Law & Order UK “Shaken” Recap & Review

Law & Order UK “Shaken” was based on the original Law & Order Episode “Homesick” from season 6. If I recall correctly, in that episode, a baby dies as a result of something that one of his siblings did to him, not at the hands of the au pair, who was the initial suspect. In “Shaken”, it looks like the nanny and her boyfriend will take the fall. But not so fast – we get a twist where it’s the ex-wife of the baby’s father who is at fault. It’s an interesting case, featuring a less than thorough pediatric pathologist and the murder of the nanny’s boyfriend in prison, making for a complicated case for the CPS.

With the high quality writing and acting with Law & Order UK, even when using original Law & Order stories as a foundation, one can only think what kind of series this would be if L&O UK created their own stories from scratch. If there is such a thing as being better than excellent, I think they could possibly reach that level.

Here is the recap:

When Michael Raines comes home and finds the nanny, Leyla Merton (Rebecca Night) there with music blaring, he also finds his baby’s crib alarm has been turned off and baby Alex dead in bed. His wife Suzanne, returning home later, is devastated at the news. The pathologist Lucy Radley tells DS Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and DS Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber) that the baby seems to have died from shaken baby syndrome, likely within the last 12 hours of his life.

At MIU headquarters, lab tech Angela will work to retrieve the last recoding from the baby monitor. While the nanny is a live-in with no formal training, DI Natalie Chandler (Harriet Walter) tells the detectives to talk to the parents first. They do so, and the parents seemed to have taken actions to avoid “cot death”. Brooks tells them they don't think this is what killed the baby – someone shook him. Suzanne gets a call from work but takes it despite Michael asking her not to. When Devlin implies that the stress of her job was too much for Suzanne, Michael vehemently disagrees. Suzanne said Leyla took over early that morning and Suzanne did not open the doorto the baby's room before she left for work. Michael’s ex-wife Andrea has a key to the house, they share an on-line business with the office in Michael and Suzanne’s home.

At Hatton Garden, the detectives speak with Michael’s ex-wife Andrea and she mentioned that the nanny overdosed the baby a few months ago.

Back at MUI, the detectives confer with Chandler, Brooks explains Leyla’s accidental dosing of Calpol and that Leyla took Alex to the hospital as soon as she realized her error. Alex was fine. Chandler tells them to talk to the nanny. They do so, and Leyla confirms she took the baby to hospital as soon as she realized her mistake. Leyla comments that Suzanne liked only homeopathic meds and she gave Alex the Calpol so he would sleep. Leyla said the night he died Alex was asleep and said she thought he was asleep. Leyla seems very flip about the whole situation.
Later, Brooks, Devlin and Chandler talk about baby care. Chandler says control crying teaches babies to sleep. But Brooks disagrees, saying crying is the only way babies can communicate. Chandler tells them when they are done debating parenting techniques to speak to the last people who employed Leyla to see if there were any visits to casualty.

At the home of Mel Allen, she says she got a nanny cam and could hear the baby crying while Leyla was on the sofa having sex with her boyfriend.

Back at MIU, the lab tech Ange got access to Leyla’s email and social networking accounts and found her boyfriend Lloyd is in Afghanistan. She also found a video of them in an intimate situation. It was made the night the baby died, it finished the time when Michael came home. Leyla also alerted her boyfriend that Michael would be delayed and she will make sure the baby won’t get in the way.

They later speak with Leyla about it, and she says Lloyd would never hurt the baby. She denies hurting Alex and has no idea who would have, but she admits Lloyd was in the room, but not for long, and said he used to get his baby brothers to sleep all the time.

Later, the detectives speak with Chandler about Lloyd and he did have a baby brother who died at three months old of sudden infant death syndrome. Lloyd was babysitting.
At Tadmarton Green Barracks, Brooks and Devlin arrest Lloyd Benson under suspicion of murder of Alexander Raines. At MIU, Brooks question him while Chandler and Alesha Phillips (Freema Agyeman) watch. He says he never hurt his brother or Alex. He just tried to help Alex settle down by singing Blackbird by The Beatles. Brooks brings up an incent where Lloyd attacked a fellow member of his regiment and Lloyd said he was trying to break up a fight. When Brooks continue to pressure him. Lloyd gets irate and says the only person making him lose his temper is Brooks.
Devlin, meanwhile, speaks with Leyla telling her that Lloyd’s brother died of SIDS and he implies Lloyd killed Alex. Devlin asks her if she didn’t shake the baby it must have been Lloyd. Leyla says that the flashing light from the monitor went mad when Lloyd went in there and then it just stopped. Lloyd said he settled him and Alex was fast asleep.

Back with Brooks, he continues to press Lloyd and mentions that people are working on retrieving information from the hard drive of the baby monitor. Lloyd says Leyla went back in and began shouting at the baby, and she completely lost it. He went in after her and the baby was in the cot screaming. He did not pick up the baby. He turned off the baby monitor off.

Afterwards, Chandler tells Phillips and the detectives that if they are going to stick to their stories they will never get a confession out of either of them. Phillips says they can both be placed in the room so she wants to charge them both.

In court, Lloyd and Leyla are in the dock while CP James Steel (Ben Daniels) discusses Lloyd’s problems in the military and the death of his brother. The defense barristers argue for both Leyla and Lloyd but the judge remands both to custody.

Afterwards, Steel and Phillips speak to barrister Helena Marsden (Jemma Redgrave) who says Leyla did not kill the baby but Lloyd has history and motive. She makes and application to exclude the laptop and everything that was seized on it. Later, at a plea and case management hearing of Crown v Merton, Marsden argues that the search was illegal. Steel argues that Michael Raines gave permission to search Leyla’s room as it was in his house, but the judge disagrees, saying that the bedroom should be considered private. He rules the evidence from the laptop as inadmissible,
Steel reviews this with CPS Director George Castle (Bill Paterson). There is a concern that one will provide reasonable doubt for the other. Steel thinks the it’s best they just go after one of the two, if they can find out for certain which one of them did it.

Later, Devlin gives Phillips all the information they got from the baby monitor. She and Steel look at the video footage. The recording proves that Lloyd was telling the truth. They can hear Leyla yelling at the baby and Lloyd telling her to go back into the bedroom. The time code said the monitor went off at 8:21:07 – and 19 seconds later the web cam in Leyla’s room is turned on. There was not enough time to shake a baby to death. Lloyd could not have shaken Alex.

In the legal visits room in Ashbridge prison, they tell Lloyd's superior officer that the charges against Lloyd will be dropped. But when it’s time for Lloyd to come in, they are instead told that Lloyd was stabbed by his cellmate a half hour ago and he’s dead.

At the White Horse pub, Steel and Marsden share a drink. Steel thinks Leyla is the only one who had opportunity. Marsden says she’ll see him in court.

At St. Colman’s Mortuary, Steel speaks with the pathologist, Lucy Radley, and he wants her to testify as an expert witness. She is reluctant as she does not get immunity. She says she is certain the baby was shaken, and Steel says the jury need to hear that.
At Crown v Merton, Lucy is on the stand and she explains shaken baby syndrome and that she found evidence that Alex was shaken to death. Unless he was in a car crash, she has no other explanation. Marsden challenges Lucy’s findings and Lucy stands firm. But Marsden asks if an accidental head injury can also cause the same symptoms and Lucy must agree this is a possibility. Marsden also brings out the fact that pediatric experts now doubt the existence of shaken baby syndrome and Lucy admits this is not her area of expertise. Lucy says she is an expert in pediatric forensic pathology and she did the post mortem. Marsden also asks if she examined the dura around the brain for a previous injury, and Lucy said no, to the best of her knowledge there was no previous injury.

Later, Michael’s ex wife testifies and implies that Leyla has been neglectful and that Alex had been ill. She also said that Leyla recently grabbed Alex and shoved him into the playpen, shouting that Leyla did not give a damn about the baby.
Suzanne also testifies that it broke her heart to leave Alex every day. But under cross examination, Marsden brings up Suzanne’s need to return to work quickly after Alex was born. Marsden tries to paint Suzanne in an unflattering light for going back to work rather than stay home and care for the baby. Suzanne did not know that Leyla had been recently fired from a previous job. When pressed about who referred the nanny company to her, Suzanne admits she doesn’t exactly know the person’s name. Marsden continues on about what happened that day with Suzanne and for being away from her home for 17 hours for her work. When Marsden makes more snide comments about Suzanne’s lack of devotion to her child, the judge warns her she may be held in contempt if she keeps it up. She asks Suzanne if Alex had any bumps to the heard recently and Suzanne said he just started crawling, of course he had bumps. She recalls an incident when he fell of his change when Michael was reaching for a nappy, it was 3 weeks before he died and the GP said he was fine.
Afterwards, Phillips expresses her displeasure to Marsden about Marsden’s performance and that she preyed on the jury’s misconceptions.

Back at Crown v Merton, the jury says they cannot reach a verdict and that nor more time will help. The judge declares the jury is unable to reach a verdict and the Crown has 7 days to decide whether or not they will retry the case.

Back at CPS, Steel clearly wants to move forward, saying Leyla knew that baby wasn’t well and was more interesting in making sex videos with her boyfriend. Steel mentions that Suzanne testified they took Alex to a GP but there was no mention of it in the medical records.

At Priory Park Health Care Centre. Steel speaks with the GP who says there was no injury.. Steel asks if there was evidence to an internal injury and the GP says Steel will have to speak with the pathologist.

Back at St. Colman’s Mortuary, Steel again speaks with Lucy and he is upset with her, but she says she knew nothing about the previous injury. She admits there are cases where a baby can have an accidental injury and the baby can die later. He is angry that this death could have been accidental, and when she says she’d have to re-examine the brain and the skull to be sure, he angrily tells her to exhume the body.

The body is exhumed and while Steel watches, Michael comes and begs Steel not to do it. Steel says they have to know.

Later, Steel tells Phillips that Lucy said there was signs of a healing fracture in Alex’s skull, consistent with a bump to the head 3 weeks prior. It is possible Leyla bumped Alex’s head by accident.
At the legal visits room at Cold Norton Prison, Leyla denies being rough with Alex or dropping him. Steel says Alex’s death may be accidental. Leyla is upset that Lloyd died with the whole world thinking he was a baby murderer.

Afterwards, Steel comments that they offered Leyla a get out of jail free card and all she had to do was admit she bumped his head. They said Andrea was sure that Leyla was rough with Alex. At CPS, they speak with Andrea who mentions in passing she knew Michael far back when she was 18 at university and she never wanted children. They tell her Leyla denies being rough with the baby and suddenly Andrea seems to waffle on her story, and then mentions seeing Lloyd with the baby a few days before Alex died and wonders if he hit Alex’s head against the wall. Andrea makes an excuse to go to a meeting and then departs. As she gets out of the office, Steel says Andrea is lying as Lloyd Benson had been on a tour of Afghanistan for 5 months and only got back the day Alex died. Leyla had only been working there 3 months and Lloyd had never been to the Raines house before. If she saw Lloyd in Alex’s room it had to be the day Alex died.

Later, Phillips comments to Steel that Andrea said she did not want a baby, so she talked to Michael about it, and found out that Andrea and Michael had seven attempts at IVF and it nearly crippled them financially.

Back at the home of Michael and Suzanne Raines, Steel and Phillips confront Andrea about lying about not wanting a baby. She said that Michael and Suzanne were too scared to tell them about the baby. Andrea was there when Alex’s cot arrived. She says that’s what happens when you’re infertile, people stop telling you their happy news and stop inviting you to their child friendly parties. When Phillips confronts her about Lloyd being in Afghanistan, Andrea says she must have gotten the date wrong. Steel accuses Andrea f being in the house the day Alex died, and she says she dropped off some files and then left. She admits she heard him crying by did not go to him. She denies shaking Alex, and Steel says no one shook him, he must have bumped his head the day he died, on his cot, maybe. He presses her that she went into his room, and she gets very upset and says Suzanne took her husband and didn’t deserve him. Steel continues to press her, and she said she just held him to stop him from crying. Steel reminds her that Lloyd was innocent and was murdered in his prison cell. She admits Alex stopped crying and he just wanted to cuddle. She saw the child she never had and he should have been her baby. She says she couldn’t stand to hold him anymore and she just let go. Michael, standing in the doorway, hears this and looks at her with disgust and storms off.

At the White Horse pub, Steel and Marsden are talking again over drinks. She asks him if he wants to share a cab and he says he is waiting to meet Alesha. She tells him to watch out, over 30, tick tock. Steel laughs and takes a drink as 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.

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Law & Order UK “Duty of Care” Recap & Review

Law & Order UK “Duty of Care” is based on the original Law & Order episode, “Endurance” from season 11. “Duty of Care” tugs at the emotional aspect of the case, involving a mother who becomes overly stressed and distraught with the care her son, who is seriously disabled. She also gets a smarmy, cocky barrister to represent her, and his incompetence becomes evident over the course of the trail. Steel and Phillips use his incompetence to work out an outcome for Megan Parnell that takes her ultimate actions into account, but also the strain that care giving for her son has caused on her AND an incompetent barrister.

As I have a nephew who is has serious disabilities, I have seen firsthand the stress this can put on a family if they try to care for the child on their own. The strain was so hard on my younger brother – a single parent - that he died 9 years ago at the age of 38 from cancer because his body just was not strong enough to fight the disease AND care for his son. The only positive outcome was that my nephew was placed in a residential home that was able to provide a staff of people for 24 hour support for my nephew – who is now 22 years old. It literally can take a village to care for a person with serious disabilities. My brother never shunned his responsibility nor considered any option for his son but life, but I can surely see how a parent, especially a lone care giver, can only want another way out for their child and for themselves. Truly, the episode “Duty of Care” pulled on the emotions, and maybe more so in my case because the situation is very relevant to my family. James Steel was right, though, to emphasize that mercy killing is still illegal – and is still killing, especially in the case where the one to die can’t make the choice.

Here is the recap:

A woman, Megan Parnell (Beatie Edney), runs out for help as her flat burns, her son still inside. He dies in the fire, and DS Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and DS Matt Devlin are called to the scene as the fire appears to be suspicious in origin. There is evidence of an accelerant – paint thinner was found.
The detectives speak to Parnell about her son Ian, who had learning difficulties, and he had trouble with his breathing.
Back at MIU, the detectives tell DI Natalie Chandler what they know about the case so far. They focus on the man who owned the shop downstairs, Samjit Chatterjee (Avin Shah) who is under investigation for unpaid VAT and selling alcohol without a license and declared bankruptcy once before.

They speak with Sanjit about catastrophes at his previous businesses. He denies doing anything for insurance – he’s not insured because it was too costly. Devlin gets a phone call that says Parnell had made complaints that her son had been harassed because of his special needs. They speak with the mother of the boys who were harassing Ian, and they next thing we know, the two boys, Aaron and Lee are down at MIU being questioned.

Devlin questions Aaron and Brooks questions Lee. Aaron attempts to insult Devlin and Lee seems quiet. They get nothing. Later, they focus on Parnell’s ex, who has unpaid child maintenance and has a temper and he matches the description of someone that was spotted at the flat earlier that day.

At the home of Craig Parnell, the detectives question him about when he last saw his son and the maintenance payments. He said Ian belonged in a home but Megan wanted to keep him with her. He says Ian is full-on retarded. He says he was there on Monday afternoon but wanted to talk to Megan face to face but she was not there. He said he went out to dinner that night with his girlfriend.

Back at MIU, Brooks tell Chandler Craig’s girlfriend confirmed his alibi. She also said Ian had a thing about playing with matches. Chandler tells them to rule out the boy.
At Chamberlain House, Brooks finds a padlock and key and wonder if Ian knew it was up there. The paint thinner that was usually kept in one spot was not there.

At Laburnim Hill Special School, Brooks and Devlin found out that the condition Ian had, he continued to deteriorate and needed constant monitoring. He could not have unlocked a door or climbed up on a ledge, in fact, when he left there he could not get a spoon to his mouth. The woman working there said when it sunk in with Megan what was going to happen with Ian, she thought it would kill her.

Outside, the detectives now wonder if Megan set the fire. They get back to MIU and reexamine the evidence from the fire. Ian’s bed did not look slept in, and the door to Ian’s room was shut. Megan said she could not get into the room because the door handle was hot, but if the door was already open she would not have had to touch the handle. Brooks gets a call that said the lab finished testing items from the scene and Megan Parnell’s sweatshirt has paint thinner on it.

They bring Megan to MIU and she is in the interrogation room. They tell her they don’t think she ever went to be that night because her bed was still made and her bedroom door was shut tight which is what slowed the fire down. They accuse her of setting the fire. She denies it but they continue to press about her desperate situation with Ian. Devlin says she started the fire and left Ian to die.

In Central Criminal Courts, there is a hearing about bail for Megan. Alesha Phillips (Freema Agyeman) reminds the judge that Megan is accused of murder. In the courthouse lobby, Megan’s barrister Dominic Peck (Oliver Dimsdale) talks to Phillips and seems to be flirting with her.

With Director George Castle (Bill Paterson), James Steel (Ben Daniels) and Phillips review the case and how Megan will be presented by the defense. Castle thinks they should establish her state of mind before the fire. As Megan went to the emergency department a few days before the fire, Steel says they should talk to the doctor that saw them and get a professional opinion.

At Royal Hampton Hospital, Dr. Elaine Schreiber (Jane Wheldon) says there was no abuse of Ian involved, his injuries resulting from Ian’s condition. His mother had been injured trying to hold him down when he had a seizure. The last time the doctor spoke to Megan she suggested Megan get Ian residential care, and Megan said if it came to that he’d be better off dead.
At Crown v Parnell plea and case management hearing and the issue of the doctor’s statement being privileged is argued. But Ian was the patient, so the judge says there is no privilege for Megan in this case. Peck also applied to exclude the sweatshirt Megan was wearing, but the judge seems annoyed with Peck’s motions and tells him the sweatshirt stays in. Steel and Phillips seem amused at Peck’s apparent ineptness.

Outside the courtroom, Megan stops Phillips and asks her when they should go back in. Phillips tells her and Megan seems confused, saying she was told she would see her little girl that day. Peck comes up to both of them and tells Megan, with a smarmy smile on his face, not to fraternize with the enemy.

Back in court, Mr. Harris, an expert witness testifies, and Peck seems to offer a logical explanation for why the bed was not made, saying that she could have been reading a book or magazine while laying on the bed. But Harris says none were found near the bed.

At trial day 3, Dr. Schreiber testifies about her advice to Megan about putting Ian in a home and that Megan said Ian would be better off dead. Peck cross examines her and brings out that Megan asked about alternative treatments to improve Ian’s life.

Back at George Castle’s office, they are worried that the jury will sympathize with Megan. Steel wonders if they can force Peck to do the right thing and tell them they will accept a plea to manslaughter and hope he has the sense to agree.

At a pub, Steel and Phillips discuss the offer with Peck. He’s very flip about the whole thing. He says all Megan wants is to be with her daughter and he promised her he would do his damndest to make it happen. Philips says he should not have promised, and he says it is always good to give the ladies hope.
In the CPS conference room, Peck, who is there with Megan, refuses the offer and wants to proceed with the not guilty plea. Steel reminds Megan if she is found guilty she will get 25 years and that is a real possibility. When Megan starts to question things, Peck whisks her out of the room.

At the Strand, Phillips tells Castle and Steel that Peck has entered a new plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and he will get an expert who will say Megan was legally insane when she set the fire. If it works, Megan could be institutionalized and lose her daughter as well.
Later, Steel confronts Peck in the robbing room. Peck again is flip about the situation, saying it is all about emotion and not the truth.

Afterwards, Phillips and Steel wonder if Megan is just going along with Peck’s games and Steel cautions they not look at Megan as the innocent victim.
In the consulting rooms of Dr. Roddy Armitage (George Anton), Armitage confirms to Megan that by pleading insanity, she did not know what she was doing was wrong when she started the fire. Steel and Phillips watch the video as Megan says she didn’t know what she was doing. She speaks about Ian and his problems and how he continued to get worse. He stopped talking and using the toilet and would not let him hold her.

Afterwards, Armitage tells Steel and Phillips that Megan was not insane then and is not insane now but she does have mental health problems. She could not get enough sleep because of his care. But he emphasizes she was not insane. Steel wonders who she found that said she was.

Back a Crown v Parnell, Peck questions Dr. Elizabeth Arlberg (Julia Montogomery Brown) who says Megan had risen to the clinical level of ACSS – Acute Caretaker Stress Syndrome. It can cause irrational behaviors and cognitive malfunction. Megan may not have been able to tell right and wrong. Under cross examination, Arlberg says her doctorate is in psychoanalytic studies and she did not go to medical school, and she is not a qualified psychiatrist and is not affiliated with a clinic, she just lectures and has as US radio program. Steel continues to press her on ACSS and she admits the diagnosis is new and she identified it herself. It is not recognized by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Steel sarcastically makes a comment that it is out on the cutting edge. Steel paints her has having no real expertise. Megan begins to looks concerned.

At CPS, Peck worriedly tells Steel and Phillips that Megan has confessed – she admits to starting the fire and feels responsible for Ian’s death but he didn’t actually die in the fire. Phillips asks Megan to explain. Megan explains Ian was having a seizure and she had a syringe with his injection but she could not do it. She just wanted it to stop, so she held him and waited until the convulsions ended, she knew he was gone. Peck says this changes everything, but Steel ask if he expects them to abandon all charges. Steel says he’s heard enough, and while Peck continues to want to discuss it, Steel walks out of the room and says they can see themselves out.

Afterwards, Steel tells Phillips that smoke inhalation was the cause of death, and this means Megan is lying – or more likely Peck told her what to say. Phillips wonders why Peck would try this. Steel comments why bother about truth when you can go with emotion.

Phillips checks with the medical examiner, Heather (Hazel Ellerby), who confirms it was CO asphyxiation and that one has to be breathing to get smoke in her lungs. She adds that a violent seizure can cause coma and would allow some smoke into the lungs but the person would appear dead.

Phillips gives Steel this information and she wonders if Megan did mention this to Peck and Peck panicked and changed the plea to insanity. Steel thinks if Megan thought Ian was dead, there was no intention to kill. Phillips said she should have never been charged with murder.

Back at Crown v Parnell, Megan is testifying. Steel cross examines her and comments about her lies. She says she would not leave Ian to die, he was already dead. Steel says it is simply not true, and he refers to the post mortem report with the cause of death smoke inhalation. She says they have it wrong, Ian stopped breathing. She said she thought it was a mistake, and Steel continues to pres her that Ian was alive when she started the fire. Megan becomes very upset and insists she would never have done that.

Later, Castle is annoyed with Peck that he put Megan up there without explaining the post mortem results. Steel thinks that the judge will want to discharge the jury and start again – with the charge of manslaughter because she started the fire and withheld the injection that would have prevented the coma. Mercy killing is still killing and still illegal. When Phillips comments about Megan having to go through this all again, Castle says they have to as Megan could appeal as she can claim she was wrongly advised. Steel says this means her barrister would be accused of negligence and with decent representation she could be out within 6 months. This would take her defense out of Peck’s hands.

In the chambers if Judge Mary Hall (Diana Quick), Peck doesn’t understand that they want to just carry on. Steel says they would accept a plea of manslaughter and it would spare Megan the trauma of a second trial and whatever sentence she chooses could take into account the circumstances of Ian’s death. Judge Hall says she is prepared to continue as long as they all understand each other, and Peck agrees and asks what they do now.
Back in court, the Judge imposes a custodial sentence but takes into account the fact she believed her son was dead when she started the fire, she gives her 3 years in prison with a recommendation for full psychological assessment. Megan looks back on her daughter before she is taken away. Peck takes a deep breath and Steel and Phillips look on with serious faces.

The episode closes with a page which notes that Dominic Peck no longer practices criminal law and has moved to private practice, and that Megan was released after 5 months in prison following a psychiatric evaluation – we are also reminded the episode is fictional as 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.

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

Law & Order UK “Help” Recap & Review

Law & Order UK “Help” was based on the original Law & Order episode titled “We Like Mike” written by Gardner Stern and I.C. Rapoport from season 7. It’s an episode that even casual Law & Order fans are familiar. But, rather than do an exact re-telling of the “Mike Bodack” story, “Help” made enough changes to the plot to make the episode feel new.

Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and Devlin (Jamie Bamber) are making for a very comfortable team, and with each episode it seems we are given a look into Ronnie’s odd eating habits and Devlin’s sometimes amusing disgust for them. Brooks shows that he can keep his cool, though, when he gets a gun pointed at him by a suspect. Devlin, on the other hand, seems to be very rattled by this, and I think that was his own concern for Ronnie's safety. I really like these two more and more with each episode. I was also enjoyed the scene where Natalie Chandler (Harriet Walter) really put the screws to a suspect in order to get him to talk. The show should find more ways to use her talents.

While the legal portion of the case was somewhat predictable, I liked the underlying suspense that somehow the judge was compromised. Maybe had he not been up to his eyeballs in trouble with the case, James Steel (Ben Daniels) may have pushed a little harder to challenge the judge. It would be nice if they could come up with an episode later on where Steel’s gut feeling about the judge were proven right.

While Law & Order UK is using stories from the US Law & Order as a basis for their episodes, the writing, the cast, the camera work, and the location makes it seem very new and fresh. I went into this episode thinking I was going to see the same old story, but I was pleasantly surprised – this one was great!

Here is the recap:

Robbie Nichols is found dead next to his car, killed while changing the tire. DS Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and DS Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber) try to track down the only witness. With help from an area florist, they find the man in question had been in the florist shop looking for flowers for his impending wedding. After checking with some churches with weddings for the day in question, they find out that the witness is Mike Jones (Lorcan Cranitch). At MIU Central headquarters, the detectives find that Jones has a record. They question him, and he says he saw Robbie Nichols with the flat tire and offered to help him change the tire. But, he said he was just a good Samaritan and did not have anything to do with his death.
The detectives check out Jones’ activities for that night and they speak with his boss and find that Jones left work that day hours earlier than what he told the detectives. They also found that Jones paid for his wedding the day before – 5.5 grand, in cash. They arrest him.
Back at MIU, under questioning, he admits he was working a second job. He admits he changed the wheel, which is why his DNA was on the napkins and on the tire changer. Under pressure, Jones admits he saw the person who murdered Robbie and the man took over for Jones to help Robbie change the tire. He is afraid of that other person who was there – Don Marsh.
It seems Marsh is known for illegal activities and even killings. The March brothers have also paid off coppers and it is believed they have a judge in their pocket. DI Natalie Chandler tells the detectives to work the case in a secure office – and watch their backs.
As the detectives research the case, they find Robbie frequents a casino – The Palms – which is owned by Donald Marsh. They investigate this lead, and find that Robbie seems to be a big gambler and owes to Marsh’s casino. Chandler gets warrants to search Marsh’s office and tells the detectives to quietly get a support team of only those people they trust. They later serve Marsh (David Kennedy) with the warrant. As Marsh is being arrested, in another area, a man by the name of Charlie pulls a gun on Ronnie. As Ronnie tries to diffuse the situation, Devlin calls it in. Ronnie manages to calm him down and get the gun.
Back at MIU, the detectives find that Robbie’s watch was found in Charlie’s bag. They question him about it, and Chandler really turns up the heat on him. Charlie admits that Marsh gave it to him as a finder’s fee for finding Nichols because Nichols owed him money. But March refuses to comment when Devlin questions him about it.
The detectives review the case with CP James Steel (Ben Daniels) and Alesha Phillips (Freema Agyeman), and Steel will charge Marsh with murder. When they ask about the status of Mike Jones, Steel says they will have him released. Later, when Alesha speaks with Mike Jones after his release, Jones is irate that they ruined his wedding. But Steel tells Alesha there is a new problem.

At Central Criminal Court, James Steel has to answer to why 2 pieces of evidence – the watch and the fingerprints – were now missing from police properties storeroom. Steel says they suspected a uniformed officer who removed the evidence on Marsh’s behalf, an accusation Marsh’s brief Jason Peters (Eddie Marsan) denies. Judge Burchville (Michael Cochrane) says he would entertain an application for dismissal, and this incenses Steel.

At Crown v Marsh, Charlie looks as if he’s been intimidated by Marsh, even though Charlie has been in witness protection. Later, Steel discusses this with Director George Castle (Bill Paterson); it seems Charlie has now said everything he told the police was a lie. The talk about Judge Burchville, and Steel thinks that the judge seemed too quick to accept the change of story.

Back at Crown v Marsh, Steel is arguing that the jury has a right to know about Marsh’s previous conviction, but the judge says he already ruled on that. Steel continues to press his point but the judge tells him to move on or he will hold him in contempt. Steel scoffs at this and the judge shows his displeasure.

Later, Steel and Phillips speaks with Castle, who is supportive of Steel. Steel said that Burchville asked to be assigned to this trial, but Castle says that does not mean he is in Marsh’s pocket. But Steel says Burchville is blocking him every chance he gets. Now all they have is Mike Jones as a witness, but he is not answering their calls. They also did not have him ID Marsh before he got released. Phillips says she will track Jones down and do some groveling.

At the Warren Hotel, Phillips speaks with Jones, who is working. He does not want to help and he knows what Marsh cab do to him. She tells him he is a good man and he did the right thing and got screwed for it. She is appealing to the decent person who stopped to help a stranger and he can help Robbie Nichols again.

Back at MIU, Jones returns and identifies Marsh. But, he gets a call saying his fiancée Fiona has been attacked.

Later, Steel and Phillips speak with Fiona and she describes her attack and that she was threatened that Jones should not talk about Marsh. Marsh wants to now keep his mouth shut and wants them to leave. Steel says they can have him rearrested as a material witness and Jones tells him to do that.
Steel confers with Castle about the new developments. They need to flush out who is the one leaning on Jones. Steel tells Phillips to set up a meeting with Jason and Don Marsh.

At the Legal Visits Room at Ashbridge Prison, they speak with Jason and Marsh. Steel says they have witness who wants to talk, no matter what someone says to him or his fiancée. Marsh says he will take his chances.

Later, Phillips chides Steel for not telling her what he was doing, and that he is playing Russian roulette with Jones’ life. Steel says he has no other choice. Meanwhile, Brooks and Devlin have Marsh's brother Harry’s phone lines tapped and under surveillance. Harry leaves his home and takes something out of his mobile phone and throws it down a drain.

At CPS, Devlin tells Steel and Phillips that Mike Jones got a threatening call and that Marsh’s brother was observed throwing his phone SIM card down the drain and then threw the phone in a bin. They have confirmation that Jones was called from that phone. Steel wants Harry Marsh charged with intimidation of murder and to set up a meeting with Jones.

Later, Steel and Phillips tell Jones and his fiancée Fiona (Elizabeth Ride) that both Marsh brothers are behind bars, and but Fiona doesn’t believe they can protect them. Mike, however, agrees to help them.

Back at trial, Robbie Nichols' sister Jennifer (Matti Houghton) testifies and Jason asks about when she saw Mike Jones with grease on his hands, and then implies Mike was fleeing from a crime scene. But there is another problem – Mike Jones hasn’t arrived in court. Steel asks for, and gets, adjournment for an hour.
Later, Steel speaks with Marsh and asks where is Mike Jones. Marsh is flip about it. Afterwards, Phillips tells Steel that Jones has been arrested. He gave his bodyguards the slip and was pulled over for driving with a faulty brake light – he doesn’t have a license or insurance AND he was driving as a cabbie.

At the Camden police station, Jones tells Steel that Fiona left him. Steel is upset that he promised to testify, but Jones says Camden wants him to give evidence against the owner of the cab company and Steel wants him to testify against Marsh and he is being torn apart. He lost his job with the hotel too. Steel promises to help him and says the law works because of people like him. Jones lawyer doesn’t want Jones to do it, but Steel begs Jones to help.

Back in court, Mike Jones is on the stand and Jason brings out that Jones was working for a cab company that was operating illegally. When Steel objects to Jones’s work being brought up, the judge disagrees and orders Jones to testify. Jason attacks Jones credibility and his previous lies to the police. Steel rebuts, asking Jones to explain why he lied to the police. Jones said he was scared and he just wanted to get home, he didn’t think. Jones sees Fiona enter the courtroom. He admits he made mistakes, but says the right thing now is to tell what he saw. He says he saw Marsh with Robbie Nichols right before he was murdered, and thinks every day about if he would have stayed or not been scared, none of this would have happened,

While they wait for the verdict, Steel speaks with Jason and Jason says Steel’s downfall is that he cares. Steel says he can’t think of a better way to go.

In court, Donald Marsh is found guilty. As Jones leave the courtroom. Steel nods his thanks to him.

Back in Steel’s office, Steel tells Phillips that Jones gave his word that he’ll stick to working in the kitchen and Steel will peak to his defense. Steel says they were lucky to get him as a witness. Phillips asks how Steel convinced Fiona to come to court, and he thought Phillips did that. Phillips says the entire British justice system is frightening, it depends on the decency of a Mike Jones. Steel says it is reassuring, and we fade to black.


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

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

Chris Brancato New Law & Order CI Showrunner

Several sources are reporting that Chris Brancato will be the new showrunner for Law & Order Criminal Intent for its final season on USA. Brancato will replace Walon Green. Look for the final episodes to begin airing in April with returning stars Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe!


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

Law & Order LA “Playa Vista” Recap & Review

All photos from NBCU

What do you get when you mix golf, a golf club, hookers, lesbians, sex addicts, a cheating husband and a bitter wife? Murder. Law & Order Los Angeles “Playa Vista” was a good old “yeah, we’re going there” ripped from the headlines story, inspired by the golf + golf club+ drug abuse + hookers + sex addict Tiger Woods scandal. In “Playa Vista” the murder happens because a golfer's wife refuses to see she’s a gold digging whore in her own right, and she uses her own son to murder a woman who threatens her lavish lifestyle. While the episode was predictable, I found it somewhat enjoyable - in a campy “CSI Miami” kind of way. It also painted a portrait of how kids can sometimes be unwittingly drawn in to their parent’s ugly battles and animosity towards each other when the marriage is unhappy, and the kids find themselves being used.

I enjoyed the entire cast in this episode, but the clear winning pairing is Skeet Ulrich and Corey Stoll. Stoll is the lucky one, as he seems to get all the witty lines, but he has the face and the personality to pull it off better than Ulrich, who sometimes seems a little too reserved. While Terrence Howard and Megan Boone seemed very comfortable in their roles, their scenes still seem lackluster. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I am just not seeing the same passion that viewers were accustomed to in the original Law & Order with EADAs Cutter, McCoy, and Stone. Dekker and Stanton seem a little too controlled and it’s almost unnatural. I don’t expect them to be yelling, screaming, ranting, or going off on tirades, it’s just something in the way they deliver some of the lines that makes it sound like they are just reading them off a script. I am warming up to them, though. Guest star Bellamy Young did a great job as the bitter wife and mother. All in all, it was a good episode and fun to watch.



Here is the recap:

Pro golfer Kristin Halstead (Maggie Contreras) turns up dead in a courtyard. Detectives Rex Winters (Skeet Ulrich) and TJ Jaruszalski (Corey Stoll) investigate the scene and it appears Kristin was targeted. They check her home and find evidence that she was having money problems.

They visit the home of Kevin Friedman who tells them that he knows of no problems but she seemed off her game lately. She showed up for a meeting late and she was a mess.

Later, the medical examiner tells them she was killed by blunt force trauma but can’t identify the weapon. She has pre-mortem finger marks on her arm, maybe about a week old.

They check her phone’s GPS and find the location where Kristin was Tuesday night from 9 to 11. The valet said Kristin would not let him park her car, she sat in there and texted the whole time. She had a view of the building entrance and the detectives wonder if she was stalking someone.

A computer tech tells them some texts were going back and forth between Kristin and a no name, throwaway cell phone. The texts were deleted, but every few weeks that cell phone was making calls from other golf locations around the country. Rex notices that one of the locations had no golf tournament at the time, it was in Las Vegas and there was a poker tournament in which married golf superstar Chip Jarrow was participating.

At the home of Chip Jarrow (Marc Blucas) and his wife Monica (Bellamy Young), Chip says the cell phone number is his. He uses it to duck the press and fans. Kristin was asking him about endorsements and career advice. He said Kristin played for the “other team.”

The speak with her agent who says that lesbian rumors dog the LPGA and he is trying to protect Kristin's legacy. He knows nothing of a girlfriend but says at a tournament last month Kristin got an all access pass for Carly Morris.

At the home of Carly Morris (Jenny Mollen), the detectives speak with her about Kristin. She admits that they had sex. She also tells them she is a student. While she gets the info to corroborate her alibis, the detectives see that Carly has all kinds of expensive things laying around. TJ sees a thank you note from a personal shopper in Belle Rouge.
They speak with the personal shopper who tells them the stuff is purchased for Carly by men, a different one every week and don’t ask for their names. TJ gets a message saying that Carly is not a student anywhere in California. Kristin appears to have been in love with a hooker.

Back at the Robbery Homicide Division, they ran Carly through vice but there is no information on her. Carly did have one legitimate job, she was employed by the A.K. Lounge. Lt. Arleen Gonzales (Rachel Ticotin) tells them to check with the lounge to see if anyone was setting up Carly’s dates.

At the A.K. Lounge, a “waitress” there tells them a few of the girls, including Carly, went to the “round” hotel with some old (almost 40!) white guy who told them to call him “Ace.” She said she is not a hooker. As she walks off , the detectives know that Carly has lied about everything so far and Rex says no 40 year old is that busy without a pill.

At the home of Steve and Jodi Morris, the detectives speak with Carly’s parents who says she has done nothing wrong. They said a friend at the club got Carly a “public relations” job and they flew her out to Greenville, NC and she had caviar on the flight. .

The detectives feel that she went out on a private jet and find a flight lease by Intelogue Investment Service in Irvine – and Chip is their spokesman. Later, at RHD, the “waitress” picks Chip out of a photo array.

Later, with Carly in interrogation with her lawyer, the lawyer says Carly is in love with Chip and she is the victim because she was led on by a powerful man. Carly tells them she dates Kristin briefly but is not a lesbian and Kristin would not accept her relationship with Chip. She said Kristin tried to talk to Chip.

Afterward, the detectives review this information with Gonzales. They also now have the deleted text messages from Kristin to Chip and Kristin seemed to be threatening to expose Chip for something and Chip says everyone will find out she is a dyke. Gonzales tells them to talk to Chip about the texts and wake him up if they have to.

They arrive at Chip’s home to hear yelling coming from the pool, and they race there to find Chip in the pool and his wife Monica swiping at him with a golf club. They yell for her to drop the club – she does – and Rex helps Chip out of the pool. Chip says he took a pill and must have been sleepwalking and he must have fallen into the pool. Monica says she grabbed a golf club to try to help him out.

Later, back in the house, Monica tells TJ their marriage is solid, and Rex talks to Chip about Kristin. He says he does not remember her. Monica says the night Kristin was killed Chip was home with her. Their son Luke (Hutch Dano) walks in. As Rex tries to get information from Chip, Chip’s attorney enters and he asks them to leave. When they exit, DDA Joe Dekker (Terrene Howard) is waiting outside, he heard about the domestic dispute over the scanner. They tell Dekker they got a cover story from the couple. They think he has other no name phones and Dekker says he will get them a subpoena for the other numbers – but to make it count.
At Westshire Country Club, the detectives speak with Doug, who was the last person that Chip called that night. He says they didn’t kill anybody. Chip just wanted to be hooked up and they drove around and Doug got the girls and the key for the Thompson and left Chip there, getting a cab for himself back to his car. He said Chip would have just paid off Kristin. He also tells them that Chip’s wife had her hand out. He said Monica busted Chip for screwing around 10 years ago and her lawyer made him tear up the pre-nup and draft a post-nup. She’ll be compensated to stay in the marriage and she hates Chip’s guts.

In Dekker’s office, DDA Lauren Stanton and DDA Decker discuss this latest news with the Rex and TJ. Kristin may have been planning to expose Chip to the companies he endorses. Chip’s alibi is weak. Dekker tells Stanton to get a search warrant for the house.

When Stanton and the detectives serve the warrant, Monica tells them Chip checked into rehab that morning – he’s a sex addict. The detectives find what looks like a towel bar in a plastic wrapper that looks like it has dried blood on it.
Back at RHD, Chip is in interrogation, along with his lawyer, who complains they dragged Chip out of rehab. He pleads ignorance when confronted about the murder weapon. He says on Friday night he was with three other women.

In the observation room, the detectives and the DDAs discuss the situation. There are no prints on the murder weapon but the dried blood belongs to Kristin. But there was no blood on the plastic wrapper – meaning it was put back into the wrapper dry. Blood was also found at the house on the floor under a tarp in the pool shed. The weapon was likely moved to where the police would find it, and think it was done by Chip’s wife. If Kristin blew Chip‘s endorsement deals, Monica would have as much to lose as Chip and if he goes to jail, she gets everything. Dekker mentions their 16 year old son who will know if his mother was home the night of the murder.

At West Palisades High School, Stanton and the detectives speaks with Luke. He says he is used to his parents fighting and his father does not care about them. His says his father was banging Kristin. He gets upset when they ask about his mother and when he starts to asks if they found something, he quickly clams up. He says his dad is the evil one. But Rex presses him on what Luke thought they would find and mentions the towel bar. But Stanton steps in and tells Luke not to answer that, she wants to take him to the police station and call his parents and have a lawyer meet him. Rex does not look happy. Afterwards, Rex asks what is she doing, and she says he is 16 and it was OK to talk to him as a witness but once he became a suspect, it’s game over. Until he gets with a lawyer, nothing he tells them is admissible.

Later, at RHD, Luke’s lawyer Kurt Simms (Peter Mackenzie) says if Luke is not under arrest he is going to take him home to his parents. Rex chastises Stanton but Dekker says she did the right thing. Dekker says get search warrants for every place that Luke has access to and to impound his car, bicycle, and even his skateboard. When the detectives walk off, Dekker stops Stanton and says ethics are nice, but he’d rather have a judge throw out a confession than not have any confession at all and the next time a suspect wants to talk, to let him talk.

At the forensics garage, the detectives search Luke’s car and find a mailing list from a charity event which had Kristin’s address circled.

While Luke is being booked, Monica says Luke is innocent and if anyone killed Kristin it was Chip or another one of his gold digging skanks. After she storms off, TJ tells Stanton that the mailing list was from a PGA/LPGA benefit which Monica co-chaired. They wonder if Monica gave him the mailing list.
In Dekker’s office with Luke, his attorney is surprised Dekker is charging Luke as an adult. Dekker says if he acted under the influence of an adult it would mitigate the charges, and Luke says it wasn’t his mother that killed Kristin it was that gold digging skank. After the two exit, Stanton notes that Luke and Monica both referenced a “gold digging skank.” She is also handed something which says that Luke’s private blog on Facebook where he said it’s just like his mom said, his dad is a whore chasing pervert. He also said that his mom had to get all the couches clean because his dad got his dirty whore juice all over the cushions. The police also had a report which shows that 3 years ago Luke was picked up for vandalizing his father’s Ferrari with a baseball bat. Dekker thinks Monica knew he was violent and was feeding Luke’s hatred. Dekker mentions and interesting concept he picked up from a friend’s custody battle.

Later, in Judge Cruz’s (Jodi Long) chambers, Stanton, Dekker, Monica, and Simms discuss parental alienation syndrome where one parent brainwashes the parent into hating the other, in this case Monica convinced Luke to kill and is an aider and abettor. The violence can be directed at something the parent loves, like a person or a car. Luke acted under the mistaken belief fostered by his mother that his father was sleeping with the victim. The judge allows Dekker to proceed to charge Monica but will not allow him to use parental alienation until she hears his case.

In Superior Court, Dr. Coburn (Heather Mazur), an expert, testifies about parental alienation and how it fits Luke’s situation. In her opinion, Luke is psychologically incapable of killing his father but would kill someone his father was in love with. Simms questions her, saying the syndrome is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. She replies it is recognized by the courts. Simms adds that this is in child custody cases and Luke lives with both parents. She says the case is atypical. Dekker redirects and notes that Chip was out of the home 48 out of the last 52 weeks so the case is not atypical.

Luke is on the stand talking about his father and his golfing. One his father took him to a bar while in Vegan for the charity tournament, and a waitress flirted with Chip and he said he’d be right back. He left Luke to sit there alone. He sat in the bar for 6 hours and his father never came back. Under cross examination, Dekker asks how Luke knew Chip was having sex with Kristin and he said he heard his father tell his mother. Dekker says that Kristin had relationships with women and they had a text message from Chip to her saying he was going to expose her as a lesbian. Luke says he doesn't care, he heard his father say that had sex while Chip was ageing with his mother. Dekker presses whether Luke actually heard the argument or if his mother told him about it. Luke says he doesn’t remember,. They were always fighting about his “skanks.” When Dekker reminds him that Luke had called them “gold digging skanks” and asks where he heard that term from, Luke says he doesn’t know. Dekker mentions the phrase “whore chasing pervert” and Luke doesn’t know about that one either. Dekker presents evidence where Chip said on Facebook that his father is “like his mom says, a whore chasing pervert.” When Dekker presses him about the information Luke gets from his mother, and cites many other examples of what Luke said his mother said, and brings up the baseball bat attack on the Ferrari, Simms eventually objects and the judge cuts Dekker off.

Monica is on the stand, and testifies that she has always tried to shelter Luke from negativity but he is smart and knows what is going on and it makes him angry. She never encouraged him to cause harm. Under cross examination, Dekker brings up how long Monica has known about Chip’s serial cheating and the post nuptial agreement. She agreed to stay in the marriage because she loved Chip and said she agreed to keep his infidelities confidential. Dekker says if they became public it would damage his business interests. She responds it would hurt the family. Dekker says that Kristin’s threats to expose Chip was more than a threat to her husband it was a threat to her and her lifestyle. Monica says they would have dealt with it and Chip would have paid Kristin off. Dekker says that Kristin didn’t want money, and Monica says they all want money. Dekker asks who she means, and brings up the other girls that Chip paid off, and Monica gets rattled. Luke is also visibly shaken. When Dekker presses Monica about Chip’s need for sex, she lashes out and said she knows Chip is a pig, a filthy pig. When Dekker comments that she says this in front of her son, Monica says Luke knows what is father is.

Back in Judge Cruz’s chambers, Cruz said Monica’s behavior doesn’t rise to criminal liability. She is going to instruct the jury to disregard all testimony on parental alienation syndrome. Dekker says PAS is his case and she should let the jury decide. But the judge stands firm, saying PAS is off the table. Dekker says if it is off the table, then it can’t be used to reduce Luke’s culpability, so the jury should be instructed not to include the lesser charge of manslaughter against him. They should only be instructed as to murder. Simms objects to this, but the judge, commenting “half a loaf” to Simms, says the manslaughter instructions will be withdrawn.

Back in Superior court, the judge gives the instructions to the jurors before deliberation, saying they can only consider the count of murder. As they adjourn, Stanton is worried this will backfire because Luke is only 16. Dekker says it is not about what the jury will do.
Later, Chip, Monica, and Simms are in Dekker’s office saying they will do whatever they have to. Dekker says no deals unless someone shares the weight with Luke on the murder. Chip says it was him, and he drove Luke to Kristin’s and gave him the weapon, whatever they need, he can’t let Luke go to prison. Monica is shocked at what Chip is doing, and Dekker reminds him Chip will have to plead guilty in court and serve time. He understands. He only asks to speak with Luke, and Dekker says he can do that, and Luke will know how much Chip loves him. But Monica gets upset, saying Chip does not get to swoop in and be the hero. She says she was the one, she helped Luke, and she told Luke Kristin was a threat to their lives. She gave him the address, she put him in the car, and she shut her eyes until he came home with blood on her clothes. She tells Chip that Kristin was a threat, and Chip was willing to risk everything but not her. After being humiliated all these years, there was no way she was going to let that lesbian ruin it all. She adds that Luke was a minor and even if he got caught, he’d only get a few years. She was there for him and Luke loves her, not Chip.

Back in court, Dekker tells the court that they reached an agreement, Monica will plead guilty to manslaughter and Luke will be re-charged as a juvenile. The judge declares the trial over and remands Monica and Luke. Luke looks upset. As they take Monica and Luke off, Luke yells out at his father, saying he hates him.

Later, Dekker and Stanton watch Chip on a televised golf tournament, the announcer making a comment about Chip’s comeback and that he still swings a big club. Stanton comments that it hasn’t affected his game. She says that is all he has now. Dekker says that is all he ever had. 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.

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

Law & Order SVU “Rescue” Recap & Review

All photos from NBCU

Law & Order SVU “Rescue” was one of those episodes that was more soap opera than special victims. The special victim case – a girl who was raped by an EMT while being transported to the hospital for a head injury – was far more interesting that the secondary story of Olivia/Calvin/Vivian. It’s a shame that the EMT storyline ended all too soon.

I wasn’t a big fan of the whole Olivia/Calvin/Vivian storylineto begin with and hope that we won’t be seeing Calvin or Vivian ever again. The set of circumstances which brings Vivian back into Benson’s – and Calvin’s – life was too contrived and I found myself rolling my eyes and saying, “Oh Puh-leeze” more than once during this episode. And while it seemed ridiculously easy for Benson to get custody of Calvin in the first place, now she finds herself shocked that someone could just as easily take him away. I would think that Olivia, seeing that she works with special victims and issues with children all the time, would not be so shaken by the way child custody cases can work, even when it involves her. Her attachment is even more unbelievable when one considers the very short time that has passed between Benson getting custody and the current events in this episode. By matching the dates on the some of the scene title cards in both episodes, less than one month has passed. While it make sense that Benson would be worried about Calvin’s well being, she should not have been at all surprised at loosing custody.

Maria Bello did a fine job in her role as the crazed, drug addicted mother, and it’s a pity that it was wasted on such a horrible story line. That whole ending with Calvin’s biological father killing Vivian's soul mate Sarah, plus the added appearance of Walter Burlock’s prison “bitch” at the same time and place of that murder was just plain ridiculous.

Here is the recap:

Caitlin Lamarck is found at a party, laying in bed, bloody and passed out and with her face marked up with magic markers. The EMTs are called and she is rushed to the hospital. Jill, the girl hosting the party, indicated Caitlin was not welcome at her party.

Meanwhile, back at home with Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), she is getting Calvin off to school. They talk about his mother and if he recalls his father. He gives her a picture her drew of her in art class and he signed it Calvin Benson (pause for eye-roll on my part).
At the hospital, Detective Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) talks with Benson about her playing mom and asks about her progress in finding Calvin's father. They find Caitlin has died and is in the morgue. ME Warner (Tamara Tunie) says Caitlin died from the cut in her head when she hit a mirror. She cannot tell if she was raped. She found an odd blue substance that she sent for analysis.
Back at SVU, Munch (Richard Belzer) and Fin (Ice-t) show Benson and Stabler Caitlin’s treatise called “My Lay List” documenting all the information on the 15 men she slept with over the last three years, with a bar graph of penis size. She was bombarded with hate mail and dropped from her job because of the negative publicity. They decide to speak with the men who were on the Lay List who were invited to Jill’s party.

Benson/Stabler and Munch/Fin speak with the guys, all who deny being involved with killing Caitlin. They bring Jill - the party host - into SVU for questioning, and Fin and Stabler confront her with the fact that she did invite Jill to the party. She said she did not mean for her to die, she just wanted to humiliate her. Jill explains that she argued with her and grabbed her and her shirt ripped, and then she shoved her and her head broke the mirror. When she saw blood she panicked and threw her on the bed so others would think she was drunk. She denies sodomizing her.

Outside of interrogation, Stabler tells Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek) that he believes Jill and they wonder which guy at the party was the rapist. But ME Warner arrives and tells them it wasn’t one of them. The blue substance inside of Caitlin was defibrillator transmission gel and silica powder from a latex medical glove. They realize one of the paramedics raped Caitlin.

Later, the detectives look at the information on the paramedics, Mike O’Doole (Mike Starr) – who seems squeaky clean - and his partner, Clark Tinta (James Martinez ) who has a record of complaints.



Benson and Stabler speak with O’Doole and Tinta and ask about Caitlin. Tinta says O’Doole was in the back of the ambulance, and O’Doole said Caitlin never spoke. Things get cut short when they get the alarm for another run.

Back at SVU, Munch noticed that there are records of robberies in the places where Tinta and O’Doole are called on EMT runs. They think O’Doole is the weak link and Cragen tells the detectives to hit him hard. Cragen tells Munch and Fin to take CSU to the last place where people reported a theft,

At the Donoho residence, Munch and Fin hear that Mrs. Donoho’s wedding ring was missing after the EMTs were called.
Back at SVU, Benson and Stabler question O’Doole about the theft at the Donoho residence and that they found O’Doole’s pubic hair in the bathroom, close to where Mrs. Donoho’s ring had been. He admits that he went to the bathroom and said he must have used the wrong bathroom. They continue to press him, saying they know that Tinta was in the back of the ambulance and that O’Doole is covering for him. O‘Doole admits that he took a few things he shouldn’t have, and says he doesn’t know what Tinta was doing back here. O’Doole admits he is an idiot and he should have said something. He says there must be some way to make it right, and Benson says he should help them nail the son of a bitch.

Afterwards, Benson gets a call saying that Calvin got in a fight at school so Stabler gets Fin to help him get Tinta. While Stabler waits for Fin, he moves to close Benson’s desk drawer that she left open, and sees a swab for a DNA test for Calvin – she never sent it in.

Stabler and Fin are staking out the EMTs and O’Doole gets Tinta to admit to what he’d been doing with the other women in the back of the ambulance. But Tinta sees Stabler and Fin walking into the restaurant and when Stabler pulls out his earpiece, Tinta gets angry at O’Doole because he realizes he was wired. Tinta flies into a rage, throws a chair and breaks the window and flees the restaurant. Tinta locks himself in the ambulance and injects himself with something and drops dead.

Later, Stabler comes to Benson’s apartment and says he has news, but she says Fin already called saying that Tinta gave himself and air embolism. Stabler says that’s not why he is there. CSU ran the fingerprints from the Donoho place and a thumbprint off the medicine cabinet matched Vivian Arliss – Calvin’s mother.

Back at SVU, they discuss Vivian and the fact that her friend Sarah Hoyt’s prints were also found in the Donoho living room, they think they came to the Donoho open house to look for drugs. Stabler also says he thinks Benson doesn’t want to find Calvin’s mother or father and says he knows she did not send in the DNA swab. She’s upset he went through her desk but he says she left the drawer open. She says she may have thought she sent it in and she made a mistake and will send it in, and Stabler says he already did. Benson asks him to let her take point on the investigation with the Donoho robbery and he agrees to follow her lead. Before they leave, Cragen stops them saying they are not going anywhere. ADA Hardwicke (Melissa Sagemiller) tells Benson that as she has custody of the suspects son it is a conflict of interest. When Stabler reminds them that Vivian signed over Calvin to Benson, Cragen says it could be seen as a confused move by an addict being manipulated by a detective desperate to start her own family. (Yeah, no kidding!) Benson gets a call that Calvin got in another fight so she will stand down as they asked. When Benson storms off, Cragen asks Stabler if she is OK, and he says she is fine and will be better when Vivian is in custody. Cragen tells Stabler he is off the case too because of his close partnership with Benson. Cragen has Fin take over.
Munch and Fin are at the Donoho residence, and Mr. Donoho identifies the photo of Vivian as someone named Claire who came to their open house. Sarah was also there. He shows them a sign in book from the open house and gives them the details from Vivian’s visit, and also mentions that Benson was just there 20 minutes ago for the same information. Munch thinks Benson faked the call from Calvin so she could go ahead to try to find Vivian.

Elsewhere, Benson questions a cabbie about Vivian and Sarah and shows him a photos from a security camera which shows the two women getting into his cab. He dropped them off in the south Bronx in a bad part of town.

At Whittier Street in the Bronx, Benson enters a dilapidated building and sees Vivian there, looking like a wreck. Benson wants to help her but Vivian just wants her to leave. Benson tells her she has to cuff her, but Vivian says Benson ruins everything and wherever her home is, Benson comes in and pisses all over it. Vivian goes off on Benson and when Benson tries to reason with her, Vivian says she is nothing like her. Benson arrests her and reads Vivian her rights. Benson also says Vivian deserves better than this, but Vivian says Benson wants to keep Calvin. Vivian says if Benson walks away right now Benson can keep Calvin. She left Calvin with Benson because he would be happy with her. Stabler chimes in, asking Benson to make a decision. Benson says it is time for Vivian to tell them about Walter Burlock.

In the interrogation room. Vivian tells them that she knocked on Burlock’s door and he invited her in. She walked into the kitchen and saw the frying pan on the stove, put on an oven mitt, and she smashed his skull, twice. She says the fact that he was her father only made it better. Cragen bursts into the room and orders both Benson and Stabler out of the room.

He is angry at Benson for not standing down and also gets on Stabler, Munch and Fin for how they handled everything. Benson tries to take the blame but Cragen says everyone is going to get burned and any half-assed attorney will have Vivian recanting before she leaves the room. But Sarah (Kat Foster) comes in, and says Vivian did not kill Walter, she did.

Later, with Sarah in interrogation with Fin, she says she is glad she did it. Vivian tells Munch that Sarah killed him because she loves her. Sarah says she knows she and Vivian were soul mates and realized it when they were in rehab. Vivian says Sarah killed Burlock because it would take her pain away, but she will never be free of the pain. Sarah says Vivian feels very deeply – pain and love – and it is sometimes hard to tell the difference. They both say they will be together forever. Meanwhile, as Benson and Stabler watch, Hardwicke says the two women are co-dependent and drug dependent. Benson comments that Vivian never once mentioned Calvin. Hardwicke will charge Vivian with stealing drugs from the Donohos to get Vivian into rehab. Benson says Vivian got money when her mother died and she will make bail in 5 minutes and Stabler says she will be back on drugs in 10.

In arraignment court, Sarah pleads not guilty to murder, her lawyer Mr. Hunter saying the confession was coerced. Vivian watches from the gallery. The defense brings up Benson’s interest in Calvin. Judge Petrovsky (Joanna Merlin) sets bail at $300K.
As Vivian bails Sarah out, she sees a waiting Benson on the courthouse steps. Vivian wants to see Calvin but Benson balks. Benson tells Vivian she needs help, but Vivian stays not everyone can be helped, some people are too damaged. They hear gunshots ring out and Benson races down the courthouse steps. Benson finds Sarah in a car in a parking garage, slumped over the steering wheel, blood on her head. The windshield has been shattered by bullets. As Benson calls for a bus, Vivian sees a dead Sarah and goes bonkers and Benson tries to restrain her. Vivian tells Benson everything is bad because of her.

Back at SVU, Fin and Stabler look at surveillance video from the courthouse parking garage and see Jason Gambel (Joseph Sikora), the guy who was Burlock’s cellmate and who Burlock terrorized, race into the garage. The doorway is 50 feet away from where Sarah was killed and they think Gambel killed her.

Later, with Gambel in custody, he denies killing anyone. He says he hated Burlock and says he was outside court and all he wanted to do was find the girl who killed Burlock because she set him free. He says he saw another man there who walked up to her car and shot three times and then he spit into her face. When Gambel screams to Stabler he did not kill Sarah, ME Warner pipes up and says he is telling the truth. DNA from the saliva on Sarah’s face does not match Gambel but does partly match the DNA sample that Stabler dropped off – the man who shot Sarah is Calvin’s father.

The detectives burst into the apartment of David (not sure of the last name) Druckner (Jack Gwaltney) with guns drawn, and he says he will not fight them. He seems to have been waiting for them. He says Sarah stole Vivian, and his son, from him. He says he got clean and convinced Vivian to go to rehab, where she met Sarah. Sarah pulled Vivian back into that hole and they took off and took Calvin with him. He pleaded for her to come home or let him take the boy, and Sarah would not let her, she just kept filling Vivian up with drugs. Sarah had to pay for all that she did. The detectives take David away.

Back at SVU, while Benson watches Calvin and Stabler play rock/paper/scissors - shoot (?),
someone from child protective services enters and tells Benson she is no longer Calvin’s legal guardian. Vivian is also there to take Calvin back. The man explains that Calvin’s biological father has assigned custody to Calvin’s grandparents. Vivian tells Calvin it is time to go and tells him he is going to live in Vermont while she gets her head together. Calvin does not want to go. As Benson says they are making a huge mistake, the man tells her that if she wants to contest it, she should file a claim with the court, he is there to escort Calvin to where he belongs. Benson says Vivian is the one who talked to David and she’s the one who is shipping him off to Vermont. Vivian says this is the best thing for him, because she is his mom. As Stabler tries to calm Benson, Calvin says he does not want to go anywhere and races to Benson and holds on to her. But Calvin is pulled away and he screams Olivia’s name. Benson looks devastated as we fade to black.


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