A Ripped From the Headlines 'SVU!' Plus 'Lost' and 'Veronica' Previews!

Let me just start off by saying that I really missed The Amazing Race last night. I guess this is the reason we got the two-for-Tuesday special last week, but I would have rather had one last week and one this week if not for the CMAs. Oh well, it gives me an opportunity to go a little more in depth with last night's Law & Order: SVU, which is good because there was a lot going on in this episode. Have you ever noticed that this show sometimes has the The Simpsons storytelling method? Before you all look at me like I'm crazy, let me explain. The Simpsons starts off with one thing (say, an undercooked steak at a restaurant), and manages to take you on a journey that lands you somewhere completely different (like, Homer ends up in a chicken suit), and yet somehow the show does it without skipping a beat or causing you to pause and wonder how you went from a steak dinner to a chicken suit. When you finish the episode, you find yourself contemplating how they made it all work so well. The same thing often happens on SVU. Take last night's episode. We went from a man raping three women to speed dating, a bulimic alcoholic girlfriend, a jailhouse marriage and then to Terry Schiavo. After the episode finished, I tried to retrace how we got from point A (the man raping three women) to point B (Terry Schiavo) so seamlessly. This is definitely one of this show's strengths.

Dean Cain, fresh off his stint as Scott Peterson in the made-for-TV movie, once again played a bad guy. Not only was he a rapist, but he was also a control freak, a sadist toward his way too loyal girlfriend, a cheater and a money grubber. It was sad to see how loyal Cora was because of her extremely low self esteem. Cain's character was exactly the type of guy that someone like Cora would gravitate toward. He controlled everything, including her testimony against him. He married her to collect the insurance policy when she accidentally offed herself. He knew she could drink herself into a stooper if he told her that he was going to kill himself, and it worked. Because of Cora's prior problems with bulimia, she had a weakened heart and wound up in a vegetative state. This set up the Terry Schiavo storyline. Husband of one week Jergens (Cain) wanted to take Cora off the machines because he said it was her wishes, but her mother of thirty years did not. Just as in real life, the husband won and Cora was taken off the machines that sustained her life. The difference between real and fiction in this case was that Cora's mom got two doses of closure. First, she found out, as was the case with Schiavo, that her daughter was well beyond recovery. Second, she learned from an old newspaper article that her daughter did say that she did not want to live on machines.

Olivia's speed dating experience to expose the serial rapist was fun. Cain's character was so smooth at the speed dating meeting and on the later date. How many of you wanted to scream when he insisted on ordering Liv's drink for her, even though it wasn't what she wanted? Very annoying. He was so predictable, too, when he secretly followed her back to her apartment. Once Munch and Fin caught him, he continued with his smooth talking. The guy had an answer for everything! And now he gets to sit back and collect the $1.5 million life insurance policy he took out on Cora the day he married her. Overall an interesting episode, although I'm not a big fan of the "Ripped from the Headlines" gimmick.

About Last Night... CBS won the first hour of the night with its telecast of the 39th Annual Country Music Awards, followed by The Biggest Loser on NBC and Bones on Fox. At 9, the CMAs continued to dominate for CBS, followed by a close race between ABC's Commander In Chief and Fox's House, with the former coming out on top. The final hour of the night went to the CMAs as well, followed by Law & Order: SVU on NBC and Boston Legal on ABC. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - JT battles a radical Christian group in Detroit that takes over a Mosque and holds the members hostage on NBC's E-Ring.

@9 p.m. - The best hour on television brings us two intriguing episodes of the best shows on TV. On ABC, we learn what happened during those days after the crash for the people in the tail section of the plane during a special hour and four minute episode (9 p.m. - 10:04 p.m.) of Lost. Over on UPN, Veronica and Duncan learn that Meg had been babysitting an abused child and they work to discover the child's identity on Veronica Mars. Also, Charisma Carpenter and Steve Guttenberg reprise their respective roles.

@10 p.m. - Muriel makes a shocking discovery in the water and Dave learns who the wedding band belongs to on ABC's Invasion, which will start four minutes late due to Lost's runover. Over on CBS, a poker game turns deadly after one member is caught cheating on CSI: NY.


QUICK CUTS

*Sci Fi channel is ordering another season of its critically acclaimed show Battlestar Galactica. The entire principle cast will also return. The show has not only garnered critical success, but also the crucial ratings success as it averages 3 million viewers a week. Look for the show to return with its current season early next year.

*And finally, it's Nielsen Wednesday! CBS took the total viewer and 18-49 year old crowns last week, followed by ABC. The eye network was led by CSI (#1), Without A Trace (#4), CSI: NY (#7), Survivor (#8), CSI: Miami (#9), NCIS (#10) and Cold Case (#11). ABC's Desperate Housewives (#2), Monday Night Football (#3), Lost (#5) and Grey's Anatomy (#6) rounded out the top 10. For the full top 20 programs, visit USA Today.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Lost (what types of dangers did the tailies face?) and Veronica Mars (is this episode as creepy as its preview?). Plus all the latest television news!