There’s a lot to take in as SVU makes history.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
Law & Order: SVU : “I’m Going To Make You A Star”
Season 21, Episode 1
Airdate: 9/26/19
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Before we talk about the episode, I have something to say.
One of the most important aspects of a show, at least in my eyes, is the showrunner. It may be the most important aspect. More than any character or any story or even a show’s fanbase, a showrunner steers the program in their own direction; their vision of what the show should look like plays out on screen almost every single week.
Warren Leight is a great showrunner. When he took over things on SVU in Season 13, the show was in a vulnerable place: Christopher Meloni (Detective Elliot Stabler) had just said sayonara, and much of the fanbase looked like they were going to do the same. With the show looking like it wouldn’t be around much longer, Leight did the unthinkable: he not only kept SVU running, he made it the most compelling it had been in many years.
Make no mistake about it: had Warren Leight not been put in charge of SVU in 2011, the show probably would have went off the air years ago.
Following Season 17’s conclusion in 2016, however, Leight departed to work on other projects. And not surprisingly, SVU began to suffer.
There were definitely some bright spots, but things largely took a turn for the worse.
Showrunner Rick Eid only lasted one season and it was largely a misfire, although he has since moved to Chicago P.D. and seems to be doing a great job there. He’s a much better fit for that show.
Eid’s replacement, Michael S. Chernuchin, had a lot of the qualities that Leight had, but very rarely did I feel that he executed anything well. My reviews of a lot of the Season 20 episodes reflected that, and I had to stop reviewing them after a while. Things just weren’t great with the show, and I got tired of writing the same complaints week after week.
The season ended in a horrible place: the entire squad basically participated in a frame-job, Benson looked like an ineffective leader, and Stone quit as ADA after getting a conviction on someone with no actual evidence and falling in love with Benson. It was a complete betrayal of everything SVU stands for.
As a result, I was not planning to review the show this year. And then I found out that Warren Leight was coming back.
I’m not sure how long this new tenure of Leight’s will last. But I will say that once again, Leight has managed to right the ship, at least for now. So thank you Mr. Leight. I look forward to seeing how far SVU can go once more.
CASE NOTES:
The case of the week wasn’t the best the show has ever had to offer, but it was perfectly serviceable. Ian McShane played the role of creepy, but powerful pervert exceptionally well. But ultimately, this week wasn’t about the case. It was about making history.
With this episode, Law and Order: SVU became the longest-running primetime drama in television history. That is not a feat to scoff at, and one that everyone involved in the show should be proud of.
Instead of resting on its laurels, however, SVU decides to change. There is A LOT of change in this episode, two big things in particular.
For starters, the SVU has a new ADA, and it’s none other than long-time SVU detective Sonny Carisi. This move doesn’t surprise me too much; I still remember that Carisi passed the bar exam at the end of Season 17. After Leight’s departure, however, that story was pretty much dropped. Returning to that story was always something that I expected Leight to do.
While Carisi doesn’t have much courtroom experience, he does have a tremendous understanding of how SVU cases work, so despite the inexperience, I think he’ll do fine. Moving to the District Attorney’s office also finally opens up a proper opportunity for a romantic pairing with Rollins, if Leight decides to go down that route.
Another change is the promotion of Lieutenant Olivia Benson to the well-deserved rank of Captain. Former SVU captain Donald Cragen would be proud.
One of my biggest complaints about the show last season and over the last few years has been Benson’s unchecked authority. She basically answers to no one at this point, and with this promotion that probably won’t change. However, this promotion was still well deserved. Benson may not always do things by the book, but she gets a lot of things done.
Her promotion, however, comes at the expense of Deputy Chief William Dodds, who has finally bit off more than he could chew with the NYPD with this case and as a result has been exiled to Staten Island. I’m sad to see Dodds go; he was so great at playing both SVU’s greatest ally at times and its greatest obstacle on occasion. Peter Gallagher was tremendous in the role, and has been a true bright spot of the show since his introduction. Dodds went out on a high note, and it’s clear that Benson had earned his trust and respect.
The writing of the show greatly improved from last season, as did the police work. I hope that under Leight’s direction, this continues.
JACOB’S FINAL VERDICTS:
- NBC also launched an official weekly SVU podcast this week, which features interviews with the cast and crew. I listened to the first episode and thoroughly enjoyed it. Many behind-the-scenes details are revealed, along with some clarification on aspects of the episode; for example, Chief Dodds was written out of the show because actor Peter Gallagher has another show that was just greenlit for television.
- This isn’t related to the episode, but GQ.com’s article on the history of SVU’s various ADA’s is a really good read and it’s worth checking it out.
- I really liked the Vice detective that was featured in this episode, and I wouldn’t mind if she was Carisi’s replacement.
- I’m kind of shocked that Judge Elena Barth stepped down from her position to be a lawyer for a sexual predator, considering she was literally once shot on the stand by a sexual predator.
