Question: As a fan of the Law ...
Question: As a fan of the
Law & Order franchise (my heart belongs to
Special Victims Unit), I have been dismayed by the recent spate of episodes touted as having been "ripped from the headlines." I don't think occasionally drawing from reality is terrible. However, I don't look to these shows to rehash the nightly news — I watch to see things I couldn't have read about anywhere else. A recent "ripped"
SVU episode followed a millionaire pedophile who was effeminate and lived in a toy-stocked mansion that had a fantasy atmosphere. Yes, I got it. I was also bored to tears by it. Why can't they stick to creating compelling
original story lines, and leave the news to
Dan Rather? Can you tell me if this is a ratings ploy, and if so, does it work? — Nancy D.
Matt:
Well, Law & Order and its offshoots have been using the "ripped from the headlines" promo strategy for years, and it's worked pretty well so far. But I agree with you that, first, that Jacko-inspired episode was probably the worst SVU in quite a long time, and also that when these shows lean too heavily on the headlines for inspiration, it often comes off as creative laziness. But sometimes the Law & Order shows can take a familiar situation and bring clever new legal twists and complications to the story. That's one of their specialties.
