Cabot, Peak, Classic Josh Duggan Cabot, Peak, Classic Josh Duggan

Episode 129: Man, This One Really Suffers from My Own Special Victims Unit Derangement Syndrome (S4E23 Grief)

Elliot meets another father of a daughter, only the other father's daughter just died in an alley having just been sodomized, meaning there's some sympathy pain for Stabes to experience. These fathers are both on a tear, and it's hard to say who does more damage in this one. Of course, there are tangents, including a dive into the NYPD's heinous brutality done unto Abner Louima, so hold onto your butts.

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Peak, Classic, Novak, Stunt-casting, Brainmelter Josh Duggan Peak, Classic, Novak, Stunt-casting, Brainmelter Josh Duggan

Episode 128: She's Breastfeeding Every Child in the Waiting Room (S7E15 Manipulated)

This episode of SVU is so goddamn fun, guys. Rebecca De Mornay (no, not from the homeless shelter) hatches possibly the most outlandish plot ever devised on network television involving implanted mouth semen and Special Forces assassins, all to ensure that her milquetoast husband only ever has eyes for her. Wild stuff. Obviously there is a TON of stuff to talk about including the 1951 Academy Awards, the unionization of Strip Clubs, Lethal Weapon, the greater Shermerverse, the Bronx Zoo, and the future of this podcast. This is an episode to enjoy with your entire family--provided, of course, that they are down to listen to detailed discussions of the half-life of jizz loads. Special thanks go out to my other favorite Rebecca De Mornay, Sonya Eddy, who has sadly never performed in a Law & Order franchise.

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Episode 127: His Olfactory Detection Is Disgusting (S17E2 Criminal Pathology)

Picking up where we left off last week, things get even Durstier as ME/murderer Carl Rudnick jumps bail, leaving the Unit in his dust, making a break for the border, and giving us as close as we’re going to get to an SVU/Midnight Run mash-up. And of course, Rollins needs to keep being the Clarice to Yates's Hannibal, so he can smell how pregnant she is. Unlike a lot of two-parters, this one’s actually a lot of fun, with anything from Rollisi’s cholesterol-hardened livers and Buffalo fair game to be cut into on the slab.

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Episode 126: Adam’s Corpse Power Rankings (S17E1 Devil's Dissections)

In Part 1 of an epic double-episode of SVU, we see Rollins Clarice-it-up with the truly disgusting serial killer Dr Greg Yates, whilst ME Rudnick Robert-Durst's-it-up in a shocking series of ante-mortem dismemberment murders. Along the way, we talk about State Fair fare, address justified criticisms of the podcast, and debate whether or not serial killers have a peculiar sense of smell.

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Peak, Classic, Brainmelter Josh Duggan Peak, Classic, Brainmelter Josh Duggan

Episode 125: THIS Liv Owns These Boots (S11E12 Shadow)

What happens when a super rich girl gets cut off after her umpteenth parentally funded business venture fails? Well, since this is SVU, a grisly double homicide hastily staged to look like a murder-suicide, followed in short order by a slew of hits taken out on the Unit after they ignore Sarah Paulson/Anne Gillette's extreme white privilege, and an off-the-books massive undercover fake jailbreak operation against Cragen's explicit orders that they were all off the case.

There's also plenty of class warfare, crapping on abstract art, and multiple undercover ops, one of which includes Liv domming out on a bootlicking blue blood. And don’t worry, this still opens plenty of doors to vanish through, so if you want to know how abstract art got funded, and what nefarious organization was doing it, look no further than this episode of Munch My Benson.

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Rollinsisode, Brainmelter, Barba, Late Josh Duggan Rollinsisode, Brainmelter, Barba, Late Josh Duggan

Episode 124: Was He Blue-Balled Then Blackballed, or Was It the Other Way Around? (S17E15 Collateral Damages)

Sure, this SVU spends a lot of time presupposing that we are heavily invested in the lives of minor recurring characters, but it also introduces us to a delightfully crass BBQ slinger with a penchant for lewd double entendres and forces us to go down all kinds of wild Munchian rabbit holes. Does Rollins have a separate person for her vacations at clothing-optional, adult-only all-inclusives? What scandals have engulfed the world of professional canoeing? Is Adam capable of surviving as a single parent for more than a week? Did we just watch an extra torpedo a "career" in background acting for the chance at one pay bump? This is definitely one for the Munchie-curious as a full 45 minutes of banter about Josh's concert going, Lucas Duda, and the Yiddish language (among many, many other things) had to be left on the cutting room floor. Enjoy!

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Episode 123: Not as Stiffed as Charmaine Was (S16E16 December Solstice)

What happens when SVU drops a fading Norman Mailer analog into a Ripped-from-the-Headlines family drama with his daughters pitted against his new wife, who the daughters think is sending dear ol' dad to an early grave by way of force-fed Viagra? Rectal probe electroejaculation and lewd talk of stiff, varnished eels, obviously.

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Amaro/Carisi Cusp, Late Josh Duggan Amaro/Carisi Cusp, Late Josh Duggan

Episode 122: Bikram Bong Rip Class (S16E22 Parents' Nightmare)

We see what happens when a bad mom and a dad with a ludicrously bad plan to snap her out of her bad mom-ness get together to ensure that their loving and sweet 8-year-old boy will suffer in the foster care system for the next 10 years of his life. Along the way we meet a lovable homeless man and an oft-interrupted yoga class, and we learn about Adam's hot life and Josh's cat-like reflexes. Munch away!

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Pre-history, Serial Killer, Brainmelter Josh Duggan Pre-history, Serial Killer, Brainmelter Josh Duggan

Episode 121: She Comes from a Good Family, She Eats Legumes (S1E4 Hysteria)

In a return to randomness after last week's Munchies' Choice, the Munchie Boys were thrown back into the pre-historical realm of Season 1, where SVU was still trying to figure out what it was. "Hysteria" was the franchise's first foray into the world of serial rapists/killers and sex workers, and given what we've seen thus far in Season 1, it's fair to assume that these subjects are handled, ummm, indelicately.

Don’t worry, there’s also tons of weird stuff like improbable shoe detective work, random doctors prescribing self-administered hot meat injections, the trans/cis sex workers’ turf wars of this universe leading Adam to look into the history of Times Square, both the Def-Leppard-related and non-Dep Leppard-related past of the diagnosis of hysteria, and real-life Vice cops going down in brothel busts. This one is wild in the ways you want an SVU to be.

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Episode 120: A Hostage Situation, but for the Viewers (S19E13 The Undiscovered Country)

When we asked our Patrons to select an episode for us to watch, we were asking for a choice as depraved and cruel as this, the episode that see beloved ADA Rafael Barba exit the show in ridiculous (and frankly, insulting) fashion. This episode has everything--if by 'everything' you mean bad acting, nonsensical writing, bizarre plot holes, and Phillip Winchester attempting to cry. Bad though this episode might be, we have so much to talk about including whether or not it's a good idea to rear a spite child, Adam's day at the museum, and the importance of a showrunner. Fans of our digressions should head over to Patreon to hear extensive deep dives into Japanese Onsen culture and minor league baseball.

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

Episode 119: No, Rollins Is a Tactile Detective (S19E18 Service)

Why does Rollins hate sex workers? Why is Wayne Knight only in this episode for two minutes? Why did they commit zero screen time to showing why the perp did what he did? Why did they rip this story from the headlines to inelegantly wedge trans rights into the final third of the show? We watched "Service" from Season 19, and ideally there would be answers to all of those questions, but the Season 19 qualifier is all you actually need to know. There may not be answers to your questions. Such is life in Season 19 of SVU.

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Late, Carisi, Ripped from the Headlines Josh Duggan Late, Carisi, Ripped from the Headlines Josh Duggan

Episode 118: They Weren’t Coming Back to Locutus (S21E20 The Things We Have To Lose)

We watched the impromptu finale of Season 21, which lost four episodes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. While that might not have mattered in most seasons of SVU, Season 21 was trying to do some things which definitely demanded resolution. Of course we talk about a whole range of ridiculous topics including early attempts at adding serialization to weekly procedurals, post-modern philosophy, and the Borg. Apologies for weird sound, particularly on Adam's track. He was having some software issues which hopefully have been resolved.

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Peak, Classic, Brainmelter, Novak Josh Duggan Peak, Classic, Brainmelter, Novak Josh Duggan

Episode 117: I Can’t Imagine What the S&P Call for This Episode Was Like (S7E6 Raw)

Sometimes an SVU really does the racism. Then there's S7E6 Raw, which for an unfathomable 20:51 unfurls bigotry at an astonishing rate--an average of once every 23 seconds. And it doesn't even start until past the 16-minute mark. They pack so much hate into this episode that it left Adam and Josh dumbfounded.

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Peak, Classic, Novak, Brainmelter Josh Duggan Peak, Classic, Novak, Brainmelter Josh Duggan

Episode 116: Paperboy Is Housing a Bird (S5E16 Home)

If one were to carve a Mount Rushmore of bad moms out of someone's holy mountain, Diane Venora's character from this SVU would certainly be on it. This lady sucks a lot. While we get deep into her antics, we also talk about Adam's sickness (spoiler alert: he shouldn't have gone to that Yankees game), Belizean airports, nonsexual hygge snuggling, trashcan chicken, and Kenny Rogers.

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Episode 115: Give Someone Diabetes by Making Them Beer Bong Apple Juice for 15 Takes (S12E10 Rescue)

In a true whirling dervish of an episode that turns the audience around and around, we start at a "kick-ass loft party," careen into a sexual predator in an ambulance, and end up back where the B-plot started with Calvin courtesy of his mother filching jewelry from a different crime scene. "Rescue" (S12E10) takes us everywhere. Along the way, we touch on improbable sampling of large members, insane PowerPoint presentations, and the Duke faux sex thesis controversy. This one goes to some weird places.

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Finisode, Random ADA, Amaro Josh Duggan Finisode, Random ADA, Amaro Josh Duggan

Episode 114: Rollins Was About to Take a Tumble in the Back of a Hearse (S14E10 Presumed Guilty)

Sure, the bulk of this episode is a fairly by-the-numbers which-priest-was-the-pedo-and-which-was-merely-libidinous tale, but for a few delicious moments, we get to pull back the curtains and see what the Medical Examiner's office in the SVUniverse does on the rare night they let their hair down. This is a holiday party for the ages folks. It is the party that launched a thousand fan fiction stories. We also speculate on what Amaro and Rollins have, or have not, going on on Christmas Eve, among many other fun digressions.

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Peak, Brainmelter, Classic Josh Duggan Peak, Brainmelter, Classic Josh Duggan

Episode 113: You Can Really Tell that Dean Porter Wanted to Take Liv’s Basal Temperature with His Meat Thermometer (S11E6 Spooked)

Ever wonder what would happen when Benson, Stabler, and the Unit get tangled up in an investigation that sends them looking into the Gulf Cartel, the FBI, Los Zetas, the CIA, and Cuban revolutionaries? Well, wonder no longer because this time around we are diving in to Season 11, Episode 6 "Spooked" featuring Vincent Spano reprising the role of FBI Special Agent Dean Porter. It starts with the SVU version of the Wet Bandits finding a pair of staged corpses with a rape tree and some stolen implants in the back of a box truck and just gets stranger from there. It may not make sense, but “Spooked” is a helluva nonsensical fever dream.

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Brainmelter, Lake, Classic, Peak Josh Duggan Brainmelter, Lake, Classic, Peak Josh Duggan

Episode 112: Warner Always Checks the Junk at the Scene (S9E10 Snitch)

In the course of watching 112 episodes of SVU, few things have shocked us as much as seeing the writers of this show take a measured and nuanced approach to not one, but two decidedly problematic issues in polygamy and female genital mutilation. That these both appear in an episode that gives screen time to topics including "stop snitching" culture, tide charts, epilepsy, and one of Elliot Stabler's former flings means there was a whole lot to discuss. The true die hards will want to check out our Patreon for an extended history of the Biafran War from Adam, Josh going full on Rage Against The Machine, and the two of us nearly coming to blows over the availability of liquor stores in southern Utah. There is way too much fun/dumb stuff in this one folks!

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Pantheon, Greylek, Classic, Peak, Stunt-casting Josh Duggan Pantheon, Greylek, Classic, Peak, Stunt-casting Josh Duggan

Episode 111: Dylan McKay: Rapist (S10E1 Trials)

IT IS HERE! LUKE PERRY, Y'ALL.

Are you holding onto your butts? Are you ready to have Law & Order: Special Victims Unit lay waste to your childhood? To destroy the sacred bond you shared with THE heartthrob of the '90s? To see the profound damage said heartthrob did to the very recognizable women he violated after leaving the glamorous environs of Beverly Hills?

In what might be the stuntcastiest episode in SVU's storied history, Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) does some pretty bad things to Darlene Conner (Sara Gilbert), Carol Vecsey (Julie Bowen), and our collective innocence. This episode is what started this whole venture back when it little more than a bitchin' name. Yes, via this insane show, Dylan McKay rapes our youth.

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Stunt-casting, Classic, Pantheon, Peak Josh Duggan Stunt-casting, Classic, Pantheon, Peak Josh Duggan

Episode 110: It's Not A Gay Cowboy Orgy, Probably... (S11E18 Bedtime)

What this delightful episode of SVU (S11E18 Bedtime) lacks in terms of coherent three-act structure or thoughtful character development is more than made up for by the absolute cavalcade of bonkers plot lines and instantly recognizable famous people. Ann-Margaret justifiably won an Emmy for her turn as the perma-drunk Rita Wills. William Goddamn Atherton plays a petulant serial killer! Morgan Fairchild gets about 30 seconds of screen time! Liv and Elliot get propositioned for a threesome! Theres so much fun in this episode you're going to have to just dive in and revel in the madness.

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