Loving "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit"

Like many people, I love the show, "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit", and watching with eagerness and glee on Tuesday night, as they aired the season finale.

I can't begin to express how happy I am that NBC didn't end the season with a cliffhanger episode, making viewers spend their summer, waiting in anxious anticipation for the new season to begin in the fall. Additionally, like most people, I am grateful that no one was taking my blood pressure, while watching the show. I think it's fair to say that Tuesday night's episode was one of the best of the show. (And, that's saying a lot, as every show is well-written, well-acted, and full of suspense and twists.) For those who watch the show, I think we all knew it was a matter of time before the character of Dale Stuckey was bid adieu, given the irritating nature of the character. But, as I'm sure many people were, I wouldn't have guessed, a few episodes ago, that he was going to go out in the manner in which he did. (I guess being bullied really can cause some people to snap!)

The main reason I was concerned, as I'm sure others were, that NBC would end the season with a cliffhanger episode is due to the fact that at last word, neither Christopher Meloni (aka Detective Elliot Stabler) or Mariska Hargitay (aka Detective Olivia Benson) had signed their contracts for next season, and were still in negotiations. Which leads me to ponder....how would it affect the show, should one or both of those actors chose to leave? Would it affect the ratings? Would people stop watching, given that a great many people feel that Meloni and Hargitay's characters, and their chemisty is a large part of the popularity? (While the ratings may not have been affected after the departure of Stephanie March, who plays ADA Alexandra Cabot, a lot of viewers were sad to see her leave, hopeful that she would return, expressing disdain for the other actresses who stepped into the role of the Special Victims Unit ADA, and very happy to see her return earlier this season, while remaining concerned that it my only be short-term, as she continues to appear in the credits as a "special guest star" as opposed to her name and photo appearing in the opening theme song sequence, along with Meloni, Hargitay, B.D. Wong, Dan Florek, Tamara Tunie, Ice-T, and Richard Belzer.) Would the overall chemisty and dynamic of the show be adversely affected should either (or both) Meloni or Hargitay chose not to sign a new contract? Or, would the show continue, essentially unaffected, demonstrating that it's more about the writing, the story lines, the direction, and the overall ensemble, rather than one or two characters? (Many a critic and viewer thought it was going to be the end of "ER", after Anthony Edwards left the show, especially since George Clooney, Sherry Stringfield, Julianna Marguiles and a few others had already left the show by that point, too. But, the show continued on, even with a seeming revolving door of cast members, for several more years, not calling, "wrap", until earlier this season.) Besides, hasn't the orignal, "Law and Order" been on the air, for something like 15 years? And, none of the current cast members have been with the show, since the beginning, not even Sam Waterston.

All of the primary characters on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" are enjoyable to watch and brought to life by talented actors, and it would certainly feel strange to watch the show, should any of them permenately. (Again, people never warmed to the other actresses who portrayed the ADA, the way they did Stephanie March.) Who could preside over the squad better then Dan Florek as Captain Cregan? What would it be like to not see the smart street sense of Ice-T as Finn Tutuola, paired with the paranoid, conspiracy theorist of Richard Belzer's John Munch. Who could give the FBI profiles prospective better than B.D. Wong as Dr. Georg Huang, and would we really want to see any other medical examiner speaking for the victim, other than Tamara Tunie as Dr. Melinda Warner? But, somehow, it still seems to come back around to Meloni and Hargitay as Stabler and Benson, respectively. How would the departure of one or both of these actors affect the show?

Of course, we have summer for these actors to renew their contracts. And, the possibility of the Screen Actors Guild going on strike again, too, could make it something of a moot point, for awhile, too.