Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Producer's Backend (2014) User Reviews

Teen Queen Mess

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 20 February 2015]

Before writing and airing this episode of SVU I'm sure the lawyers were consulted and the producers and NBC were told that Lindsay Lohan was enough of a public figure that the libel&slander laws were not in play here. Or that some of what was said here about character Tensley Evans is all quite true.

This show brings Danny Pino back from being a uniform cop with his handling of a traffic arrest of a drunken Stevie Lynn Jones former teen starlet who was already on probation. Her accusation of him coming on to her is belied by the presence of a body cam. Those things might actually clear police of bogus charges. Anyway his by the book handling gets him back to the squad where Mariska Hargitay is short handed.

So why is Tensley Evans such a mess? For one thing she has Dana Wheeler -Nicholson as a mother who pushed her in front of eager producers and agents, one of them being a John Hughes like figure who likes them young and tender. She also witnessed a possible murder at his home in Los Angeles.

Takes a bit of creativity to get this guy, but the squad has to yield this one up to another jurisdiction. But the job gets done.

Not that it helps Stevie Lynn Jones. Or will Lindsay Lohan ever stop her downward spiral?

Producer's Backend

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 22 August 2022]

Anybody who has read any of my other reviews for for example individual episodes of the 'Law and Order' shows, am slowly working my way through writing reviews for all the episodes of 'Law and Order, 'Special Victims Unit' (and 'Criminal Intent' until last year) with a long way to go, will know already how much admiration there is from me for anything that tackles difficult and controversial themes and issues. That for "Producer's Backend" is another tough and courageous one.

"Producer's Backend's" story is a familiar one and it doesn't in all honesty do very much new with it, but seeing this subject tackled is always applaudable and this is no exception. It is one of the ripped from the headlines kind of stories, this type of story varied wildly in the latter seasons of 'Special Victims Unit' and mostly suffering from being too close to the real life case and not handling it in good taste. "Producer's Backend" does suffer from the former, but other episodes did the latter to far worse effect.

It is an episode that succeeds a lot more than it doesn't. It is a visually slick episode, typical for 'Special Victims Unit' and the 'Law and Order' franchise, and one with the right amount of muted grit, the photography doesn't try to do anything too fancy or gimmicky while not being claustrophobic and keeping things simple. The music doesn't overbear past the early stages with the theme tune still memorable and the direction is accommodating yet tight enough.

The script is thought provoking, losing none of its intrigue, and doesn't come over as rambling or too sleazy. Enough of the story is engrossing and the subject is neither trivialised or exploited. "Producer's Backend" is well performed in the acting department, Raul Esparza and Peter Scanavino are breaths of fresh air and Stevie Lynn Jones touchingly plays an interesting troubled character that is not hard to root for (not always the case in ripped from the headlines cases).

However, as said earlier on in the review, the story is too predictable and too close to the real event. Did also find the ending very melodramatic that jars with a case that up to then had very little personal drama.

Moreover, there is no chemistry between Amaro and Rollins, the former being too much of a cold fish too.

Good episode overall though. 7/10.