Greetings,
I heard a rumor that, of all the Law & Order shows, Special Victims Unit has been the most successful. Maybe. If any of you have been more into that one than the original, you probably recognize the name Don Cragen, as in Captain Cragen. Yes, he was the captain of SVU for a good long while, but in the Law & Order world, he was born and bred on the original. So, take that.
Don Cragen has been portrayed by Dann Florek for nearly twenty years, only three of which were on original Law & Order. We've got another Irish-Catholic with this guy, and also, he's an alcoholic. Yep, he's Irish and alcoholic. Really, Show? You really went there? Well, I guess it's kind of okay, because he has sobered up and gotten his act together. In fact, it was his former partner, Max Greevey, who convinced him, or forced him, to go into AA. Whatever happened or how it happened, it was a good thing for him. I also liked the way that they showed the struggles of an alcoholic. It wasn't as though because he got sober, everything's grand. In fact, he often spoke of how he had to make it through every day, one at a time. He was a good example, but even the best examples can struggle so hard that they fall.
Cragen left Law & Order after three seasons. Much happened between that time and when he showed up on SVU. Apparently, it was a back story, sort of, that was created by Florek and the producers. I suppose they wanted to give his character some more layers. Anyway, during his television absence, Cragen worked for the Anti-Corruption Task Force, and he also, sadly, lost his wife, Marge, in a plane crash. This caused him to start drinking again and really lose a lot of control in his life. Coming back to work in the Special Victims Unit was his way of getting his life in order again. Can I say that I love that they did this? They could have just had him come back to the franchise without a thought, but clearly, the producers and Dann Florek cared enough about the character to give him more motivation, not to mention scars, that would define him in a new way. As a writer, I can tell you that a lot of what the reader sees on the page, or in this case, what the audience sees on the screen, is not all that there is to the characters we create.
Also, Don Cragen is a Mets fan. I don't really know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose it depends on which random New Yorker you ask.
Anyway, I loved Cragen on Law & Order, and I think when he came back for SVU, it was almost a comfort. He was a familiar face that led us by hand into a somewhat recognizable yet still darker world. I mean, sure, I personally had Belzer/Munch from Homicide: Life on the Street for that, too, but this was a Law & Order alum. And, frankly, I could not have thought of anyone better to be a part of the first spin off. Cragen was a good leader. Flawed, wounded, but still a good man. And having such a great actor giving us this role made it that much better.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
