Law & Order Unhinged

I'm a fan of the Law & Order shows (with the exception of Criminal Intent, with its weirdo characters). SVU has been my favorite for several years. However, SVU has gone off the rails the last two episodes, straying from its normal focus on domestic crime and punishment to attempt to make political statements. Last week, the theme of the show was that the Patriot Act sucks. This week was all about the brutal torture our government engages in.

To drive home the point this week, the producers trotted out the sad, slow music and the heartbreaking stories from torture "victims." Except I was less than moved when I heard the people talk about such horrors as:

• Having an air conditioner turned on near them.
• Having to wear a hood.
• Having water administered via IV until they peed themselves.

It definitely did not have the intended emotional effect upon me.

Normally, in shows like this, you have a character or two offer the opposing viewpoint, if only weakly. In this case, it was Detective Stabler, and it was very weak. For the first part of the show, he seemed to realize that these activities are far from torture. But by the end of the show, Stabler, who beats up prisoners every other episode (although he's apparently calmed down this season), was claiming that "torture" doesn't work "9 times out of 10."

Dr. Wong gave a good defense of the psychologist who helped design and supervise the techniques, but Dr. Warner was in high dudgeon about her "betrayal of medical ethics." And very little discussion took place during the episode about what the people that were being "tortured" did or knew to receive such treatment.

Normally, when one decides to abandon a TV show, it is only after months of declining episode quality and dwindling personal interest. However, I am but one episode of left-wing ranting away from having an hour open up on my Tuesday night schedule.