My theory on Law & Order
My mother and sister Sydney are big fans of Law & Order. I don’t mind the show, but I don’t go out of my way to watch it. I wondered about this for a while, since it is a good show, well-acted, -plotted and -written. I think my preferences in television are analogous to those in reading. I prefer novels above everything else. Even in comic books, my preference is for graphic novel collections, rather than one shots, or ongoing, meandering series. I like my entertainment fictive; I like it to have good character development and for those characters to have distinct voices.
I find Law & Order more akin to a collection of short stories. There is little continuity, and little character development for the series regulars. Also, it relies so heavily on real-life events that it loses some of the feel of fiction.
My theory about those who love Law & Order is that, as readers, they aren’t novel-centric, as I am. They are more accepting of other forms, like non-fiction, essays, magazines, short stories and one-shots. I read all these things, too. If I had to choose, though, it would be no contest.
December 15th, 2004 at 7:59 am
hmmmmm….i primarily read novels. rarely read nonfiction. only read short stories when there are no novels left to read in the house…
but i do like law & order… i’m not obsessive about it - usually watch it in reruns - and really my “attraction” to L&O SVU is pure chris meloni…
December 15th, 2004 at 8:03 pm
See, I like it too, but sort of like I like short stories–as an occasional thing.
Did you ever see the episode of Scrubs with Meloni as the pediatrician with the puppet? I call Drake Mr. Cookiepants all the time. Not only because it’s a funny name, but because he often has ground or regurgitated cookie ground into his clothes.