Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Obscene (2004) User Reviews

They feed off each other

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 5 February 2013]

I've always found it fascinating how the left and right have always seemed to feed each other and have each other provide the worst examples to justify the other's point of view. Everyone in this episode should have taken a chill pill.

Dany Delany soccer mom to Ricky Ullman is heading up a league of decency type movement to get what she considers a sexually suggestive show with Brittany Spears type teen Maggie Grace in the lead. Maggie is a sexy sort and her show which has her play a karate kicking teen detective is something that Delany feels is not for family audience.

At the same time Lewis Black is a Howard Stern type who has a radio show that appeals to teens with budding hormones like Ullman. Delany's other crusade is to get Black off the air. I remember as a kid listening to Jean Shepherd on the radio myself, but he was hardly as brutally frank as Black or Stern are.

Black makes some comments about what a slut Maggie Grace and some eager young man should do her good and proper. Guess who takes up Black's suggestion with consequences all around.

This SVU episode is about censorship and taste, the first we have too much of, the second not hardly enough. The regulars in the cast take a back seat to Delany and Black each using the other to justify their point of view.

A most thought provoking SVU episode.

Not an obscene episode

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 27 January 2021]

A long way from that in fact, the show and the franchise seem to have a lot of episode titles where the execution of the episode is the opposite (good and bad). In terms of the basic premise on paper, "Obscene" doesn't sound overly-exciting or that unique. 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' have done relatively similar, in terms of basic concept, quite a few timed before and since. Delving deeper into what the episode is primarily about and what it is conveying, it is deeper than one would think, is still pretty relevant today and some of what it says hits home.

"Obscene" turned out to be a very good and interesting episode. Not one of Season 6's best, or one of the best of the early seasons or of the whole of 'Special Victims Unit', it is also not as good as the previous two episodes "Birthright" and "Debt". On the most part though "Obscene" handles its tough subject, which is a lot more interesting than it appeared to be at all, very well (surprisingly so) while not completely escaping the potential traps.

There are many great things about "Obscene". The production values are typically slick with the right amount of grit, nothing is too fancy or too gimmicky. Nor is anything too static, drab or garish. The music is not too constant or emotionally manipulative, meanig not over-emphasising the emotion to make one think that's how we should be feeling. The script is intelligent and tautly structured, with some nice levity every now and then like Munch's reference to Janet Jackson's Superbowl incident. It is one that also provokes a lot of thought in a way that is even more relevant today than it was back in how it handles the subject of censorship versus taste (a major problem online now).

Just to say, absolutely agree with a previous reviewer about their takes on this issue and how massively problematic it is. Did appreciate too that it was handled honestly and with force. The story is strong and is also quite different with its extremely low body count and very little bloodshed. All the regular performances are great and Lewis Black is extremely entertaining playing a character that is a mix of Howard Stern and himself. Stabler and Olivia are strongly written and their chemistry as always is great.

Did think however that "Obscene" was heavy handed in spots from over-emphasising what it had to say.

On a more nit-picky note, much of me was somewhat angry about how the perpetrator didn't seem to think about their daughter and their welfare when they did what they did.

Altogether though, it's a very well done episode. 8/10

Lazy writing, decent acting

[jeanpierrexxiii · 6/10 · 4 July 2022]

This episode is all about lawful cringe and feels very cheap. The second theme is fame and how it affects us, for better or worse. I love SVU but with 20+ years of content, they can't all be winners. Plot is a bit convoluted and by the end, caricatures destroy any nuance the actors put into their characters.

I think Lewis Black is underutilized in this role, though the casting is perfect. The issue is very real but the story jumps the shark to conform to the juicy plot twists SVU is known for. There have definitely been worse episodes...this feels more like a missed opportunity, wasted potential.

Teen TV star raped, beaten

[kfnnq · 5/10 · 2 June 2006]

Not quite ripped from the headlines, this episode has the viewer torn between an emancipated teen who shows more than her acting talent in her TV-MA television show and those that believe this trashy TV should only be shown after prime time.

Predictably, a right-wing television decency activist (was Tipper Gore right wing?) played by Dana Delany is eyed early in the episode as somehow being behind the evil deed. Even more predictably, Detective Munch sums up his liberal view of the world in a few bumper sticker like slogans regarding parents trying to protect their children from a nipple on the screen.

Without giving away any spoilers, you are run through the gamut of usual suspects to include the paparazzi, set crew, hospital staff, celebrity stalkers, shock jocks, etc.