Law & Order: Special Victims Unit "Unstoppable" (partially found unaired episode of crime drama series; 2016): Difference between revisions
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'''''Law & Order: SVU''''' is an ongoing prime-time American television series that premiered on September 1999 on the NBC network. It is the second entry of Dick Wolf's Law & Order franchise, and as of 2021 it is the longest-running scripted live-action TV show in the United States. The series focuses on a group of NYPD detectives from Manhattan that are part of a squad known as the Special Victims Unit (SVU), mainly dedicated to the investigation of sexually based offenses or abuse allegations. Although fictional, the show frequently takes inspiration from real life crimes and news, basing the featured cases on true facts and occurrences. This would later prove to be disadvantageous for the show, as it lead to a fully produced episode remaining unreleased due to its close ties to then-current events. | |||
== | =="Unstoppable"== | ||
'''"Unstoppable"''' was an episode produced in early 2016 as part of the shows eighteenth season, with it initially being set to air in October of the same year.<ref> [https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-law-and-order-svu-trump-episode-postponed-20161017-story.html Chicago Tribune article with the many planned air dates] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref> The episode would star actor Gary Cole as a politician running for the White House, accused of sexual misconduct by several women during his campaign.<ref>[https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/law-order-svu-has-only-1-episode-that-never-aired-in-its-20-year-history.html/ Cheatsheet article that explains the plot.] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref><ref>[https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/law-order-svu-nbc-donald-trump-pull-episode-1201889641/ Variety article with more plot information.] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref> Cole’s character would turn out to be innocent, with the accusations being revealed to be fake and a “booby-trap” conducted by his campaign advisor, who believed he wasn’t a good fit for the country’s ideals.<ref>[https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/03/law-and-order-svu-donald-trump-episode-when-will-it-air-ice-t Actor ICE-T gives out more plot details.] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref> | |||
This episode was allegedly inspired by businessman Donald Trump, who at the time was the Republican candidate for the 2016 United States Presidential Election.<ref>[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/law-order-svu-donald-trump-937452 The Hollywood Reporter article that mentions Trump as the inspiration.] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref> The plot is thought to have been based on a then pending real lawsuit against Trump which accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in the 1990s, although NBC never confirmed this claim.<ref> [https://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/13/entertainment/law-and-order-svu-trump CNN article regarding the alleged inspiration and the network’s position.] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref> | |||
Due to the delicate nature of the portrayal, the produced episode sparked an inner controversy among the screenwriters, actors and producers of the show, as well as NBC executives, resulting in changes in the original storyline to soften the final product and avoid direct comparisons between Cole’s character and presidential-candidate Trump. ''Unstoppable'' was later scheduled by NBC to air on October 12th <ref> [https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/law-order-svu-donald-trump-nbc-gary-cole-1201885679/ Variety article claiming these original plans] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref>, but was pulled off schedule and pointed to air on October 26th <ref> [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161012nbc01 The Futon Critic listing the new air date] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref> , two weeks before the presidential election. A promo for the episode aired mid-October <ref> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdIHRmFFZNU Promo uploaded on Youtube on October 13th] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref>. | |||
Due to the delicate nature of the portrayal, the produced episode sparked an inner controversy | |||
On the first weeks of October, before the airdate, several women accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment, and footage of controverse remarks surfaced in the media <ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/12/donald-trump-women-new-sexual-harassment-stories The Guardian article about the accusations] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref>. Following these announcements, NBC decided to postpone the episode until November 16h, airing it one week after the election scheduled to take place on November 8th. <ref> [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/law-order-svu-reschedules-donald-trump-inspired-episode-941307 THR article noticing the reschedule] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref>. | On the first weeks of October, before the airdate, several women accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment, and footage of controverse remarks surfaced in the media <ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/12/donald-trump-women-new-sexual-harassment-stories The Guardian article about the accusations] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref>. Following these announcements, NBC decided to postpone the episode until November 16h, airing it one week after the election scheduled to take place on November 8th. <ref> [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/law-order-svu-reschedules-donald-trump-inspired-episode-941307 THR article noticing the reschedule] Retrieved 4 March '21</ref>. | ||
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Revision as of 21:21, 4 March 2021
Law & Order: SVU is an ongoing prime-time American television series that premiered on September 1999 on the NBC network. It is the second entry of Dick Wolf's Law & Order franchise, and as of 2021 it is the longest-running scripted live-action TV show in the United States. The series focuses on a group of NYPD detectives from Manhattan that are part of a squad known as the Special Victims Unit (SVU), mainly dedicated to the investigation of sexually based offenses or abuse allegations. Although fictional, the show frequently takes inspiration from real life crimes and news, basing the featured cases on true facts and occurrences. This would later prove to be disadvantageous for the show, as it lead to a fully produced episode remaining unreleased due to its close ties to then-current events.
"Unstoppable"
"Unstoppable" was an episode produced in early 2016 as part of the shows eighteenth season, with it initially being set to air in October of the same year.[1] The episode would star actor Gary Cole as a politician running for the White House, accused of sexual misconduct by several women during his campaign.[2][3] Cole’s character would turn out to be innocent, with the accusations being revealed to be fake and a “booby-trap” conducted by his campaign advisor, who believed he wasn’t a good fit for the country’s ideals.[4]
This episode was allegedly inspired by businessman Donald Trump, who at the time was the Republican candidate for the 2016 United States Presidential Election.[5] The plot is thought to have been based on a then pending real lawsuit against Trump which accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in the 1990s, although NBC never confirmed this claim.[6]
Due to the delicate nature of the portrayal, the produced episode sparked an inner controversy among the screenwriters, actors and producers of the show, as well as NBC executives, resulting in changes in the original storyline to soften the final product and avoid direct comparisons between Cole’s character and presidential-candidate Trump. Unstoppable was later scheduled by NBC to air on October 12th [7], but was pulled off schedule and pointed to air on October 26th [8] , two weeks before the presidential election. A promo for the episode aired mid-October [9].
On the first weeks of October, before the airdate, several women accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment, and footage of controverse remarks surfaced in the media [10]. Following these announcements, NBC decided to postpone the episode until November 16h, airing it one week after the election scheduled to take place on November 8th. [11]. On November 9th, after Donald Trump’s victory night, Unstoppable was taken off schedule until 2017, along with the show’s episode Great Expectations, which was also scheduled to premiere that night. The Law & Order episodes were replaced by the TV show Chicago P.D., as it is reported that there was an urgency in airing some Chicago’s episodes before a certain date in order to proceed with a crossover plot, and a need to organize NBC’s lineup to compete against FOX’s World Series airing that same night [12].
Following Trump’s inauguration ceremony as the 45th President of the United States in January 2017 [13], Dick Wolf, Law & Order’s executive producer, admitted not knowing when NBC would choose to air the episode, but pointed that it could happen that Spring [14]. Although Great Expectations ended up airing the following month as the season’s 11th episode [15], Unstoppable remained unscheduled.
In March 2017, actor Ice-T, part of the main cast of the show, admitted during an interview that he doubted that the episode would ever air, claiming it wasn’t "worth showing". Speaking of the resemblances between real life Trump’s accusations and fiction, he also noted that “Law & Order wants to be close, but not too close”, confirming the similarities between the then President of the United States and Cole’s character and leading that it was the likely cause of the shelving of the episode.
Availability
As of March 2021, there are no plans to ever air the episode. Only the promo has been made available.
Gallery
External Links
- Wikipedia page for Law & Order: SVU. Retrieved 4 March '21
- IMDB page for Law & Order: SVU. Retrieved 4 March '21
- Unstoppable segment on Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 March '21
- Law & Order Wiki episode page of the series. Retrieved 4 March '21
References
- ↑ Chicago Tribune article with the many planned air dates Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ Cheatsheet article that explains the plot. Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ Variety article with more plot information. Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ Actor ICE-T gives out more plot details. Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ The Hollywood Reporter article that mentions Trump as the inspiration. Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ CNN article regarding the alleged inspiration and the network’s position. Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ Variety article claiming these original plans Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ The Futon Critic listing the new air date Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ Promo uploaded on Youtube on October 13th Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ The Guardian article about the accusations Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ THR article noticing the reschedule Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ Variety article talking about these changes Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ NYT article about Trump’s inauguration Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ Deadline article with Dick Wolf’s comments Retrieved 4 March '21
- ↑ TV Fanatic review of Great Expectations after the airdate Retrieved 4 March '21