Brainmelter, Stone, Stoneisode, Late Josh Duggan Brainmelter, Stone, Stoneisode, Late Josh Duggan

Episode 233: Nips Out and a Necktie (S20E9 Mea Culpa)

This week, ADA Peter Stone's fast and loose lifestyle during his younger days when he was still a baseball player comes screaming into the world of our SVUs. What happens when a main cast member is the lead suspect in the case the SVUs are investigating? Well, that largely depends on the showrunner and the according professionalism with which they execute the production of a television show. In this case, we're watching an episode from Season 20, and the results are... NOT GREAT, BOB.

Read More
Cabot, Brainmelter, Classic, Peak, Stunt-casting Josh Duggan Cabot, Brainmelter, Classic, Peak, Stunt-casting Josh Duggan

Episode 229: It’s More of a Stain in Heaven (S3E23 Silence)

This one gets all up in the confessional, culminating in a no-holds-barred Catholic-off between Stabler and Father Michael Sweeney (Eric Stoltz--or is it Stolitz?). Red herrings and misdirects abound, and since we're watching an SVU dealing with the Catholic Church, you can assume that some priest were taking some liberties with parishioners of an underage variety. While this one might kick off with some jarring early-season transphobia, it also has a lot of wild fun stuff, and if you weren't paying attention to the priest's name, don't worry, Josh caught it.

Read More
Brainmelter, Stone, Two-Parter Josh Duggan Brainmelter, Stone, Two-Parter Josh Duggan

Episode 221: Can Credits Just Roll in Very Slo-Mo? (S20E2 Man Down)

Picking up where we left off in MMB 219, we had a SUPER bad dad who was just found not guilty of ummm, SAing his son to show him what a real man is. The Munchie Boys were left to wonder what fresh hell awaited them upon returning to this foul ground in a second part that seemed unnecessary, and this one did not disappoint in terms of exceeding their already low expectations. There are bad episodes of SVU, and then there's this week's installment, which achieves lows hitherto reached only once before.

Read More
Two-Parter, Stone, Brainmelter, Late Josh Duggan Two-Parter, Stone, Brainmelter, Late Josh Duggan

Episode 219: His Pecs Were Unleashed (S20E1 Man Up)

There are bad dads, and then there’s the one played by Dylan Walsh in the two-parter to kick off Season 20 of Law & Order: SVU. Be prepared for some gnarly stuff. Also, be prepared to watch the seasoned detectives on this unit have no idea how to investigate crimes they’ve been investigating for decades. At least we get some pretty hawt Stone action in the cold open…

Read More
Brainmelter, Barba, Eidisode Josh Duggan Brainmelter, Barba, Eidisode Josh Duggan

Episode 201: He’s Gonna Be Gone Well Past November (S18E6 Broken Rhymes)

If there's one thing that SVU does consistently, it's dealing with trans issues indelicately, and this week's installment--the first under Rick Eid's guidance--is no exception. Season 18's Broken Rhymes has the unit dealing with trans bathroom usage in a way that isn't even remotely close to the law being discussed. Of course, this one also sets our trans victim--who is on life support by the cold open and not given much in the way of agency or depth--against the world of hip-hop, bringing in Wyclef Jean to, well, not do much. This wouldn't be a trans-focused SVU ep without homophobic and transphobic epithets being slung or the paint-by-numbers conversation amongst the members of the unit explaining trans people to Middle America, so steel yourself for that.

Read More
Pre-history, Brainmelter Josh Duggan Pre-history, Brainmelter Josh Duggan

Episode 199: It’s Like a Human Centipede Ouroboros (S1E2 A Single Life)

After three straight episodes spent in Season 24, the Munchie Boys get weird with the prehistoric SECOND EPISODE of Law & Order: Sex Crimes--er, Special Victims Unit. Adhering to the old TV trope that the second episode is basically a second pass at a pilot, this one hits a lot of the same beats that we saw all the way back in Episode 1. Just like the rest of the first season, the salacious and disgusting is cranked up, the darkness is unavoidable, and the Stabler family is prominently featured, though this one prominently features Elliot and Kathy in their underwear, selling sex marital-style.

Alt-title: Dickie’s Turtle Getting Cannibal Holocausted.

Read More

Episode 189: Oh, No, He Hand-Shaves His Meat All the Time (S17E11 Townhouse Incident)

Sit back, and try to imagine an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit where Olivia Benson, be she Detective or Sergeant or Lieutenant or Captain, finds herself held captive in a hostage situation. Go ahead. Any scenario that could land her in the middle of a standoff with just her wits (and SWAT standing by) to get her out of the situation.

Now, in that hypothetical situation you concocted in your head, things happened to get her there, right? Well, "Townhouse Incident" presupposes a scenario wherein Liv finds herself in a hostage situation in MINUTE TWO.

Yes, you read that right. The 2:12 mark, in fact. In a show where the first 0:21 is taken up by the intro and title card.

This was our Vietnam.

Read More
Brainmelter, Barba, Late Josh Duggan Brainmelter, Barba, Late Josh Duggan

Episode 185: We’re the Most Disgusting Second Unit in Television (S15E19 Downloaded Child)

In Season 15, the SVU writers room decided to revisit the subject matter of the Season 12 All-Timer "Possessed," wondering what it would be like without a Bud the Ninja Pedo gleefully pawing at pics of younger incarnations of their vics or other pedos defending themselves at trial by using the "of course my ejack was all over this pornographic physical media" defense. Well, the result here is harrowing. And, like, obviously, it probably should be. Yeah, it should be. But when it's played this straight, uhhhh, it's tough. It's also a pretty good platform for eventual White Lotus guest Meghann Fahy to strut her stuff.

Read More

Episode 105: Oh, They’ll Sexualize Anyone in a Really Terrible Way (S14E24 Her Negotiation)

The Randomizer decided that everyone needed to wallow in the darkness of the William Lewis Saga again, this time starting at the beginning with “Her Negotiation,” the season finale of Season 14 complete with cliffhanger leaving our hero Olivia Benson in a very dark place. This obviously means the Munchie Boys have to deal with fur-humping, Plein Air Painters, the life's work of Frederick Law Olmstead, and the shooting star that was Matt Harvey's early baseball career. Oh, and a pastiche serial killer drawing from some of the darkest imaginable sources.

Read More
Brainmelter, Peak, Novak, Classic Josh Duggan Brainmelter, Peak, Novak, Classic Josh Duggan

Episode 61: Seems Like a Weird Side Hustle for Washed-Up Catchers with Bad Knees (S8E2 Clock)

Because Father's Day now lasts an entire week, the Randomizer gifted us with another standout bad dads episode of Law & Order: SVU ("Clock" S8E2), wherein a young, but not criminally young, girl with mosaic Turner's Syndrome concocts an elaborate scheme to run away from her Canada curious father and into the arms of her proto-pedo lover. Of course we have plenty to talk about including abhorrent British comedy troupes and Yankees games from the early mid-Aughts. Munch Away!

Read More
Pre-history, Pre-classic Josh Duggan Pre-history, Pre-classic Josh Duggan

Episode 47: The Great Granny Panty Hustle (S1E18 Chat Room)

Look, we don't expect Season 1 episodes of SVU to get all the details exactly right, but in "Chat Room" (S1E18) the show gets the basics of the internet so gloriously wrong that it actually conjures many, many things into existence that didn't exist yet. Catfishing? Yeah, SVU invented that. Revenge porn? That too, sadly. Bitcoin, ffs?! Yes, Dickwolf is/was/will be Satoshi Nakamoto. Along the way to all these discoveries, we learn that SVU is a baseball show, that there is no wiggle room on chicken, and discerning listeners will be enchanted by Josh's deliriously deep dive on celebrity ocelots. Folks, we always recommend that you watch the episode in question before you listen, but this time we mean it. Enjoy!

Read More

Episode 31: It’s a Bad Way To Wake Up If You’re a Recovering Alcoholic (S13E23 Rhodium Nights)

The cliffhanging Season 13 Finale “Rhodium Nights” is an episode that belongs in the pantheon of SVU entries, featuring what has to be the most memorable ending in the entire series. This wild ride takes us down a slew of odd paths, including discoveries of Rollins’s economic beliefs, explorations into load volume, lamenting meddlesome US foreign policy, and travel recommendations for border towns. There’s TONS to talk about in this one, which is a truly shocking installment of television.

Read More