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SOAP SYNOPSES By Jacqueline Cutler Tribune Media Ser- vices (This column represents on air summaries for the week of May 9-13, 2011.) All My Children Ricky continued trying to get physical with Kendall and stopped when he heard glass breaking. Griffin had created the distraction. Opal told Amanda she sensed romance blossoming between Tad and Cara. A group of teenage boys arrived at the abandoned house where Griffin and Kendall continued to bond. Madison told Ryan she would do anything to keep Scott by her side. Jack and Krystal kissed. Caleb showed up and told them that Spike had the phone and that Erica called and could be in trouble. The Bold and the Beautiful The Logans, Forresters, Spencers and Marones gathered for an emo- tional occasion. Whip covered up his insecuri- ties regarding Ridge to Taylor. Katie attempted to reconcile with Bill, but COVER STORY ‘Law & Order: SVU’ officers command uniform respect By Jacqueline Cutler © Zap2it On the screen, they’re dealing with the most hideous aspects of humanity. When the director yells cut, the actors from “Law & Or- der: Special Victims Unit” leave the rapes and murders their characters encounter and fall into easy patterns established after years together. The 12th season closes Wednesday, May 18, a pretty remarkable run for a spinoff. On a recent drizzly day in the ex- panse that is Manhattan’s Chel- sea Piers, the cast finishes one episode and begins the season finale, the 24th of the year. Of- ficial word had not yet come from NBC as to whether this would be renewed. “We’re not going anywhere,” says Richard Belzer, who plays Detective John Munch. “The show makes too much money — for other people.” “You know that cha-ching sound?” adds Ice-T, who plays Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola. “It’s (creator) Dick Wolf’s cash register.” Ice-T is playing a video game in his dressing room when Bel- zer pokes his head in. They’re very different guys, but playing partners all these years gives them a deep bond. “We don’t finish each other’s sentences,” Belzer says. “We just look at each other, and whole paragraphs are finished.” They’ve played partners for 11 years, which Belzer notes “is lon- ger than my first two marriages — combined.” Ice-T is convinced they’re all playing heightened versions of themselves. “Chris is definitely an angry white man,” Ice-T says of Christo- pher Meloni, who plays Detective Elliot Stabler. “Fin is really Ice-T, if I was a cop. “I just use me,” Ice-T says. “I’m cheating, I guess. I’m a career criminal in real life.” “He’s kidding,” Belzer inter- rupts. “No, I’m not,” Ice-T says. “But to have a career criminal play- ing a cop, you get a cop with an interesting dynamic.You can get a player to act like a square, but a square never comes across like a player.” Maybe, but many actors over the years have guest starred on the show, if for nothing else, to play against type. Independently, many cite Carol Burnett as a favorite. She knew the crew’s names before she stepped on set. By now, this is a fabled set. In the courtroom, always the second half of the original “Law & Order,” two floor tiles, invisible to viewers, reveal special moments. One reads, “On this spot Gregory Hines danced for us 2/4/03.” The late, great tapper played a de- fense attorney. Another states: “A striped bass blew up on this spot 3/3/11.” John Stamos guest starred in an episode in which someone was killed with a scuba diver’s knife that pumps out explosive gas. A bass (an already dead bass, the publicist notes) was blown up during rehearsals to replicate how the knife could be Christopher Meloni stars in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”Wednesday on NBC. used. Pieces of the huge fish splattered everywhere. “SVU” moved into this studio full-time when “Law & Order” was abruptly canceled last year. There are a few vestiges from the first show, beginning with Dann Florek, who has played Capt. Donald Cragen since 1990. He recalls a line from the audition for the pilot: “Fellows, you’ve got to find me something. I’m getting my butt barbecued,” Florek says. With that he launched a career as a man who rarely tightens his tie and sits behind a desk with a signed baseball in a Lucite cube. Incidentally, though Cragen is a Mets fan, the ball is signed by crew members. Over the years viewers learned that Cragen’s wife, a flight attendant, was killed in a crash. “I got the call she was al- ways expecting” of a spouse dy- ing on the job, Florek says. Fans also know he was a Green Beret, and when Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) was being stalked, Cragen hand- ily took down the perp. “The old, bald guy knows what’s going on,” he says. Florek says he still likes his character, and Meloni feels the same way about Stabler. “I’ve always thought the mood of him was the quiet hero,” Meloni says of Stabler. “He is a flawed guy. He has taken on the code of honor to protect and serve. It’s indelibly tattooed on his brain.” “At the end of the day, he has a heroic core, or a heroic thread,” Meloni says. “He is the best kind of hero. He is not going to bust through the wall with two guns blazing. He lived up to the best part of himself. In the end, his trademark is the core.” As is his partner, Benson. Hargitay isn’t on set; she’s adopt- ing a baby. Still, the season’s two final episodes run on schedule. Though not a typical cliffhang- er, the aim is to make the season enders a bit bigger, says writer Dan Truly. And contract negotia- tions are ongoing; if actors don’t return, the finale would leave plausible reasons for why their characters are absent. In the season finale, Truly says, what begins as a purse snatching leads to a multiple murder. The person on a shoot- ing spree admits the gun was $300. “Guns are such a force mul- tiplier,” Truly says. “An evil inten- tion, or bad mood, or mental SOLUTION O U T S O U R C E D F U N M O N E L A S P A R I E A A L E C A I D O U N I O 2 x 3" ad this couldn’t happen, considering Bill still had Steffy on his mind. Stef- fy had flashbacks of her- self and Bill loving each other. Tawny concocted a new scheme after Liam turned down Am- ber’s latest offer. Know- ing that the odds were against them, Hope and Liam still shared a poi- gnant moment. Days of our Lives At the safe house, Sami lashed out at Rafe and asked why he followed her. Rafe was clueless. Abigail and Melanie met for the first time and shared their excite- ment over their parents dating. Chloe met a handsome stranger at the Cheatin’ Heart and went back to his hotel room, where they made love. Sami came face to face with Rafe and his impostor. A gun was brandished, and Sami wound up clipping fake Rafe, who she knew was an impostor. General Hospital Siobhan discovered Aiden’s paternity while Lucky and Jason had a profound talk about Jake on what would have been his fourth birthday. Abby went to Johnny for help in find- ing the mysterious hit woman. Lucky asked Jason to not take re- venge on Luke. Krissy wondered why her herb- al supplements didn’t match the online imag- es. Carly asked Shawn to assassinate Anthony, but he refused. One Life to Live Natalie listened to Marty’s taped confes- sion to changing Liam’s paternity test. Tess and Cutter realized their relationship was based on spite. Kelly found a crazed Marty in John’s room. Kelly grabbed a knife while Marty bran- dished a broken bottle. Cutter admitted that he married Tess to get the Buchanan money. Natalie looked for John but only found a note directing her to the roof, where Marty awaited. The Young and the Restless Chloe and Kevin be- came prime suspects in Jana’s death. Nick was infuriated when he saw Adam in Sharon’s apart- ment. Nikki thanked Vic- tor for persuading Mi- chael to no longer serve as Phyllis’ lawyer, and they ended up making love. Diane found them and snapped a photo of the two lovers with her cellphone camera. N A N A N E X T K T R I P P L O M O S S R E H A L P R C EI N C U R YR I I T A G F L O A D O E A D M T A D S TI A R OMA I G E N MAY 15 - 21, 2011 – BRAINERD, MN/DISPATCH – 11

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