Vincent D’Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe At USA Upfront (Video)

Here are videos of Law & Order Criminal Intent stars Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe at the recent 2011 USA Network upfront. They both look great. Enjoy!






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Law & Order SVU “Bang” Recap & Review

Law & Order SVU “Bang” was one of those episodes that I can’t decide whether I liked it or hated it. Maybe as I write my review, the answer will become clearer.

The SVU team gets a case where a baby is abandoned in an alley, and that crime is quickly solved. But most of the episode deals with designated sleezeball Ken Turner, who is designated as a “reproductive abuser,” meaning he likes to make lots of babies with women by using trickery, force if he has to. The detectives commented a few times that what Ken was doing was not a crime, and the invisible ADA Hardwicke said the case wasn’t worth her time, so why were they continuing to work the case? Sure, Ken Turner was a creep and what he was doing was morally wrong, but the SVU team did not have anyone filing a complaint about him. Maybe it’s because “the inmates are running the asylum” at SVU. Where is the voice of authority and reason, Don Cragen (Dann Florek)? Had he been there, I am sure he also would have called a halt to the detectives digging into Ken Turner.

Also continuing to be missing in action is John Munch and there has been no explanation for his absence. Considering Richard Belzer was a long time staple on this show and he still appears in the opening credits, I find it shameful that the series continues to disrespect the fans by not offering some story to explain why Munch doesn’t seem to work at SVU anymore. This episode was also missing Tamara Tunie and BD Wong, which is not unusual seeing that they are frequently missing. I can understand Tamara not being in it because there wasn’t a body until near the end, but why bring in someone else to consult instead of an established character? Yes, I know that they needed this nutty doctor - who clearly was not properly vetted before Benson brought her in for a consult – to advance the story later. But just because Benson attended one of Audrey’s seminars doesn’t mean that Audrey has no skeletons in her closet. Bringing her in instead of Dr. Huang made it more obvious that she would be trouble later.

It also seemed too easy that they could track down Ken to his exact hotel room so quickly, and also very conveniently just as he was poking holes in the condom. I didn’t understand why Fin handed the damaged condom to the woman in the hotel room – couldn’t that have been considered evidence of Ken’s plot to impregnate women without their knowledge? I also want to know how Ken can so easily pick women that apparently aren’t using their own method of birth control. Frankly, I would think these days that any woman that is planning to have sex with a man but doesn’t want to get pregnant should have a backup plan of her own.

Also, how convenient was it that Audrey went to look for a knife in Dede’s house and find the explosive wasp knife? Who would leave a knife like that unsecured and easy to find when there are children - or even other adults – in the house? If Audrey felt that something clicked with her when Ken first asked her to meet at Dede’s house, why didn’t she come with a weapon rather than have to go looking in someone’s house for one?

Are there really people like Wade who are that stupid they would take a baby out of someone’s home and leave it in an alley in an attempt to save the baby from a possible bad home? I would like to think not. That part of the story was laughable.

John Stamos did a good job as the charmy-smarmy Ken Turner. I thought he had more chemistry with Stabler than he did with some of the other women, though.

In the scene where Fin and Stabler look on Ken’s gruesome body, Fin says, “Just when you think you’ve seen everything.” That summed it up for me for this episode. Just when I think that SVU is getting better, they serve up a odd episode like “Bang.” I guess I’ve made up my mind…"Bang" was a dud.

Here is the recap:

A woman finds a baby abandoned behind a playground near the trash. Later, at the hospital, Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) find the baby boy does not appear to have been abused and was only about 2 months old. The onesie and blankets he was wrapped in were sent to the crime lab. They are warming him in an incubator. Stabler wonders why someone would do this, and he gently touches the baby.

Back at SVU, Benson tells Stabler the canvas turned up nothing and Stabler says there are no missing persons report for a baby. The lab is running the DNA. Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola tells them the logo on the onesie comes from a high priced store on the upper east side.

Benson and Stabler check out the store and speak to the store clerk (Kathy Brier). She identifies the baby as Jasper, Dede Aston’s baby. She says Jasper was adopted, and she gives them Dede’s cell phone number, email, and address.

At the brownstone of Dede Aston, Stabler and Fin find she is not home and she is not answering her phone. A neighbor, Wade (Jordan Dean) hears them talking about Jasper being taken, and he has not seen Dede for a few days. He did hear yelling coming from her place last night, and when Fin knocks on the door again, he can hear a voice speaking Spanish. The door is unlocked and they enter to find a woman praying at the crib. She says they took the baby. Her name is Imelda (Marta Milans) and she is taking care of the baby while Dede is in Boston. When she went to bed last night everything was fine, and in the morning the crib was empty. She is praying someone will find him. Fin tells her that her prayers have been answered. He mentions the screaming from last night and she said she was alone. Stabler shows that he found a condom in the bathroom that looks fresh. She admits that her boyfriend was there but he is a rich guy and would never take the baby. Stabler asks for a name.

Later, back at SVU, Ken Turner (John Stamos) the nanny’s boyfriend, arrives. He used to be an ADA in Nassau County. He works now for Daschle Private Equity. He said the sex with the nanny was “enthusiastic” not rough. He said Dede does not know about it and Jasper is a beautiful baby, he loves babies. He gets panicky when Stabler tells him that Jasper had been taken. His prints are on the crib because he checked on the baby at midnight and then he left. He is fond of the boy but said Imelda is not nanny material and she can’t handle it. He thinks Imelda snapped.

When Stabler leaves the room, he tells Benson and Fin that Ken can’t be ruled out but that Ken ruled Imelda in. Fin leaves to pick her up, and Stabler thinks they should let Ken go, for now. But Jasper’s mother Dede (Lori Singer) arrives and asks what is going on. But when she sees Ken, she races into his arms. She tells the detectives that Ken is her fiancé. She demands to know what is going on.

Later, at the hospital, Dede checks on Jasper. Benson tells her the baby can’t go home with her until they know he will be safe. They know she was out of town but they have to rule out anyone else with access to her home. She dryly asks how she can help. She adopted him 7 weeks ago, does not know the birth mother’s name, and Ken did the legal work for the adoption. A friend of an associate knew a pregnant girl who could not keep her baby and Ken knew she was looking for a baby. She barely knew Ken at the time and the adoption sparked things for them. Dede moves to answer her phone and tells Benson she had a many work demands and never had time to date. She says making her a mother made her human again and able to fall in love. She says Ken is perfect. Benson says Jasper is in good hands and asks her to come back to the precinct.

Back at SVU, Stabler is still questioning Ken. He said Imelda jumped him and it was a moment of weakness. Meanwhile, Fin is talking to Imelda, and while doing so, she sees Dede walk into the other interview room. Fin turns down the volume so Imelda can’t hear Dede, and asks if Ken loves her so much, what happens when he marries Dede? Imelda says he isn’t going to marry Dede, he is just waiting for the right time to dump her. She swears she would never hurt the baby. Fin asks her if she is worried about getting pregnant, because Ken’s condom broke last night. Imelda flippantly says that Ken is a maniac in bed.

Meanwhile, Dede raves about Ken to Benson and when Benson comments that Dede has no idea what Ken is doing behind her back with Imelda, Imelda watches Dede get upset through the window. Dede gets up from the table and shouts through the window to Imelda that she is a slut and accuses Imelda of putting Jasper in the alley so she could have Ken. Imelda races through the door and lunges at Dede, and Benson and Fin must pull them apart. When Imelda is taken back into the other room, Benson continues to question Dede about her whereabouts and demands to see her airline boarding pass. Dede admits she never went, she was at the Waldorf, and then asks Ken to be her lawyer.

Later, with Ken in the room, she admits she was not in Boston and then is upset that he slept with Imelda. Ken tries to charm his way out of it. Benson presses Dede on why she was at the Waldorf. She said she was thinking about what to do – she’s pregnant. She was not sure she wanted to have it and Ken is thrilled and presses her to have the baby. He says he has never been happier and is happy that condom broke. Benson comments to Dede that the pregnancy was unplanned and asks if they use condoms, and that she bets Ken’s condoms break a lot. Dede is shocked that she knows that. Benson says it was a lucky guess, and adds that Ken is a “reproductive abuser” and that he wants babies and uses women to make them. She says the standard fail rate is 1% and thinks Ken’s fail rate is higher than that, and that she thinks he pokes tiny holes in them before he puts them on, saying this is typical behavior of a reproductive abuser. Ken turns on the charm but Benson calls it phony sweet talk and it is just to get her to give in. Ken says unless they are charging them, they are leaving. As they walk out Benson continues to work on Dede and Ken continues to charm Dede. As the two of the walk out, Benson tells Stabler what she learned and thinks only Ken wants the baby. CSU Tech Sung (James Chen) enters and says that he does not think Ken took Jasper. Most hairs on the blanket match Dede and Imelda but there was one red hair, and they have enough of the follicle for a DNA sample and they can also tell the person has blue eyes. Stabler says this sounds like Dede’s downstairs neighbor, Wade Fisk.

They bring Wade into SVU and Stabler accuses him of taking Jasper, but he denies it. He then says he was trying to save Jasper from that hellhole upstairs. He says Dede would be a great mom without Ken and Ken is always banging somebody and uses Dede’s place as a party pad. Last night, Ken and Imelda ignored the baby’s screams. He left the baby wrapped up real well but he put the baby by the back door so people who worked there would find him. He thinks Ken is a monster, he has heard him on the phone saying awful things.

Back at the hospital, Benson and Stabler see Ken and Dede visiting the baby. They tell him Wade heard Ken on the phone about his exploits. Benson said they did a record search and show Dede a listing of 20 birth certificates, over the last 10 years, with Ken’s name as the father. Ken tells Dede he always told her he loves kids. Benson adds that they ran Jasper’s DNA against the semen found in the ripped condom and Ken is his father. She is shocked and he is nonplussed.

Back at SVU, when Fin asks if they’ve busted the creep yet, Stabler says being a creep is not illegal. Benson brings in Dr. Audrey Shelton (Noelle Beck) who lead a seminar that Benson took on reproductive abusers. She says reproductive abusers use verbal coercion to make babies, and in some cases they use their fists. They decide to check the other baby mommas to see if Ken beat them. Audrey adds sometimes it can lead to rape. They decide to start with Jasper’s birth mother as there is no record of the adoption.

At Empire Skate, Benson and Audrey speak with Bridget (Olivia Horton), the birth mother, who was an addict. She only wanted him to pay for the abortion but he checked her into an apartment and got her into rehab and promised to marry her. At first, she was clean and in love, but the week after Jasper was born, she did a little blow and Ken found out and he told her he found someone who would give Jasper a better life. She felt that she had no choice and Ken was so convincing. Ken told her it was too late to get Jasper back, but here was no record of the adoption. She did sign paperwork, and she wants her baby back. As Benson and Audrey walk away, they think they now have something they can arrest him for, as he didn’t file the paperwork that means Ken stole her baby.

Benson and Audrey return to SVU and Stabler tells them the warrant to locate Ken via cell phone has been executed. They see his location at a flower shop and then see him on the move across the street to a hotel. They think he has another woman there.

Stabler and Fin get to the hotel room and when a woman opens the door, Stabler shows his badge and motions for her to be silent. She lets them in and they find Ken in the bathroom poking holes in a condom. They confiscate the condom and arrest him for endangering the welfare of a child and an illegal adoption. As they take Ken off, Fin gives the woman the condom package with the holes in it.

With Ken in interrogation, Stabler questions him about Ken taking Jasper. He thinks he has done nothing wrong. He asks Stabler why he has such a hard on for him, and Stabler quips it’s because Ken can’t keep his out of unsuspecting women. Ken thinks he is following his natural urge to procreate, but Stabler disagrees. Ken thinks he is making their lives richer with his progeny and his money. He asks Stabler about how many kids he has, and Stabler has 5. Ken says the national average is 1.83 and that Stabler understands the urge but is limited by weakness, means, and mojo. He thinks at heart, Stabler wants to be him. Stabler thinks Ken has an inferiority complex but Ken sees himself as Montezuma with 4,000 concubines. Stabler says he give his own children love and attention and Ken does not properly support his family. Ken tries to charm Stabler to his way of thinking, and Stabler thinks he is a sick son of a bitch.

After Stabler leaves the room, Audrey says Ken is the worst she has even seen. She says his charm is what makes him dangerous and she thanks God that they arrested him. But Benson says they won’t make it stick, Hardwicke said a paperwork misdemeanor is not worth her time and any defense attorney could get him off with a slap on the wrist. Stabler said they thought their DA might punt so they have a backup plan.

Stabler enters the interrogation room and when he sees Ken on a cell phone, he tells them no phones are allowed in there. He tells Ken he is free to go. Ken says that he would sue for harassment but he would hate, for Stabler’s kids’ sake, for Stabler to lose his job. Stabler sarcastically says that is sweet of him.

On the way out, Ken finds a large group of women and children waiting for him – all victims of his reproductive abuse. Dede looks surprised. Someone asks Ken what is going on, and Ken says the NYPD is trying to embarrass him. The women are clearly angry. Ken tries to smooth it over with them and it doesn’t work and Dede walks off. He sees a woman there he does not know and questions if he slept with her. She said he slept with her daughter Trish, and she tells him Trish and her son with him are both dead. When he refused to let them move in with him, she killed herself in the car with carbon monoxide, along with her son. Audrey laces into him, and Ken thinks he improved the women’s' lives. He also adds they only checked New York, he has been around the country and to Europe and has 47 children and he loves all of them.

Afterwards, Benson and Stabler discuss that it is amazing nothing Ken did was illegal. But Fin enters and said being a world class creep can get you dead as a doornail. Ken Turner was just found dead in a garden behind Dede’s brownstone – and it was gruesome.

Fin and Stabler arrive at the location of Ken’s body and it is indeed gruesome. Fin comments “Just when you think you’ve seen everything” and Stabler adds, “It looks like he ate a bomb.” They think Dede did it.

Later, as the body is being carted away, Stabler tells CSU Tech Sung that they have not found the weapon. Sung said whatever did it, did it fast as there were no defensive wounds. Fin is not sure it was Dede as it seems she has not been home since she left the precinct. They check with the neighbor, Wade, who denies killing him but is appears he is looking to flee. Stabler asks to check his place and Wade lets him in. Stabler sees diving equipment and says he knows how Wade killed him.

Back at SVU, Stabler tells Benson and Fin that the weapon was a wasp injection knife, developed for the Navy Seals for the special punch it packs. Inside the handle is a canister which injects CO2 into whatever you are stabbing, and it blows them to bits.

Benson and Stabler confront Wade with this information, who knows what kind of knife it is because he is a diver. Benson says Wade has motive and opportunity. He said Dede is a diver too, they met on a dive trip, and Dede owns one of those knives.

They question Dede about it and she said yes she had a knife like this, it saved her from a hammerhead. But Dede says someone took her knife and used it on him. She said Ken also had a key to her place and used it like a love shack with dozens of other women while she was away. She said Ken was so good at sweet talking her. She said Audrey convinced the other women that SVU brought in to go to a restaurant and talk about what Ken had done to them and that’s where Dede was when Ken was killed. Stabler comes in and tells Benson she needs to see something. All the other women are back, and they tell them Dede did not do it, they were all together. But Benson realizes that Audrey is not with them, and they hear that Audrey left the restaurant early after her phone rang and she went outside to take the call.

At Audrey’s home, Stabler beats on the door and Benson calls for her to open up, but Audrey tells her the door is open. They enter and see Audrey sitting in a chair in the living room with a glass of wine and the wasp knife. She knew they were coming. Stabler tells her they know about Buffalo, and she says she is impressed. Benson said she assaulted a guy with a baseball bat and put him in the hospital. She said the man was raping 10 year olds and the newspaper called her a hero and the DA declined to prosecute. Stabler reminds her Ken Turner hadn’t broken any laws. She tells Stabler not to give her that, he wanted him punished too. Stabler admits he did want him punished, not dead. She thinks of all the suffering she prevented. He called her last night 2 hours after they left the precinct and asked her out and invited her over to Dede’s place. Benson tells her she did not have to say yes. Audrey was about to tell him to go to hell but something clicked, like with the perv in Buffalo. As soon as she got there he invited her into the garden and tried to seduce her, she said she had to use the bathroom and went looking for a knife and found herself a doozie. She joined him in the garden and just meant to cut his penis off but boom – Ken burst open. Audrey laughs, and Benson tells her it’s time to go. Audrey asks to let her have a few more sips of her wine, because where she is going they don’t serve wine. As she takes a drink, we fade to black.



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Law & Order LA “Reseda” Recap & Review

Law & Order LA “Reseda” was an excellent episode that had a little bit of everything – robbery, explosions, friction in the DA’s office, and commentary about the “three strikes” law. It's also the first time that I felt the feel of the city. I can't quite put my finger on exactly why, but I think the scene with the expansive view of the city skyline from ground view, and also having what seemed like more scenes on location and less in offices had something to do with it.

Morales (Alfred Molina) and TJ (Corey Stoll) are working together very comfortably, almost as if they have been partners for years. The writers are doing a fine job in making the banter between these two appear natural, with just the right amount of humor. Alfred Molina, in my opinion, can do no wrong no matter what role he's in, and I already enjoyed Corey Stoll on this show from day one. Having these two as work partners is a perfect pairing for me.

Dekker (Terrence Howard) and Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza) also appear to be developing good chemistry. With each episode, Dekker's personality is becoming more layered and along with it, Terrence Howard's performance. The only weak link may be DA Jerry Hardin (Peter Coyote) who seems to be the stereotypical cookie-cutter DA. Still, the episode delivered some interesting drama between Hardin and Dekker at the end. When Hardin implies that Dekker may be on a road to destroy his career, Dekker makes the counterpoint that Hardin himself has compromised his values. It's the usual struggle between DA and their ADAs/DDAs that we've seen before, but in this case it helped spell out what kind of DDA that Dekker will be.

Here is the recap:

In a bank, a teller hands a stack of cash to a man wearing a hoodie who shoves it into a bag. When Martin, the security guard, stops the man, the teller says the man is OK. But the man runs out, and when Martin makes a move for his gun, the teller tries to stop him. Martin runs outside but the man is nowhere in sight. Martin heads back into the bank, and the teller admits that the robbers have her baby.

Later, the teller explains the situation to Detective Ricardo Morales (Alfred Molina). She called her son’s cell phone and he did not answer. The last time she saw him was yesterday afternoon, he stayed with his dad who dropped him off at the bus stop in the morning. Her son Tony texted her from the bus stop to see if he could have a friend come over. Detective “TJ” Jaruszalski (Corey Stoll) shows Morales the security cam photo which is not much help. Morales shows TJ the photo that the teller received and TJ comments that is appears to be printed on cheap paper. They decide to check copy stories in the area where the boy was last seen and the bank. Morales promises her that they will find him.

The detectives locate the copy store where the bank robber had likely been to use a computer. TJ finds a photo on the computer of the boy that appears to have been Photoshopped.

At Iredia Hills Elementary School, they find Tony (Brady Hender) at school, safe and sound. Some guy took his picture at the bus stop. The guy was not wearing a hoodie and was riding a mountain bike, red with black stripes. His mother, who has arrived at the school, is happy to see her son.

Back at RHD, TJ talks about his own experience working in a band. Watching security camera video, they see a man on a bike swerve to avoid a car and hit another one. The bike was too damaged for a person to ride home. They think he lives in the neighborhood and walked, or he had an accomplice, or, seeing a bus, he used public transportation.

At MTA Warehouse, they speak with a woman who takes them to the lost and found, as they had a lead the bike was left on the bus. They find the bike and confiscate it.

Back at RHD, they hear that the prints from the bike belonged to Stanley Vaughn, 40, white, with a record, one offense getting him two years for involuntary manslaughter. Morales is shocked he got out in two years after a second strike. His last known address is in Reseda.

The detectives arrive at the location with backup. No one is answering the door and a neighbor (Sally Kellerman) come across the street to warn them that the door costs money. She says she owns the house, Stanley is not home in the daytime. She unlocks the door for them, They enter and find the house completely empty, and the woman says the place was floor to ceiling junk. She comments the place stunk from what he was cooking on the stove. Stanley commented to her that soon money wouldn’t be worth anything. Morales sees dates and numbers on the wall, Stanley was tracking gold prices. Suddenly they hear a loud explosion in the back yard. Officer Briar (Casey Pieretti) is now laying on the ground, his leg blown off. He had been kicking at the ground and something went off.

Later, with the bomb squad on the scene, TJ tells Morales that Officer Briar will make it. The bomb squad Sgt. Fordes (Chance Kelly) tells them the stuff in the back yard was PETN, used in IEDs in Iraq. Stanley was probably cooking it in the kitchen and it was inert until he kicked it. Most of the components can be bought at a hardware store, but he had to use a plasticizer to keep it stable, and that is harder to get.

The detectives check out Petro-Chem Supply, they speak with Mr. Gill about the plasticizer. They show him Stanley’s photo and he admits Stanley bought 6 ounces of a harmless plasticizer. He paid in cash but gave him references and said he was a gold collector who did business all over town. He got the number of his broker.

At the Gold Ore LLC, they speak with the owner. Manny, who keeps all his transaction records in his head. He identifies Stanley from the photo. He bought a gold coin off him and he follows gold prices. He was last in on Monday. Afterwards, Morales is suspicious that the owner doesn’t track gold transaction in detail like others do, and his security camera is not connected. They think he is laundering money. They get a call on their radio, another robbery is in progress.

They get to that bank and find a similar MO – another picture of a kid photoshopped to look like a faked kidnapping. Stanley got away on foot.

The detectives, along with DDA Connie Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza) head back to the owner of Gold Ore LLC and after she threatens him with charges, he agrees to let them run a sting operation in his store.

Later, Morales is working in the store, pretending to be the owner’s nephew. Manny says that Morales is “as dumb as a box of hammers.” Meanwhile TJ watches from a surveillance set up. A girl comes in and asks for Manny. She says her name is Emily (Michele Nordin)and Stanley sent her there to buy coins. He says he is out of double eagles but will have more tomorrow. Morales and TJ quickly follow her out the door and with guns drawn, tell her to drop the backpack. It is filled with cash.

At RHD in interrogation, she swears she did not know the money came from a robbery. She denies any involvement. In the observation room, Rubirosa comments to Morales that Emily has a previous record for robbery. Rubirosa enters the room, and she lays out that Emily is an accomplice and can get life. She says she can get a reduced charge or suspended sentence if Emily helps them.

Later, Morales and TJ, along with police backup, arrive at the house where Stanley is staying. They spread out to search for him. TJ carefully enters a room. He looks around, but then hears a beep and notices a light flashing. The bomb sniffing dog barks, and the bomb squad Sgt. Fordes tells TJ not to move until they can disarm whatever is there. Sgt. Fordes orders everyone out by Morales says he will stay with his partner. TJ tells him he bets the DA's office is looking pretty good right now. Morales nods yes.

As the police and bomb squad move their vehicles back. Morales and TJ hear that the suspect is in the area, and Morales says to let him through. Stanley (Andrew Rothenberg) arrives on a bike and enters the house, calling for Emily. Morales puts a gun on him and tells him not to move, and then hauls him over to the room where TJ is standing and orders Stanley to get TJ out. Stanley tells him to leave the room and only step on the decals. TJ carefully steps out of the room. TJ then arrests Stanley.

In court, the charges against Stanley are read. He pleads not guilty, and Rubirosa asks for remand, adding that Stanley refuses to help police disarm the explosives. The judge sets bail at $1 million.

Afterwards, Rubirosa tells the detectives without the house, they are light on evidence to sustain 4 counts. The bomb squad won’t let them into the house to search for the plasticizer.

Later, Rubirosa speaks with Emily, who claims she knows nothing about the booby traps. She says she thought he was an inventor. She said Stanley understood what it was like for her to be in jail, as he got a light sentence the last time. Her attorney, Miss Finley, says she has documentation showing Emily is completely rehabilitated. Emily says she does not know where the gold or the chemicals used to make the explosives are.

Afterwards, DDA Joe Dekker (Terrence Howard) enters the room and asks how it went with her mom, who is now undergoing speech therapy from a stroke. Dekker says she is lucky to have her there. Rubirosa talks about Stanley’s case 8 years ago where he took a plea on a manslaughter charge 6 years ago. He got 2 years for a second offense and it was Dekker’s case. Stanley claimed that he was held up at knife point at a bar and his lawyer claimed reasonable response. The eyewitness and forensics were contradictory. Dekker comments she may not be aware of the California three strikes law, but Rubirosa says she passed the bar first in California. He says she is talking theory and he is talking reality – a second strike conviction means double the standards and a third means 25 to life. When he gets testy she says she wasn’t second guessing him, but he says she was – and she was right to do so. Dekker gets a phone call and seems shocked at what he is hearing.

Later. With Morales, TJ and Rubirosa, Sgt. Fordes says the area has been declared a state of emergency but Rubirosa reminds him of the warrant. He tells her they are going to do a controlled burn so they don’t risk an explosion. The sergeant refuses to relent.

Meanwhile, a reporter presses DA Jerry Hardin (Peter Coyote) and accuses his office of negligence saying that Stanley got out of jail because he did not prosecute him to the fullest when they had the chance. He says they will have to get back to her.

In the office, while Dekker and Rubirosa watches the house burn on TV, Hardin enters Hardin barks at Dekker to stay tuned, it gets better for him. He laces into him about Stanley’s light sentence. Dekker explains why he did it and when Hardin continues to spout off, Dekker reminds him that he signed off on it. Hardin shouts then that makes him a fool for taking his advice. He seems to calm and then asks how many counts they have on Stanley and then tells them to make them stick, he wants Stanley put away for good this time.

In Superior Court at the preliminary hearing, defense attorney Mr. Limpett (Matt Malloy) and Dekker argue about the lack of evidence, Dekker saying that Stanley should not profit because they had to burn the house. Dekker says they do have Stanley’s fingerprints on the bike used in the first robbery and they will find gold traces in the ashes of his house. The judge agrees and the charges are dismissed.

Back to the DA’s office, Hardin, Dekker, and Rubirosa discuss what they have. Dekker wants them to find something that will give Stanley three strikes. They argue about the spirit of the law. Dekker thinks Hardin wants Stanley now because of what they didn’t do 6 years ago. Hardin says they only people they should be worried about are the victims of Stanley Vaughn’s crimes and to get him the third strike. After Hardin storms out, Dekker says he needs to take a walk.

Later, Dekker is at the hospital watching Officer Briar into a chair, part of his leg missing. He returns to the office and when Rubirosa tells him she reviewed the evidence and she doesn’t see another charge, he tells her to count the pins at the bank if she has to, they are giving Hardin what he wants.

The detectives, along with Rubirosa, speak again with Emily and find that the bike Stanley used was stolen, she helped him steal it.

Later, Rubirosa and Dekker watch Limpett on TV complaining about the new charges against Stanley and they are using it as the third strike. Hardin is pleased.

At the preliminary hearing in Superior Court, Emily is testifying about how Stanley stole the bike. She adds how she thought she and Stanley could have a good life together and make a family. The judge adjourns the hearing until the next day. As they take Stanley away he looks at Emily and she looks back at him. Dekker tells her what Stanley did was not love. As they walk out, the San Bernardino Sherriff’s office arrests Emily for grand larceny for the stolen bike.

At the office of San Bernardino DA Walter Exley (Chris Ellis), Dekker an Rubirosa, they discuss both cases and Exley says the can also put Emily away for life, it will be her third strike. He says Jerry Hardin is not the only DA who is tough on crime. Dekker says Exley can make his point without applying the third strike. Exley says he is not playing politics, he is sending a law enforcement message. As they leave, Rubirosa tells Dekker this is wrong.

Back in Dekker’s office, Dekker discusses the problem with Hardin who says there is nothing they can do. Dekker says they can withdraw the charge against Stanley for the bike. They still have the bank robbery count. He reminds her that Emily is the reason they have the third strike count and it is worth it to drop it, but Hardin asks – worth it for whom – and brings up Officer Briar and his family. He said Emily played in the dirt and she got dirty. But Dekker says Hardin is now in the dirt, adding he thought Morales was too thin skinned but maybe he got it right. Hardin says before Dekker does something rash, he reminds him what Dekker said when he took the job – he wanted to work for change from the inside. If he quits, he is an outsider an ineffective.

Dekker and Rubirosa is with Emily and her attorney in the jail meeting room and they apologize for what has happened.

Back in court, Limpett argues about the bike charge and Emily’s credibility, saying they are trying to bootstrap a third strike. Dekker pauses before he responds, then calls Jerry Hardin to the stand. Hardin, waiting in the back of the room, pauses and then approaches, given Dekker a look.

On the stand, Hardin explains his decision and says he was guided by the law and the facts of the case. He said it not for political gain, he does what is right, not what is popular. Dekker brings up the second strike charge that Dekker says was done based on public reaction, and that Hardin was using the case to correct that. Hardin is slow to answer, but admits maybe that is the case. He admits that this is not justices. When Hardin leave the stand, he tells Dekker he made his point and to withdraw the charges. Dekker does so, and the judge rules they do have sufficient evidence on the robbery and they can proceed to trial.

Back in Exley’s office, Dekker and Rubirosa talk about Emily’s statement and as at the time they had no intention to prosecute her, he had not been properly mirandized and she did not have a lawyer present at the time. That makes her statement inadmissible. Dekker feigns an apology to Exley.

Back the office, Hardin tells Dekker he’d better hope he never gets a ticket in San Bernardino. Dekker comments he wanted Stanley in for life, but 15 years is still something. Hardin says by the time he gets out, it will be another DA’s problem and to hope whoever it is, is up to the task. Dekker looks at him with an air of self confidence and says he will be. As they walk out of the office. 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.

Law & Order LA “Runyon Canyon” Promo

Here is the NBC promo for Law & Order LA “Runyon Canyon” which will air on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 10 PM ET on NBC.

My recap and review of Law & Order LA "Runyon Canyon" can be found at this link.





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

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

Alana De La Garza Interviews Corey Stoll, Alfred Molina

From Wolf Films, here’s a short video of Law & Order LA’s Alana De La Garza interviewing her fellow castmates Corey Stoll and Alfred Molina, on set. What a funny group!




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

Law & Order CI “The Consoler” Promo

Here is the USA Network promo for Law & Order Criminal Intent “The Consoler” which will air on Sunday, May 8, 20111 (9 PM ET/8C).

Advance photos from the episode have already been posted here: Law & Order Criminal Intent “The Consoler” Advance Photos

My recap and review of Law & Order Criminal Intent "The Consoler" can be found at this link.





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

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

Law & Order CI “Rispetto” Recap & Review

They’re back! Like putting on your favorite pair of jeans that have been broken in and fit just right, Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe made a comfortable return to Law & Order Criminal Intent. It is as if they never left. In fact, the return was so low key that I don’t recall anyone mentioning in the episode exactly how they both managed to get back to working together at Major Case. It’s as if nothing had happened in the 2 part episode "Loyalty." In the scene where Goren and Eames first appear in "Rispetto," I think heard someone say “welcome back,” but that was it. As next week's episode “The Consoler” was originally listed as the first episode of the season, maybe we’ll get more of an explanation when that episode airs.

Goren and Eames also have a new captain, whose name is Joseph Hannah (Jay O. Sanders), according to the NBC bio. I don’t recall hearing his name mentioned or seeing it anywhere. He seemed perfect for the role – a big, bold authoritative presence…just one that no one calls by name! I think any time a regular character is added to the show that it’s simply poor manners to not to make some reference to their name.

The episode was classic Criminal Intent – seeing the lead up to the crime and meeting the key players, Goren and Eames working the case, and the big reveal at the end where Goren usually gets in the killer’s personal space in one way or the other, just to rattle them into confessing. I loved the scene were D’Onofrio makes a phone call pretending to be someone from Armani - that squealing giggly thing he did was priceless. Clearly the episode was playing off the recent – and overexposed - Charlie Sheen meltdown. While no one can do crazy quite like Charlie, Jay Mohr did a good job as the celebrity nut job who first was a murder suspect and then found himself a victim of murder himself.

While there was nothing remarkable about this episode, it was still enjoyable. Just the fact that Goren and Eames – and D’Onofrio and Erbe – were back doing what they do best left me with a good feeling. Hopefully, many viewers tuned in and will continue to tune in; nothing would make me happier if the series was given another chance and another season.

Here is the recap:

Nyle Brite (Jay Mohr) is working his successful fashion show. Meanwhile, Sarah Bell prepares to attend the after party, her boyfriend Nathan seems jealous. Later, at the party, Teddy Scola (Neal Huff) brings a new girl – Sarah - to Brite and he is horrified when he sees her. She also seems shocked and she runs off. Brite becomes angry and tells everyone to get out of his house, declaring the party over.

Back at home, Sarah hears a knock at the door - she thinks it’s Nathan. But when she opens the door, it’s Nyle, and he wants to talk. She thinks he’s high and she wants him out. He forces his way in.

Flowers are delivered to Nyle with a note that says, “You said I was your one and only. Now reap what you’ve sown.” When he gets home, he tells his wife that he screwed up. She tells her son that they need privacy.

At a later time, when Nathan knocks on Sarah’s door and there is no answer, he enters and finds a body wrapped in a rug, the arm sticking out.

Later, Detectives Bobby Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Alex Eames (Kathryn Erbe) are on the scene. They are welcomed back. Goren unrolls the carpet to examine the body - it's Sarah. She was shot in the chest. She has a lot of clothes designed by Nyle Brite. She has $5K in cash in her apartment. They also find a lot of wigs and condoms – and a clarinet that appears un-played. Eames finds nasty text messages on her phone.

They speak with Nathan about the text messages he sent to Sarah. He denies killing her. Eames gets a phone call. Goren continues to press Nathan about their relationship. He admits he paid her rent this month. Goren asks if anyone else may have been paying her rent, implying she was a hooker. They send him downtown for his alibi to be checked out. Eames tells Goren the ID is fake, she did not go to Hudson University, she was pretending to be a student. Goren comments that rich old guys love college girls.

Back at Major Case, the detectives confer with Captain Joseph Hannah (Jay O. Sanders). Nathan’s alibi checks out. Sarah has no record. They have record of calls from Nyle Brite, and all the calls came from the main office. But Eames says only one person brags about paying to play.

Back at Nyle’s design studio, he and Teddy look over a new design. But Paul Keller (Spencer Garrett) enters and sees that Nyle is stoned and is concerned as the bankers will be there in an hour. Nyle is wired and Paul says he is a mess and needs to see a doctor as there is no room in the business for psychotic behavior and gross stupidity. There is a $300M deal at stake. Nyle thinks he is under control.

At the morgue, ME Rodgers (Leslie Hendrix) goes over what she found with the detectives. There seems to be an injury on Sarah that occurred a day before the shooting. Goren thinks someone was swinging at her as she was turning away, like an argument that got out of control.

Goren and Eames arrive at Nyle’s design studio and they speak with him about Sarah, with Teddy standing nearby. Nyle says he does not recognize her and gave her none of his clothes. Goren shows him a photo of her dead and he freaks at it, saying it is bad mojo. He says he was at his shrink’s that morning and then he had breakfast with his wife Debra and his friend Teddy who works at the studio.

They speak with Teddy and he confirms the breakfast. He knows Sarah and is shocked that she is dead. He says they “dated” several times and she is a sweet kid. He saw her a few days ago at the after party as he asked her and a few others to come. He says Nyle was otherwise engaged. He says he did not call her, only texted. Goren sees that Teddy is a special consultant to Nyle. Teddy says he is a sounding board, and Goren says that means he does everything for Nyle, and Eames adds like buying cocaine and hookers. Teddy says they grew up together. Afterwards, Eames suggests they talk to Nyle’s shrink.

At Dr. Harper’s office, she tells them Nyle mentioned he received flowers from a girl and he was very upset. He never gave her name. Goren sees a magazine on Palm Beach Real Estate on her desk and comments that he thought people were cutting back on pricey therapy. She says there is only one reason to have wealthy clients over poor ones, the wealthy ones know money does not solve your problems.

At the florist shop, they check on flowers Sarah purchased last Sunday and find she sent a bouquet to Nyle. She reads the note back – the same message Nyle got with the flowers. Afterwards, Goren thinks Sarah had something on Nyle that could blow him up. Goren recalls the skull ring on Nyle’s hand and thinks he is the one that hit her, Eames thinks because she was blackmailing him.

Back at Major Case, Captain Hannah tells them Nyle’s company was working to go public in 3 weeks. Goren tells him it is clear Nyle lied about the victim, and it seems either Nyle or Teddy could have had the time to kill her. Paul Keller, the CEO, and Nyle’s wife Debra are suspects, Debra went to Florida after the breakfast but has since returned. Hannah thinks that people could get rich from the IPO and that is a damn good motive for murder.

The detectives speak with Paul Keller and suggest that Sarah was blackmailing Nyle, and they mention the IPO. He says he knows nothing about Sarah and he tells them to contact his attorneys for any more financial information. When Goren suggests he will call Goldman to tell them Paul is involved in a murder, Paul relents and says he will have the information sent over to them. Goren brings up Nyle’s addiction and Paul says he lost a brother to addiction and he takes it very seriously. Goren adds he lost his own brother in the same way. Goren thinks Paul should be focusing more on getting Nyle into rehab than on the IPO, and Paul replies that he is a businessman, not a saint.

At the apartment of Debra Brite (Noelle Beck), Goren and Eames speak with her about the murder and her trip to Florida. She says they are looking at condos there, and said she never met Sarah. Her son overhears the discussion add she tells him to go to this room, that it is OK. She admits that he is hers' and Nyle’s son, Tyler. She has been with Nyle for 20 years and says he has multiple addictions and would not hit or kill a call girl. Goren notices some purple wrist bands and says he has some of those “live strong” bands at home. Eames comments about how much money Lance Armstrong rained with those bracelets.

After they leave, Eames thinks Debra must know those “live strong” bracelets are yellow. Goren says the purple ones are worn to raise awareness of domestic violence. They think she is a victim, and Goren says her son’s behavior is like someone who is raised around violence. Eames suggests they go back to Teddy.

At Teddy’s apartment, they ask him about Nyle possibly being blackmailed, and that Sarah sent him a text the day before. He said she wanted out. He says about six months ago a woman named Jasmine had a video of Nyle that was pretty ugly.

The detectives speak with Jasmine, who said Paul Keller paid her off to keep silent about Nyle's drug use. She saw Sarah at Nyle party and when Nyle saw her he freaked out and ended the party. She said they looked like they were married.

The detectives go back to Nyle and they mention they know he shut the party down when he saw Sarah because she was blackmailing him. Nyle asks if she is a crazy person and then threatens to sue them for slander. Goren asks if Nyle ever played a music instrument, and he tells them he picked up the clarinet when he was 12. When Goren asks if he gave Sara a clarinet as a give, Nyle gets evasive. Goren suggest Nyle gave it to her when she was 12 – and adds that is why Nyle called off the party – the hooker Teddy brought was Nyle’s daughter. Eames mentions “reap what you sow.”

Later, at Major Case with Nyle in interrogation, they grill him about Sarah, whose real name was Chloe Miller and she is his daughter. Nyle talks about Chloe’s mother, and that Debra does not know. He wanted to pretend she never showed up at the party and was not a prostitute. He didn’t judge her. Nyle admits he tracked her down to talk her, and she slapped him first and he lost it, he had been on a bender. He begins to get unhinged and said if they want to hook him for assault that is fine but if they can’t get him for murder because he didn’t kill her. He continues to get more and more upset and Eames tells him he is a train wreck.

At Debra’s, Paul tells her they have to do what they can to protect Nyle. The shrink Dr. Harper is there too. Debra says everything will be fine. He asks the doctor if Nyle did it and she says she can’t breach her confidentiality. He tells her to save the speak, he knows the game she and Debra are playing.

Back at Major Case, Goren and Eames talk about a family trust that Nyle set up within the last 6 months – and the money will be controlled by his wife.

They speak with Debra about it and she tells them Nyle wanted to set up a nest egg for them in case something happened to him. She mentions Dr. Harper and admits Harper is her shrink too – and Goren brings up Nyle abusing her. While they are talking, Tyler comes into the room to tell them Nyle is on TV. We see Nyle on a talk show and he is on a rant, speaking somewhat irrationally, talking about “Instinct! Instinct!” Debra turns off the TV. Goren brings up the fact that Nyle had a daughter named Chloe Miller, and Debra glares at him and says if they have any more questions to talk to her lawyer.

Back at Major Case, Hannah speaks the with detectives about what to do next, trying to find any reason to bring him in. But they are having a hard time locating him. There is a townhouse registered to his company on Hudson Street, maybe his home sway from home. Hannah suggests they move him into a studio at Sing Sing.

When the detectives arrive at the townhouse, the door is open and the TV is on but no one seems home. They draw their guns when they seem Nyle dead on the floor. They hear a noise in a closet and open it to find a woman hiding, and crying.

Later, with more police on the scene, the woman said she did not see anything and she hid in the closet. The paparazzi are outside. They see a dress that matches a sketch in Debra’s apartment. It appears he was shot 5 times and the killer was likely pissed.

Back at Major Case, the detectives are told ballistics match the same weapon that killed Sarah Bell. One of the escorts at Nyle’s that night recall Nyle getting a phone call and Nyle calling someone a selfish bitch.

Later, they bring Debra down to Major Case for questioning while her son Tyler waits at a desk. Debra said she did not kill Nyle, she was at home with Tyler. Goren confronts her about her intimate relationship with Dr. Harper and Debra is evasive. They also confront her with the fact that she and Harper were working on acquiring a $15M house, and accuse her of killing Nyle for the money. She still denies killing Sarah or Nyle. Goren looks out of the room to Tyler, and then excuses himself. He approaches Tyler and sees him drawing. Tyler is not sorry that Nyle is dead. It comes out that the sketches were not Nyle’s, his mother and everyone else has been covering for him for years. Goren asks if it’s not Nyle’s sketch, then whose is it?

Later, Goren I knocking on Teddy’s apartment door. When there is no answer, he gets the super to open up. They go into his at home studio and see sketches, apparently designing his own line. Eames says Teddy has still not shown up in his office according to the receptionist. Goren thinks the receptionist is lying, and takes the phone and calls the office, faking that he is from Armani and his name is Martin Flan. He talks in an effeminate manger and giggles, and manages to get an appointment with the elusive Teddy.

At the design studios, Teddy runs into Paul and Teddy tells him he has a meeting with an investor. Goren an Eames arrive and Teddy is surprised to find that it was Goren who called as Martin Flan. Goren and Eames discuss what they now know are Teddy’s designs. They look at his design book with the new design called “Spetto.” Teddy said Nyle was the star, and Goren says Teddy was the fool, just a part of the entourage. Goren goes on to talk about Nyle’s and Teddy’s history and the perks of working with Nyle. Eames brings up the IPO, saying it was not enough to launch a line. Nyle told Teddy his line was derivative. Goren continues to press him about bringing Sarah, and that Teddy did not know that was Teddy’s daughter. He admitted that she came to his place after she fought with Teddy. Goren presses on whose idea it was to blackmail Nyle. Teddy goes on about how Nyle strung him along. Goren said she and Teddy sent the flowers and then she regretted it, sending Teddy the texts that she could not do it anymore. Goren said that Nyle was not going to allow him to step into the sun, teddy was just the faceless silly guy backstage. Teddy feels he was more than that. Goren asks if that is how he came up with the work “Spetto” which was shortened from the Italian word ”rispetto” meaning respect. Teddy laughs, saying he loves the sound of it, it is mysterious and strong and it motivated him, it helped him to fight obstacles. He said he had no choice with Sarah, she was going to tell Teddy about the blackmail. When Goren said she was going to go on national television and destroy the company – Teddy said he just wanted his moment. He doesn’t care what anybody says, he was good, he really was. Goren said Teddy was better than good, and shakes his hand, saying he was brilliant. But Goren cuffs him, saying Teddy had to kill a father and a daughter for anyone to notice. As the police take Teddy away, he cries out. Eames says that on the bright side, he’ll have his moment in the sun – in the yard, an hour a day. She looks at Goren, who looks straight ahead 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 CI “The Consoler” Episode Information

Here is are the details for a new episode of Law & Order Criminal Intent “The Consoler” :


Law & Order CI “The Consoler” Air Date May 8, 20111 (9 PM ET/8C Sunday USA Network)

Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Eames (Kathryn Erbe) investigate the death of a banker who was working with the Catholic church and could be part of a cover-up. Guest stars Neal McDonough as Monsignor Hugh McTeal, and Lauren Hodges as Natalie Finnegan.

My recap and review of Law & Order Criminal Intent "The Consoler" can be found at this link.

Advance photos from the episode have already been posted here: Law & Order Criminal Intent “The Consoler” Advance Photos




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.