Richard Belzer Behind The Scenes on SVU “Educated Guess”

From Wolf Films, here’s a video of Richard Belzer talking about working on SVU; the behind the scenes footage is from Law & Order SVU "Educated Guess."



Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, on All Things Law And Order.

Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.


All Content (Recaps, Review, Commentary)  Copyright © allthingslawandorder.blogspot.com unless otherwise noted

Law & Order SVU “Educated Guess” Recap & Review

Law & Order SVU “Educated Guess” was an episode without a lot of action or frills, yet it told a very compelling story. It’s a case where someone who has questionable mental health has been abused by a relative for years – and no one believes her. When another person who also has mental stability issues of his own witnesses an attack, the abuse comes out into the open (thanks to a judge who forces the investigation with SVU). Even more sickening than the girl’s mother dismissing her daughter’s claims of abuse because she felt her daughter was crazy was her Aunt Bella’s apparent denial and cover up of her husband’s dirty little secret. Bella seems to want control over every situation, unfortunately for her the secret can’t stay hidden under the bed forever.

Again, SVU is making good use of the entire cast, giving everybody (except for Captain Cragen) a hand in working the case. I can’t explain why, but this episode seemed to have a heavy Law & Order Criminal Intent vibe to it; I suspect that it is from the opening scenes where we are given a view into the crime as it happens. I missed having a presence from the DA’s office,  but based on how the case was worked, it didn’t seem necessary to have one. The story was also a bit predictable, especially when it was established that the two sisters are living in a duplex. Still, the acting on the part of the guest stars – especially Carrie Preston who was perfect as the over-controlling Bella – was very enjoyable and helped to tell a very intense and believable story.

We also find that “something” happened to Rollins on her previous job which triggered her to leave, but we don’t find out exactly what. There were also instances where the team members complemented each other for a nice job; this shows that the detectives are beginning to behave as a real team working towards a single goal. It was a nice touch having Benson reassure Amaro that her old partner had similar feelings as Amaro was experiencing,  and also give him insight into how she has learned to cope working special victims cases. All in all, this was a fine episode and I believe this is one of the best seasons we’ve seen from SVU in many years.

Here is the recap:

Cast:
Mariska Hargitay – Detective Olivia Benson
Ice-T – Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
Richard Belzer – Sergeant John Munch
Dann Florek – Captain Don Cragen
Kelli Giddish - Detective Amanda Rollins
Danny Pino - Detective Nick Amaro

Guest stars:
Carrie Preston - Bella Zane
Natasha Lyonne - Gia Eskas
Tim Guinee - George Zane
J. Smith Cameron - Diane Eskas
Karen Young – Dr. Meg Whitmere
Gavin-Keith Umeh – Charles Lee
David Pittu – George’s Lawyer

A guy is running in the park and calls out to Amber, who is standing off the trail.  She takes off her clothes and he follows her into the brush. Elsewhere in the park, Rollins is jogging and comes up to Fin, who is sitting on a park bench. She asks if he has seen anything and he tells her it is late and he doesn’t think the guy is going to show. Rollins comments that the man groped 10 women in the last 6 weeks and she doesn’t think he will stop now. Fin thinks it is getting too cold. They hear a man call out asking where did you go, and he runs out of the bushes just wearing his shorts. He seems to be talking nonsense. As Rollins and Fin try to control the building crowd, the man collapses. He looks up and Rollins and Fin and sees the girl standing behind them wearing just her underwear. She is laughing at him. He says she is just a bitch, and Fin looks around and asks who is he talking to? He says it is his girlfriend Amber and she is right there. He asks them to make her stop. Rollins notices the man is burning up and Fin calls for a bus to the pysch ward.

At LaGuardia Psychiatric Hospital, Rollins tells Fin the guys Is not nuts, he’s just having a bad trip. She says she can tell the difference as she grew up around both and her sister had it rough. Fin says they all come from something.

Inside the hospital, they speak with the security police Captain Lee, who said he just saw them pinch the “naked fish” on YouTube. They also speak with the doctor and Rollins tells him she thinks it is PCP. The doctor says the patient is his for now and he will run tests, and the police captain says there is no need to baby sit and the police captain suggests they go home. They leave.

Later, the patient is being watched by a security officer, and he complains he is sick. But when a hospital alarm goes off, the office leaves the patient to check it out and she tells the man to stay there. He makes a quick exit out of the room and as he tried to find a place to hide, he hears a woman crying out and when he opens a door, he sees a woman being raped and a man yells for him to shut the door. He does. He calls out of help, saying “Rape! Rape!”

Later, in the hospital, there is a hearing for Darren Bickford, the almost naked crazy man from the park. He claims he saw a girl get raped last night. As he insists about what he saw, Rollins and Fin give each other a glance of disbelief. He says he told the doctor and the guard. The judge asks Fin and Rollins to investigate but Rollins protests, saying that the suspect was caught masturbating while in a drug-induced hallucination. The judge asks if he was seeing things when he witnessed the rape and Rollins says she would have no way of knowing. The judge tells Rollins “Then don’t speculate.” She tells them they will reconvene in two weeks and she expects to hear from them on Darren’s complaint.

Back at SVU in interrogation, Fin and Rollins question Darren. He explains what he saw at the hospital, saying he saw the man raping a woman and her also being choked. He could not see the man’s face. He also adds the woman was wearing a hospital bracelet and she had a big scar on her arm. He says she was in ward 6 and she is real. The detectives hear a knock on the interrogation room window and Fin and Rollins walk out of the room to a waiting Munch, Benson, and Amaro. Munch asks if they can farm this out but Rollins tells him not according to the judge. Benson doesn’t know why the man would lie. Munch says they have a description, they should go to LaGuardia and find her.

Law & Order SVU “Educated Guess” Promo

Here’s the promo for Law & Order SVU “Educated Guess” which will air on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 10 PM ET on NBC.

My recap and review of Law & Order SVU "Educated Guess" can be found at this link.




Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, on All Things Law And Order.

Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.

Law & Order SVU “Educated Guess” Episode Information

Here are the details for a new episode of Law & Order SVU “Educated Guess.”

My recap and review of Law & Order SVU "Educated Guess" can be found at this link.

Law & Order SVU “Educated Guess” Air Date November 16, 2011 (10 PM ET/9C Wednesday NBC)

WHEN AN EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED MAN CLAIMS HE WITNESSED A RAPE, THE SVU MUST DISCOVER WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT IS IMAGINARY WHEN THE ALLEGED VICTIM (GUEST STAR NATASHA LYONNE) TURNS OUT TO BE A PATIENT IN A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL. CARRIE PRESTON ALSO GUEST STARS.

A man in custody at a mental hospital claims to have witnessed a rape in a break room. Despite the witness' shaky credibility the SVU begins an investigation, but the alleged victim, Gia Eskas (guest star Lyonne), denies being assaulted. Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Rollins (Kelli Giddish) struggle to piece together what really happened to this young woman, especially when her aunt (guest star Preston) and mother say Gia has been repeatedly institutionalized, and has cried rape in the past. Also starring Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Richard Belzer (Detective John Munch) and Danny Pino (Detective Nick Amaro).





Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, on All Things Law And Order.

Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.