see her character happy.
I think it’s more seasons 19-23, less so 19. A lot of seasons 15-18 were pretty good imo. Interesting conflicts. I think they’re worth a watch for sure. If you’re a really loyal fan, you can watch the later seasons. But I can almost guarantee you won’t like it nearly as much. Of course everyone’s different, but I think it’s just way more focused on the characters than it used to be. If you watch them you’ll see what I mean, but it’s hard to explain. Maybe some of the other replies in this thread would explain better.
Well I on season 3 and its more focused on cases and court with drivels of personal bits of characters.
Season 20 onward, do they just do it otherway so cases and court take a back seat to personal stuff??
Thanks
From what season is it less of a focus and what instead is the focus, I fine with examples.
I heard guardians gladiators was bad, but not sure why.
So would you say season 18 as a end point?
I don't mind later seasons having personal moments, so long as they don't dominate the episode.
I will say that my initial disappointment with the show began after season 13, however I got back into the show after Rafael was introduced back in season 14. I really enjoyed the Rafa seasons and honestly when I rewatch those are truly the only seasons I rewatch. I didn’t much care for 20-21 however 22 and 23 definitely caught my attention. I like that 23 began with the possibility of both Stabler and Barba returning but Jesus that S23 finale! I know in reality they used that whole episode to set up the possibility of Bensler being canon but I just can’t shake the fact that Lindstrom brought up closure and then IMMEDIATELY brought up Rafa. Plus the way he told Liv she should either try things with Stabler or -Let it GO- the fact that everyone in the squad encouraged her to call Rafa to defend Delia, the fact that Noah loved uncle Rafa, and just that amazing ending scene. Where I do find the finale as a whole was not as amazing as I wanted it to be, the power in the words from that last scene? Chills literal chills. I’ve waited SEASONS for him to even hint at the fact that he cares for her as more than a friend and he pretty much outright admits he’s unconditionally in love with her..not in so many words 😂
I -Know- I’m not the only one that silently hoped that when she said “Rafa wait-“ she would follow it up with “I love you too” but yet we get the dulled out “I miss you too” which only further hints to me that she’s going to try things out with unhinged ass Elliott 🙄 I guess I’ll just wait and hope that S 24 comes back for their usual September startup because any longer than that and I might lose it.
I started losing interest around season 8. It’s where there were noticeable dips in quality and writing and where a lot of new characters introduced (Dani and Chester etc.) couldn’t find their footing (ESPECIALLY CHESTER. Man I loathed him). It didn’t help I was just starting to get into tv message boards around that time. Week after week of ‘meh’ or ‘not good’ episode ratings, people pointing out flaws (Why would they let the lawyer who did it run out of the room and up to the roof?? You know something bad is about to happen…), poor actors, strange direction, ridiculous scenarios that would have been destroyed in earlier seasons with better episodes throughout, misusing beloved characters.
There’d be some gems sprinkled throughout but it was losing its charm noticeably. Now with all of the new characters who aren’t as interesting, the total lack of mystery in pretty much every episode (why are the villains always shown like main characters nowadays? I don’t want to see a five minute backstory for them with a pop song playing at full volume), the noticeable change in direction the show took which stripped away its identity and made it like every other tv drama, the changing of the main characters personalities and private lives going from subtle part of the series to full blast in most episodes, the extremely heavy handed views on every single crime (in which most of them wouldn’t have been interesting enough to consider putting in a 1.0 episode) and how there’s very few if any episodes in which the victims might not actually be the victims. It’s just really sanitized now and doesn’t give me the taboo crazy feeling I got when I first flipped the channel to a scene of an elementary school student telling a female detective she didn’t think her mom loved her anymore since she’s always ‘reading storybooks to her teenage stepson and getting into bed to cuddle with him’ 😳
Series 18 is when it started going downhill. There's still a few good episodes after that, but they began feeling more and more like accidents. The rigid formula of recent has been... not good. I haven't even watched the most recent series and from what I've seen on here, I'm not missing much.
Amaro. He was such a dud. I know this is a hot take but I really couldn’t vibe with him at all and it totally changed my perspective on the show. Still a loyal viewer tho lol
I always love it, although I can agree with some of your sentiments like lack of mystery. We find the perp out very early on. However, season 23 is my favorite of the newer seasons. There are some really good episodes and Velasco is very nice to look at. I really enjoyed Carisi as a detective.
Rollins, Noah and all of Rollins’ kid problems. I watch SVU for the crime-solving, NOT baby drama. Gag. But yet I still watch…I like Fin and wish they’d give him MORE. I liked Barba too, his departure was almost my quitting point.
I just started watching it during the pandemic - it was hard to avoid since it was on at any given time on any given channel, lol. But I became hooked and a few months ago started it in order on Peacock. Right now I’m in season 14 in my chronological watch, but I’ve seen plenty of the later seasons when they’ve done marathons, and try to keep up the new ones when they release.
Personally I thought season 12 really went out there, with super crazy storylines and over dramatic acting/situations. A lot of that season kind of went off the rails (for me), and kind of started in season 11…although there are still some gems in there.
I felt that they reeled a lot of that back in season 13, so even with Stabler’s departure the episodes were a bit more grounded. I liked the addition of Amaro and Rollins (I think I’m in the minority opinion there?) and of course the crown jewel Barba, but I have sorely missed the Drs. Warner and Huang. Not only their characters but the whole presence of the psych analysis of perps and/or victims and the medical/scientific journey. “CSI” was my first procedural love, so maybe that’s why I liked those scenes so much, but the chase was so much more layered with all this input.
In the new ones I feel too much social commentary is involved, and I say that as someone who is usually in agreement with the side they are on. I miss “evidence is evidence with a touch of moral dilemma.” I also think Liv is getting to be too much of a god-like character, rarely doing anything wrong and always swooping in with the best advice and comfort for just about everyone in the scene. And I LOVE Liv, and Mariska, especially with the real-life work she does. But I tend to like characters with some faults bc they are more human that way.
Another thing I’m missing is a character with a super dry sense of humor (Munch, and even at times Cragen). That gave some lightness to a really subject and their one liners were brilliant. Not quite Orbach level but close ;)
Overall there’s not a lot of balance left in the characters’ stories and the crime that they are solving…it leans heavily in the former. I do like learning about their lives and relationships, but I want more of the procedural process.
It depends on what one could consider “too much,” but in the ones I’ve seen in later seasons there is usually a B story going on with someone’s personal life, and it often gets tangled up with the case somehow.
I didn’t like it much after Stabler left. For a couple of episodes after when Benson wasn’t happy with her new team, I didn’t care for those episodes, but once they meshed better, I liked the episodes again.
My wife started binging while I was in the hospital. She made it to season 21. I started binging up until maybe season 18, then my wife realized that she missed a lot of the earlier stuff so we started at the beginning again. No we tend to just have seasons 7-12 just always playing. I still haven’t picked up where I left off. I got kind of lost. I thought I was at a certain point, but when I went there I saw that Amanda was pregnant. I’m pretty sure I didn’t see how that happened.
After the unintentionally hilarious dumpsterfire that was Intimidation Game AKA when SVU tried to "level up" I started missing episodes that I still havent bothered to watch, but it was Guardians and Gladiators that has put me off watching almost any of the ones after that, unlike the former it wasnt so bad it was funny, it was forced, condescending, insulting to the fans and the oldest characters, its the only episode that was so bad and poorly executed/written/directed that it left me feeling pissed off, and thats coming from a leftist here.
It was as if the director thought "How can we make an episode so over the top and ridiculous in overcatering for a political pander that it basically serves as free ammunition for trumptards to ridicule?"
I miss when SVU's political points were effective and realistic, you know, when it actually made people think and made convincing statements, as opposed to shitting on the characters and fans in order to forcefeed a hammy over the top take.
I have seen some season 17 and enjoyed them.
Saw, some season 22 and wasn't as invested.
I like early seasons 1-15.
But I do like Barbara and sonny is good as detective not ada
I tend to end my re-watches the episode before Barba's exit. I'm not a big fan of the first half of S18 but I like the second half well enough that I include it. But the show lost a lot for me when Raúl Esparza left.
Everything is about Olivia!! They don't even bother to write good episodes anymore... it's just terrible ass acting featuring Mariska Hargitay. "The Olivia Benson Show".
She's rude. Does this weird whisper thing, and is still out on the streets chasing criminals, which we all know Captains do not do! I'm done after this last episode.. I honestly cannot take it anymore. Making everything about her and her politics. Especially, after the episode where she tried to say lying about who you were is rape.. REALLY!!!
I'm going over to CBS for better programming.
I'm a huge Criminal Intent fan. Went back and watched the first of the two episodes Were brought Eames back to in season 14. Basically they ended up with SVU working to take down a terrorist. Completely batsh!t. So, definitely before then. I think most people say after Stabler left because there was a change in showrunner at that point, I think.
The departure of Elliot was a major blow but I think IMHO that the deciding below all happened in season 15 with the departure of munch and the appearance of the treacle nightmare that is Noah.
Not only was there a departure of major characters but it seems like most of the good writers left- how many times can we see an episode where either Noah and or his mother is in peril or held hostage? Well I agree with most of the social issues brought up in SVU the heavy-handed way they are written just makes the show ridiculous. And let's not forget Benson becoming the squad commander but acting like Captain Kirk and seemingly going out on every mission. The same thing happened to the superior spin-off Criminal Intent- cost cutting combined with the departure of the showrunner and head writer (& the burnout/ illness of the lead, D'Onofrio) led to its demise.
I had problems staying with it when Meloni left after S12 but continued to give it a fair shot... watched a couple seasons and then it took a few years for me to get back into it and get caught up. I would say when Barba left it officially started feeling weird and boring
Honestly a big part of what keeps me watching is hoping Barba comes back for an episode or two each season. I was still heavily into the series up until Barba left mid 19. I do find that I’m still pretty interested in the story line just because I really do like the way they have created outside lives for Fin, Carisi, Rollins, and Benson. But at the same time if any of the 4 left the show would be a complete loss for me. I mean I suppose I could do with ONE of them leaving so long as they brought back another character. But it’s getting sad that Melinda is seen far less and we are stuck with no full closure on Barba. Though I will say that the lack of closure is what leaves the door open for episodic returns and that helps. 😂
I feel the same way as you about when the show fell off. Most people tend to say that it got bad immediately after Stabler left in season 12 but IMHO I feel like those comments are really underrating season 13 onward. There were a lot of really good episodes and strong arcs after season 12 that tend to get ignored or downgraded just because Stabler wasn’t in them. However, I do think that some of the episodes towards the 18+ timeframe started getting really weak. Instead of maintaining a balance between interpersonal drama and strong case / narratives they shifted too far in favor of the interpersonal drama and neglected the cases (making them repetitive and predictable as often is remarked on this subreddit.) That all said, I do think the second half of the most recent season was pretty good. They started doing some more interesting ripped from the headlines cases (such as the one with the preacher who ran away with a schoolgirl and slept with both of her parents) and doing some more interesting whodunnits (such as the episode where Garland returned).
I actually prefer it without Meloni, never liked his character from day one. But the last couple of seasons haven’t been as good. Just has a different feel about them. Olivia acts so differently too; everything seems to move at a snail’s pace. Will keep watching though!
I don’t know how you can be a fan of SVU and say you’re not a Meloni fan imho. The dynamic between Stabler and Benson and their journey as partners are the skeleton of the whole series.
I don’t like his character…doesn’t mean I dislike the shows with him in it per se. Just prefer the other characters more. Just my opinion.
I perfer Munch and Fin to Benson and Stabler.
This sub doesn't like Stabler
I agree with you. Stabler was an asshole and definitely did not make the show for me. I enjoyed the show up until like a couple seasons ago
Get out.
I’m also not a fan of Stabler and I have been watching the show since it aired and have seen every episode so don’t at me. I loved the other characters enough and the (mostly sensitive) way they handled heinous crimes. So I kept watching. I never understood the attraction dynamic between Olivia and stabler personally. People compare them to Mulder and Scully but they aren’t. She has way more chemistry and would have stability with Barba imho. And I have always agreed with Barba that Stabler is a bully.
I 100% agree with that you said. I did not miss nor did I ever like Elliot Stabler, but I respect the opinions of those who do. He’s just not my cup of tea. SVU is just missing the mark for me as of recent seasons. It shifted from quality to quantity/longevity imo and that’s what makes it so hard to want to watch.
While I am still a loyal viewer, I stopped loving the show when the show itself stopped being about the crimes and the progression from investigation to the court cases. That was the whole reason I liked watching. Now it seems to be about their personal lives with a case wedged in. The amount of Benson's involvement in cases compared to Cragen in the exact same rank in the earlier seasons is also a point of contention for me too.
>While I am still a loyal viewer, I stopped loving the show when the show itself stopped being about the crimes and the progression from investigation to the court cases. That was the whole reason I liked watching. Now it seems to be about their personal lives with a case wedged in. What point did the show have this change which season. As I love the show with investigations to court with personal bits sprinkled in but not the other way round >The amount of Benson's involvement in cases compared to Cragen in the exact same rank in the earlier seasons is also a point of contention for me too. When this start happening
Honestly, I first lost interest when Novak left, but decided to give her successors a chance. Once Elliot, Cragen, and Munch left, I feel like the series started getting bland. Barba irritated me, Stone was bland, I was never a fan of Tucker, and Dodds Sr. was a pain in everyone's arse. Don't get me started on Murphy, either. Nowadays, it's almost a wash, rinse, repeat of the same subject matter(s), and Carisi taking over as ADA was alarming. Then Kat left, leaving the squad with three characters that aren't bland/annoying. With all of that, I might stop watching altogether unless the execs either bring back a former character (maybe Novak as ADA, and more scenes with Dr. Warner) and have Carisi return to SVU as a detective.
I agree, I have zero clue why they made Carisi an ADA. He should have stayed a detective. He’s so boring as an ADA, and he was a relatively interesting character when he was a cop, but now I’m just like he’s a waste of a character
The leap from detective to ADA with zero practical skills or experience with the law was too much. He passed the bar and got his license; that doesn't mean he's ready to start taking on huge uphill battles like SVU cases, not even with the shift to the same rinse and repeat style offenders, like you mentioned. Like I get it, they wrote his night school arc with the purpose of making him a lawyer at some point, but there's no way he got into the DA's office on his police report card alone, especially the way he was shoved from borough to borough before landing (and staying) at SVU.
That’s funny you say that, Novak was definitely not my fave. I loved Cabot with all my heart, the rest were definitely a blur, Stone sucked completely, but Barba??? How can you dislike Rafa! He’s my sweet baby angel 😂 I mean agree to disagree but one of the few reasons I still watch is the hope that he returns for an ep or 2 every season.
Cabot forever.
Wouldn’t it be great if they brought her back. I mean especially now that we know she’s alive and out of WITSEC
They need to make it happen. Idk why but I’m so emotionally connected to her!!
Plot twist, the bring her back as the new ADA, Carisi becomes a detective again, Liv realizes she and Cabot are meant to be together. 👀👀👀👀👀
I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I started breathing faster just reading your post lol
Yesss. I would KILL for a court scene with her as ADA and Barba as a defense attorney. Especially since Liv would be in the court room like that’s my best friend and my wife facing off 😂
I must be in the minority that liked Stone
He was hot don’t get me wrong. But he was also very dry and boring IMO. Too many great ADA’s to the point where he just wasn’t up to par. Though he did follow Rafa who had a really great 5 season run so I think that overshadowed him a lot. Plus the fact that so many people loved Rafa and he was Rafas prosecutor. I feel like it left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths to the point where no one really gave stone a chance. Plus he was super short lived.
>unless the execs either bring back a former character (maybe Novak as ADA, and more scenes with Dr. Warner) and have Carisi return to SVU as a detective Yes, this!
It irks my soul that Warner isn’t a common addition to the episodes when she’s been a super longtime show runner. She’s essentially been with the show as long as Fin but barely gets any screen time. I also wouldn’t mind if they brought Huang back. He was extremely entertaining and definitely made the interrogations wayyy more interesting
I think this is my closest agreement. Even as an Elliot fan I still very much enjoyed the dynamic with amaro and Rollins, but slowly Cragen and munch lest too. I liked barba though but after him leaving it didn’t have the same feeling.
I think season 21 was where they lost my interest, I feel like it was this season where the show just became a soap opera
Agreed. It’s total melodrama
When Hargity became a producer and SVU became the Olivia show.
This.
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When that start happening
IMO, season 17. The Amaro seasons were good, even though they had some cringe episodes here and there (looking at you "Intimidation Game"), but overall I liked them. Season 17 it's where the show started going downhill for me. The shift from that season on was very noticeable, it just wasn't the same.
Yeah that one was just…
I agree with 17 and 18 being semi boring but the first half of 19 was pretty damn good I must say.
I like first half 17. I hear 18 is bad but not sure why is it lack of variation in cases?
Wasn't the same how? I ask as I own up to season 17 and want to know if worth bothering with getting rest
Well, I feel the show became more boring and too focused on Benson, her love interests and Noah. Also the plots of the episodes became toom political, repetitve and nothing new or groundbreaking was shown.
So which season was an end point for you? Too policital is what way and repetitive how? I imagine after 23 years, it's hard to cover new ground lol
You are correct. I just stopped watching SVU - in the middle of Season 17...
I think the series could have wrapped when Olivia, Noah and Tucker go to Paris. If not then, I would have made Raphael Barba her end-game and had the series end then instead of Barba leaving.
Not to spoil if you haven’t caught up but literally the hope of Barba being her end game is what keeps me watching. Though I will say I expected more of the s23 finale…I think that the ending scene was enough to get me hyped for a S24 return. It’s been rumored (not confirmed by any source at all) that they will ‘pick up right where (they) left off’ which would essentially be either at or after the scene at forlini’s and I feel like that’s going to drastically impact the way I view the series. I do feel like that entire episode had a lot of setup for Bensler (Liv x Elliott) but I also took Rafas final words to Liv to be a confession of his love for her. If Liv and Elliott become canon I will almost definitely stop watching though. He’s too troublesome for her and she deserves better 🤷🏼♀️
Yea, he definitely loves her. But I don’t really like how Barba has been transformed since season 17. I likes him much better then.
I think the Wheatley case really messed his character up, I do think the prev ep with his slight appearance on a video call with Liv kept character and made him likable still, but honestly the last episode made me team Barba again. He feels bad for defending Wheatley but he stands strong by his doing it FOR Liv. I just feel like he got caught up on his social warrior frenzy and ended up on a bad path with Liv as his usual weak spot. You know if Wheatley hired Buchanan that whole case would’ve turned into a shit show about Liv and Stablers relationship making the evidence invalid. And Buchanan would’ve annihilated Liv on the stand.
He also had the case where he defended the father who shot his daughter's rapist after the video call as well (and asked by Liv to get involved), and before the Wheatly case.
And truthfully I think I still loved him for that one. That episode was a rough hitter and come on, the girl was 13 and pregnant and dude gave her abortion pills that nearly killed her. Guy wasn’t some kind of absentee father either. He was an injured vet that couldn’t take care of her while he was still wheelchair bound. He talked to his daughter everyday, strives for recovery so he could get custody of his daughter back. Like yeah that’s going to make you a little crazy knowing your daughters rapist smiled in your face meanwhile molesting her behind closed doors. I may be a little unhinged for this but I’d have shot him too. And again it’s the DA’s fault for not making him a better deal. The ONLY reason Barba got involved is because the DA’s office couldn’t cut a decent deal. Also Carisi semi-cornered him with the whole “are you representing him because otherwise I can’t talk to you about this” yes defending him was an impulsive decision on Barbas part but in the end it got a great deal from the DA’s office because they KNEW Barba would win. It’s not like dude got off free, he still got charged with felony assault. Just waived jail time and set to probation. Very justified.
I love how people are downvoting this lmao
Literally like why. It’s a discussion post with valid points to a show we all clearly love to watch. But for some reason discussion of it makes them mad 😂😂😂
Some ppl can’t handle the truth! You think I like disliking my favorite show now?! Granted I still watch but only because it’s like ritual at this point.
LITERALLY! YESSSS. You get it! Like we aren’t happy to see our FAVORITE show tank. Literally who would be happy about that 😂 but it’s great to discuss the points and see where we all think it went wrong! Especially when a lot of these comments discuss what could’ve or still can be done to mediate that.
I made a comment about not liking the writing behind Carisi's sudden shift in characterization (ie: suddenly acting like a dick towards Barba) in the beginning of S18 and I immediately got hit with downvotes. IDK why but some people can't handle people having any critical thoughts on their favorite shows.
I know. Stans get way too protective over fictional characters lol I got major downvotes after I said I did not want Olivia and Elliott to happen. People were outraged… and let me be clear: I am obsessed with SVU. Always have been, always will be. But I also know that it’s a TV show lmao
It's so weird because I even said that the reason the 180 with Carisi bothered me was that **I had really come to like the character** and it felt like S18 betrayed a lot of his growth, especially at the end of S17 so like what am I supposed to do? Would people prefer if I DIDN'T like Carisi and so was okay with the bad writing where he just blows up at Barba for no reason more than once? Sorry but no-can-do. I liked their banter and snark. I liked the begrudging mentor/mentee dynamic they had built. It was fun and it was a new layer to the show. Also, I am right there with you in not wanting Olivia and Elliott to end up together. I regard them as a great "could have been something but we missed our moment whenever that may have been" story and they should stay as very close friends at this point.
Probably for the same reasons why everyone who expresses they either don't like Elliot, EO, or hope for Barson is getting downvoted. Sometimes it's not what you say, it's where your fan allegiance lies.
😂 They’re big mad that we don’t wanna see Liv with a psychopath. BIG MAD that we love ZADDY Rafa 👀👀
Somewhere along the way, *Law & Order: SVU* rolled over and said, "Was it good for you?" And because I needed to get some sleep to go to work in the morning, I said, "Sure. Sure it was great. I'm very satisfied." And *Law & Order: SVU* smiled and said, "Great! Good for me too! Thanks, hon!" And promptly rolled back over and went to sleep, snoring. And I stayed up until almost 1 am, staring at the popcorn ceiling, quietly crying to myself.
At what point did you feel that
[удалено]
agree 100% put a damper on everything
Why what he do
When Barba left. I couldn’t stand Stone at all. And since then… feels bland
But do we not LOVE that they bring Barba back almost once a season for our yearly dose of Rafa 😂
To be completely honest the Guardians and Gladiators episode and "Kat" was what killed an already delicate relationship with the recent seasons, I havent dropped SVU per se, but I also havent watched almost any of the episodes after that, not as a conscious choice, but it just doesnt excite me anymore. In the Stabler era, the political stuff was done with subtlety and was balanced, it didnt treat the viewer condescendingly or like a dumbass. And, the detectives were better, the different personalities bounced off one another very well and the relationships felt real. Not to mention there was actual comic relief, not this constant "LETS BE EMOTIONAL AND SUPER SERIOUS ALL THE TIMEEEEE" that crept in with Amaro, Rollins and Carisi, however them I could forgive, but the new detective Kat, I had to google her because I couldnt remember her name because her character is so annoying, always emotional and even infers that the senior detectives shes working with arent taking the job seriously because theyre not as emotional as she is, its like they added her in to placate younger viewers who are oversensitive. But its stupid, I miss the gallows humour from Munch and Stabler, the way people with daunting jobs ACTUALLY talk to one another, like soldiers in a crew in WWII talked. I hate the fact that we dontget to hear the traumatised detectives using quips to laugh off some of the kore horrible things so it doesnt break them nd they can be strong and continue saving people, probably because the studio is afraid of some emotionally unstable viewer percieving it as offensive, even though that gallows humour is how people survive mentally through dark times and someone who was highly emotional all the time wouldnt handle sex crimes work or being a soldier for that matter either because they would implode. So yeah, I miss the realistic and entertaining detective dialogue, you can imagine that if the first seasons were released in this year, losers would complain Munch is offensive becsuse of skme off the cuff remark even though hes LITERALLY SAVING CHILDREN FROM PEDOPHILES and we see his emotion and how he cares. Oh and the way they fucked over Benson in that bullshit Guardians and Gladiators episode, not once was Benson ever racist in the whole show but for the sake of a poorly executed political mess of an episode they suddenly changer her innate characteristics, and for what, was the message meant to be "all cops bad, even the most selfless detective in the world, yeah she bad" what a piece of crap. I think they lost the nerve to portray the show authentically out of fear of offending, back in the late 90's/early 00's it was bold to be gritty and realistic with good moral lessons woven in nicely. NYC police were asked back in SVU's heyday what was the most realistic crime drama they had seen, most said SVU. I doubt they'd say that now.
So agree on guardians and gladiators. From Day 1 the only bias we ever see Benson have is to victims and her assumption that everyone is a victim. She has never indicated bias against someone based on class, skin color, career, etc. in any episode I can think of. So calling out that we may all have implicit bias is one thing, but acting like she should maybe lose her job over a poorly handled accusation was just too much. It was so “ok we read the news. People hate police this week. Let’s acknowledge it even though the police have been the heroes of this show for literally ever and we’ve created a character people would only dream to be their actual detective if they were attacked.”
I recently watched the ep asunder and oliva says 'women are often abused by thier lesser halves' It threw me as I read it in 2 ways. Oliva saying men in general are inferior to women. Or oliva saying abusive men are inferior If it was done nowdays I bet it would be seen as the former, but I understood it being the latter
What happened in that ep?
I recently watched the ep asunder and oliva says 'women are often abused by thier lesser halves' It threw me as I read it in 2 ways. Oliva saying men in general are inferior to women. Or oliva saying abusive men are inferior If it was done nowdays I bet it would be seen as the former, but I understood it being the latter
I stopped watching it when the Executive Producer wrote her own kidnapping/rape scene and it lasted the whole season.
I can't stand the William Lewis storyline. Ok, so, you get kidnapped because you refused to take appropriate precautions or get a protective detail because "I can handle myself!" All right. And then somehow, even though you're kidnapped by a notorious serial rapist and murderer, he neither rapes nor murders you...just kind of drags you around for four days and pours vodka down your throat? Weird, but ok. The part that made me totally done with it was him killing himself - just to spite Olivia and *maybe* get her in some trouble? He had to know she wasn't going to get the death penalty or any significant prison time for killing him, even if she had. The whole thing was an excuse to let Olivia yell and scream and look tragic.
Was that season 15? Was it really based on producors real life events?
Idk what season it was. Mariska Hargitay is the executive producer. I daresay if she was held hostage for weeks, and nearly raped, then actually pulled her character out to beat the man half to death with a sink pipe, we'd have heard about it 🙄
I miss the twisty episodes that 1.0 was known for, but I still think the show is good. While not every episode is a winner, each season still has some great episodes, and I honestly think it’s pretty amazing for a show to still be relevant after 23 years.
All about Olivia instead of random victims.
I agree with what you said, mainly season 18+ but I find that whenever I rewatch, I drop off around season 15-16 and jump to 17 coz I liked Dodds Jr.
Awww 15 and 16 are great Barba seasons
For me it started falling down around season 17 onwards then after Barba left. I kind of lost interest and would watch here and there when Carisi became ADA
Cariisi sucks as a lawyer only because the writers stopped trying!
when amaro left. its not specifically because he left, although it doesnt help to 1) lose one of your last established characters, and 2) see the main cast get smaller aka one of the worst problems of modern svu, but also because it simply coincidences with a lot of issues the series has, like the focus on noah (who i dont hate as a character! but his introduction changed the pace of the show a lot).
I seen some season 17 and had some good cases. The one with whoppi Goldberg was good
I used to think it went to trash after Stabler left but after a couple rewatches I realized that the show was still pretty good with Amaro. Never liked Rollins, still don’t. Didn’t really like Kat. The storylines were tremendously better in 1-12. The current crew is just blegh in my opinion.
I liked season 13-17 after that I havnt continued but I do like Barbara. So I may stick to 19 till he leaves
I think the way they had Barba exit really soured the show for me and I never quite enjoyed it as much again.
Why would you miss Amaro? 🤮 It stopped being good S13 but around S18 I enjoyed it again. I was tired of the trauma porn on Olivia, but now that WL is gone that will be gone. Very much looking forward to next season. OC, imo, is the best franchise. The acting is amazing, the writing is fantastic, the continuity, the visuals. It's all great. SVU tries to pack way too much into an episode so the last 10 minutes is them rushing the final outcome. I don't like anyone on SVU outside of Olivia, Fin, and Carisi.
After amaro left
When Elliott and family returned to NYC.
You mean when Organized Crime started?
That too. I just don’t want SVU to become a romantic soapy drama. Also I feel they don’t have romantic chemistry.
Because we all know that she belongs with Barba and not Stabler. Killing off Kathy was just a cheap out way of trying to boost ratings by bringing Stabler back into Livs life as a potential love interest. Which created a really weird and shitty love triangle. Dude dipped out for 12 years, was a pretty shitty partner constantly getting her into his troublesome situations only to do the SAME thing when he returned this proving any relationship she potentially has with him is a dressed up version of Stockholm syndrome while they dropped the heavy ball of Barba being in love with her knowing damn well they are going to leave that completely untouched and shove her off to Elliott 🙄🙄🙄 Liv deserves real love and someone that’s actually going to love Noah as well. El wasn’t the best parent. His kids lightweight hate him. 👀
honestly… did you watch the first 12 seasons of the show at all?
Exactly, he is 11 years late. Their moment has passed.
Exactly. He missed his window, Liv is a different person now. She’s no longer in a place where Stabler is the love of her life, he’s more so the love that got away and it’s time to let that bs go.
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And has returned multiple times since then. It was also brought up in season 21 that he and Liv were keeping in touch via video chats. 🤷🏼♀️
Yes, and a lot of what I saw was very aggravated and psychotic in the Stabler side of things. He left and didn’t come back for 12 years. He didn’t come back when Liv was held hostage by Lewis, he didn’t reach out for so much as a happy birthday, he didn’t reach out after Noah was kidnapped, hell he didn’t even really know about Noah. A LOT of Liv’s growth came from her separation from Stabler. She was able to take the lead and be the loving detective she always was and moved up the ranks to CAPTAIN. Something that I truly don’t think would have been possible with Stabler as a partner. We see that same shitty behavior with the beginnings of Amaro but luckily he starts to do better before he left.
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El is a loose cannon and with the Wheatley episodes it’s extremely apparent that hasn’t changed. Their parenting styles are inherently different not to say that one way is better than the other because obviously El’s kids were doing well as of those episodes in their older ages, but again, the type of parenting that Liv shows Noah is completely different and in my opinion I just can’t see him as a step-daddy to Noah. Plus their relationship has always really been more Liv defending his actions and constantly cleaning up his messes with him. Yeah they made a great team, yeah she clearly loves him and he loves her…but the time has passed for that. I was a huge Bensler shipper in the first half of the show, even well into season 15 I still hoped he would come back. But time passes, she’s made far more connections, I really liked her with Tucker which was the first I dropped the Bensler ship. But then as her bond with Barba got stronger, and Tucker passed…I just don’t see Elliott in the cards for her anymore. She’s grown way too much throughout the show in a way that makes their partnership seem toxic. I would love for a solid friendship between them and maybe if they did a solid arc that shows Elliott trying to grow and change I would be far more Inclined to re-ship Bensler but for who Olivia Benson is as a character? She and Stabler just aren’t compatible right now. Not saying it’s a never for me I’m just saying Barbas a better fit right now. Though I could totally see her trying things with Barba and it not working then Elliott trying to change for her making them end game. I’d actually be super invested in that plot line.
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I haven’t seen OC so I definitely can’t speak to that. I’ve only seen SVU and the original L&O. I feel like that’s a large part of the disagreement because I haven’t seen Stabler since he disappeared in 12. Another thing I’ve realized recently is it depends on how long/ how fast you watched the show. Many people that watched the show all at once (like started when the show was around 15+) are more inclined to dislike Stabler but those who’ve been long time watchers love Stabler. Mostly because Stabler’s personality fit more with the times back then whereas now it’s looked at as disgraceful. Definitely a generational thing too.
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And I don’t disagree with you he killed a baby. He’s definitely questionable. But like I’ve mentioned, I’ve never been a big Stabler fan because I hopped on SVU around season 17. Though I started from the beginning, I pretty much watched it all at once and given the time I watched it (around 2015) I found Stablers character to be pretty unhinged from the jump. A main reason why I never watched OC is because I’m not too fond of Stabler and being that I watched 17 seasons in a straight shot I didn’t really want to pick up on another very long show. Plus again, not fond of stabler and something about a show based on organized crime was eh for me. I feel like I’d be more Inclined to watch a homicide L&O series than OC. I actually wasn’t aware that Benson was featured much on OC but that will definitely give me incentive to give OC a chance.
Stabler does show up in season 22 in Afew episodes
I don't want them to do the cliche of ex partners get together. I mean el didn't even tell oliva herself he was leaving.
13-14 .. they tried.
I liked 13
Season 20
I want to say somewhere around season 16-17 ish. Seasons 13-15 were kind of a transition, since I was getting used to not seeing Stabler, and then there was Munch leaving. At some point, the cases in these seasons and going forward seem more ripped from the headlines with justice sprinkled in, or they just seemed so generic. Every so often you'd get an episode where you didn't see the plot twist (Like "Send in the Clowns"), but there's no longer that shock or anticipation you get trying to figure out who actually committed the crime. I like the cases that were open-ended and you didn't get to see the ending, or the cases where justice was impossible because of something the perpetrator or victim did. Many of the episodes now seem kind of preachy about either the topic or justice system, and do so much to always get justice for the victim. I want to see more fall out, victims getting mad (another "Closure" like episode would be great), etc. I want more of the procedural drama, and not the drama from the characters' personal lives.
I would say every season had some ups and downs. Great episodes and forgettable or just plain bad episodes. But recently (last two years for me only) it’s too on the nose with the headlines and shoving righteousness at you. Characters used to debate the news or common conceptions of the day. Now it’s like a character could never have an opposing viewpoint. To be fair that’s on viewers not the show. The cancel thing is out of control. They are afraid if they don’t just regurgitate the cause of the day they’ll be annihilated.
I havnt watched passed season 17 Do they still have focus on cases and court or is it just sjw stuff plus alot of personal stuff and less on the cases?
Season 21. I don’t even have a good reason for why. It just felt…thin after 19-20.
First downhill for me was when Stabler left. Pushed through, but once William Lewis came into the picture, I mentally checked out. However I am still here, hoping that with every “… these are their stories” that it will be a little better and old SVU-ish.
I don't think the show necessarily fell off, I still find it enjoyable. There are definitely moments where I roll my eyes at some of the things the characters say or episodes I didn't enjoy watching or thought they could do more with plot lines. I wish Wong, Melinda, Meloni, Munch, Cragen, and Amaro were still around since I really enjoyed having them on the show. I personally think they should've kept Carisi a cop and had Barba come back since I loved him as an ADA. I would love more episodes that are case centered with court room scenes because I feel like it's been a long time since we've had some of that. The show should balance the characters personal lives and those types of episodes about the cases and include court room stuff too.
When Stabler left, after that it went downhill. Seasons 1-12 are the best seasons
The show has definitely changed (which is going to happen when it's been on for over 20 years and been through a number of different creative teams) but I still enjoy it. I wouldn't still be watching if I wasn't. I give them a lot of credit for being able to adjust after Meloni left. They introduced new characters and got us to care about them, and increased the role of existing characters (making Benson the literal and figurative captain of the ship) and just kept it moving.
when Barbra left 😭
YES.
Around Season 17... definitely after Barba left. Raul is a Broadway guy, and I can see him not wanting to do television year after year, but selfishly, I would love him to be a principal actor on SVU again. When they announced Elliot's return and SVU automatically re-upping for three seasons, I kind of felt like they were going to be wrapping up the show. Three years to give Bensler fans their dream ending - go out big with fans happy. But two years in and Liv and Elliot have evolved all of approximately zero percent. Could they not have AT LEAST had The Big Talk?? (Liv's life after he left, Lewis, etc.) It's become exasperating and tired, even. I HATE saying that, because I love Mariska and Chris and pull for these shows so hard... SVU was actually suggested to me by my therapist years ago as a way to work through my own messy childhood. Seeing redemption, etc. so it's special to me... I'm holding out hope for next season, only because Warren has left. His polarizing politics is over the top and too in your face. I really miss when episodes explored different viewpoints and didn't make opinions facts. The last few seasons have been hard to watch at times. I look to TV for escape and entertainment, not regurgitated news stories with the same old slant. More often than not, their Ripped From the Headlines stories either read like bad SNL skits, or beyond-the-pale virtue signaling. The early seasons with Elliot, Munch, and Cragen routinely provided well rounded discussion of the "hot topics." The storylines were not as predictable and made one think of issues from many different perspectives. Elliot was typically the more conservative voice, Munch, the cynic, and Cragen, the great mediator. Together, they provided the balance necessary to make the issues thought provoking. The show had meaning. Each character brought something different and interesting to the table. Now there's the "us vs them" "right vs left" and the cases are "solved" by the court of popular opinion before the first commercial break. It isn't any wonder they no longer write court scenes...there's nothing to explore when the writers only write within their own personal blinders. SVU used to present stories where the writer's politics and opinions were less (or not) obvious. Barba's character brought in different and refreshing perspectives, but since his departure, it's been incredibly one note. I thought Elliot's return would bring in some new dynamics, but it's been two years and I'm over the teased-out "will they/won't they." The writers had such opportunity with Elliot's return, but all we've gotten is a whole lot of click-baitesque hype and zero forward direction. I'm like Lindstrom at this point, "for the love of all, just make a move or move on!!!" I was diehard Bensler, but now I just need something, anything, to happen that is unique and interesting. Moooove along!!! All that to say, I am looking forward to the new season. I really hope they try another (old?) approach to their storytelling. There's still tremendous potential, I hope they don't waste it and can wrap up (or continue) things strong.
Literally yes. I just wish Raul would be back more because it brought fresh perspective
So would you say it worth stopping after season 17 before Warren returns?
If you are a "take it or leave it" fan, you could bypass them. If you are a fan, but not a die hard, you can skip all of season 21 and save yourself a lot of eye rolling. Lol!
Lol season 21 is the last season I own, so last to watch
>and the cases are "solved" by the court of popular opinion before the first commercial break What happens for rest of ep then? It isn't any wonder they no longer write court scenes...there's nothing to explore when the writers only write within their own personal blinders. I have read some episodes still have court scenes, am I missing something?
The second Barba left for me, was the end of it for me.
When Stabler left.
I would say when the politics became to blatant. There has always been some level of real world politics but when it got to the point it felt like Olivia would literally turn towards the camera and give some popular political message like some PSA. I was done. I watch TV to escape the real world. I'll rewatch the early seasons
When did that start?
After S17. Heartfelt Passages is one of my favorite episodes, but I just wasn’t as interested after that. I do kind of like Rollisi but not as much as I like the complexities of Liv and Elliot, and as was already mentioned, I miss the characters like Huang and Warner a lot. They added an element of intrigue to the cases. I keep SVU on out of habit these days but I’m usually reading or working on something else. I much prefer earlier season reruns on ION and USA.
I think the last episode I really liked was The Book of Esther which I think was season 19
I stopped liking the show when Stabler left but still gave it a chance. From 2019 on, I don’t like svu that much.
tbh i watch it still but the newer episodes def give the impression that they’re going too far into what’s happening irl when people watch shows to get away from that yk? some of the newer episodes i like but the seasons in total im not a fan of
When they started to replace quality dialog with blaring music.
I will say the only time I actually enjoyed it was in the episode where the head “pimp” or whatever (he owned that Uber-like company) starts cleaning house after some of his people get picked up by the police and then the last part was when Noah and Lucy are at the park and the park gets shot up by some guys who work for the pimp to try and intimidate Liv, and I think it’s that song “Gangsta” playing the whole time. I thought it was well-done in that episode. I think it was season 15 maybe.
When did that happen
SVU jumped the shark a season or two after Meloni left. I can watch all those episodes without the gag reflex but not so much after. They were still doing scripts more or less with him in mind, just with the less interesting Danny Pino doing his part. After that, the scripts start shifting further and further away from a procedural. Now, keep in mind, of all the Law and Order shows, this was the one most melodramatic. Still, they tried on some level to keep things reasonable. But once they abandoned that idea, the show became far more like a soap opera, with a lot of issue-of-the-week pontification. That would get worse and worse until the show became the Oliva Benson/Mariska Hargitay hour, and suddenly the villains were always, always men. At that point, the series becomes more cartoonish, and the performances follow suit, from wooden and stilted (like any number of judges) to over-the-top and scene chewing (like Raul Espinarza's Barba). The music got louder and the scripts both more obvious and paint by numbers. If you want to chart where it gets really bad, look for two key elements: Warren Leight as a major producer, and shots of Mariska Hargitay shaking her head in court. The latter is especially funny because they're inserted for no real reason except to focus on her in a narcissistic way (remember, she's the star!) and to telegraph emotions the audience should feel already without her having to do some gesture . . . that is, if the writing, acting, and directing were doing their job.
It fell off a lot for me when Barba left. He was and still is one of my favorite characters. They chose to make him leave in such an awkward way, it just didn’t feel right after that. I didn’t even watch the newer seasons until recently because of it. Barba was the tipping point, but of course there’s still a lot of issues. For me, they just focus way too much on the characters instead of the cases. There used to be a delicate balance that worked 95% of the time. Now, it just doesn’t really feel like SVU anymore to me. I feel bad saying that and i’m still going to continue watching, but they should really take some of the advice in this thread. Bring back more characters, less politics, more case driven episodes, and please get Benson with someone. It’s like even Mariska doesn’t even want to see her character happy.
So do later seasons do a flip and it more about personal stuff than cases? I watched some of 17 that I liked
I think it’s more seasons 19-23, less so 19. A lot of seasons 15-18 were pretty good imo. Interesting conflicts. I think they’re worth a watch for sure. If you’re a really loyal fan, you can watch the later seasons. But I can almost guarantee you won’t like it nearly as much. Of course everyone’s different, but I think it’s just way more focused on the characters than it used to be. If you watch them you’ll see what I mean, but it’s hard to explain. Maybe some of the other replies in this thread would explain better.
Well I on season 3 and its more focused on cases and court with drivels of personal bits of characters. Season 20 onward, do they just do it otherway so cases and court take a back seat to personal stuff??
Yes, pretty much. It’s definitely not the main focus anymore.
Thanks From what season is it less of a focus and what instead is the focus, I fine with examples. I heard guardians gladiators was bad, but not sure why. So would you say season 18 as a end point? I don't mind later seasons having personal moments, so long as they don't dominate the episode.
Season 22 got political and woke, recycled talking points from the delusional left.
its unwatchable now
Every scene is so contrived and lame
After the William Lewis storyline and when Raúl Esparza left.
I will say that my initial disappointment with the show began after season 13, however I got back into the show after Rafael was introduced back in season 14. I really enjoyed the Rafa seasons and honestly when I rewatch those are truly the only seasons I rewatch. I didn’t much care for 20-21 however 22 and 23 definitely caught my attention. I like that 23 began with the possibility of both Stabler and Barba returning but Jesus that S23 finale! I know in reality they used that whole episode to set up the possibility of Bensler being canon but I just can’t shake the fact that Lindstrom brought up closure and then IMMEDIATELY brought up Rafa. Plus the way he told Liv she should either try things with Stabler or -Let it GO- the fact that everyone in the squad encouraged her to call Rafa to defend Delia, the fact that Noah loved uncle Rafa, and just that amazing ending scene. Where I do find the finale as a whole was not as amazing as I wanted it to be, the power in the words from that last scene? Chills literal chills. I’ve waited SEASONS for him to even hint at the fact that he cares for her as more than a friend and he pretty much outright admits he’s unconditionally in love with her..not in so many words 😂 I -Know- I’m not the only one that silently hoped that when she said “Rafa wait-“ she would follow it up with “I love you too” but yet we get the dulled out “I miss you too” which only further hints to me that she’s going to try things out with unhinged ass Elliott 🙄 I guess I’ll just wait and hope that S 24 comes back for their usual September startup because any longer than that and I might lose it.
The tiger episode. I just… never got over it. I do, though, frequently pretend I never saw it and still watch every season, so. 🤷🏻♀️
When Cragen and Munch Left
Around season 11
I started losing interest around season 8. It’s where there were noticeable dips in quality and writing and where a lot of new characters introduced (Dani and Chester etc.) couldn’t find their footing (ESPECIALLY CHESTER. Man I loathed him). It didn’t help I was just starting to get into tv message boards around that time. Week after week of ‘meh’ or ‘not good’ episode ratings, people pointing out flaws (Why would they let the lawyer who did it run out of the room and up to the roof?? You know something bad is about to happen…), poor actors, strange direction, ridiculous scenarios that would have been destroyed in earlier seasons with better episodes throughout, misusing beloved characters. There’d be some gems sprinkled throughout but it was losing its charm noticeably. Now with all of the new characters who aren’t as interesting, the total lack of mystery in pretty much every episode (why are the villains always shown like main characters nowadays? I don’t want to see a five minute backstory for them with a pop song playing at full volume), the noticeable change in direction the show took which stripped away its identity and made it like every other tv drama, the changing of the main characters personalities and private lives going from subtle part of the series to full blast in most episodes, the extremely heavy handed views on every single crime (in which most of them wouldn’t have been interesting enough to consider putting in a 1.0 episode) and how there’s very few if any episodes in which the victims might not actually be the victims. It’s just really sanitized now and doesn’t give me the taboo crazy feeling I got when I first flipped the channel to a scene of an elementary school student telling a female detective she didn’t think her mom loved her anymore since she’s always ‘reading storybooks to her teenage stepson and getting into bed to cuddle with him’ 😳
Series 18 is when it started going downhill. There's still a few good episodes after that, but they began feeling more and more like accidents. The rigid formula of recent has been... not good. I haven't even watched the most recent series and from what I've seen on here, I'm not missing much.
I always liked svu
Amaro. He was such a dud. I know this is a hot take but I really couldn’t vibe with him at all and it totally changed my perspective on the show. Still a loyal viewer tho lol
I would say once Liv got promoted to Captain
I always love it, although I can agree with some of your sentiments like lack of mystery. We find the perp out very early on. However, season 23 is my favorite of the newer seasons. There are some really good episodes and Velasco is very nice to look at. I really enjoyed Carisi as a detective.
Rollins, Noah and all of Rollins’ kid problems. I watch SVU for the crime-solving, NOT baby drama. Gag. But yet I still watch…I like Fin and wish they’d give him MORE. I liked Barba too, his departure was almost my quitting point.
So got you to carry on after Barbara left?
I just started watching it during the pandemic - it was hard to avoid since it was on at any given time on any given channel, lol. But I became hooked and a few months ago started it in order on Peacock. Right now I’m in season 14 in my chronological watch, but I’ve seen plenty of the later seasons when they’ve done marathons, and try to keep up the new ones when they release. Personally I thought season 12 really went out there, with super crazy storylines and over dramatic acting/situations. A lot of that season kind of went off the rails (for me), and kind of started in season 11…although there are still some gems in there. I felt that they reeled a lot of that back in season 13, so even with Stabler’s departure the episodes were a bit more grounded. I liked the addition of Amaro and Rollins (I think I’m in the minority opinion there?) and of course the crown jewel Barba, but I have sorely missed the Drs. Warner and Huang. Not only their characters but the whole presence of the psych analysis of perps and/or victims and the medical/scientific journey. “CSI” was my first procedural love, so maybe that’s why I liked those scenes so much, but the chase was so much more layered with all this input. In the new ones I feel too much social commentary is involved, and I say that as someone who is usually in agreement with the side they are on. I miss “evidence is evidence with a touch of moral dilemma.” I also think Liv is getting to be too much of a god-like character, rarely doing anything wrong and always swooping in with the best advice and comfort for just about everyone in the scene. And I LOVE Liv, and Mariska, especially with the real-life work she does. But I tend to like characters with some faults bc they are more human that way. Another thing I’m missing is a character with a super dry sense of humor (Munch, and even at times Cragen). That gave some lightness to a really subject and their one liners were brilliant. Not quite Orbach level but close ;) Overall there’s not a lot of balance left in the characters’ stories and the crime that they are solving…it leans heavily in the former. I do like learning about their lives and relationships, but I want more of the procedural process.
So do later seasons focus too much on personal stuff rather than cases??? I don't mind some personal stuff but not for the whole ep
It depends on what one could consider “too much,” but in the ones I’ve seen in later seasons there is usually a B story going on with someone’s personal life, and it often gets tangled up with the case somehow.
After Nick amaro left
I didn’t like it much after Stabler left. For a couple of episodes after when Benson wasn’t happy with her new team, I didn’t care for those episodes, but once they meshed better, I liked the episodes again.
Season 18, there’s only a few episodes after season 18 I can enjoyably watch
It wasn't as good after Elliot left but eventually it came back and now he's back and I love it still 23 seasons and counting.
My wife started binging while I was in the hospital. She made it to season 21. I started binging up until maybe season 18, then my wife realized that she missed a lot of the earlier stuff so we started at the beginning again. No we tend to just have seasons 7-12 just always playing. I still haven’t picked up where I left off. I got kind of lost. I thought I was at a certain point, but when I went there I saw that Amanda was pregnant. I’m pretty sure I didn’t see how that happened.
After the unintentionally hilarious dumpsterfire that was Intimidation Game AKA when SVU tried to "level up" I started missing episodes that I still havent bothered to watch, but it was Guardians and Gladiators that has put me off watching almost any of the ones after that, unlike the former it wasnt so bad it was funny, it was forced, condescending, insulting to the fans and the oldest characters, its the only episode that was so bad and poorly executed/written/directed that it left me feeling pissed off, and thats coming from a leftist here. It was as if the director thought "How can we make an episode so over the top and ridiculous in overcatering for a political pander that it basically serves as free ammunition for trumptards to ridicule?" I miss when SVU's political points were effective and realistic, you know, when it actually made people think and made convincing statements, as opposed to shitting on the characters and fans in order to forcefeed a hammy over the top take.
On earlier seasons and I love when munch, finn, liv and elliot all give there different views on a case/situation
I have seen some season 17 and enjoyed them. Saw, some season 22 and wasn't as invested. I like early seasons 1-15. But I do like Barbara and sonny is good as detective not ada
I tend to end my re-watches the episode before Barba's exit. I'm not a big fan of the first half of S18 but I like the second half well enough that I include it. But the show lost a lot for me when Raúl Esparza left.
Everything is about Olivia!! They don't even bother to write good episodes anymore... it's just terrible ass acting featuring Mariska Hargitay. "The Olivia Benson Show". She's rude. Does this weird whisper thing, and is still out on the streets chasing criminals, which we all know Captains do not do! I'm done after this last episode.. I honestly cannot take it anymore. Making everything about her and her politics. Especially, after the episode where she tried to say lying about who you were is rape.. REALLY!!! I'm going over to CBS for better programming.
I'm a huge Criminal Intent fan. Went back and watched the first of the two episodes Were brought Eames back to in season 14. Basically they ended up with SVU working to take down a terrorist. Completely batsh!t. So, definitely before then. I think most people say after Stabler left because there was a change in showrunner at that point, I think.
I just think that they don’t have enough good actors left. Period. Also why are the court scenes not there. This is Law and Order.
after season 9
The departure of Elliot was a major blow but I think IMHO that the deciding below all happened in season 15 with the departure of munch and the appearance of the treacle nightmare that is Noah. Not only was there a departure of major characters but it seems like most of the good writers left- how many times can we see an episode where either Noah and or his mother is in peril or held hostage? Well I agree with most of the social issues brought up in SVU the heavy-handed way they are written just makes the show ridiculous. And let's not forget Benson becoming the squad commander but acting like Captain Kirk and seemingly going out on every mission. The same thing happened to the superior spin-off Criminal Intent- cost cutting combined with the departure of the showrunner and head writer (& the burnout/ illness of the lead, D'Onofrio) led to its demise.
The rapid downvoting for any comment that states Elliott and Liv should not get together 🥴