I don't know whether any L&P readers watch the “Special Victims Unit” iteration of the Law and Order franchise, but something about this past Tuesday’s episode has been bothering me and I couldn’t figure out how to contact the producers of the show, so I’m just going to tell you. (And if you know how to contact the producers, please let me know.)

The problem is, this past Tuesday’s SVU episode was flagrantly plagiarized from an Ed McBain “87th Precinct” novel from 1984 (iirc) called Lightning. It was unmistakable: A serial rapist comes back to rape his victims a second or even third time because he's specifically trying to impregnate them - he's spying on them and using calendars to note menstrual cycles etc. The only difference between the two is the reason why he wants to impregnate them, and that it’s the NYPD SVU rather than the 87th precinct of the Isola PD that works the case. Intentional plagiarism? Unconscious? Coincidence? If anyone knows what’s going on, or how I might bring this to the attention of the producers, let me know. If any of you thinks I watch too much TV, let me know that also.