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TV Rec

Marc and I watched a particularly great "SVU" the other day, which made me think about my favorite single-episode TV moments of all time:

*"Hitting the Fan" (THE GOOD WIFE)
*"Beach House" (GIRLS)
*"Long-Term Parking" (THE SOPRANOS)
*"Consider Helen" (ENLIGHTENED)
*"My Motherboard, My Self" (SEX AND THE CITY)

Anyway, the SVU hour in question is called "Paternity." It starts weird and gets weirder. A little boy materializes with blood on his face; everyone thinks the blood belongs to his mother.

In fact, the blood is from the boy's murdered Mormon nanny. At this point, you plan on a murder mystery about the nanny. But, in fact, the murder is solved almost immediately. The solution unearths a major issue within a marriage. This discovery leads to yet another murder. That murder also gets solved quickly--but the solution involves a domestic dispute for our protagonist, Stabler. In trying to handle the issue, Stabler upsets a (metaphorical) landmine. The Third Act is one of the more shocking and intense interludes I can recall, from any TV series.

So nice to see a writer tossing a formula out the window.

This aired November 27, 2007; the director was Kate Woods. Five stars!

P.S. I can’t omit “Ozymandias” .... from Vince Gilligan.....
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