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Something beautiful happens when aproceduralgoes past three seasons.
But after that, as theselong-running showsreally start to run long, things get kooky.
Nothing is off the table.
Secret twins, FBI cover-ups, whole buildings exploding around our leads.
And, yes, animal plots.
Nothing ungrounds a show from reality quite like getting animal actors involved.
(Or inChicago Meds case, agiant panda puppetin season two.)
In the words of Stefon, this episode has everything.
Itstartswith Detective Stabler (Chris Meloni) getting shot.
We flash back to how the Special Victims Unit got involved in animal smuggling.
Stabler goes undercover, and it threatens his marriage!
(Then again, what doesnt threaten that marriage?)
Then Big Boi shows up.
The animal-smuggling episode ofSVUis something that can only exist when shows go for 20-something episodes for years on end.
Nobodys first thought is monkey basketball.
Its not even anyones 30th thought.
This is the product of connection-TV mania and nothing else.
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