The October schedule for Law & Order SVU seems to be in a state of flux. The Presidential debate on October 7 means we will not see a new episode of SVU that Tuesday as normal. At this time, two episodes are scheduled for October, titled “ Swing” and “Retro. ” I previously posted some photos and video from the location shoot of “Retro”:
Retro pics
Retro video
Also below is a video with Tamara Tunie, who plays ME Warner on SVU, where she talks about “Retro,” which focuses on HIV “deniers” and a family with HIV whose doctor does not believe HIV causes AIDS. The doctor does not treat the HIV situation properly which causes some deaths, but Tamara says despite it being a tragic episode, it has an uplifting ending. (Updated 10/5 - the Tamara/Retro video now seems to be unavailable, but I found another video taken at the same time where Tamara talks about Broadway.)
Law & Order SVU “Swing” Air Date October 14, 2008
DETECTIVE ELLIOT STABLER'S (CHRIS MELONI) JOB AND PERSONAL LIFE BECOME INTERTWINED WHEN HE DISCOVERS HIS DAUGHTER, KATHLEEN STABLER (GUEST STAR ALLISON SIKO), IS THE SUSPECT.
A young woman is found trespassing in a family’s home, and Detective Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) is called in to catch the intruder. The trespasser’s wallet leads Stabler to a surprising suspect, his daughter, Kathleen Stabler (guest star Allison Siko). Detective Stabler is shocked to find his daughter has fallen in love with the kind of crowd he spends his days condemning. With his family life at stake, Stabler must decide how far he will go to save Kathleen, even turning to his estranged mother, Bernadette Stabler (guest star Ellen Burstyn), for help. In order to save Kathleen, Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) knows that she must step in to help her friend and partner before things take a turn for the worst. Also starring: Richard Belzer (Detective John Much), Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen), Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Michaela McManus (A.D.A Kim Greylek), Tamara Tunie (Dr. Melinda Warner), and B.D. Wong (Dr. George Huang).
My recap and review of “Swing “ can be found here.
Law & Order SVU “Retro” Air Date October 28, 2008
DOCTOR MELINDA WARNER’S (TAMARA TUNIE) EXPERTISE COMES INTO PLAY WHEN HOMEOPATHIC DOCTOR GIDEON HUTTON (GUEST STAR MARTIN MULL) GOES ON TRIAL FOR THE DEATH OF A YOUNG GIRL WITH AIDS.
Detectives Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) find themselves in unfamiliar territory when Doctor Raye Massey (Donna Murphy) calls them in to investigate the case of a baby infected with AIDS. The detectives enlist the help of Dr. Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie), a member of an AIDS surveillance team along with Dr. Massey. While Dr. Warner investigates the baby’s medical case, Detectives Stabler and Benson discover that the baby had been prescribed ineffective vitamins by Doctor Gideon Hutton (guest star Martin Mull), who runs a “voodoo” medical practice. After the detectives probe for more answers, similar cases of mistreated AIDS surface, such as the death of Susan Ross’ (guest star Paula Malcomson) daughter. Her 18-year-old son Tommy Ross (guest star Aidan Mitchell) also gets pulled into the case, forcing him to decide whether to take on his mother’s belief in homeopathic medicine or fight against it. With Dr. Warner’s medical research and testimony, the case calls the ethics of Dr. Hutton’s practices into question. Also starring: Richard Belzer (Detective John Much), Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen), Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Michaela McManus (A.D.A Kim Greylek), Tamara Tunie (Dr. Melinda Warner), and B.D. Wong (Dr. George Huang).
Show Cast: Chris Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Ice T, Tamara Tunie, Michaela McManus
Video with Tamara Tunie
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Law & Order SVU Confession: Predictable
I have a confession of my own to make. I can’t stand Kim Grayleck or Michaela McManus. But before I go into my comments, here’s the recap, and you can find my review afterwards:
It’s unusually busy at the SVU squad, and ADA Kim Grayleck (Michaela McManus) is trying to inject herself into everybody’s business, annoying Cragen (Dann Florek). At one point, she comes into Munch’s questioning of a woman whose husband is in the next room being questioned by Fin, and she touches the woman on the shoulder. The woman winces and seems startled. Grayleck probably both scared her and hurt her with her careless touch. It seems obvious they are making Grayleck annoying on purpose, and it’s made worse by McManus’ flat acting.
When Grayleck decides to tag along with Elliot (Chris Meloni), Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) questions a teenage boy, Eric Byers (Marshall Allman) who walks in and says he has information on a sexual assault. He’s nervous, and Olivia tries to calm him. But she’s shocked when he seems to be admitting that he seems to have a twisted desire for his much younger stepbrother.
Olivia questions him in private and when she offers to contact his parents, he admits his dad left them and his mother’s new husband hates him. He just wants the pictures in his head to stop. He thinks everyone will hate him, and he can’t sleep or think of anything else. He is at wits ends and needs help. Later, Olivia, consulting with Capt. Cragen, is perplexed, as a pedophile has never turned himself in before, But she wants to continue to pursue the kid in an effort to get to the bottom of the issue and stop him.
Olivia visits the Kelley residence, where she is greeting by Dana Kelley (Teri Polo), Eric’s mother. She asks Dana if she’s noticed any problems with her stepson, Cory (Aaron Mayer). Dana insists there isn’t any problem, but when Olivia’s questioning turns to his school, Dana says the school overreacted when Cory was caught “playing doctor” on another girl. Olivia asks for the whereabouts of Dana’s husband; she says he’s plugging potholes, and Olivia says that he’ll have to meet them at the hospital. Dana is disbelieving of what Olivia is implying about Cory, and is stunned when Olivia tells her the story is coming from her son, Eric, who they believe has been abusing Cory. Dana still refuses to believe it and refuses to cooperate.
At the hospital, Dana and her husband Sean (Josh Charles) argue. A doctor arrives and tells them all there is no sign of any sexual activity, but she did have to give Cory a sedative. When Dana states this as proof that Eric didn’t do anything, Olivia crushes that when she says that sometimes there are no marks or signs, and sometimes there is no way to tell.
Elliot is back from his trip checking out a battered kid, who is now in foster care and his mother is in custody. Olivia states “Grayleck works fast.” (Yes, I guess if you only work on one thing you’re fast.) Olivia tells Stabler she’s not sure about whether the kid in her case even acted on his urges. When Stabler comes in with Elliot to question Eric, he hammers on the kid, and Olivia seems to add to the pressure. Eric is clearly distraught, and they continue to pressure him. He admits that he found people in the internet who were just like him, but said one guy told him that it wasn’t his fault, that he was “born this way” and that "Jake said not to” and to look but not touch. Jake runs a web site called Pediaphax, and he allegedly said he could help Eric with his urges.
Cragen tells Olivia and Elliot that they have to cut Eric loose as the child psychologist isn’t getting anywhere with Cory. Suddenly, though, Olivia and Elliot seem all sympathetic since Eric came to them for help. But there’s nothing they can do as there is no support system for people like him... since he hasn’t really done anything yet.
Munch tells the group about Pediaphax, which involves photographic stalking of kids without the parent’s knowledge, putting pictures on the Internet. The site is run by Jake Berlin, a medical supply salesman, who considers himself a pedophile's advocate – “look but don’t touch". They can’t close down the website because of freedom of speech, and besides, the kids in the pictures are clothed.
They question Jake Berlin (played by the ever creepy Tom Noonan) at his apartment, who says he likes little girls, considers himself a "pedosexual", and works to control his urges all day. He looks like he’s also testing his own blood while they are talking to him for what appears to be diabetes. When he asks to see a picture of Elliot’s kids, he says, he “promises not to drool.” (Ew.) Stabler looks annoyed but does nothing. Meanwhile, Olivia just got a call saying the Cory just admitted to being molested by Eric to his stepmother. But, his mother doesn’t know of Eric’s whereabouts.
At the Kelley home, Dana insists that she doest know where Eric is located, and she and Sean heatedly argue. The SVU team finds semen all over the laundry, which was transfer from a kids t-shirt. They send it off to DNA.
Later, Cory is being questioned by a psychologist in the “kiddie” room, his father looking on. Eric has still not surfaced. Grayleck says that since he’s a minor with no money, he must have gotten help to disappear. When the doctor comes out and tells Grayleck that he doesn’t think this will be going to trial, Grayleck snaps “don’t get ahead of yourself.” She just want to get the kid on the stand. The doctor says he’s too young for a courtroom and she counters with that they will videotape his testimony. The doctor say Cory was coached, and there was no sign of sexual assault. Someone told him what to say and do. But things get heated when Olivia asks Grayleck how much time did Grayleck spend with Cory, and why is Grayleck so anxious on taking this to trial. Grayleck gets miffed about the implication, and says it’s her job to believe the victim. She seems to be an expert on pedophiles, too. Elliot asks if she is interested in justice or is she“just showboating?” Grayleck wants them to “squeeze the pedophile’s mother till she pops.”
Back in the squad room, while discussing the case, they are viewing new pictures that Berlin had uploaded to his web site, and Elliot suddenly gets a shocked look on his face. Fin also says the semen on all the clothes belongs to Cory’s father, Sean. When they decide someone needs to talk to Sean, Elliot, still is distracted by the picture, begs off and asks Munch to take his place, saying he has to go do something. But Munch can’t, so it looks like Fin has to go with Olivia.
Confronting Sean on the job with the semen stained evidence, he says, “it’s not what you think.” He says that when Eric started drinking, he went from being a problem to a nightmare, and his wife blamed him. It killed his marriage and his sex life, and the bathroom was the only place where he could “self serve.”
Meanwhile, while Elliot is kicking down the door to Berlin's apartment, at the same time Munch is telling Cragen that he recognized one of the photos as Stabler’s daughter, Elizabeth, when she was much younger. When Cragen asks if Elliot saw it, and Munch tells him that he did, and then Stabler suddenly had an errand to run. Cragen leaps up, tells Munch to move his ass and alert Olivia and Fin.
As Fin and Olivia approach Berlin’s door, they find it unlocked, and they enter to see Berlin out cold on the floor, and Elliot trying to delete Elizabeth’s picture from Berlin’s computer, but he is unable to do so. Cragen enters and tells Elliot to get away from the desk and pulls him away when Elliot refuses. Munch tells Berlin to delete it, and he complies under the glaring eye of Stabler. Berlin says he wants to press charges against Elliot, but no one makes a move.
Back at the squad, Cragen gives Elliot a dressing down, and put him on unpaid leave. He also chides Elliot for putting his colleagues' careers on the line. As Elliot leaves, Grayleck is entering the squad room, asking if anyone has found Eric. When she gets some back talk from the group, and when Fin asks if she has something to get off her chest, she declares, “I’ve been dismissed, overlooked, and ignored. I deserve to be taken seriously. “ (Yeah sure.) Benson says she wouldn’t have called her if she didn’t. Benson and the group have doubts that Eric molested his stepbrother and feels uncomfortable with him being “railroaded.” But Grayleck still wants to push. They discuss their options, primarily finding ways to get Eric to plead out on possession of the questionable pictures and get him locked up and get him in a program. They argue about the value of they kind of help they can get for him that will work. Grayleck doesn’t like it, but offers to all the Feds to see what she can do.
But, Eric still can’t be located, and his mother has no clue to his whereabouts. His stepfather is resistant to help. Sean leaves the apartment, and Dana seems to be blaming herself. She’s abhorred at Eric's behavior and doesn’t understand it, and seems to feel guilty about it. Olivia tries to help her not to blame herself.
Fin and Olivia had an overnight stakeout of Dana’s place, thinking she would go after Eric, but she never did. They talk about Elliot. Fin seems to be somewhat understanding of Stabler’s reaction to Berlin, even commending him for his restraint. While they talk, Dana is going to her car with a box, and they think she’s making a delivery to Eric. They follow. When they follow her into a run down building, they hear Dana’s screams, and approach to find her bent over Eric’s dead, bloody body. She said she killed her son. (Of course she didn't.)
Later, while Dana waits in the police car, Olivia asks why Dana she didn’t tell them where she was hiding. She said she didn’t know until last night, when he left a message to ask him to pick him up. She was going to bring him in. The box contained more evidence of pictures. Dana said he did not know where Eric got the money for the place, but Olivia was skeptical. But Dana then says she told him he was on his own and admits she gave him $300. Dana says she loved him but is glad he’s dead.
ME Warner (Tamara Tunie) arrives at the crime scene, while the CSU team is using a scan station, which helps create court exhibits of the crime scene. She thinks cause of death is exsanguination, with almost a dozen stab wounds. The victim himself dialed 911, and we then hear the horrible playback. The detectives walk through the details of the crime, and as there was no sign of forced entry, they think Eric knew his murderer. They hope his attacker left his blood there and hopes that there was blood transfer. They suspect his stepfather, thinking he may have also heard the message Eric left for his mother and tracked down Eric. Olivia thinks they have enough for a warrant, but Grayleck says, “Those days are over since Casey Novak lied to a judge and got disbarred.” She says she’ll walk it through if they can place Kelley at the crime scene.
ME Warner informs Olivia and Fin that Eric also suffered from an assault with a foreign wooden object, and they trace the splinters to Sean Kelley. He said he didn’t kill Eric, he just assaulted him. Grayleck spars with Kelley’s attorney. Later, Fin and Munch tell Olivia that there doesn’t seem to be any blood transfer in the usual places to implicate Sean. ME Warner says she found blood in the corridor that did not belong to the victim, and that the blood belongs to a diabetic. Either the killer doesn’t know he’s diabetic or he’s not taking enough insulin. Olivia recalls that Berlin is a diabetic.
They pull up the Pediaphax web site to see what chatter is going on. They thought Berlin was Eric’s mentor, but they find that Eric said he did assault a kid, but never revealed a name of his victim. While they are arresting Berlin, he seems to think that he was doing a service by killing Eric – a life for a life - since Eric had killed the “spirit” of the boy he assaulted. Berlin thinks that he has more self-control. She presses Berlin for the victim’s name, but Eric didn't tell him. Olivia thinks that’s what set off Berlin, and Berlin murdered the one person who could lead her to him.
While Olivia is showing Eric’s picture to the press, we hear her voice superimposed over the scene, asking a young girl if she ever saw that man before. She says yes, at the playground. But he didn’t touch her or hurt her. Apparently there were at least 5 kids who talked to Eric but he apparently never touched them.
We also see a woman approach Munch. It’s the wife he was questioning earlier in the episode whose husband was beating her. She says she loves her husband and doesn’t want to do this, but doesn’t want to die. He asks her to have a seat, and talks to her as the camera pulls away.
My initial reaction to the show is that is was somewhat predictable. Still, they made good use of the cast. I especially enjoy it when Cragen gets all Captain-like and brings the hammer down. And it was a great choice of Tom Noonan for the pervert-du-jour, but he’s also so typecast as a creep that it was almost a given that he would be the murderer. Teri Polo did a great job as the agonized mother. And while Fin seemed to be understanding of Stabler’s restraint with Jake Berlin, Stabler’s behavior was too typical for words, since we all knew he would rush to get at Berlin. How exactly did Berlin get that picture of his daughter, by the way? Maybe I missed something but I don’t think that was really addressed.
But Michaela McManus is still just plain annoying. Part of it is her character, which I am sure they are purposely writing to be a harsh, competitive, and self-centered woman. I don’t know why they are making her this way unless they think the show needs an antagonist or that's how they think women in positions of power have to be. But McManus’s weak acting skills and blank face just can’t pull it off. It seems like they just cast a pretty face and asked her to be a mean bitch. It doesn’t seem real at all to me, and her character seems forced.
And frankly, I am getting a little tired of all the Stabler drama. I know there will be more of it this season, but I think it’s overkill. Some fans like all the melodrama, but I don’t like to be swimming in it. At least Olivia seems to have gained her footing, which is good. We have to have one person who seems somewhat grounded.
If the viewership continues to show low numbers as it did last week, I think the show producers need to rethink the direction they are taking the show, and maybe get back to the basics that once made it so good.
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
It’s unusually busy at the SVU squad, and ADA Kim Grayleck (Michaela McManus) is trying to inject herself into everybody’s business, annoying Cragen (Dann Florek). At one point, she comes into Munch’s questioning of a woman whose husband is in the next room being questioned by Fin, and she touches the woman on the shoulder. The woman winces and seems startled. Grayleck probably both scared her and hurt her with her careless touch. It seems obvious they are making Grayleck annoying on purpose, and it’s made worse by McManus’ flat acting.
When Grayleck decides to tag along with Elliot (Chris Meloni), Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) questions a teenage boy, Eric Byers (Marshall Allman) who walks in and says he has information on a sexual assault. He’s nervous, and Olivia tries to calm him. But she’s shocked when he seems to be admitting that he seems to have a twisted desire for his much younger stepbrother.
Olivia questions him in private and when she offers to contact his parents, he admits his dad left them and his mother’s new husband hates him. He just wants the pictures in his head to stop. He thinks everyone will hate him, and he can’t sleep or think of anything else. He is at wits ends and needs help. Later, Olivia, consulting with Capt. Cragen, is perplexed, as a pedophile has never turned himself in before, But she wants to continue to pursue the kid in an effort to get to the bottom of the issue and stop him.
Olivia visits the Kelley residence, where she is greeting by Dana Kelley (Teri Polo), Eric’s mother. She asks Dana if she’s noticed any problems with her stepson, Cory (Aaron Mayer). Dana insists there isn’t any problem, but when Olivia’s questioning turns to his school, Dana says the school overreacted when Cory was caught “playing doctor” on another girl. Olivia asks for the whereabouts of Dana’s husband; she says he’s plugging potholes, and Olivia says that he’ll have to meet them at the hospital. Dana is disbelieving of what Olivia is implying about Cory, and is stunned when Olivia tells her the story is coming from her son, Eric, who they believe has been abusing Cory. Dana still refuses to believe it and refuses to cooperate.
At the hospital, Dana and her husband Sean (Josh Charles) argue. A doctor arrives and tells them all there is no sign of any sexual activity, but she did have to give Cory a sedative. When Dana states this as proof that Eric didn’t do anything, Olivia crushes that when she says that sometimes there are no marks or signs, and sometimes there is no way to tell.
Elliot is back from his trip checking out a battered kid, who is now in foster care and his mother is in custody. Olivia states “Grayleck works fast.” (Yes, I guess if you only work on one thing you’re fast.) Olivia tells Stabler she’s not sure about whether the kid in her case even acted on his urges. When Stabler comes in with Elliot to question Eric, he hammers on the kid, and Olivia seems to add to the pressure. Eric is clearly distraught, and they continue to pressure him. He admits that he found people in the internet who were just like him, but said one guy told him that it wasn’t his fault, that he was “born this way” and that "Jake said not to” and to look but not touch. Jake runs a web site called Pediaphax, and he allegedly said he could help Eric with his urges.
Cragen tells Olivia and Elliot that they have to cut Eric loose as the child psychologist isn’t getting anywhere with Cory. Suddenly, though, Olivia and Elliot seem all sympathetic since Eric came to them for help. But there’s nothing they can do as there is no support system for people like him... since he hasn’t really done anything yet.
Munch tells the group about Pediaphax, which involves photographic stalking of kids without the parent’s knowledge, putting pictures on the Internet. The site is run by Jake Berlin, a medical supply salesman, who considers himself a pedophile's advocate – “look but don’t touch". They can’t close down the website because of freedom of speech, and besides, the kids in the pictures are clothed.
They question Jake Berlin (played by the ever creepy Tom Noonan) at his apartment, who says he likes little girls, considers himself a "pedosexual", and works to control his urges all day. He looks like he’s also testing his own blood while they are talking to him for what appears to be diabetes. When he asks to see a picture of Elliot’s kids, he says, he “promises not to drool.” (Ew.) Stabler looks annoyed but does nothing. Meanwhile, Olivia just got a call saying the Cory just admitted to being molested by Eric to his stepmother. But, his mother doesn’t know of Eric’s whereabouts.
At the Kelley home, Dana insists that she doest know where Eric is located, and she and Sean heatedly argue. The SVU team finds semen all over the laundry, which was transfer from a kids t-shirt. They send it off to DNA.
Later, Cory is being questioned by a psychologist in the “kiddie” room, his father looking on. Eric has still not surfaced. Grayleck says that since he’s a minor with no money, he must have gotten help to disappear. When the doctor comes out and tells Grayleck that he doesn’t think this will be going to trial, Grayleck snaps “don’t get ahead of yourself.” She just want to get the kid on the stand. The doctor says he’s too young for a courtroom and she counters with that they will videotape his testimony. The doctor say Cory was coached, and there was no sign of sexual assault. Someone told him what to say and do. But things get heated when Olivia asks Grayleck how much time did Grayleck spend with Cory, and why is Grayleck so anxious on taking this to trial. Grayleck gets miffed about the implication, and says it’s her job to believe the victim. She seems to be an expert on pedophiles, too. Elliot asks if she is interested in justice or is she“just showboating?” Grayleck wants them to “squeeze the pedophile’s mother till she pops.”
Back in the squad room, while discussing the case, they are viewing new pictures that Berlin had uploaded to his web site, and Elliot suddenly gets a shocked look on his face. Fin also says the semen on all the clothes belongs to Cory’s father, Sean. When they decide someone needs to talk to Sean, Elliot, still is distracted by the picture, begs off and asks Munch to take his place, saying he has to go do something. But Munch can’t, so it looks like Fin has to go with Olivia.
Confronting Sean on the job with the semen stained evidence, he says, “it’s not what you think.” He says that when Eric started drinking, he went from being a problem to a nightmare, and his wife blamed him. It killed his marriage and his sex life, and the bathroom was the only place where he could “self serve.”
Meanwhile, while Elliot is kicking down the door to Berlin's apartment, at the same time Munch is telling Cragen that he recognized one of the photos as Stabler’s daughter, Elizabeth, when she was much younger. When Cragen asks if Elliot saw it, and Munch tells him that he did, and then Stabler suddenly had an errand to run. Cragen leaps up, tells Munch to move his ass and alert Olivia and Fin.
As Fin and Olivia approach Berlin’s door, they find it unlocked, and they enter to see Berlin out cold on the floor, and Elliot trying to delete Elizabeth’s picture from Berlin’s computer, but he is unable to do so. Cragen enters and tells Elliot to get away from the desk and pulls him away when Elliot refuses. Munch tells Berlin to delete it, and he complies under the glaring eye of Stabler. Berlin says he wants to press charges against Elliot, but no one makes a move.
Back at the squad, Cragen gives Elliot a dressing down, and put him on unpaid leave. He also chides Elliot for putting his colleagues' careers on the line. As Elliot leaves, Grayleck is entering the squad room, asking if anyone has found Eric. When she gets some back talk from the group, and when Fin asks if she has something to get off her chest, she declares, “I’ve been dismissed, overlooked, and ignored. I deserve to be taken seriously. “ (Yeah sure.) Benson says she wouldn’t have called her if she didn’t. Benson and the group have doubts that Eric molested his stepbrother and feels uncomfortable with him being “railroaded.” But Grayleck still wants to push. They discuss their options, primarily finding ways to get Eric to plead out on possession of the questionable pictures and get him locked up and get him in a program. They argue about the value of they kind of help they can get for him that will work. Grayleck doesn’t like it, but offers to all the Feds to see what she can do.
But, Eric still can’t be located, and his mother has no clue to his whereabouts. His stepfather is resistant to help. Sean leaves the apartment, and Dana seems to be blaming herself. She’s abhorred at Eric's behavior and doesn’t understand it, and seems to feel guilty about it. Olivia tries to help her not to blame herself.
Fin and Olivia had an overnight stakeout of Dana’s place, thinking she would go after Eric, but she never did. They talk about Elliot. Fin seems to be somewhat understanding of Stabler’s reaction to Berlin, even commending him for his restraint. While they talk, Dana is going to her car with a box, and they think she’s making a delivery to Eric. They follow. When they follow her into a run down building, they hear Dana’s screams, and approach to find her bent over Eric’s dead, bloody body. She said she killed her son. (Of course she didn't.)
Later, while Dana waits in the police car, Olivia asks why Dana she didn’t tell them where she was hiding. She said she didn’t know until last night, when he left a message to ask him to pick him up. She was going to bring him in. The box contained more evidence of pictures. Dana said he did not know where Eric got the money for the place, but Olivia was skeptical. But Dana then says she told him he was on his own and admits she gave him $300. Dana says she loved him but is glad he’s dead.
ME Warner (Tamara Tunie) arrives at the crime scene, while the CSU team is using a scan station, which helps create court exhibits of the crime scene. She thinks cause of death is exsanguination, with almost a dozen stab wounds. The victim himself dialed 911, and we then hear the horrible playback. The detectives walk through the details of the crime, and as there was no sign of forced entry, they think Eric knew his murderer. They hope his attacker left his blood there and hopes that there was blood transfer. They suspect his stepfather, thinking he may have also heard the message Eric left for his mother and tracked down Eric. Olivia thinks they have enough for a warrant, but Grayleck says, “Those days are over since Casey Novak lied to a judge and got disbarred.” She says she’ll walk it through if they can place Kelley at the crime scene.
ME Warner informs Olivia and Fin that Eric also suffered from an assault with a foreign wooden object, and they trace the splinters to Sean Kelley. He said he didn’t kill Eric, he just assaulted him. Grayleck spars with Kelley’s attorney. Later, Fin and Munch tell Olivia that there doesn’t seem to be any blood transfer in the usual places to implicate Sean. ME Warner says she found blood in the corridor that did not belong to the victim, and that the blood belongs to a diabetic. Either the killer doesn’t know he’s diabetic or he’s not taking enough insulin. Olivia recalls that Berlin is a diabetic.
They pull up the Pediaphax web site to see what chatter is going on. They thought Berlin was Eric’s mentor, but they find that Eric said he did assault a kid, but never revealed a name of his victim. While they are arresting Berlin, he seems to think that he was doing a service by killing Eric – a life for a life - since Eric had killed the “spirit” of the boy he assaulted. Berlin thinks that he has more self-control. She presses Berlin for the victim’s name, but Eric didn't tell him. Olivia thinks that’s what set off Berlin, and Berlin murdered the one person who could lead her to him.
While Olivia is showing Eric’s picture to the press, we hear her voice superimposed over the scene, asking a young girl if she ever saw that man before. She says yes, at the playground. But he didn’t touch her or hurt her. Apparently there were at least 5 kids who talked to Eric but he apparently never touched them.
We also see a woman approach Munch. It’s the wife he was questioning earlier in the episode whose husband was beating her. She says she loves her husband and doesn’t want to do this, but doesn’t want to die. He asks her to have a seat, and talks to her as the camera pulls away.
My initial reaction to the show is that is was somewhat predictable. Still, they made good use of the cast. I especially enjoy it when Cragen gets all Captain-like and brings the hammer down. And it was a great choice of Tom Noonan for the pervert-du-jour, but he’s also so typecast as a creep that it was almost a given that he would be the murderer. Teri Polo did a great job as the agonized mother. And while Fin seemed to be understanding of Stabler’s restraint with Jake Berlin, Stabler’s behavior was too typical for words, since we all knew he would rush to get at Berlin. How exactly did Berlin get that picture of his daughter, by the way? Maybe I missed something but I don’t think that was really addressed.
But Michaela McManus is still just plain annoying. Part of it is her character, which I am sure they are purposely writing to be a harsh, competitive, and self-centered woman. I don’t know why they are making her this way unless they think the show needs an antagonist or that's how they think women in positions of power have to be. But McManus’s weak acting skills and blank face just can’t pull it off. It seems like they just cast a pretty face and asked her to be a mean bitch. It doesn’t seem real at all to me, and her character seems forced.
And frankly, I am getting a little tired of all the Stabler drama. I know there will be more of it this season, but I think it’s overkill. Some fans like all the melodrama, but I don’t like to be swimming in it. At least Olivia seems to have gained her footing, which is good. We have to have one person who seems somewhat grounded.
If the viewership continues to show low numbers as it did last week, I think the show producers need to rethink the direction they are taking the show, and maybe get back to the basics that once made it so good.
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Mariska and Ice-T on Location September 29
Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T were spotted filming an episode of Law & Order SVU on location in New York City on September 29. Here are some pics! 
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Law & Order SVU “Confession” Episode Information
Here’s the episode information for the September 30 new episode of Law & Order SVU, titled “Confession.”
Law & Order SVU “Confession” Air Date September 30, 2008
A TEENAGE BOY’S CONFESSION IGNITES THE RAGE OF HIS STEPFATHER AND UNVEILS A TWISTED PEDOPHILIC WEBSITE.
Teenage boy Eric Byers (guest star Marshall Allman) admits himself into the squad room, and warns the team about an unnatural desire towards his younger stepbrother, Cory Kelly (guest star Aaron Mayer). Detective Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) and Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) suspicions arise, and Eric admits to also looking at a website to try to curb his pedophilic urge. With no crime committed, the detectives decide to investigate this “self-help” website for pedophiles leading them to it’s creator, Jake Berlin (guest star Tom Noonan). Eric’s rage induced stepfather (guest star Josh Charles) is also questioned, and shortly after Eric is found missing. The detectives must race to place the clues together to find and stop Eric before any crime is committed.
Show Cast: Chris Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Ice T, Tamara Tunie, Michaela McManus
My recap and review of “Confession “ can be found here.
By the way, the ratings for the season premier of SVU, ”Trials” , were way down from the season premier of last season, and they found themselves in third place for the show's time slot. Ouch!
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information,
here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Law & Order SVU “Confession” Air Date September 30, 2008
A TEENAGE BOY’S CONFESSION IGNITES THE RAGE OF HIS STEPFATHER AND UNVEILS A TWISTED PEDOPHILIC WEBSITE.
Teenage boy Eric Byers (guest star Marshall Allman) admits himself into the squad room, and warns the team about an unnatural desire towards his younger stepbrother, Cory Kelly (guest star Aaron Mayer). Detective Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) and Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) suspicions arise, and Eric admits to also looking at a website to try to curb his pedophilic urge. With no crime committed, the detectives decide to investigate this “self-help” website for pedophiles leading them to it’s creator, Jake Berlin (guest star Tom Noonan). Eric’s rage induced stepfather (guest star Josh Charles) is also questioned, and shortly after Eric is found missing. The detectives must race to place the clues together to find and stop Eric before any crime is committed.
Show Cast: Chris Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Ice T, Tamara Tunie, Michaela McManus
My recap and review of “Confession “ can be found here.
By the way, the ratings for the season premier of SVU, ”Trials” , were way down from the season premier of last season, and they found themselves in third place for the show's time slot. Ouch!
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information,
here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Law & Order SVU “Trials” and Tribulations
This season premier offered an interesting story, peppered with personal drama and a flat introduction of the new ADA Kim Grayleck (Michaela McManus). Here’s my recap and review:
The episode begins with a van driving out of control and being chase by police. When the van finally stops, hitting a car, a young boy gets out, asking the police “What’s your problem? It turns out he’s 7 year old Christopher Ryan (Jae Head).
We also meet the new ADA, Kim Grayleck (Michaela McManus), who walks into the SVU squad room and proceeds to apologize to Elliot (Chris Meloni) for being a week late. She was held up in Washington DC on personal business. She says she made a lateral move from the office of violence against women. The team is underwhelmed.
Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) tells Grayleck that they have a case; it’s a 7-year-old named Christopher Ryan who said he had to escape from his foster parents because they were abusing him.
At the hospital, Olivia and Elliot are in the elevator. Elliott is on the phone trying to work out an issue with his credit card being stolen. Olivia is tired; she didn’t sleep well the night before. She was supposed to go on a blind date but didn’t. In taking to the doctor about Christopher, they are told he doesn’t have a bruise on his body. When they enter the room, the kid is not on the bed and his clothes are gone. Elliot realizes he’s just under the bed. He tries to run off, but they stop him. Christopher says he hates his foster parents.
Back at the SVU squad room, Cragen (Dann Florek), Munch (Richard Belzer), and Fin (Ice-T) are with the boy’s foster parents Gwen (Julie Bowen) and Noah Sibert (Luke Perry). Noah is remaining calm, but Gwen is uptight about the whole matter. Cragen tells them there is a lot of paperwork to be done because of what Christopher did with the van, and it’s clear they are trying to separate the parents for questioning. But Noah is on to the tactic, saying that they didn’t do anything, saying that when they got Christopher he was angry, malnourished, and ”psychically damaged.”
Back at the hospital, Olivia and Elliot are in the courtyard talking with Christopher. Elliot takes Christopher’s drink away from him and throws it out, and the kid freaks. It seems he’s a little unhinged because his parents never let him have that kind of stuff. Clearly the kid had anger issues when he rages over his parents making him eat vegetables.
Noah, meanwhile, is telling Munch it’s all a misunderstanding, he’d never hurt a child, and he has nothing to hide. He says Christopher is an unhappy kid and he has serious abandonment issues. Munch tells him to try psychotherapy, that he started “in utero.”
Fin is questioning Gwen, who seems to be unhappy with Christopher. Gwen and Noah had a luxury clothing line before Noah came, which she had to quit to raise Noah. She said the kid makes up wild stories, and tells outright lies.
Olivia and Elliot take Christopher back to the squad, but the says he has to tell them something that had to be a secret from Noah. He says Gwen made him take his clothes off, and "they" gave Gwen money, in a hotel.
Apparently this kid told him this all happened at the Lydia Hotel, which Cragen says has been closed by vice earlier in the year. The kid could be lying. Cragen tells Olivia to stay with the kid, and tells Fin to go out to the hotel with Elliot. Fin balks. He has a beef with Elliot, and doesn’t want to work with him. Fin asks what’s holding up his transfer and Cragen, who promises to check it out with the Chief of Ds.
Fin announces to Elliot that he’s driving, which Elliot is OK with. He’s too distracted with his stolen credit card and the wacky charges on it to care.
At the Lydia Hotel, they find a lot of people standing in line. They look like college kids. It appears there is medical drug testing going on there, and they are told that it is for Phase 1 clinical trials, testing on people. They surmise that Gwen has been taking Christopher there for drug testing. Elliot calls Grayleck for help.
Kim Grayleck is serving the subpoena when Elliot and Fin arrive, saying they will take over. She informs them that she’s been a “desk jockey in DC for the past three years, drafting legislation, making grants…it’s great to finally be out in the trenches.” Elliot and Kim spar, he wants her to get lost and get out of their way, she tells him in DC they used to call her “The Crusader.” Fin is just standing by, looking annoyed. But when Elliot walks away because Dr. Eikenberry (Mary Beth Evans) will see them, Fin tells her “Don’t worry about cranky balls. He’s only nice to the victims.”
Elliot and Fin challenge the doctor about her testing methods, and she indicates things are very controlled, especially with kids. Christopher was being given and ADHD drug, and he already had a record of problems before the test began.
Back at the squad, Noah is outraged that Gwen was having Christopher drugged. Gwen is at her wits end. Olivia arrives with Christopher, who announces he’s starving, and Noah caves in to his request for chocolate ice cream. As they step into the elevator, Christopher asks to press the button, and when Gwen says to press 1G, he starts pressing all of them as the door closes, Olivia looking on and seeing a frustrated Gwen. Cragen tells Olivia to report the doctor to the group who is supposed to be monitoring the test, but to do it tomorrow, that she needs to go home and get some sleep.
Instead, she goes to the coffee machine, having flashbacks of her experience where she went undercover in prison ("Undercover"). She is startled when someone approaches her; it’s Tonya Majeski (Lisa Strum), who worked with Olivia on another case and is now Christopher’s caseworker. She hands Olivia the file, and Olivia sees that Christopher’s mother is someone she knows – Caitlyn Ryan (Sara Gilbert), a rape victim from a case Olivia had before.
Olivia goes to Caitlyn's apartment, and says she needs to talk to her about Christopher. Caitlyn looks like a wreck and so does her apartment. Olivia tells her she met Christopher through the Siberts, and wants to know why she gave up Christopher. Caitlyn says that at first she could function, but then she started reliving the rape. She lost her job and apartment, she just wanted to sleep. When Christopher was begging her to eat, she just let him go hungry. She wasn’t a fit mother. Olivia tells her she has rape trauma syndrome, a form of PTSD. Caitlyn says she’s tried to get help, and she actually met Gwen Sibert during this as Gwen was a rape victim too.
At Morningstar Park, Olivia is talking with Noah, and asking why Gwen didn’t tell them she was a rape victim raising another rape victim’s son. Noah said it was 5 years ago, before they we married. They watch Christopher as he continues to be bratty. Noah said the rape was reported, and they lived in Jersey City at the time. The rapist was not caught. Olivia said that Gwen met Caitlin in therapy but Gwen previously said it was Noah’s idea to take in Christopher. He says it was his idea, that he likes to “fix things.” He said he and Gwen fell in love when he went over to fix something at Gwen’s place. Christopher , overhearing they are talking about his real mother, asks about her. Olivia says his mom cares for her, but Noah says she hates him. “That man” made her sad, he was wearing a mask. Olivia realizes that Christopher was there when Caitlin was raped.
The episode begins with a van driving out of control and being chase by police. When the van finally stops, hitting a car, a young boy gets out, asking the police “What’s your problem? It turns out he’s 7 year old Christopher Ryan (Jae Head).
We also meet the new ADA, Kim Grayleck (Michaela McManus), who walks into the SVU squad room and proceeds to apologize to Elliot (Chris Meloni) for being a week late. She was held up in Washington DC on personal business. She says she made a lateral move from the office of violence against women. The team is underwhelmed.
Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) tells Grayleck that they have a case; it’s a 7-year-old named Christopher Ryan who said he had to escape from his foster parents because they were abusing him.
At the hospital, Olivia and Elliot are in the elevator. Elliott is on the phone trying to work out an issue with his credit card being stolen. Olivia is tired; she didn’t sleep well the night before. She was supposed to go on a blind date but didn’t. In taking to the doctor about Christopher, they are told he doesn’t have a bruise on his body. When they enter the room, the kid is not on the bed and his clothes are gone. Elliot realizes he’s just under the bed. He tries to run off, but they stop him. Christopher says he hates his foster parents.
Back at the SVU squad room, Cragen (Dann Florek), Munch (Richard Belzer), and Fin (Ice-T) are with the boy’s foster parents Gwen (Julie Bowen) and Noah Sibert (Luke Perry). Noah is remaining calm, but Gwen is uptight about the whole matter. Cragen tells them there is a lot of paperwork to be done because of what Christopher did with the van, and it’s clear they are trying to separate the parents for questioning. But Noah is on to the tactic, saying that they didn’t do anything, saying that when they got Christopher he was angry, malnourished, and ”psychically damaged.”
Back at the hospital, Olivia and Elliot are in the courtyard talking with Christopher. Elliot takes Christopher’s drink away from him and throws it out, and the kid freaks. It seems he’s a little unhinged because his parents never let him have that kind of stuff. Clearly the kid had anger issues when he rages over his parents making him eat vegetables.
Noah, meanwhile, is telling Munch it’s all a misunderstanding, he’d never hurt a child, and he has nothing to hide. He says Christopher is an unhappy kid and he has serious abandonment issues. Munch tells him to try psychotherapy, that he started “in utero.”
Fin is questioning Gwen, who seems to be unhappy with Christopher. Gwen and Noah had a luxury clothing line before Noah came, which she had to quit to raise Noah. She said the kid makes up wild stories, and tells outright lies.
Olivia and Elliot take Christopher back to the squad, but the says he has to tell them something that had to be a secret from Noah. He says Gwen made him take his clothes off, and "they" gave Gwen money, in a hotel.
Apparently this kid told him this all happened at the Lydia Hotel, which Cragen says has been closed by vice earlier in the year. The kid could be lying. Cragen tells Olivia to stay with the kid, and tells Fin to go out to the hotel with Elliot. Fin balks. He has a beef with Elliot, and doesn’t want to work with him. Fin asks what’s holding up his transfer and Cragen, who promises to check it out with the Chief of Ds.
Fin announces to Elliot that he’s driving, which Elliot is OK with. He’s too distracted with his stolen credit card and the wacky charges on it to care.
At the Lydia Hotel, they find a lot of people standing in line. They look like college kids. It appears there is medical drug testing going on there, and they are told that it is for Phase 1 clinical trials, testing on people. They surmise that Gwen has been taking Christopher there for drug testing. Elliot calls Grayleck for help.
Kim Grayleck is serving the subpoena when Elliot and Fin arrive, saying they will take over. She informs them that she’s been a “desk jockey in DC for the past three years, drafting legislation, making grants…it’s great to finally be out in the trenches.” Elliot and Kim spar, he wants her to get lost and get out of their way, she tells him in DC they used to call her “The Crusader.” Fin is just standing by, looking annoyed. But when Elliot walks away because Dr. Eikenberry (Mary Beth Evans) will see them, Fin tells her “Don’t worry about cranky balls. He’s only nice to the victims.”
Elliot and Fin challenge the doctor about her testing methods, and she indicates things are very controlled, especially with kids. Christopher was being given and ADHD drug, and he already had a record of problems before the test began.
Back at the squad, Noah is outraged that Gwen was having Christopher drugged. Gwen is at her wits end. Olivia arrives with Christopher, who announces he’s starving, and Noah caves in to his request for chocolate ice cream. As they step into the elevator, Christopher asks to press the button, and when Gwen says to press 1G, he starts pressing all of them as the door closes, Olivia looking on and seeing a frustrated Gwen. Cragen tells Olivia to report the doctor to the group who is supposed to be monitoring the test, but to do it tomorrow, that she needs to go home and get some sleep.
Instead, she goes to the coffee machine, having flashbacks of her experience where she went undercover in prison ("Undercover"). She is startled when someone approaches her; it’s Tonya Majeski (Lisa Strum), who worked with Olivia on another case and is now Christopher’s caseworker. She hands Olivia the file, and Olivia sees that Christopher’s mother is someone she knows – Caitlyn Ryan (Sara Gilbert), a rape victim from a case Olivia had before.
Olivia goes to Caitlyn's apartment, and says she needs to talk to her about Christopher. Caitlyn looks like a wreck and so does her apartment. Olivia tells her she met Christopher through the Siberts, and wants to know why she gave up Christopher. Caitlyn says that at first she could function, but then she started reliving the rape. She lost her job and apartment, she just wanted to sleep. When Christopher was begging her to eat, she just let him go hungry. She wasn’t a fit mother. Olivia tells her she has rape trauma syndrome, a form of PTSD. Caitlyn says she’s tried to get help, and she actually met Gwen Sibert during this as Gwen was a rape victim too.
At Morningstar Park, Olivia is talking with Noah, and asking why Gwen didn’t tell them she was a rape victim raising another rape victim’s son. Noah said it was 5 years ago, before they we married. They watch Christopher as he continues to be bratty. Noah said the rape was reported, and they lived in Jersey City at the time. The rapist was not caught. Olivia said that Gwen met Caitlin in therapy but Gwen previously said it was Noah’s idea to take in Christopher. He says it was his idea, that he likes to “fix things.” He said he and Gwen fell in love when he went over to fix something at Gwen’s place. Christopher , overhearing they are talking about his real mother, asks about her. Olivia says his mom cares for her, but Noah says she hates him. “That man” made her sad, he was wearing a mask. Olivia realizes that Christopher was there when Caitlin was raped.
The SVU team believes there is a pattern to a group of rapes, finding other victims: Annabelle Ashton, Emily Johannsen, and Natalie Clay. The rapist told all of them they were bad mothers. Fin notices that in the case of Emily, they had questioned a bartender located in a place very close to Caitlin’s apartment.
Munch and Fin check out Alony’s Pub. Munch reminisces about his bar in Baltimore, and then talks to Fin about Fin wanting to leave the squad. Munch moans, “ you know, if one more person dumps me, I’m gonna start taking it personally,” recounting all his partners. Speaking to the bartender, he says he looked at Emily’s ID, but was turned off when she started talking about her kid. He said he never raped her.
Elliot is questioning Emily, who admits she was sloshed but she remembers her rapist voice to be a hoarse whisper. She believes it was a person from an on line dating service, and when Elliott says they checked them all out, she said they never checked the person that stood her up, “Dave Jones”, which she thought sounded like a fake name.
Olivia is questioning Caitlin, who says she never went into the bar, but admits she did use an on line dating service as a trial. She said she picked one guy, who never showed up.
Olivia and Elliot are talking to Natalie, who insists she did not use an on line dating service. When Natalie is called away, Elliot gets a call about his stolen credit card. It seems a “Bonnie and Clyde” pair used his card to both get tattoos. But Elliot notices a label on some clothes hanging in the store, and realizes it is the logo for the Sibert’s company, "The Greenline.”
Back at the squad, they work to make the connection with the clothing line, the Siberts, and the rapes. Noah’s old punk band “Public Vagaries” had twins in it, Dave and Danny Jones. The theorize that Noah used their names for the dating service, and that he married a rape victim (Gwen) then began raping women who had little boys. And now he’s raising on of those boys.
Noah is in for questioning, and Olivia shows him the pictures of the other rape victims Elliot says that they are all single moms working outside the home. They remind him that he likes to “fix things” like neglected little boys. Olivia says they know he ran away when he was six, and thinks that he is raping women to punish his mother. He says he left home to join a band. Elliot asks him to do a voice line up, saying “You’re a bad mother.” Caitlin identifies Noah’s voice out of the line up, but Emily and Natalie didn’t.
When Grayleck tells Noah’s attorney she’ll be in touch, Olivia is unhappy, asking Grayleck that she thought they called her “The Crusader.” Grayleck says she needs more to pursue this case.
Noah announces they are taking Christopher home, but Caitlyn sees him and comments on how big he is. Gwen moves to separate them, as she calls Caitlyn a “worthless bitch” and “miserable ingrate” for all they did. Caitlyn is confused when Gwen rages that she is upset they were saddled with the kid and now she’s making accusation against her husband. Caitlyn doesn’t get it, saying she was just there for a line up. Caitlyn then realizes that it was Noah who raped her. Noah says he will fight to get Christopher back.
A DNA swab is taken from Christopher, and he asks Caitlyn why she gave him away. She says she’s been very sick but will get better so she could be a good mom. Toyna (the case worker) arrive and Christopher says he needs a hamburger, right now. Elliot tells Caitlyn she’ll get him back.
Meanwhile, Cragen tells Fin he has just heard from the Chief of Ds, and asks Fin if he knows a Greg Berkle. Fin says “Oh no.” Fin used to work with him in narcotics, and Greg’s wife started calling him after their divorce. Now he is at One PP processing transfers, and Fin says he assumes he’s not going anywhere soon. Munch is happy with the news. Elliot gets off the phone and declares they have the person who stole his credit card, he’s at Hudson U and he’s going over there. But, he’s stopped in the hall by his daughter Kathleen, who is angry he had her boyfriend arrested. He’s confused, but she says that “Tony” didn’t steal his credit card, she took it to buy books. He figures out what is going on and calls her on her lie, and she gives him some lip, and Elliot is angry. He tells her she has to have the tattoo removed, and she reminds him that he also has a tattoo.
Benson, still on the original case, found that Annabelle Ashton, the 4th victim, had moved back to Iowa and killed herself. Munch breaks up Olivia’s guilt and regret by saying they got a hit off Noah’s DA. The next we see Noah, he is being arrested, and Olivia tells Gwen that Noah only left his DNA once – and that was when he raped Gwen. Gwen begs Noah to tell them they are wrong, instead, he tells her she will tell them what “really happened” that she filed an incorrect police report, that the sex was consensual. She is stunned…she realizes she married her own rapist. She kicks him in the groin, and Stabler comments “sorry about that" and leads him away.
Grayleck returns to the squad, announcing Noah accepted the plea deal. Fin is surprised she offered him one, he thought she was dying to “strut her stuff in the courtroom.” She declares it’s not about her, it’s about the victims, now they won’t be dragged through trial. She got him the max, by threatening him with an extra 25 years for a hate crime attached, as he targeted a specific subset of women. When Munch says no one has even pulled that off, she declared that Noah knew she intends to be the first to pull it off, she wasn’t bluffing. It’s her pet project. She asks how this works now – do they all go out for a celebratory drink? Munch, still thinking about his bar in Baltimore, says if they had a bar, drinks would be on the house. Grayleck asks where Olivia is at, and they cut to Olivia in therapy, recounting her undercover case at the prison. She says she is starting to relive it. She jumpy, she can’t sleep, she feels out of control. The doctor tells her that rape victims often blame themselves. She knows, but now she feels like she doesn’t deserve to be there, she feels like he stole something from her. She needs help.
All in all, a decent episode. They seemed to work in some of the personal references (Munch’s bar, Fin’s history with narcotics) very well. The personal drama, though, was a little much. Elliot’s credit card problem, while annoying at first, had an interesting twist with the “thief” being his own daughter. But, it also means that we may get more personal Stabler drama than we want (as evidenced by the preview). Olivia’s demons with her assault during her undercover operation also seemed to be a set up for more issues for Olivia down the road.
The story line was also interesting, with all the guest stars going a very good job and playing their roles.
But the train wreck was the debut of Michaela McManus, whose character, new ADA Kim Grayleck, came off as pompous and aloof. Tragic was that McManus delivered her lines with the zeal of Elisabeth Rohm – which is not good. Sometimes I think that the Law & Order franchise has consistently done a horrible job in introducing new characters. This one was probably the worst that I can recall, well, next to Nina Cassady (Milena Govich) as “Detective Beauty Queen” on the original Law & Order. Grayleck’s “The Crusader” was just as bad, and her “pet project” an annoyance. Frankly, as far as she is concerned, I was underwhelmed.
Two Minute Replay
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Munch and Fin check out Alony’s Pub. Munch reminisces about his bar in Baltimore, and then talks to Fin about Fin wanting to leave the squad. Munch moans, “ you know, if one more person dumps me, I’m gonna start taking it personally,” recounting all his partners. Speaking to the bartender, he says he looked at Emily’s ID, but was turned off when she started talking about her kid. He said he never raped her.
Elliot is questioning Emily, who admits she was sloshed but she remembers her rapist voice to be a hoarse whisper. She believes it was a person from an on line dating service, and when Elliott says they checked them all out, she said they never checked the person that stood her up, “Dave Jones”, which she thought sounded like a fake name.
Olivia is questioning Caitlin, who says she never went into the bar, but admits she did use an on line dating service as a trial. She said she picked one guy, who never showed up.
Olivia and Elliot are talking to Natalie, who insists she did not use an on line dating service. When Natalie is called away, Elliot gets a call about his stolen credit card. It seems a “Bonnie and Clyde” pair used his card to both get tattoos. But Elliot notices a label on some clothes hanging in the store, and realizes it is the logo for the Sibert’s company, "The Greenline.”
Back at the squad, they work to make the connection with the clothing line, the Siberts, and the rapes. Noah’s old punk band “Public Vagaries” had twins in it, Dave and Danny Jones. The theorize that Noah used their names for the dating service, and that he married a rape victim (Gwen) then began raping women who had little boys. And now he’s raising on of those boys.
Noah is in for questioning, and Olivia shows him the pictures of the other rape victims Elliot says that they are all single moms working outside the home. They remind him that he likes to “fix things” like neglected little boys. Olivia says they know he ran away when he was six, and thinks that he is raping women to punish his mother. He says he left home to join a band. Elliot asks him to do a voice line up, saying “You’re a bad mother.” Caitlin identifies Noah’s voice out of the line up, but Emily and Natalie didn’t.
When Grayleck tells Noah’s attorney she’ll be in touch, Olivia is unhappy, asking Grayleck that she thought they called her “The Crusader.” Grayleck says she needs more to pursue this case.
Noah announces they are taking Christopher home, but Caitlyn sees him and comments on how big he is. Gwen moves to separate them, as she calls Caitlyn a “worthless bitch” and “miserable ingrate” for all they did. Caitlyn is confused when Gwen rages that she is upset they were saddled with the kid and now she’s making accusation against her husband. Caitlyn doesn’t get it, saying she was just there for a line up. Caitlyn then realizes that it was Noah who raped her. Noah says he will fight to get Christopher back.
A DNA swab is taken from Christopher, and he asks Caitlyn why she gave him away. She says she’s been very sick but will get better so she could be a good mom. Toyna (the case worker) arrive and Christopher says he needs a hamburger, right now. Elliot tells Caitlyn she’ll get him back.
Meanwhile, Cragen tells Fin he has just heard from the Chief of Ds, and asks Fin if he knows a Greg Berkle. Fin says “Oh no.” Fin used to work with him in narcotics, and Greg’s wife started calling him after their divorce. Now he is at One PP processing transfers, and Fin says he assumes he’s not going anywhere soon. Munch is happy with the news. Elliot gets off the phone and declares they have the person who stole his credit card, he’s at Hudson U and he’s going over there. But, he’s stopped in the hall by his daughter Kathleen, who is angry he had her boyfriend arrested. He’s confused, but she says that “Tony” didn’t steal his credit card, she took it to buy books. He figures out what is going on and calls her on her lie, and she gives him some lip, and Elliot is angry. He tells her she has to have the tattoo removed, and she reminds him that he also has a tattoo.
Benson, still on the original case, found that Annabelle Ashton, the 4th victim, had moved back to Iowa and killed herself. Munch breaks up Olivia’s guilt and regret by saying they got a hit off Noah’s DA. The next we see Noah, he is being arrested, and Olivia tells Gwen that Noah only left his DNA once – and that was when he raped Gwen. Gwen begs Noah to tell them they are wrong, instead, he tells her she will tell them what “really happened” that she filed an incorrect police report, that the sex was consensual. She is stunned…she realizes she married her own rapist. She kicks him in the groin, and Stabler comments “sorry about that" and leads him away.
Grayleck returns to the squad, announcing Noah accepted the plea deal. Fin is surprised she offered him one, he thought she was dying to “strut her stuff in the courtroom.” She declares it’s not about her, it’s about the victims, now they won’t be dragged through trial. She got him the max, by threatening him with an extra 25 years for a hate crime attached, as he targeted a specific subset of women. When Munch says no one has even pulled that off, she declared that Noah knew she intends to be the first to pull it off, she wasn’t bluffing. It’s her pet project. She asks how this works now – do they all go out for a celebratory drink? Munch, still thinking about his bar in Baltimore, says if they had a bar, drinks would be on the house. Grayleck asks where Olivia is at, and they cut to Olivia in therapy, recounting her undercover case at the prison. She says she is starting to relive it. She jumpy, she can’t sleep, she feels out of control. The doctor tells her that rape victims often blame themselves. She knows, but now she feels like she doesn’t deserve to be there, she feels like he stole something from her. She needs help.
All in all, a decent episode. They seemed to work in some of the personal references (Munch’s bar, Fin’s history with narcotics) very well. The personal drama, though, was a little much. Elliot’s credit card problem, while annoying at first, had an interesting twist with the “thief” being his own daughter. But, it also means that we may get more personal Stabler drama than we want (as evidenced by the preview). Olivia’s demons with her assault during her undercover operation also seemed to be a set up for more issues for Olivia down the road.
The story line was also interesting, with all the guest stars going a very good job and playing their roles.
But the train wreck was the debut of Michaela McManus, whose character, new ADA Kim Grayleck, came off as pompous and aloof. Tragic was that McManus delivered her lines with the zeal of Elisabeth Rohm – which is not good. Sometimes I think that the Law & Order franchise has consistently done a horrible job in introducing new characters. This one was probably the worst that I can recall, well, next to Nina Cassady (Milena Govich) as “Detective Beauty Queen” on the original Law & Order. Grayleck’s “The Crusader” was just as bad, and her “pet project” an annoyance. Frankly, as far as she is concerned, I was underwhelmed.
Two Minute Replay
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Law & Order: High School Musical
In the absence of any real news about Law & Order “The Mothership”, I guess I just have to make some of my own.Here’s Law & Order The High School Musical, starring the faces of Linus Roache and Alana De La Garza. I’m sure the Connie/Cutter shippers will enjoy it!
View in higher quality
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information,
here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Guest Stars of SVU “Trials” Talk About the Episode
It must have been media conference call day with some of the guest stars of Law & Order SVU’s season premier, “Trials” . Two interviews (too lengthy to post here), with guest stars Sara Gilbert, Luke Perry, and also Executive Producer Neal Baer are available via the following links:
(May contain some episode spoilers)
Luke Perry, Sara Gilbert and Neal Baer interview: Law & Order SVU premiere By April MacIntyre
Interrogating Luke Perry, Sara Gilbert and Neal Baer for Law & Order: SVU By Troy Rogers
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
(May contain some episode spoilers)
Luke Perry, Sara Gilbert and Neal Baer interview: Law & Order SVU premiere By April MacIntyre
Interrogating Luke Perry, Sara Gilbert and Neal Baer for Law & Order: SVU By Troy Rogers
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Law & Order SVU September On Location Videos
This is a follow up to yesterday’s post showing photos that a fan took on location for a filming of an episode of Law & Order SVU, reportedly (unconfirmed) titled “Retro,” to air at the end of October. Now there are some short videos clip available from that shoot, with some shots of Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay. Here they are, for your viewing pleasure.
Don’t forget the season premier - “Trials” - on September 23!
Photos from “Trials”
Video Previews of New Season and “Trials”
SVU location shoot
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information,
here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Don’t forget the season premier - “Trials” - on September 23!
Photos from “Trials”
Video Previews of New Season and “Trials”
SVU location shoot
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information,
here.
Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)