A week late, but what the heck
Meant to do this last week, but shied away for reasons that don’t matter. And because they don’t matter, I’m going to go ahead and squee now (and just cross my fingers *g*). One thing, my take on a few things doesn’t quite match up with everyone else’s, but that’s just because I’m a freak without a clue. ;)
*Tamara Tunie has been added to the opening credits, which seems appropriate since her Doc Warner has become a fairly integral part of the squad over the years. New group shot at the end too, and that was one of the first two things that made me happy, because it features Elliot prominently out in front of the rest of the cast.
*The other thing that made me happy right away (freak, remember? LOL) was that Elliot is still wearing his wedding ring. Awkward for fic purposes, and far more likely to signify that he’s in deep denial over his marriage ending, but a wacky part of me keeps hoping he and Kathy will reconcile.
*Robert Patrick was really good as Ray Schenkel. No surprise, of course, but it’s always a relief when a guest star like that turns up and really does deliver a good performance. Ray and Elliot had a good rapport too, which aided the story a lot. (He didn’t register on me as Colonel Sumner, though; more like, “Damn, Agt. Doggett, what happened?” LOL)
*OK, minor plot contrivance (accompanied by no complaints from me): Elliot digging out the old files of Ray’s case and getting all dirty, so that Captain Cragen can tell him to go change his clothes before going over to see Ray’s parole officer, thereby setting up the chain of circumstances to follow.
*And I’m in the minority again with liking Elliot in suits. Especially when he taken off the coat and rolled up his sleeves, loosened his tie a bit. I’m sorry, but that’s as good a look as the casual stuff.
*Loved the scene at the parole office, Elliot spotting Ray and deciding to seize the opportunity on the spot. This is one of the big points where I veer away from some other folk, in that I didn’t see Elliot taking on the persona of recently paroled sex offender Elliot Macavoy as Meloni channeling Keller. To me, it played as *Elliot* portraying a perp, drawing on years of interrogations, digging inside for some personal stuff to add authenticity at a couple of points. That’s how it always is for me; not seeing Keller peeking out of Stabler, whenever we get a flash of something darker that might be rattling around inside Elliot, but that *Elliot* had a lot more depth and texture than is immediately obvious at first glance.
*But anyway… Loved Elliot being shown thinking on his feet like that and establishing a rapport with Ray. Also got a kick out of the parole officer sticking his head out and almost blowing it when he recognizes Elliot, but recovering quickly and giving him the last name Macavoy on the spot. Great Elliot reaction to the name too, “Where’d you pull that out’ve your ass?” (No, that isn’t what he said, just how it came across.)
*And lordie, Elliot at the therapy session with all the sex offenders? Can you imagine how his skin was crawling? But he never showed a sign of it, channeling any sense of being uncomfortable into Macavoy’s persona.
*Great scene back at the house with Captain Cragen not quite chewing Elliot out for this hotdog stunt and pointing out that, *this* time Elliot went through the cop’s entrance at the parole office, with his shield and his gun. Next time, going in as Macavoy, having to pass through metal detectors? No shield, no gun, so how’s he going to keep his promise to keep Ray from hurting another girl? Well, I love Stabler-Cragen scenes, and this was a good one.
*Loved Fin dropping by to harass Ray, and Elliot coming in to both show Ray some support and have a ball getting in Fin’s face. Another nice play on Elliot’s part, since at that point he doesn’t know what the deal is, that Fin’s there because Huang needs to see him. (Oh, and maybe it’s those rose-colored glasses I’m always wearing, but Meloni looked *damn* fine to me in the wifebeater. Not fat or out of shape or anything.)
*And, wow, a Stabler-Huang scene that wasn’t about George being all smug and superior. Well, yes, Elliot comes in all fired up and pissy about Huang having him hauled down for a lecture, but as the scene plays out and he gets his head around Huang’s concern, that Elliot needs to prepare himself for the tests the therapist is going to spring on the group, he can’t just fake his way through it all, the scene clicks together really well.
*One of the toughest scenes to watch is Elliot doing that, in another scene with the sex offender group, and having to tell Macavoy’s story. At first it’s enough for him to simply draw on his experiences with all the perps he’s dealt with, routine story of what happened, but then to add that touch of authenticity, he digs down inside and (OK, IMO) and taps into the dissolution of his marriage. He’s telling the therapists and the rest of the pervs how he misses his victim, and rings chillingly true because you know he’s talking about Kathy, how he misses touching her. That he is willing to use his pain, risk tainting what he values most in those circumstances… I’m sitting there thinking, “No, Elliot, don’t, this creep isn’t worth that.”
*Great Ray-Elliot scene at a diner; he should really roll a toothpick around his mouth a lot more often.
*The therapist wanting a private word with Elliot, because he’s not participating in the sessions enough, and some more glimpses into what makes Stabler tick as the therapist dissects Macavoy. The bit about how he wasn’t raised to talk about his feelings and stuff rang very true, and I’m wondering if that’s a clue into what’s going to be revealed in that upcoming episode. The therapist unwittingly nails a couple of things about Elliot, the anger boiling away inside him and how if he doesn’t deal with that he’s running the chance of losing everything; and how Elliot doesn’t like not being in control of a situation.
*Oh, lord, and Elliot leaving the therapist then and finding Ray waiting for him outside, the reveal that Ray’s been busy grabbing a girl and she’s in the back of the van for them to go and have their ‘fun.’ You know that’s coming, but imagining the girl’s terror and Elliot’s desperation to keep that promise of stopping anything from happening, to keep that girl safe -- it made for a tense last act. (Again, I have to veer off from everyone else and say the scene of Elliot appearing to manhandle the girl while doing his best to calm her down so he can get her out of the warehouse -- no, that didn’t hit me as sexy. Anything but. I was way too busy worrying how Elliot was going to get out of this mess.)
*Ditto the crotch grab. For me, that didn’t evoke images of Keller clumsy showing Beecher how sexy he finds him, but something more akin to Schillinger putting his latest prag in his place. Because that’s what is was, like Huang says earlier on, Ray needs a submissive partner to perform for, and the crotch grab was just that: Ray showing Elliot who’s boss here. It’s a powerful scene, but (for me) not remotely sexy.
*But then Elliot handcuffed and helpless didn’t hit me that way, either. (I know, I know. *sigh* Like I said -- hopeless freak here. *shrug*) For me it was all, “Oh man, now what? How is he going to get out of here? What if Liv and Fin can’t get there in time?” I didn’t make too much of the, “You and me, cop, we’re brothers under the skin,” routine from Ray, just saw it as Ray trying to absolve himself of all responsibility. I *did* love that, once Elliot gets free and gets hold of the fun Fin had planted for him in the van, it *doesn’t* play out quite as might be expected, because I like to think Elliot was remembering what the therapist had said, that letting his anger control him is going to cost him big time. Here, when Ray accuses Elliot of just wanting to kill him all along, that registers, Elliot realizes maybe there’s some truth there -- and fights down that urge to take Ray out in a non-lethal fashion (although that was the mother of all choke holds).
*For the record, I thought Liv’s new hair looked nice. And also, her response to her partner being in danger looked fine to me. She’s concerned, not hysterical, calling his name just before he comes out of the warehouse, dragging an unconscious Ray with him. She does go forward to check on him; he waves her off, says he’s fine. No problem in my eyes.
So, maybe a thin story and all, but a great outing for Elliot, with him pulling out all the stops to truly go undercover, submerging himself into Macavoy.
And from next week’s TV Guide, Matt Roush giving SVU a rave review that some of us will love and others can use as fuel for much mockery… :/
THE ROUSH REVIEW - Matt Roush, TV Guide, October 2-8
Criminally Good; SVU goes for the emotional jugular
It’s easy to take some shows for granted, especially if they run for years and are part of an overextended, albeit profitable, franchise. So it is with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the least formulaic and, in recent years, the most consistently compelling of the ubiquitos Orders.
SVU long ago overcame its initial reputation as a sordid wallow in sex crimes, and has become a destination for tricky and often disturbing psychological mysteries.
Still going strong in its seventh season, the show is best whenever the case gets under the skin of lead detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). Each gets a vivid workout this month.
Hargitay deserves her third consecutive Emmy nomination for this week’s suspenseful episode, built around a 911 call. It’s a knuckle-biting race against time as Olivia stays on the phone with a disoriented 9-year-old girl imprisoned in an unknown location. Amid skepticism that it’s all a hoax, Olivia stays the course, and Hargitay runs the emotional gamut from frantic desperation to vengeful resolve.
Meloni takes forceful center stage in the October 11 episode, as Elliot confronts his own deep-rooted rage issues in the wake of an assault case involving an ex-partner’s son. Steroids are the catalyst in an exploration of father-son dynamics that sends the increasingly unstable Elliot to a shrink (Mary Stuart Masterson).
The best compliment I can give these episodes: I rarely felt I was a Law & Order show. If SVU keeps up this pace, it will have no trouble staying well ahead of its new competition, ABC’s quirky Boston Legal and CBS’ earnest Close to Home.
*Tamara Tunie has been added to the opening credits, which seems appropriate since her Doc Warner has become a fairly integral part of the squad over the years. New group shot at the end too, and that was one of the first two things that made me happy, because it features Elliot prominently out in front of the rest of the cast.
*The other thing that made me happy right away (freak, remember? LOL) was that Elliot is still wearing his wedding ring. Awkward for fic purposes, and far more likely to signify that he’s in deep denial over his marriage ending, but a wacky part of me keeps hoping he and Kathy will reconcile.
*Robert Patrick was really good as Ray Schenkel. No surprise, of course, but it’s always a relief when a guest star like that turns up and really does deliver a good performance. Ray and Elliot had a good rapport too, which aided the story a lot. (He didn’t register on me as Colonel Sumner, though; more like, “Damn, Agt. Doggett, what happened?” LOL)
*OK, minor plot contrivance (accompanied by no complaints from me): Elliot digging out the old files of Ray’s case and getting all dirty, so that Captain Cragen can tell him to go change his clothes before going over to see Ray’s parole officer, thereby setting up the chain of circumstances to follow.
*And I’m in the minority again with liking Elliot in suits. Especially when he taken off the coat and rolled up his sleeves, loosened his tie a bit. I’m sorry, but that’s as good a look as the casual stuff.
*Loved the scene at the parole office, Elliot spotting Ray and deciding to seize the opportunity on the spot. This is one of the big points where I veer away from some other folk, in that I didn’t see Elliot taking on the persona of recently paroled sex offender Elliot Macavoy as Meloni channeling Keller. To me, it played as *Elliot* portraying a perp, drawing on years of interrogations, digging inside for some personal stuff to add authenticity at a couple of points. That’s how it always is for me; not seeing Keller peeking out of Stabler, whenever we get a flash of something darker that might be rattling around inside Elliot, but that *Elliot* had a lot more depth and texture than is immediately obvious at first glance.
*But anyway… Loved Elliot being shown thinking on his feet like that and establishing a rapport with Ray. Also got a kick out of the parole officer sticking his head out and almost blowing it when he recognizes Elliot, but recovering quickly and giving him the last name Macavoy on the spot. Great Elliot reaction to the name too, “Where’d you pull that out’ve your ass?” (No, that isn’t what he said, just how it came across.)
*And lordie, Elliot at the therapy session with all the sex offenders? Can you imagine how his skin was crawling? But he never showed a sign of it, channeling any sense of being uncomfortable into Macavoy’s persona.
*Great scene back at the house with Captain Cragen not quite chewing Elliot out for this hotdog stunt and pointing out that, *this* time Elliot went through the cop’s entrance at the parole office, with his shield and his gun. Next time, going in as Macavoy, having to pass through metal detectors? No shield, no gun, so how’s he going to keep his promise to keep Ray from hurting another girl? Well, I love Stabler-Cragen scenes, and this was a good one.
*Loved Fin dropping by to harass Ray, and Elliot coming in to both show Ray some support and have a ball getting in Fin’s face. Another nice play on Elliot’s part, since at that point he doesn’t know what the deal is, that Fin’s there because Huang needs to see him. (Oh, and maybe it’s those rose-colored glasses I’m always wearing, but Meloni looked *damn* fine to me in the wifebeater. Not fat or out of shape or anything.)
*And, wow, a Stabler-Huang scene that wasn’t about George being all smug and superior. Well, yes, Elliot comes in all fired up and pissy about Huang having him hauled down for a lecture, but as the scene plays out and he gets his head around Huang’s concern, that Elliot needs to prepare himself for the tests the therapist is going to spring on the group, he can’t just fake his way through it all, the scene clicks together really well.
*One of the toughest scenes to watch is Elliot doing that, in another scene with the sex offender group, and having to tell Macavoy’s story. At first it’s enough for him to simply draw on his experiences with all the perps he’s dealt with, routine story of what happened, but then to add that touch of authenticity, he digs down inside and (OK, IMO) and taps into the dissolution of his marriage. He’s telling the therapists and the rest of the pervs how he misses his victim, and rings chillingly true because you know he’s talking about Kathy, how he misses touching her. That he is willing to use his pain, risk tainting what he values most in those circumstances… I’m sitting there thinking, “No, Elliot, don’t, this creep isn’t worth that.”
*Great Ray-Elliot scene at a diner; he should really roll a toothpick around his mouth a lot more often.
*The therapist wanting a private word with Elliot, because he’s not participating in the sessions enough, and some more glimpses into what makes Stabler tick as the therapist dissects Macavoy. The bit about how he wasn’t raised to talk about his feelings and stuff rang very true, and I’m wondering if that’s a clue into what’s going to be revealed in that upcoming episode. The therapist unwittingly nails a couple of things about Elliot, the anger boiling away inside him and how if he doesn’t deal with that he’s running the chance of losing everything; and how Elliot doesn’t like not being in control of a situation.
*Oh, lord, and Elliot leaving the therapist then and finding Ray waiting for him outside, the reveal that Ray’s been busy grabbing a girl and she’s in the back of the van for them to go and have their ‘fun.’ You know that’s coming, but imagining the girl’s terror and Elliot’s desperation to keep that promise of stopping anything from happening, to keep that girl safe -- it made for a tense last act. (Again, I have to veer off from everyone else and say the scene of Elliot appearing to manhandle the girl while doing his best to calm her down so he can get her out of the warehouse -- no, that didn’t hit me as sexy. Anything but. I was way too busy worrying how Elliot was going to get out of this mess.)
*Ditto the crotch grab. For me, that didn’t evoke images of Keller clumsy showing Beecher how sexy he finds him, but something more akin to Schillinger putting his latest prag in his place. Because that’s what is was, like Huang says earlier on, Ray needs a submissive partner to perform for, and the crotch grab was just that: Ray showing Elliot who’s boss here. It’s a powerful scene, but (for me) not remotely sexy.
*But then Elliot handcuffed and helpless didn’t hit me that way, either. (I know, I know. *sigh* Like I said -- hopeless freak here. *shrug*) For me it was all, “Oh man, now what? How is he going to get out of here? What if Liv and Fin can’t get there in time?” I didn’t make too much of the, “You and me, cop, we’re brothers under the skin,” routine from Ray, just saw it as Ray trying to absolve himself of all responsibility. I *did* love that, once Elliot gets free and gets hold of the fun Fin had planted for him in the van, it *doesn’t* play out quite as might be expected, because I like to think Elliot was remembering what the therapist had said, that letting his anger control him is going to cost him big time. Here, when Ray accuses Elliot of just wanting to kill him all along, that registers, Elliot realizes maybe there’s some truth there -- and fights down that urge to take Ray out in a non-lethal fashion (although that was the mother of all choke holds).
*For the record, I thought Liv’s new hair looked nice. And also, her response to her partner being in danger looked fine to me. She’s concerned, not hysterical, calling his name just before he comes out of the warehouse, dragging an unconscious Ray with him. She does go forward to check on him; he waves her off, says he’s fine. No problem in my eyes.
So, maybe a thin story and all, but a great outing for Elliot, with him pulling out all the stops to truly go undercover, submerging himself into Macavoy.
And from next week’s TV Guide, Matt Roush giving SVU a rave review that some of us will love and others can use as fuel for much mockery… :/
THE ROUSH REVIEW - Matt Roush, TV Guide, October 2-8
Criminally Good; SVU goes for the emotional jugular
It’s easy to take some shows for granted, especially if they run for years and are part of an overextended, albeit profitable, franchise. So it is with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the least formulaic and, in recent years, the most consistently compelling of the ubiquitos Orders.
SVU long ago overcame its initial reputation as a sordid wallow in sex crimes, and has become a destination for tricky and often disturbing psychological mysteries.
Still going strong in its seventh season, the show is best whenever the case gets under the skin of lead detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). Each gets a vivid workout this month.
Hargitay deserves her third consecutive Emmy nomination for this week’s suspenseful episode, built around a 911 call. It’s a knuckle-biting race against time as Olivia stays on the phone with a disoriented 9-year-old girl imprisoned in an unknown location. Amid skepticism that it’s all a hoax, Olivia stays the course, and Hargitay runs the emotional gamut from frantic desperation to vengeful resolve.
Meloni takes forceful center stage in the October 11 episode, as Elliot confronts his own deep-rooted rage issues in the wake of an assault case involving an ex-partner’s son. Steroids are the catalyst in an exploration of father-son dynamics that sends the increasingly unstable Elliot to a shrink (Mary Stuart Masterson).
The best compliment I can give these episodes: I rarely felt I was a Law & Order show. If SVU keeps up this pace, it will have no trouble staying well ahead of its new competition, ABC’s quirky Boston Legal and CBS’ earnest Close to Home.