Law & Order SVU 2010 Emmy Ad "For Your Consideration"

Here’s a copy of the 2010 Emmy “For Your Consideration” ad for Law & Order SVU featuring Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay – for your enjoyment!




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Law & Order Criminal Intent “Disciple” Recap & Review

All photos from USA Network

Maybe I missed it, but I am not quite sure what would make Law & Order Criminal Intent “Disciple” a major case. It seems like you average everyday homicide. Sure, it later tied into a serial killer, but no one would have known that at the time the case was assigned to the MCS. And how “nice” of them to assign Serena Stevens to a case that she would later have a personal connection. In the real world – yes, there is a real world outside the Law & Order franchise universe – it would make more sense for homicide to start with the case and if they later make the connection to something bigger, then bring in the big guns to finish the job. After all these years, I still don’t get what consitutes calling in the major case squad. I also seemed to have missed why Diego was shot – was it just because he was there with a hooker, who the killer really wanted to kill?

I also thought with the promos that the episode was going to feature Lorraine Bracco that we would get more than an appearance in just a short scene that could easily be missed if one blnked.

Criminal Intent us getting a little too dark for my tastes. It’s not that murder isn’t a dark subject to begin with, but I just get sickened by some of the methods these wackos use to kill, or, in this case, its “Fargo-like” way of disposing of the body. If a show gets too high an “ick” factor for me, I’m no longer am interested in the case. I think I tuned out on this episode the minute I saw what looked like mystery meat chicken parts – which turned out to be body parts – being introduced. While the show is staying true to the intent of the criminal, I am finding that the crimes are becoming weirder, and at the same time less interesting.

Here is the recap:


Elvis Howell (Chance Kelly) is being readied to serve his final sentence of death. Detective Serena Stevens (Saffron Burrows) arrives to witness it and runs into her old partner Marcus (Paul Calderon). As they get ready to administer the lethal cocktail, Howell denies the killing and says the person who did it is still out there. Meanwhile, a man leaves a gated parking lot at a construction site after talking to his wife on the phone, and we see another man remains in a car parked in the lot – and he’s dead

Detectives Zach Nichols (Jeff Goldblum) and Serena Stevens arrive on the scene; ME Rodgers (Leslie Hendrix) is already there and tells them the victim was killed with a single large caliber shot to his left temple. Stevens finds a hero sandwich in the car with no receipt but there is a pay stub for Diego Caldez from the Agora Diner in Queens. Rodgers puts the time of death as before 2 AM and she tells Nichols to check out the victim’s pants. Nichols sees that the victim's pants and underwear are down to his ankles and concludes his was in the middle of a “major distraction.” Stevens sees a copy of “Nookie” magazine in the car. Nichols sees Caldez has over $1,000 in cash in his wallet and betting slips from the OTB. They assume a woman was with him and search the area and find the heel to a woman’s high heeled shoe.

The detectives head to the Agora Diner and speak with Pete who says Diego was last seen there at 10-10:30 and says Diego was “very married.” The detectives check out some skanky looking hookers in the diner and ask about Diego but they play dumb. Finally, one of them says Diego stopped her around 11 for a “quick and easy” but she was booked but does not know who he eventually picked up.

Back at Major Case, Nichols discusses the case with Captain Zoe Callas (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and Stevens enters and says they found the fingerprints of two women on the shoe, belonging to Maricela Fernandez and Gabriella Belteno.

They arrive at the apartment looking for Maricela Fernandez, and a young woman with a crying baby answers the door and says she is not there. She later tells them she has not seen her since late yesterday. They take turns watching the baby and have no pimp. She asks if Maricela is dead and Serena says they do not know. She tried calling Maricela but she did not answer.

They decide to track her cell phone, and with some tech help at Major Case, they track the phone to a nature trail at Hunter’s Point where the find her phone – and nearby, Maricela’s body, her heel missing. She appeared to have been raped and then redressed. She appears to have been strangled. They wonder if it is a “Son of Sam” copycat; “Son of Sam" coming up for parole next month.

At the morgue, ME Rodgers says a device was used to strangle Maricela, Stevens wonders if it was a baton. Rodgers says the murder weapon was filthy. She had sex before she died and used a spermicide. She appears to have been tied with rawhide and had her back to the killer. She has scratches that were self inflicted but she also found a “love bite” below her left hip. Stevens hears this and says Nichols was right to think it was a copycat, but not Son of Sam.

Back with Callas, they discuss Elvis Howell’s record, killing 7 women using a police baton and always used a condom and left a hickey near the victim’s left hip. Everything in this case matches Howell’s last victim, Courtney Gunderson, and this was Stevens' first homicide conviction. Nichols wonders about Howell’s last comments suggests they look at Howell’s last visitors but Stevens is adamant about their conviction and gets on Zach for his “grassy knoll” theories. Callas believes there is a copycat and wants to compare photos with Courtney’s and Maricela’s killings and Stevens suggests they also look at autopsy photos of the other women Howell was suspected of killing.

Elsewhere, at a nursery, Dale (Ryan O’Nan) and Ernie (McCaleb Burnett) talk and Ernie seems to be a bit of an obsessive with the numbers. We also see what looks like a mystery baton-like measuring stick and a bag of “chicken parts.”
Later, Callas says Cook County can’t find the Gunderson photos and suspects they were stolen. But they can get a court order to exhumer her body.

Elsewhere, Dale picks up a hooker and offers her a lot of money to make him right again. He also offers her drugs.

Back at Major Case, Stevens’ ex-partner and mentor Marcus Feingold shows up and Stevens introduces him to Nichols. She tells them about their current case and that she wants to be sure about their original case. Nichols says it was his idea to exhume Courtney’s body and when Stevens tells Marcus the autopsy photos were missing, he says no perv will find them on the internet. She asked him who he greased to sit on the photos, then gets pissy with him and says unless the photos turn up Courtney will be coming out of the ground.

Back in the car with Dale and the hooker, the hooker shoots up, and he gets out a baton. Later, he is retying a knot on the strap on the baton, walking away from a freezer that looks like it has blood on it.

At Major Case, Nichols hands Stevens the photos of Courtney and said somebody lit that candle at St. Patrick’s.

Later, in the morgue, ME Rodgers goes over the photo comparison of Courtney’s and Maricela’s bodies and the other cases. They also have a Dr. Sunday (?) there to offer an expert opinion, and he says a hickey is a suction bruise. On some of the victims, that were credited as Howell’s earlier victims, the bruises were less defined, made by a person with thinner lips which makes it harder for form a seal so Howell used his teeth. But other bruises differ from Howell’s as they were made by someone with full lips as there are no teeth marks. Nichols wonders if Howell had a disciple and they should find out who Howell knew. Nichols again wants them to look at the visitors log at the prison. Stevens wants to be the one to go to Chicago to get the information. When Nichols offers to go with her, Stevens gets testy and wonders if he can’t trust her. He says no, but he says she has a personal investment in this, but she doesn’t think Howell is innocent and they haven’t proven otherwise but when and if they do, she will accept it.

At the Alton Correctional Facility in Chicago, Illinois, the warden refers Stevens to a Reverend Reading. She goes to his home and they talk about Howell and there may have been some trust between them. She brings up the copycat. She tells him she recalls that Howell, before he died, asked if everything was in order and she saw the reverend tap his shirt pocket. He says he Howell just wanted him to mail a goodbye letter to a friend, Dale, no last name. She asks if he recalls the address.

Later, in the car, as Nichols drives, he suggests they shelve conclusion, follow the evidence, and keep an open mind. At the Dolores House Foster home, they ask the woman who runs the place (Lorraine Bracco) about Dale and she recalls one Dale who was there, Dale Grisco. He ran off when he was 15 and was a pain in the butt and weird. She would have flipped him back out to county had it not been for his “life coach” from a guidance program, who took Dale to baseball games and they bonded. She says she should still have the letter there.

Elsewhere, we see Ernie digging and Dale tells him to remember to check the depth. He holds up a baton like object that he is using to stick in the dirt to measure the depth. We later see him putting what looks like meat or body parts in a chipper and spraying it on the dirt.

Back at Major Case, Nichols reads the letter to Dale that came from Howell who said he told Dale to run and said while he got credit for his last “cleaning” the final one was all him and he will make it right. He says he is proud of him and what rots is sure to rise, and signed it “Professor Howell” and that “Elvis has left the building.” Callas gets a phone call, and said another girl, Rae Ann Farmer, was missing for three and last seen at Hunter’s Point. Later, detectives hear that no body has been found in Hunter's Point, and they also can’t find a Dale Grisco with the DMV that matches the birthday given to the foster home and wondered if he changed it. They wonder what he is doing when he is not killing, Nichols comments that serial killers do not hibernate. She says Howell taught the reverend how to grow things as part of the cycle of life, and they wonder if he taught Dale gardening or landscaping. They check the list of people who had keys to the area where Diego was killed, and see an “Elvis Nursery and Landscaping” in Jackson Heights near the dumping ground.

Later, at a merry go round, Dale talks with his wife and says his happy. But she is distraught and says she found something in his sock drawer. He said it is heroin and he took it from Ernie. She suggests he let Ernie go but he said Ernie deserves a chance.

Meanwhile, Stevens and Nichols arrive at the nursery and see the locked freezer that looks like it has blood on it and the area smells. Ernie spots them and grabs the baton and tries to run away from them but they stop him and he puts down the baton and says he works with Dale and doesn’t do drugs. Nichols picks up the baton and sniffs it. Later, with more police on the scene, Ernie says he does not do drugs and just has problems, he was always special ed but was always good with numbers. He says only Dale knows the combination on the lock on the freezer but Dale will be mad that they took the stick that is 24” – magic numbers for everything they do. It is just the right depth for mulch and then says 6-12-24 are the magic numbers. Nichols uses those numbers and opens the freezer and they see it is empty, it smells and there is blood in it. Ernie says everything in there has been mulched. When Dale and his wife and kid arrive at the nursery and see the police, Dale says he will deal with this and he loved her. They arrest him. Later, Nichols comments they found fragments of human remains and think they found Rae Ann Farmer and they may find others. When Nichols says that’s it, Stevens brings up Courtney Gunderson and Nichols tells her it is a closed case. She says she has to know, did Dale really kill Courtney? Nichols warns this will be challenging the highest authority and her own police work but she insists she has to know.

Back at Major Case, they question Dale, but he says they have the evidence and they have all they need to know. He says he has cleaned the world of whores and whore mongers. Stevens said Courtney was a teacher and he responds with Courtney, mistakes are made. Nichols says he was just 15 when Courtney was murdered and asked if he picked the wrong victim and said Courtney was a clean girl. He says he was there and Howell admits that Howell drove. Nichols says Howell told him what to look for but Courtney is different from other victims, and asks if Howell picked her for Dale. They found photos of Courtney in Howell’s house as part of training, and Dale seems to not understand this. Nichols says Howell wanted power over him but Dale said he wanted to be his own man. Nichols says that Dale cares about Ernie and his family and Howell would not have, and Howell made a bad choice in him. Nichols adds that now that Dale has feeling and caring, it will be a real burden. Dale doesn’t know why they are doing this, and Nichols says they want him to know who he really is, and that Howell tempted him and said he could have Courtney and he would show him how, but Dale says Howell showed him on a whore. When Stevens yells at him asking if Courtney screamed, he said she did and she begged but when she asked God to forgive, he couldn’t do it. He said he failed Howell but he only failed him once. He admits Howell killed Courtney. Dale said he told him he was sorry and swore he would never fail him again and hasn’t until now.

Afterwards, Stevens tells Marcus that they are still OK and she will call the Gundersons. He asked if Nichols helped out and she said yes. Marcus said he doesn’t know Nichols but to thank Nichols for him, and he leaves. Nichols asks Stevens if thinks are OK and she says things are fine, and thanks him – from Marcus and from her as well. Nichols says he is just happy to be wrong. As Stevens nods and smiles, we fade to black.


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

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

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

Law & Order CI “Disciple” Preview Clips (Videos)

Here are three preview clips from tonight’s episode of Law & Order Criminal Intent, “Disciple.”


My recap and review of Law & Order Criminal Intent "Disciple" can be found here.








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

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

Law & Order Honored by Alliance for Justice: Waterston, Roache, Berner Appear (Video)

The Alliance for Justice paid tribute to the creative team of "Law & Order" for its commitment to human rights and justice. The event was held on May 26, 2010, in Washington, D.C. Sam Waterston and Linus Roache, along with Executive producer Fred Berner, appeared at this event and are featured in the video below.

Photos from the event can be found here:
These Are Their Stories: Waterston, Roache, Balcer Appear at Alliance for Justice Luncheon


Also, a nice article on the event here:
Cast and Creators of 'Law & Order' Win Justice Award







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

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

Law & Order CI “Disciple” Episode Information

Here is the episode information plus the promo tease for the June 1 episode of Law & Order Criminal Intent, “Disciple” which features guest star Lorraine Bracco:


Law & Order CI “Disciple” Air Date June 1, 2010 (10 PM ET/9C Tuesday USA Network)

A body discovered at a construction site bears all the hallmarks of a serial killer who was executed over six months ago. Detective Stevens (Saffron Burrows) is faced with two grim possibilities: either they're dealing with a copycat, or she helped put an innocent man to death. Also stars Jeff Goldblum and Mary Elisabeth Mastrantonio.

My recap and review of Law & Order Criminal Intent "Disciple" can be found here.






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

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

Law & Order Criminal Intent “Traffic” Recap & Review

All photos from USA Network

Law & Order CI “Traffic” was another interesting episode which featured a crime that seemed to have many players, but turned out to be a simple case of a power hungry woman who couldn’t handle criticism. It also seemed to highlight a difference between Detectives Nichols (Jeff Goldblum) and Stevens (Saffron Burrows) and how they approach a case - Nichols drawing on psychology but Stevens relying on her instincts. In this case, Nichols seems to have the winning method by pitting one suspect against the other, and then using their words as a trap to catch the real killer.

The guest stars all did a fine job, and actually drew some attention away from the fact that Nichols and Stevens seems to be a rather lifeless pair of detectives. Sure, they are both smart, but it seems each week they are toned down more and more to the point that the guest stars seem to steal the show. I was worried at first that when Jeff Goldblum came to the show that his mannerisms would overpower that of his characters, and now I think they have gone too far the other way and have made Nichols a little too bland. It is also possible that Saffron Burrows’ character is not being written with enough personality where the two characters can play off each other in a way that is not sleep-inducing. I do fear that Captain Zoe Callas (Mary Elisabeth Mastrantonio) is becoming a little too one-dimensional in her role - as the authoritative road block. For the most part, I do like the way they are telling the stories this season - and their casying choices for the guest stars - which has helped keep my interest.

Here is the recap:

Connor James (John Bolger) and Mia (Conor Leslie) are in bed after some “romance” and he says he has some rotten work ahead of him at the office but he will see her later at the party. She tells him she can’t come because she would spend the whole night starting at him and "she" would see and then she would know.

Connor gets to the office and is very critical of Frank Bollinger’s cover for the magazine and says Frank can do better. Frank (Ian Kahn) gets enraged and throws papers that on Connor’s desk all over the office and storms out.

Mia gets home and tells Patricia (Tracy Pollan) who is getting ready for the party, that she is not going. Mia puts her phone on in a bowl on a table in the entry in front of Patricia and says she doesn’t feel good. Patricia asks if she wants her to call Dr. Harris, and she picks up the phone. Elsewhere, a man is with a woman who is pretending to be a young girl and says she deserves to be spanked. Later, her pimp says the doctor likes him and she thinks he will be a regular. And again in another place, a woman brings another group of girls to Dmitri, who seems to have someone preparing a lot of passports.

At the party, Patricia is there and is surrounded by a lot of guys and is getting compliments about one of her articles and speculating it may turn into a serial. Connor tries to apologize to Frank and Connor, after looking over at Patricia, tells him he will pass on his party plans for tomorrow night. As Frank walks off, Patricia approaches Connor and says he considered her serialized piece, and says it won’t happen. She says that is not funny. He says it is not a joke – one and done - but she thinks an article on the Russian mob will be hot and doesn’t want to be shut down because the people in the checkout line didn’t buy his 9,000 words on the art of Myanmar. He says when she is running things, publish whatever the hell she wants and until then, suck it up. Then to much applause, Connor thanks them all for coming and raises a glass to toast that after 50 years, while others have folded, Inset is still here. Patricia’s phone rings and she gets a message.

Later, at Connor’s place, Frank stumbles around, appearing drunk, and calls out to Connor saying he is sorry. He walks into a room and is shocked to see Connor on the floor, dead.

Later, Detectives Zach Nichols (Jeff Goldblum) and Serena Stevens (Saffron Burrows) are on the scene, and speak with Frank who said he had a lot to drink and blacked out. Frank doesn’t think anyone else was in the house. Nichols also notices blood on Frank's shirt and Frank admits he hugged Connor but he was dead. ME Rodgers (Leslie Hendrix) says Connor was dead 5-1/2 hours with 2 blows to the head, first by a blunt heavy object on the left temple and then to the back of the head, the latter either from a fall to the floor or the killer smashed his head against the floor. Nichols sees lacerations on Connor’s hands; Rodgers suspects it is from something he held. Stevens wants an object that seems out of place – a trophy - checked foe prints. It is a publishing award and there appears to be blood at the base.

Back at home, Mia walks in and asks her mother - Patricia – if she has seen her phone and she sees her embracing her father Forrest (Bill Sage) and she asks what he is doing there. She wants to know what is going on, and they tell her Connor was murdered. She is clearly upset.

Back at Major Case, Captain Zoe Callas (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) is reading Connor’s last editorial – “Everything Must Die”. The detectives tell Callas what they know so far, and they suspect Frank is gay and maybe it was a lover’s spat. Callas says the king is dead, who is moving on the throne?

At Inset Magazine, Patricia tells the detectives that the stockholders asked her to take over as editor and she could not refuse. She says they will hear that she wanted the position and she did, but not like this. She said Connor was cautious and she leads with her chin but each month they got the “book” – the magazine – to the printers. She said Connor was Frank’s mentor, but said Connor was straight and fond of Frank but Frank worshipped him, and Frank was sensitive about his work and admits she was too. She said Connor trashed Frank’s cover design for the next issue and Frank lost it, and threw all of his work in his face. She then tells them she has a lot on her plate to get rid of the detectives.

Back at Major Case, they find Frank has an assault record, arrested at a bar. His prints match those on the murder weapon. Later, with Frank in interrogation with his lawyer, they tell him his prints were on the murder weapon. He says he may have picked it up. Nichols asks him if a quarrel escalated into something physical, and Frank says he has no future without Connor. Connor put up with him and he loved him. He says Patricia Caruso hates him and his work and will replace him with some wannabe. He’s gone – a ghost – and that “bitch goddess prevails.”

Elsewhere, a man tells Dmitri that Frank was arrested and they don’t want him to talk.

Later, Nichols and Stevens are in Connor’s office reading Patricia’s article on the Russian mob and see something where Connor wrote a complementary note to Mia on another piece and wonder who she is. Patricia walks in and sees them reading her piece and says Connor reduced her series to a one and done and may have been afraid of the Russians. She said her ex-husband was Forrest Caruso, who Nichols recognizes as a great defense attorney. He would not defend the Russians. She said she got home that night around one and both her daughter and her ex-husband were home. Mia is a part time fact checker there and also goes to NYU. Nichols says his father, a psychiatrist, wanted him there talking notes while people were on the couch and here he is now, a cop.

Back at Major Case, he looks at Mia’s essay and says Connor’s praise was well deserved, but Stevens wonders if Mia is attractive and comments Nichols thought that of Patricia. He asks if he was that obvious. Stevens wonders if maybe Connor was attracted to her and they decide to go to the memorial service. When they get there, Patricia and Forrest seem cozy and see Mia is attractive. Forrest walks over to them and tells them this is hardly the time but Nichols reminds him it is a murder. They ask about the article on the Russian mob. He says they spent the night at Patricia’s and he has corroborated Patti’s alibi and that is all they need. After he leaves, they agree Forrest is slick.

At Rikers Island, Frank is in the shower area getting undressed and a guy comes up to him and says he knows who he is and has seen his face in magazines. He follows Frank into the shower. Later, Nichols gets a phone call and says that Frank was stabbed to death in Rikers but lived long enough to ID his killer. Later, Stevens and Nichols are at Rikers talking to the guy that followed him into the shower – Ivankov - and they also found the shank in his bunk. He said someone who hates gays killed Frank. Nichols says Ivankov is a hired gun and he says he is a pest exterminator. Ivankov says they have no evidence and he has been extradited and they can’t stop it.

Back at Major Case, Callas confirms it is true, Ivankov is being extradited. They try to discuss the connection between Patricia’s essay and the Russian mob and think that Frank’s and Connor’s murder are connected. Callas wonders if they are sure Connor was straight and Stevens suggests they talk with another woman who was close to him. Later, they speak with Connor’s maid who said he was always with the girls. Nichols sees a chest on a coffee table that was not there when Connor was murdered and she said he put it in the basement to make room for the party. They look inside and see tons of photos of women, all young, who look like prostitutes, plus a few DVDs that appear to be home sex videos. Back at Major Case they review one of the DVDs and Connor accuses one woman of being too old for what he paid for. He then calls Frank and says he needs another girl. It seems Frank was his connection to the younger girls and maybe Connor was afraid his name would should up on Patricia's Russian mob piece so he cut it. They see a DVD with Mia’s name on it.

The detectives go to Patricia’s home and say they want to talk about Mia. He tries to blow them off, and they tell her Connor was sexually involved with Mia and with Russian prostitutes and while they are speaking, Forrest walks in. Forrest wonders if this is why Connor butchered her piece, and Stevens says Connor recorded his exploits on DVDs and had quite a collection. Patricia gets upset and seems unaware of his involvement. They want to talk to Mia, but Forrest tells them since Mia is not under arrest it is a family thing and they should leave them alone.

Back at Major Case, Callas tells Nichols if they want Forrest in there they do it on a material witness warrant. Nichols says an arrest is the only way they can isolate Forrest from Patricia and Mia while they question them. Stevens says Mia’s phone is in her father’s name, which means her records are his records. They find a text message sent from Connor’s phone sent to Mia during the party, but Callas says it does not prove he knew about the affair. There is also a call at 2:13 AM where Mia called her father which was the same time Connor was murdered, which is the time Patricia said they were all home together – and if that is the case why would he call her. They wonder if Forrest helped Mia in a cover-up and framed Frank. They get a call from ME Rodgers.

In the morgue, Rodgers tells them that the mark on Connor’s hand formed a radiating pattern and is from something square and sharp, showing them a photo of the wound. She thinks she had the object in his hand for 20-30 minutes after he died and sometimes a victim’s hand has to be pried open. Stevens wonders why kill him and wait 25 minutes to remove whatever it was?

Back at Major Case, Nichols is using the photo he got from Rodgers to draw what he thinks the object would look like, they seem to know now what it is, and they decide to issue warrants for Forrest, Patricia, and Mia.

With Mia and Patricia in questioning, they tell them Forrest is in custody and says he may have helped Connor cover up Mia’s murder of Connor. She denies killing him, and she said she was not there. They tell her that her cell phone records and GPS track her to Connor’s. Mia gets upset and says she wants her father, that Connor was murdered because of the crap Patricia wrote. They tell Mia they are holding her pending arraignment and they arrest her. Patricia protests and Mia denies everything. As they take Mia away, Callas warns Nichols that he know how she feels about this, it verges on breaking rules and whether it works or doesn’t work he’d better make it fast.

Patricia, still in the interrogation room, complains. She then worries about her “poor baby” and says she tried to warn Mia away from Connor, she knew he had a crush on him. When she heard about his death and Mia was not home that night she worried it was Mia. She said whatever Mia did she is not to blame. Callas comes in and says they brought Forrest Caruso, and Patricia says he will not accept it and is not ready. Outside the room, they know they have to cue Patricia’s testimony to just the right spot so Forrest does not get a whiff of what they are doing – working them against each other. Stevens doesn’t like how this is going but when Nichols says he can go it alone she says she says even he thinks this could go wrong. Callas calls it a career ender, and Callas wants them to talk. They go into her office and Callas says they don’t have an admission, Patricia only made an accusation and it could get an innocent girl convicted. If Patricia lawyers up she could be in the grand jury indicting her daughter and they could end up as transit cops. Nichols says he wants to go it alone but the only way is forward, and Stevens says he has a terrible way of being right.

With Forrest in interrogation, they go over their evidence with him and bring up the recording of where Patricia said she was not aware of an affair, and saw a crush developing and when she heard Connor was dead and Mia was not home…and Forrest tells them to stop it. He says Mia is innocent and then gets very upset and yells again for them to stop. Forrest said they don’t know who made that call, and says his daughter did not do it. He tells them Patti was frantic, she hit Connor with something during a struggle and she panicked and called him for help. He said it was her reaction to Patti finding out about Connor and Mia. When they mention there was more than one blow, he said that was from him. When he got there, Patti’s earring was in his hand and he would not let go and he slammed his head against the floor and finished him off. He said he killed him.

Later, Stevens enters the cell where Mia is being held, and tells her she is being released and that her father said he killed Connor – along with her mother. It was out of rage for finding out about Mia and Connor. Afterwards, Nichols tells Stevens they are not letting Mia go until they are finished. Stevens disagrees, seeming sympathetic to Mia, but Nichols says she stays there until the arrest process is done and that is what they do. Nichols says they have to understand Patricia’s intent, and they argue a bit, with Stevens saying he should have been a shrink like his father wanted. He tells her he doesn’t care about complaining husbands and cheating wives and treating people with nervous acne, but he is driven to understand why come people are so different that they disrupt our sense of all behavior and logic. She says he will do whatever it takes. He doesn’t buy Patricia killed to protect her child, that is not who she is = they don’t know who she is.

Later, in interrogation with Patricia, Nichols tells her that her husband told them everything, and she says he is desperate to save Mia. He shows her the photo of Connor’s hand wound and how it matches the earring she wore to the party that night. Stevens says since that night, Patricia has been wearing clip-ons, and she removed them – one ear looks like an earring was pulled out. They tell her they think she had Mia’s cell phone and intercepted a message from Connor to Mia. She said it was filth, that he bragged about Mia's first orgasm in detail. They have the text, and it was really about Mia’s excellent writing, adding that nothing is owed to a mother who suppressed and denied her talent. She sticks with calling it filth. Nicholls says Mia’s writing is superior to hers but she said he is a cop and can’t judge what she creates and doesn’t care what he thinks. He said she did care what Connor thought. She says she writes tough and it sells and that is why she is running the place. Connor said to Mia what he said to get laid and she learned a decade ago exactly how he works. He said Forrest killed him, and does admit to striking Connor and when Forrest got there they both saw Connor move and Forrest slammed his head into the floor and he never moved again. Nichols said it was muscle contraction as part of rigor mortis and it was really her blow that killed him – and she killed him for reasons far less noble that she would like them to think. Stevens says she went from framing her daughter to accusing her ex-husband who still loves her. Nichols says Patricia is finally starting to arrive at reality and it is time she heard her rights.

As the police lead her off in cuffs, Stevens tells Nichols he is a stickler for behavioral theory, and reads back a passage from what Nichols thinks is a psych text book, and which he said described narcissist personality disorder, and also Patricia. Stevens says or it is also the sign of a zodiac, and holds up the book which is an astrology book, saying Patricia is a Scorpio. Nicholls looks a little surprised and then says his father would kill him for saying this but “equally valid.” As they smile at each other we fade to black.


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

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

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

Law & Order “Rubber Room” Recap & Review

Photo by allthingslawandorder.blogspot.com

Law & Order wrapped up its record tying 20th season and, at least for now, the episode “Rubber Room” - a place some fans have already gone after hearing the series had been canceled - looks to be their last. With the finale being such an excellent episode, it makes the series’ end even sadder. We can only hope that someone with more sense than NBC will pick up this show and continue on.

“Rubber Room” not only provided and interesting case that for a change was not a murder, it provided a wonderful close for a beloved character, Lt. Anita Van Buren, played by the wonderful S. Epatha Merkerson. I am so thrilled that not only does it appear that she has been given a clean bill of health, but she is now engaged to Frank, who stood by her during the worst times of her illness. Anita deserves to be happy, and since this is also Epatha’s last appearance with the series, we should also wish her much happiness as well. (Thank you Epatha for entertaining us all these years!)

It was about time that we saw Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) completely blow his top, but even more wonderful was at the end when he praises the whole team and they all enjoy the moment - and Anita’s announcement - at the fundraising party. It was a very nice end for the season, and if this does prove to be the end of the series, it will also serves as a nice close to 20 years of wonderful cases, wonderful characters, a great cast, and good producing, writing, directing, etc.

All episode photos from NBC

Here is the recap:

Parents, upset at their daughter posting a topless photo of herself on the internet, find a blogger, “Fighter Boy”, who is posted a video of their daughter and other young girls. When they take the information to Lt. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), she sees something that disturbs her and she takes it to Detective Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto). Van Buren tells Lupo to log on to a website for “Fighter Boy” that depicts lots of weapons and bombs. They watch a video which shows a bomb being detonated, and then sees a trunk of a car with propane tanks in it. Lupo comments it could take out a whole city block, but Van Buren comments not just any block, and asks him to check out the license plate of the car – it’s from New York State. Detective Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson) suspects it is a New York City block. At home, while “Fighter Boy” - real name John Nolte -is in bed ignoring his wake up alarm, the detectives break in and Bernard and Lupo yell for those inside not to move. They yell to confirm the guy laying in bed is Fighter Boy and he says yeah. They ask where the weapons are and he doesn’t know what they are talking about. They take him down to the 2-7. At the 2-7 in interrogation, he says the only weapons he has are video game weapons. They show him a photo of the propane tanks in the car trunk that was on the video on his blog, but he says he just found that video and thought he’d put it on his blog. Bernard tells him the sex cops want to talk to him about his videos of underage girls. Lupo tells him no more pretend, he’s going to do some real time now.

Lt. Van Buren tells the detectives that the photos and bomb video were downloaded from another source on the net that they can’t trace. The detectives say the apartment was searched and they found nothing so they think “Fighter Boy” is a watcher not a doer. There are too many of the make and model of the car in the video to track it down. Lupo says it is like fishing for a needle in the ocean – an old Chinese saying. Van Buren says “Just do it. Old American saying.” She wants to stop something from happening.

Later, at the Imaging Center, a doctor talks about Van Buren's last MRI. He asks her to lie on the scan table and tells her the doctor will compare the pictures they take today with the ones taken three months ago to see if there has been any change. He tells her how the scan will work and then gives her the call button in case she has a problem. She looks apprehensive. He begins the scan.

Later, the bomb video is being analyzed and the technician helps the detective locate where the bomb video was taken, on Staten Island. Later, with NYPD people on the scene of the video, a fragment of threaded pipe is located. The police captain tells them they found a pipe bomb a few weeks ago in a gas station rest room a few miles from there, and it was rusted and was a dud so they thought it was a prank.

Back at the 2-7, the detectives tell Van Buren what they discovered, and that they found prints on that pipe bomb, plus also eczema cream. They are tracking every silver Civic from Staten Island. Van Buren gets a phone call, and tells the detectives to go back to the gas station and check out the “prank.” Her phone call is about applying for a line of credit because of her medical bills and Lupo overhears.

At the Richmond Gas & Snak, a guy who works there tells them they don’t need a key from the restroom but remembers kids on BMX bicycles and that they hang out at the park. Later, the detectives, in casual clothes, play hoops at that park and Lupo floats the idea of a fundraiser for Van Buren and Bernard thinks Van Buren will not go for it because she is a very private person. The kid come up on their bikes and when the detectives try to ask them a question they try to take off but Lupo grabs one of them and they see what looks like eczema on his hand.

Later, at the 2-7 with the kid and his father, they tell him they tied his son to the bomb by the eczema cream. The kid says he found the bomb in the field, he saw the video online of the explosion and they recognized the place and they went there and found a piece of the pipe but later ditched it at the gas station. He wanted a piece of history, saying it is going to be epic. He shows them the web site where he saw the video, called “Moot’s Countdown.” It is the same video on Fighter Boy’s blog. The text of the video talks about taking down a whole school.

Later, in Van Buren's office with the Chief there, Bernard comments that Moots has been running his blog through a server in Romania and there is no way to identify him or trace him. The Chief asks if this is a credible threat as the blog doesn’t mention the school or borough or even a specific time frame. Another guy from Counter Terror there says that he has a high point 9mm carbine with 20 ten round mags, a glock 21 with 5 boxes of hollow points, 15 pipe bombs, and a body harness to carry it all, plus 3 propane tanks wired to go. He says this is as credible as any threat he has seen in 8 years of counter terror. The Chief says that is what he will tell the PC, and tells Van Buren he will have the Chief of School Safety to her directly. As they leave, she thanks them. She tells the detectives that this boy has had this blog for three months and is talking about blowing up a school, and asks how many people read it. Bernard tells her it had 2,300 hits, and she wonders why no one thought to report him. Lupo thinks nobody likes a snitch, even on the net. She tells them to bring in some help and see if they can profile the boy from his writings and start working on an email and maybe they can smoke him out.


Later, Dr. Emil Skoda (J.K. Simmons) is watching Lupo put a message on the message board to Moot, faking setting up a coinciding event in LA that will be “epic.” He makes a reference to Columbine, saying the kids think those guys were heroes instead of what they were – a grandiose psychopath and a suicidal depressive. Skoda thinks Moot is more of a depressive, but that Moot has given out no personal details they can work with. Bernard comes in and says the lab got a serial number off the high point carbine and the gun was stolen from a gun store heist in Massachusetts and thinks Moot bought the gun from him. The thief was caught and is sitting in Otisville awaiting trial.

The detectives speak with Duane Phillips and tell him they can’t offer him anything, and when they try to convince him to help them stop the terror attack, he tells them they’d better go talk to the Feds.


The Fed guy Schlicter tells EADA Michael Cutter (Linus Roache), ADA Connie Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza), Lupo, and Bernard that Duane Phillips is a potential witness against a gunrunning network that extends all the way up into Canada. He’s not wasting Federal leverage on a nothing state investigation. This infuriates Cutter, who disagrees, saying they are talking about a credible threat against a high school full of children and teachers. But Schlicter is skeptical since it comes from a blog, and he tells Cutter to get real. Rubirosa angrily reminds him of the very real video of a real pipe bomb explosion. He sarcastically asks if she’s checked the internet lately, it’s filled with videos of dumb kids blowing up crap with pipe bombs. He walks away and the door shuts in their faces. Later, they find Schlicter’s boss won’t see them either. Bernard realizes ATF gave them the dumps off Phillip’s cell phone and he made a few calls upstate to Ghent NY which coincides with a line used to access Moot’s blog.

Back at the 2-7, Van Buren gets a call from Dr. Knight and she needs her to come back in, telling her there were problems with her MRI and the data was corrupted and they need to re-do it. She agrees but is clearly rattled over it.
At the home of Morgan Jones in Ghent, her mother tells her to tell the detectives what she knows. She met Duane at a skating rink and she found Moot’s blog by accident and she wrote him and he wrote her back. She says Moot told her he was looking for a rifle and Duane said he could get a rifle like that and she took $100 out of her savings and bought it for Moot. Her friend Lee though Moot may be a freak so he gave him a rifle and he took it to Moot. They ask to speak with her friend Lee – and we then see the detectives standing at Lee’s grave. He drove through a red light and an 18 wheeler struck and killed him.

Back at the 2-7, Bernard tells Van Buren there was nothing in the emails from Moot to the girl. Lupo says Moot’s blog says he found that the police are reading his blog and now that someone is paying attention he will have to be more careful and the plan goes on, the end has been written. Later, they find that Morgan emailed Moot about their visit. Van Buren, Bernard, Lupo, Cutter, and Rubirosa discuss this with Skoda, who thinks the kid is very smart and that teachers seem to be his favorite subject. There is one teacher he wrote about – a science teacher who was a religious zealot who burned crosses on the arms of his students.

At the department of education, Lupo, Bernard and Rubirosa speak with Mr. Fontova who says the teacher involved was the subject of a proceeding but it got resolved prior to arbitration and he refuses to discuss it. Rubirosa comments about the bomb threat but he says union lawyers are more serious than a bomb threat.

Later, speaking with a union guy, he tells them the file was sealed. Rubirosa assured him the unnamed teacher is not the target of their investigation but he may have important information. He tells her he has a collective bargaining agreement to enforce, and comments to the detectives that as members of a union he is sure they can appreciate that. An assistant (Lindsey Vonn) is watching and gives a look to the detectives, and Lupo asks if she wanted to talk to them and asks if she knows how they can find the teacher. She tells them the teachers have a web site where they bitch about their job and she gives him the information on how he can log in. She suggests if they leave a message there maybe someone there can help them find that teacher.

Meanwhile, Van Buren is back in the MRI room and very testy. Frank tries to calm her but she doesn’t like being shoved into the machine “like a pot roast.” When the tech guy tells her he is ready and reminds her not to move, he almost rips him one but Frank tells her to bite her tongue.

Reading a “high school horrorshow’ web site, Lupo talks with Rubirosa and she tells him she was a kindergarten teacher for a year. Bernard tells Lupes not to go there. Lupo gets an answer to his message, which says the teacher he was talking about sounded like Ron Koslowski, a science teacher in Suffolk County.

They speak with Kozlowski, who says he didn’t brand anybody. He shows them a Tesla coil and did a demonstration with it that left an electrical mark on the kids. He admits being religious, and they ask if he can identify the student that wrote on his blog but it doesn’t ring a bell. He says more than one student who filed a complaint and the department of ed would not tell him. He says he is sorry they had to drive out there and Bernard says he is sorry he ended up out here. He says after 4 months suspension he quit New York and took a job here – half the salary and trice the commute but at least he is teaching.

In Cutter’s office, Rubirosa, with the detectives in tow, tells Cutter that the department of education won’t release the names of the students. The detectives add that not even in the student in Kozlowski’s class, and Moot could be a kid in another class who just happened to hear about Kozlowski, and they really need the names of all the kids in that school. Rubirosa says the department of education is standing on principle protecting the privacy of minors. Cutter thinks they are not taking this seriously. He tells Rubirosa to book the grand jury, they need to move for an indictment and start issuing subpoenas.

In the Grand Jury, Bernard testifies about what they know. Cutter concludes and asks them grand jury to authorize the subpoenas on the department of education on all records for John Locke high school and wants to seize all computers on the premises. When they find out they want to search the records of 2,872 students, they balk. Cutter reads back a blog post from Moot, but a juror comments those are just words on a computer. They are clearly not buying what Cutter is selling.

Later, in her office, Van Buren gets the call that Cutter was shut down by the grand jury. When she goes in to the squad room she sees something on a computer and asks the guy what he was looking at and asks her to open it back up. It is about a fundraiser for her. Van Buren then tells the detectives that the DA crapped out with the grand jury so stopping the kid will come down to police work. She plunks down a flier on a table which is for a fundraiser in her honor, and tells them they are not going to have any time for a fundraiser, so cancel it. Lupo comments that was supposed to be a surprise, and she looks at both of them and says if they respect her, respect her privacy, and she walks out of the room. Bernard says, “Told you.” Lupo responds, “Screw that, I’m not gonna cancel it.” Bernard notices a new posting on the blog, where the blogger says people are closing in, and the only power he has left is when he chooses to end this, adding he can’t wait any more and by the end of next week they will all know his name. Bernard comments that it is on and the doomsday clock just moved up three minutes.

Later, Cutter gets on Skoda's case because Skoda had said that Moot was slow, deliberate and not impulsive, and Skoda reminds him he also said the kid was suicidal and could go off any minute. Van Buren says they can settle this later; she wants to know how to catch him. Bernard thinks if they cross reference the teachers Moot has a beef with to a class schedule they can point him, and Lupo says they went on the teachers’ web site if they can identify him. They got replies with names. Most of the teachers responding were from Queens in a temporary reassignment center.

They go to the temporary reassignment center, which is called the “Rubber Room” where teachers who are accused of incompetence of misconduct are assigned pending a hearing. They are not teaching. They report there daily and do nothing but keep themselves busy, and some teachers have been waiting for two years for their hearing. If they don’t show up they don’t get paid their full salary. They later speak with a teacher who said he swatted a kid's hair but they said it was assault. They get the names of the kids in his class. Another teacher says he called a kid a little bastard because the kid punched her and tried to take her eye out with scissors. She gives them his name and those of his friends.

Later, Lupo finds none of the students cross reference with the list. Bernard wonders if Moot is a teacher who heard all those stories from other teachers. Bernard thinks Moot wanted them to hear all the stories of teachers who got screwed by the system. Rubirosa thinks all the teachers Moot mentions he could have met in rubber rooms except one, Maura Scott, who was never reassigned there and has been at the same school for the past 5 years and they think Moot works with her.

They call Van Buren at home and she tells them to put a radio car outside Scott’s building and wait for her to come home. She tells Frank they have a good lead and will go in to work for a while. Frank comments that getting a loan would be a lot easier if she could show two incomes, but she says she only has one. She asks what he is saying and he says they will talk about it when she gets back. She doesn’t want him feeling sorry for her, and he brings up the fundraiser, telling her to be glad people want to help her. But she doesn’t want a pity party, and says they may need to do this for her and she is not the only one who feels helpless against the disease.


Maura Scott arrives to meet with Cutter and Rubirosa and the detectives and she has a lawyer, Mr. Kralick (Paul Schultz), who says the union rep contacted him to come. She denies calling a student stupid and said she did not say that. They ask her if any teacher at her school that would have known her situation spent any time in a rubber room. When they mention the car, she seems to know who it is but the union rep stops her from talking, saying they need a subpoena, and they leave. Lupo gets pissed, but DA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) who has heard all this, races after her and says they need her to talk to them. Kralick says that he knows McCoy knows what a subpoena is. McCoy snaps, asking “Just how far up your ass is your head?” He argues with Kralick who argues back of all the problems teachers have, and McCoy acknowledges those issues, but says. “but if your obstruction allows a massacre to happen I will crucify you Mr. Kralick. I will charge you with negligent homicide and after I convict you, I will resign my job and represent the families of the victims in a wrongful death suit against you and the union. By the time I’m done, you will be finished, so my advice to you is GET OUTTA MY WAY!” McCoy asks Scott to talk, and she does later explain the man – Rick - was good teacher but having problems with classroom management. One student asked to go to the bathroom but being in the hallway alone was not allowed and recess was coming up in 10 minutes so Rick told the kid to wait, but the kid went up to the front of the class and peed in the trashcan. Rick tried to stop him and the kid accused him of molesting him and the department started proceeding he spend months in the rubber room, but the complaint was later dismissed. Rick was told he would never get tenure. His girlfriend left him, his name was Rick Benson and lives with his parent’s in Brooklyn.

They go to his parent’s house and Rick is not there. They see his computer with the web site up and empty boxes of ammo and black powder. The parents say he is a substitute teacher for a school in Queens but does not know the name. They find the name of the school and race to it, the school being evacuated. Security saw Rick going into the school with a backpack. The detectives raced to the cafeteria and they find one bomb. As everyone clears out the detectives hear gunfire. They approach the area with guns drawn and a window of a classroom is shot out. Kids race to escape, and Lupo and Bernard, along with a math teacher, enter the room as see a wounded kid. The math teacher tries to calm other kids. Meanwhile, they hear Rick on the phone talking with a woman and he is angry with her. When Lupo calls out, Rick shoots at him. Rick says he has nothing and he is a dead man. Lupo says he talked with Moira and knows he got screwed. As Rick tries to reload his gun, he is distracted and Bernard comes up behind him and restrains him, with the math teacher helping. They get the pipe bomb out of his hand.

Later, at Reade Street Bar at the party for Van Buren, Lupo tells McCoy, Cutter and Rubirosa what happened and that they were lucky. McCoy says luck was only a part of it, and said they all did good. Van Buren arrives with Frank and they all applaud her. The Chief provides a few checks for the collection jar. She introduces Frank Gibson as her boyfriend, and then says as of this afternoon, Frank is her fiancé. They are all thrilled for her. Van Buren’s phone rings with a message, and she steps away to make a call. It is her doctor, and we hear her sigh. She says she understands, and they says goodnight. She begins to cry and then composes herself, saying thank you thank you thank you. She whispers into Frank's ear and he is happy and they embrace and as we pull back into the crowd, we fade to black.


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Law & Order CI “Traffic” Episode Information

Here is the episode information and promo video for the May episode of Law & Order Criminal Intent, “Traffic”:

Law & Order CI “Traffic” Air Date May 25, 2010 (10 PM ET/9C Tuesday USA Network)

The death of a magazine publisher leads to a wide array of suspects, including his friends, employees, lovers past and present, and possibly the Russian mob. Who would go furthest to keep their secrets hidden? Starring Jeff Goldblum and Saffron Burrows


My recap and review of Law & Order Criminal Intent "Traffic” can be found here.




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

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