Why is Law and Order:SVU such a terrible show?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Law and Order:SVU is one of those "background" shows my wife will have on the TV while she does work around the house, so I'm inevitably subjected to it. (I know sometimes people use that excuse for hate watching shows that are so bad they are guilty pleasures, but trust me, I honestly have no desire to sit down and watch it on my own.)

And it really is an awful show. A truly awful, terrible, no good show.

But why is it such a terrible show?

Is it the bad acting?

Is it the bad writing?

Is it the bland, unengaging one-dimensional main characters who are actually nothing more than conduits for preachy, self-righteous soliloquies?

Is it the annoying, constantly blaring overly loud monotonous background music?

Is it the fact that the writers are just lazy, and they basically just photocopy a couple of high profile criminal cases and paste them together for an episode?

Personally, I think it might be that it's just not very well-written or acted, but because of its subject matter, they can't pass it off as camp.

There are police shows that are very good, such as Homicide:Life on the Street. (And the fact that SVU wasted Richard Belzer's Munch character is one more reason why I hate SVU).

Then there are police shows that are mediocre to even bad, but they don't necessarily take themselves so seriously all the time, and I can still derive some enjoyment of it from time to time. (For example, Major Crimes on TNT).

But SVU is just....ugh.

It's not even guilty pleasure bad. It's just plain bad.

EDIT TO ADD: If you are in fact a fan of Law and Order:SVU, I mean you and your horrible sense of television watching no offense whatsoever.

[Pachamama]

1. Nooooo!!! It's a great show!

I watch marathons of it... love it... even when I hate it...

[Siwsan]

2. I love that show!

Admittedly, my favorite episodes were the earlier ones, but I still am hooked.

[OhZone]

3. I kinda like it.

Sometimes I get tired of reality shows and it's a nice change.

[Bleacher Creature]

4. I'm getting really sick of the constant "how can we mess with Olivia Benson's life more?" storyline.

Seriously, every single week she goes through something horrible. I know that the writers are trying to show just how strong of a character she is, but at some point they have to let her be happy for at least a second.

[demmiblue]

7. This.

It is still one of the first I view from my Hulu Watchlist, though.

[cyclonefence]

5. Here's what you need to be watching instead

NTSF:SD:SUV:: (National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle), is a clandestine team of government agents working together to protect San Diego from numerous terrorist threats coming in daily from such evil countries as Mexico, Canada and Guam. This team of highly trained operatives has only one job: saving your ass so you can drive your Prius and see your movies in 3-D without worrying about living in a country run by no-good terrorists.

As with many other acronym-ed police procedurals that dominate the airwaves, NTSF:SD:SUV::'s season of 15-minute episodes is ripped from the headlines and full of suspense, action, drama, cliffhangers, yelling, passionate love-making, more yelling, death and plenty of pregnant pauses.

Thursdays at 12:15 a.m. ET on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)

[OriginalGeek]

18. This

Is the correct answer.

[Eliot Rosewater]

19. Thanks for this rec

trying to find it on direct tv, channel 296, dont see it

[Still Blue in PDX]

20. Oh, my, that's Amelia Pond! I will be looking for this. (That is all.)

[Iggo]

25. Oh my god. I didn't know. I. Didn't. Know.

I need to watch this show!

[DK504]

6. I watch it all the time. Granted it has gone on for 20 years, but

it is in no way an awful show. Obviously it has lasted because rape and sexual abuse is an issue that needs to be discussed everyday.

Granted the back stories are a bit much, some of the characters a bit much, like Stabler and his dislike of women and Amaro and his anger issues and degrading women, no show on TV can resist that bitter prejudice. At least there is something that will talk about this rather than shying away from rape.

[TexasBushwhacker]

9. I miss the chemistry between Stabler and Benson though

It just hasn't been the same since he left. I watch the old shows more than the new ones. But my favorite Law and Orders are the original (especially the ones with Jerry Orbach) and Criminal Intent.

[Skittles]

8. it used to be a good show

the latest episodes I have seen seem to be delving into - well, just like you described

[Wolf Frankula]

10. Because it's Special Violence Unit

"In New York City, Sexual offenses are considered especially heinous. So heinous that we don't bother to try suspects, we just have our thug cops beat confessions out of them. That's the mission of the Special Violence Unit, when they're not pimping preteen girls."

Wolf

[brush]

32. Special victims unit.

[pangaia]

11. Mt question would be,

Why does someone need a tv show on as "background noise?"

[Blue_Adept]

34. Lots of reasons

Most people tend to do music I'm sure, but I can't listen to music as it triggers too much for me.

Having HGTV on in the background while working or doing chores around the house is enjoyable. I usually do movies in the background, a nice Apple TV playlist of all the Marvel movies, and as I move in and out of the room I catch snippets of favorite scenes or dialogue and it makes me smile.

I can't have silence. It leaves me alone with my thoughts too much these days.

[IUPACify]

12. Odd Timing

Really? With all the Weinstein/O'Reilly/Trump sexual harassment stuff going on right now you write a post about Law and Order: SVU. Just odd timing if you ask me.

BTW: I happen to like all things Law and Order. Especially SVU.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

13. Also odd timing that you joined DU to defend its honor but hey who am I to judge?

[demmiblue]

15. You tried this earlier... it didn't work.

[Eliot Rosewater]

21. Who is that? What are they doing?

[Iggo]

28. He didn't.

[Yavin4]

14. All network TV cop shows are facist.

They all feature a team of honest, dedicated police who use the cutting edge technology to get their man. Therefore, we should never question them or their methods.

[Oneironaut]

24. Usually thats just clueless writers in Hollywood.

It’s the same as shows where torture instantly works. It looks like they’re pushing an agenda, but it’s just from writing incompetence.

[bagelsforbreakfast]

30. It's not incompetence... it's do they want a job to pay the bills? n/m

[AmandaRuth]

16. i just want the old

school law and order to come back/

long live Jack McCoy

[Blindingly apparent]

17. Perhaps you would feel better if you told us how you really feel about SVU

But let be known I agree with you almost completely but would have to add it treat women horribly

[edbermac]

22. Because it doesn't have Bobby Goren in it.

[brokephibroke]

27. The shows,with him are by far the best

Last edited Mon Oct 23, 2017, 10:23 PM - Edit history (1)

Private Pyle.....

[KT2000]

31. +1

[Oneironaut]

23. Its utter shite and cringey. I put it in the same category as Touched by an Angel.

The OP describes the show perfectly. The characters are so one-dimensional, cliche, and ridiculous that they make you instantly hate the show. Everything almost always wraps up perfectly in the end - basically a gigantic middle finger to people who watched the last 55 minutes of the episode. The shows are too formulaic to be interesting.

[brokephibroke]

26. She should put on The Wire

Any season.

[Proud liberal 80]

29. Huge The Wire Fan, but

Didn’t like season 2 as much. However, the season was needed to tie everything together.

[cwydro]

33. I can watch it just to look at Mariska Hargitay.

She is gorgeous.

How many know that her mom was Jayne Mansfield?

Ice T is my second favorite, and Belzer too.

[Wounded Bear]

35. I never could stand it...

for the subject matter, mostly. I always felt dirty watching it.

[mythology]

36. I think the show has gotten a lot worse

The original Law and Order was at its best when they discussed larger issues in the context of the case. That let them get away with characters that were sort of cutouts. But then they shifted both the original and SVU to ripped from the headlines.

I also think that SVU suffers from the case matter being "worse" so it pushes to make the characters angry and push the line etc. But also the writers have to make this week's episode more traumatic than last week's. It doesn't have a sort of natural ability to put in a breather episode.