Thrilling Days of Yesteryear

“…these are their stories…”

I’ve been noticing the past couple of weeks while glancing at the Nielsens (and the latest issue of the new TV Guide points this out as well) that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is currently NBC’s highest-rated TV show.  For a series that is now in its seventh season, there’s still a lot of life left in the old warhorse, and since I’ve mentioned here from time to time that I think it’s the most underrated in the L&O franchise it’s nice to get a little vindication.

The first two episodes of this season were pretty standard entries though the second, “Design,” does feature the magically babe-a-licious Lynda Carter.  (When asked by TV Guide one time what it would take for her to don her Wonder Woman regalia one more time Carter responded: “World peace.”  So, right there that’s something to shoot for.)  But the third episode, “911,” was a particular stand-out and may, in fact, be one of SVU’s finest hours.  The show is a nail-biting suspenser about a young girl who places an emergency call and is kept on the phone by Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) when she has reason to believe that the girl is the victim of a pedophile—even though evidence begins to suggest that the entire affair may be a hoax.  “911” is incredibly riveting television, and it reminded me of one of my favorite episodes from the radio series Nightbeat—in “City at Your Fingertips,” Chicago Star reporter Randy Stone (Frank Lovejoy) lets his fingers do some random walking on a telephone dial and comes into contact with a woman about to be murdered by her insane husband, necessitating a race against time to locate her whereabouts.

SVU followed “911” with a great entry featuring the volatile Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) in “Ripped;” Stabler must confront his inner demons when he investigates a case involving the son of his old partner.  This episode brought back Mary Stuart Masterson as Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, a character seen with great regularity during the show’s last season; the scuttlebutt has it that this year will see a kindler, gentler Elliot to which I’ll admit I have trepidations—part of what makes the character work is wondering whether this will be the week when the dedicated but troubled detective explodes like the proverbial powder keg.

Next week, Law & Order: SVU takes a vacation with a repeat—but in this particular case I don’t mind: it’s the episode “Ghosts,” which brings back the Alexandra Cabot character (Stephanie March) featured on the show from 2000-03.  I missed this one the first time around, so I’m pleased to see that NBC is giving it another go-round.

- Posted by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. - 12:56:46 PM - comment []

La cucharacha

The ‘rents are currently out of town, which is a good thing because I ended up having to snuff out the life of another cockroach this morning—and when my mom spots one of the insidious little devils she has a scream that could be mistaken for a car alarm.  Since we uprooted from our modest holdings in Ravenswood, WV back in May of 1983, we’ve had to come to grips with the fact that hot and humid Savannah is a friggin’ amusement park for what Steve at Blog D’Elisson calls Blattidae Germanicus…the lowly cockroach.

Now, I need to point out that there’s a different breed of roach lurking about in the Coastal Empire—so different that the locals call them “Palmetto bugs” instead of the usual Blattidae vernacular.  This different breed can actually fly, and many of these bastards—assuming they’re taking care of themselves…working out and watching their diet—can achieve the size of, say, a Buick.  The problem with “Palmetto bugs” is that they’re not attracted to houses because they’re dirty—which is what we normally associate with roaches—it’s because of the humidity; the maintenance guy at La Quinta once explained to me that Palmettos enter a dwelling because they’re attracted to the scent of dampness and, having breached the perimeter, expire shortly thereafter.

I mention La Quinta because in the brief time that I’ve been employed in the hotel bidness, Palmetto bugs are the number one complaint heard from the guests.  You simply cannot explain to them that they’re going to get a visit from these miserable pests because someone’s left a door open too long or they’ve been smuggled in via a paper bag (the preferred carrier for these roaches).  In fact, if I had a nickel for every time I heard “There’s a gi-normous roach in my room!” I’d no longer have to work at any place where I’d hear the complaint.  Most of the time you’re powerless to do anything about it—again, people associate roaches with filth and squalor—so you usually just smile and nod and comp their room.

What cracks me up is that some of the people who scream “Roach!” hail from South Florida, and since I’ve visited there on occasion you’d think they’d be the first to understand the menace that is the Palmetto bug.  In fact, the only time I’ve ever encountered someone who knew what the score was occurred during my tenure at the Landmark Inn, in which a guy eavesdropped on a conversation I was having with another guest who found a roach in her room.  After I hung up the phone, he remarked to me: “I know what you’re going through.  We’re from North Carolina, and I was involved in setting up a new VA hospital.  We ended up leaving the old furniture behind and bought new just to avoid carrying those f**kers across town with us.”

- Posted by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. - 12:56:27 PM - comment []