3 SVU Episodes That So Didn't Age Well, It's Embarrassing to Re-Watch Them
SVU has been on the air so long that you can see the evolution of technology and major social changes through it.
Needless to say, Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit (SVU) is the type of show that never feels like it ages.
The iconic Dick Wolf program and first spin-off to Law & Order have withstood the test of time. Now approaching the end of season 24 (and with a 25th season already confirmed) - SVU isn't going anywhere. Be that as it may, there are certain aspects of Law & Order: SVU that have become obsolete - namely, the technology.
It's important to remember that SVU premiered shortly before the turn of the 21st century. Therefore, in an era that was more concerned about Y2K than anything else, it's natural that many of the tech gadgets and references seem older than MySpace.
It's a subject that has been discussed on Reddit, where numerous SVU episodes were referenced as being some of the most amusing for not aging so well.
For starters, an early season 3 episode (S3, E17: 'Surveillance') has a group of spies utilizing VHS tapes as cutting-edge technology. Then, later, in a season 7 installment (S7, E15: 'Manipulated'), there is a noteworthy argument over 'new technology,' including grave misconceptions about what precisely is facial recognition software.
If that is not enough hilarity, there are many other episodes featuring shoutouts to vintage tech devices like beepers and flip phones.
What's more, as one Redditor indicated, the very first few episodes of Law & Order: SVU didn't even have the characters using cellphones, a testament to how long the show has been airing on NBC.
SVU manages to present the evolution of technology like no other show on television, which makes sense considering the show has been on the air for over two decades. There has been much progression in the Millennium era, as evident by the early episodes of Law & Order.
For that reason, it's a fun exercise for audiences to dive back into the original seasons of Law & Order: SVU and witness the growth of tech. For example, in another early episode, Detective Elliot Stabler gripes to a colleague about his daughter sending 20 messages a day in an era when subscribers were charged by the text.
These aspects of tech now seem like ancient history, but it really wasn't all that long ago things were much different in society.
Interestingly enough, technology is not the only thing Law & Order: SVU appears to forecast. As Redditors mentioned in the thread, SVU has also put out previous episodes that oddly contradicted things that would happen later in existence, such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade and a deadly virus wiping out people. With all that in mind, we're curious to see what current SVU episodes will resemble to audiences 20 years from now.