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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Twenty-Two, Season Seven
NBC Production
"I don't like the drugs, the
drugs, the drugs"
I’m don’t claim to be an expert on
how to write a compelling mystery, but I’ve seen enough of them to know that if you
open with the victim of a crime stating that they knows the identity of her attacker than
chances are extremely good that said victim is lying. I mean in the simple rule of thumb
is that there has to be enough material to fill up an hour long episode, and clearly the
writer came to realize this one was coming up a bit short as they completely abandon the
opening plot at about the halfway point, and instead decide to take a blindingly obvious
pot-shot at one of Tom Cruise’s more insane moments. Now this series has jumped to a
new plot thread halfway through the episode a couple times before and I didn’t much
care for it any of previous times as to me it’s like the writing actively threw up
it’s hands and admitting that they didn’t have enough plot to support an entire
episode. However, this time out it was even more irksome because to me the episode had a
perfectly engaging plot thread that it looked ready to follow, so the jump to another
track was completely unnecessary. Now perhaps the writer didn’t feel like venturing
into this territory, as I can see a court battle involving false rape allegations might
make for uncomfortable viewing, and women’s rights groups might cry foul about it
sending the wrong message, but I have to say if you don’t feel like addressing the
subject than don’t introduce it. As it stands the writing looks to have set the stage
for it’s second half, but it dropped the idea completely and instead went with a much
safer plot that was less inclined to offend. The fact that this second plot does such a
poor job of offering up a balanced examination of the issue didn’t really help
matters much either, as the anti-pharmaceutical drugs argument that are made by the thinly
veil Tom Cruise character are wafer thin, and the only real effective argument that is
made for his side is when the girl’s defence lawyer points out how poorly informed
the doctor who prescribed the drug is when it comes to the treatment he’s using. In
the end this was a very disjointed effort that felt like two unrelated plots that had been
tacked together.
2.5 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Twenty-One, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Hate you father for you have
sinned"
I’m not going to say that I feel sorry for the
human punching bags that this episode offers up, but this episode did strike me as a
little curious as the SVU cast spend a good part of the episode delivering a serious beat
down on the suspects. I mean given these suspects are child molesters there’s a
certain appeal to the scenes where we see the various characters venting their inner rage
upon these criminals, but given the second half of numerous Law and Order episode have
featured criminals trying to slip free of their punishment by claiming their civil rights
have been violated, this episode feels like it’s left the door wide open for these
criminals to argue police brutality. Now I guess the writing could argue that the sole aim
of these beatings was to locate a young man who had been kidnapped, but it’s hard not
to notice that neither beating provided any information, and the writing doesn’t even
bother to address the fallout from either of these beatings, so the overall message that
this episode seems to be sending is that there wasn’t important. The writing also
gets a little lazy when it comes to the detective work as Detective Benson’s magic
computer program manages make it all seem a little too easy. Still there are some
effective individual scenes as there’s a lovely exchange where the SVU computer tech
explains why he’s so obsessive when it comes to catching the online predators, and as
such the simplistic follow-up to this scene left me downright disappointed given it leaves
this character’s fate completely up in the air. Still, the episode also manages to
set the stage for a rather unsettling moment as we see the detectives confront one of the
online visitors to the child porn site about his involvement in the kidnapping, and it
becomes apparent this man has completely deluded himself into believing he’s in a
loving relationship. The earlier scene where the young man seems completely unaware of
what he’s done wrong was also a rather disturbing scene. Star Trek Voyager fans will
also probably get a kick out of a blink and you’ll miss her guest-star, though I
found myself wishing she had been given a little more to do in this episode.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Twenty, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Ham on, ham on, ham on whole
wheat, all right"
This episode suffers from a murder plot
that’s devoid of any real unexpected developments, though it certainly makes an
attempt at about the halfway point when the victim of the original attack that set off
this chain of events guns down one of his attackers in the police station. However if
you’ve been watching the Law and Order franchise for as long as I have than you know
this type of vigilante justice is a favoured plot twist that writers love to employ. Now
normally they wait until the freed criminal reaches the front steps of the court house,
but this change of locals doesn’t really make this old chestnut of a plot device any
more surprising. I also have to say the motive that the episode provides for the original
beating was surprisingly weak considering the severity of the attack, as it’s a bit
like asking the viewers to believe that a former smoker would be compelled to lay a
beating on a person they saw smoking due to the animosity they faced when they were a
smoker. In fact the girl’s tearful admission would seem to suggest that she would
have far more understanding and sympathy for the plight of a person who was overweight
than the raging anger that one would need to take part in such a serious attack.
What’s more the episode doesn’t even bother to come up with a reason for why her
friend initiated the attack, and as such he becomes little more than a poorly justified
plot device. Now the episode did manage to offer up some effective moments involving the
overweight younger siblings, as we slowly learn the reason why they attacked a seemingly
innocent young teen. However, these scenes were overshadowed by some rather obvious
moments as we find Detective Stabler struggling to deal with his new partner, who is
clearly supposed to be an even more extreme version of Stabler’s bull in a china shop
routine. However, the behaviour of this new partner is so over the top that it’s
extremely difficult to imagine how he even made the detective rank. In fact the whole
point of this new character seems to be to demonstrate exactly the wrong way to build a
case against a suspect.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Nineteen, Season Seven
NBC Production
"I’m Reviewing the
Situation"
Out of the three Law and Order franchises
this series is the only one that hasn’t really messed about with it’s main cast
of players, as I think the only real change that has been made is the main district
attorney has been changed, though truth be told if I hadn’t seen the episode where
the original was forced to go into witness protection I probably wouldn’t have really
noticed the change. In any event if this episode managed to accomplish one thing it’s
that it brought forward the promise that we might see some fresh blood on this series,
though I guess the simple solution could be that the four lead detectives will simply swap
partners (e.g. Fin teams up with Olivia). In any event while this episode was guilty of
playing up the melodrama, one can’t really fault the writing for wanting to milk all
the dramatic tension out of the final stand-off scene, where Stabler is being held at
gunpoint by hardened killer, while Benson is forced to decide whether she’ll try for
the shot that could very well result in his death. However I have to confess I was rather
surprised how detached I found myself from this supercharged final, as I found myself
asking the question would I miss Stabler if he didn’t make it out the other side of
this episode, and the answer I came up with was not really. I mean I don’t dislike
the character, but as we past the midpoint of the seventh season I found myself agreeing
with the curt assessment that the coroner makes in this episode about how Stabler moody
intensity has become a bit tiresome. Now given this show is the highest rated series in
the sagging Law and Order franchise I don’t expect it’ll shake things up too
much, but as a long-time viewer I have to say I was more excited by the prospect of a
lasting change being brought to the table than I was by the potential loss of a long
standing character, and this seems to suggest the series could use a good shake up. Still,
while this episode offers up a script that rockets along at a pretty good clip, the most
engaging section of the episode arrives in the final moments as we see Benson and
Stabler’s partnership looks to have been dissolved.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Eighteen, Season Seven
NBC Production
"He ain’t heavy ... He’s
my brother"
This episode offers up some of the big acting
moments that truthfully I’ve never much enjoyed on this series as the writers seem to
be fond of the overly melodramatic confrontation. I mean there’s some memorable
scenes in this episode such as Fin’s confrontation with Stabler about how his own
children are hardly shining examples, and the final scene where the murderer explains how
the upcoming court case is going to play out had a nice sense of gravity about it. Still
the episode did suffer from a few too many moments where it was a little too obvious that
the writing was offering up the big emotional moments, and this sense of self importance
was a bit distracting. The scenes where the actors get into an intensity showdown also
reached a point where I found myself wishing the actors would dial it down a bit, as if
everyone is up on edge all the time than the important moments are lost among the extreme
angst. I also have to say I found the detective work in this episode to be a little
simplistic, as the trophy that the killer removed from the crime scene was so unique that
it practically screamed writer manipulation. Still, I did enjoy the non-traditional manner
that our detective were pulled into the story, and the episode also offers up an
interesting, if somewhat dubious loophole that the killer nearly used to escape justice. I
do have to wonder why the killer felt that the court case would be the ideal opportunity
to air his family’s dirty laundry though, as the prosecution could shoot most of it
down by questioning it’s relevance to the actual case. I mean the last time I checked
an unhappy childhood wasn’t a valid defence, and as for the case serving to smear
dirt on Fin’s son this is also easily resolved by simply putting him on the stand as
a key witness against the killer. In the end this episode had it’s moments, and the
guest-performances were fairly solid from the calculating killer, to the shark of a lawyer
that Fin provides his son with. However, a great deal of the episode’s effectiveness
was undermined by the writing, and it’s over reliance of the big emotional
confrontation scene.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Seventeen, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Puttin’ on the Ritz"
Law and Order writers never make much of an
effort to flesh out the backstories of the regular cast members as all the series are more
plot driven entities, and as such it’s always interesting to get an episode where the
writing makes an effort to add that extra element to one of the characters beyond the
initial character template. Now truth be told I found Stabler’s sob story about how
he was treated like dirt by a bunch of snotty rich kids to be a little on the whiny side,
but his overly aggressive response is nicely in keeping with the character. The problem
comes with the simple fact that this look at Stabler’s own past is supposed to help
us viewers understand the killer’s motives, and I have to say it had pretty much the
opposite effect as after Stabler finished his own story I found myself even less inclined
to see this character escape justice, as the basic premise of Stabler’s story is that
hurt feelings entitles one to smash a bottle over the head of your tormentor. Now the
writing doesn’t try and produce a not guilty verdict using the class warfare excuse,
and it even has Stabler play a key role in exposing the true motive of the killer, but I
have to say it did a pretty good job of making it feel like it was going to make the
attempt. Now it’s pretty clear that the victim was no saint, and that her own greed
produced the highly charged emotional encounter that resulted in her death, but still
I’m glad the writer didn’t try and sell this idea as a valid excuse for her
murder. On the other hand the writing is guilty of offering up a young woman who is all
but twirling her moustache when she details how her relationship with the killer worked.
Still, I’ll give the episode credit for a pretty engaging investigation, as we get a
nice range of potential suspects before it narrows in on the real killer, and the various
twists and turns that it took kept me guessing right up until the real killer walked in
the door. The episode also offers up an interesting defence involving gambling addiction,
but it’s dropped before it ever shapes up into a convincing argument. Still, I
wouldn’t mind seeing this defence resurface on a future Law and Order episode.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Sixteen, Season Seven
NBC Production
"My criminal mind ... is all I've
ever had"
The episode manages to get out of the gates
with a nice running start, as they skip past the typical Law and Order opening scene where
the victim’s body is discovered, and the we follow the detectives as they piece
together various clues until they have their suspect. In fact this episode opens with the
arrest of the suspects, and the episode spends most of it’s time in the courtroom as
we see the cast trying to build a case against these young men, when they are missing key
pieces of evidence, such as the body of the victim. The episode also manages to take a
somewhat unexpected turn when we see a key witness vanishes in the middle of the trail,
and as such the case against is thrown out due to lack of evidence. On the other hand the
episode suffers from the simple fact that there’s never a moment of doubt that the
suspects who were arrested are guilty, and as such it’s difficult to get overly
caught up in a story where one can’t ignore the moustache twirling being done by the
villains. I mean I guess we’re supposed to be angered by the scene where the killers
managed to get away with the first murder, but frankly I couldn’t look past the
simple fact that the writing expected me to be feeling this way. The overly melodramatic
performances by the normally reliable leads was also a bit surprising with ADA Novak being
saddled with some rather painful scenes where she has to express her anguish at how the
case turned. Still, I did enjoy the simple fact that the episode made a effort to do
something different with the Law and Order plot format, and I hope this is a sign that the
writers have been given permission to tinker with the increasingly predictable plot
structure one finds on Law and Order. I do have to say the direction of this episode
earned itself a slap on the wrist though for framing camera shots in such a manner that
it’s painfully obvious these shots have been framed. I mean I don’t mind the
occasional pretty visual shot, but when they draw attention to themselves they pull one
out of the story.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Fifteen, Season Seven
NBC Production
"You're worse than him, tellin' me
he's comin' back? Ya lyin' old hag!"
You know you’re in trouble when a day
after the episode aired you’re having trouble recalling the basic plot of the
episode, and even after a quick trip online to get a basic plot outline I have to confess
I only have a fleeting recollection of this episode. Now if this lack of memory recall was
more common in other elements of my life I might be a little more concerned, but as it
stands I’m more inclined to believe that I’m having trouble with this episode
because it made use of such a cookie-cutter plot that nothing really made the episode
stand out. I mean there are some mildly interesting plot elements like the method that the
killer uses to gain entrance into the women’s apartment, and I have to say part of me
was rather pleased to see Richard Belzer’s character briefly step out of the
background to offer up some of the quirks that made him my personal favourite among the
incredibly strong cast of "Homicide: Life on the Streets". The episode also
offers up a hilarious reveal moment where we see the angry husband decides to push his
wheelchair bound wife into the swimming pool, as while I got the impression this was
supposed to be a jaw-dropping plot twist, the way it played out almost felt like a Mel
Brooks comedy. This episode also offers up a delightfully silly criminal defence as we see
Munchausen's syndrome is offered up as the not guilty due to mental defect card,
and while I hold a certain fondness for this mental illness due to my belief that
it’s named after one of my personal favourite literary creations, watching this
episode struggling to use it to explain why it made this woman not criminally responsible
for orchestrating the deaths of two women was almost painful to watch. Now guest-star
Rebecca De Mornay does the best she can with the material as it’s fairly clear that
this character is clearly devoted to her husband, and she’s willing to take this
devotion to some pretty extreme places, but in the end not even her performance can save
this episode from it’s silly underlying premise.
2 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Fourteen, Season Seven
NBC Production
"I want you to live with me and
die with me and everything with me!"
I’m always game for an episode of Law
and Order that ventures into some disturbing terrain, but this episode feels like a writer
playing with sensationalistic elements simply because they know it will get the attention
of the viewers. I mean this episode opens with a fairly engaging mystery involving an
abandoned infant who was left to die in a pile of garbage, and thanks to a number of
helpful items that were found with the infant our detective are able to locate the mother
of the child in pretty short order. However it’s clear the writer felt that this
simply wasn’t shocking enough to carry their episode so they introduce an insesuous
relationship between this young woman and her father, and than to ramp up the creepy
factor by making it all too clear that these two are completely infatuated with each other
and that chances are very good that they are going to continue with their relationship in
spite of the fact that they are father and daughter. Add to this the fact that the
daughter has made a habit of abandoning the babies that are produced by their sexual
relationship, and you have a thoroughly unpleasant pair. The writing than goes out of
it’s way to have our detectives and DA’s commenting on how deeply disturbing
they find this pairing. Now the episode would’ve worked far better if the writing
actually had a real purpose for venturing into this territory beyond to simply pay it a
visit and have the characters comment on how unsettling they find this situation, but this
episode is little better than a freak show, with about as much insight into why these
characters are engaging in this behaviour as an episode of Jerry Springer. In the end this
episode felt like it was trying far too hard in it’s bid to offer up a shocking
moment that would leave viewers disturbed, and it’s never a good sign when the
regular cast’s sole function in the story is to express their moral indignation.
2.5 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Thirteen, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Last wish? I wish you had more
time."
There’s a scene in this issue where the
writing manages to get in it’s own way when it comes to steering the audience's
sympathy in the direction that it seems to be pushing for in the final moments, as when
the detectives locate the young girl that had been kidnapped it’s revealed that her
kidnapper had given her an overdose that would’ve killed her if the detectives
hadn’t figured out where she was being held. With this lingering in my mind it was
quite difficult to feel anything but utter contempt toward the kidnapper, and while the
writing makes a considerable effort to establish why the kidnapper was driven to such
extreme lengths and it’s big climax involves Dr. Warner working to prevent the
suspect’s suicide by cop bid, the simple truth of the matter is that it’s a
little difficult to be emotionally invested in a situation where I found myself not
actively caring if this character was able to successfully bring his life to an end. I
mean I consider myself an enlightened viewer who is able to see the good in even the most
reprehensible of characters, but the writing does very little to make this character
sympathetic enough to make one overlook the attempted murder of a little girl. Now this
episode does a nice job of building the suspense as the episode opens with a fairly
nightmarish situation as we see a young girl being kidnapped, and the efforts to get her
back safely manages to offer up some exciting moments, with the blown ransom pickup making
for a wonderful cut to commercial moment. It’s also nice the see a side character
getting a little bit of attention as medical examiner Dr. Warner steps out of her normal
role of delivering exposition, and actually becomes involved in the action. Now her
presence at the bank for the big climax was a bit awkward, but the role she plays made for
a nice character moment.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Twelve, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Guns don’t kill people,
bullets do"
One does get the sense that us viewers at
home are supposed to be impressed by the clever way that the writing managed to arrive at
it’s happy ending, but you can count me among the group that looked upon this ending
as the writing pulling the safety cord before it would’ve been forced to take a
definitive stand on the issue. I mean it’s all well and good to have our little
murderer walk as his victim was far from being the most sympathetic of characters, and as
much as society wants to quash this urge, the simple fact of the matter is that in a work
of fiction like this viewers are more often than not willing to give a killer a free pass
if their victim is revealed to be a truly reprehensible piece of work, and the writing
spends most of it’s opening half ensuring that us viewers would hold no sympathy for
the man that is murdered. However, while the writing can pat itself on the back for
finding a legal loophole that it could slip through before it would’ve been forced to
deliver an actual decision on the issue of whether exposure to gun violence can be seen as
a valid legal defence, it’s a little disappointing that the writing essentially
decided to take it’s ball and go home before being forced to take a stand. Now
it’s pretty clear which way the writing was leaning as we see the D.A. and our
detectives were fully prepared to accept the argument and had even come to accept a plea
bargain agreement before the episode went sideways. However, it is worth noting that the
writing goes out of it’s way to avoid the elephant in the room when it comes to this
defence, as one has to imagine that every case involving gunplay would latch onto this
study as would every future case, and this is the real debate that the writing
should’ve been having rather than bringing in a thinly disguised version of the
N.R.A.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Eleven, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Blessed Are the Children"
This marks like the third episode in a row
where the writers have completely abandoned a plot, as a new, more exciting idea
interjects itself into the story, and instead of a single cohesive story what we're left
with is two half-formed stories that don't have a proper resolution. I mean the episode
starts out with a pretty interesting plot involving a young child being stabbed, and as
the crime is investigated we discover the attacker is a very young little girl, and the
attack was clearly the result of her being the victim of a very aggressive bully. However
rather than spend it's time exploring the idea of what drove the actions of these two
children, instead the writing gets side-tracked by a less engaging debate, as we see the
grandparents of the young girl attempt to wrestle custody away from the girl's current
guardian because they are led to believe that the attack is the result of the girl being
raised by a lesbian couple, and as such the sins of the parents are corrupting the child.
However, the simple truth of the matter is that the argument that are presented in the
second half of the episode are done in such broad strokes that's it's not so much a
debate, but rather it's a bid to make one side look like irrational sheep, while the other
are helpless victims. Now I did like the idea that the characters do ask why this woman
thought it was right to use her daughter as a battering ram to expose the hypocrisy of the
system, but one tearful admission would seem to be all that the writing felt was needed to
get the viewers back on side. It was also nice to see the principal of the Catholic school
was presented as a real character rather than a stereotypical bible thumper. Still, this
episode did have an annoying habit of offering up moments of emotion that were only
included to drive home the point it was trying to make (e.g. the death of the girl's
mother when the police arrive to investigate claims of abuse).
2.5 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL
VICTIMS UNIT
Episode Ten, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Somebody’s poisoned the
waterhole!"
This is another one of those strange issues
where the writing wanders off on a rather odd tangent, as the episode opens with an
interesting examination of the idea that Hurricane Katrina has proven to be a rather
unsettling boon for pedophiles, and I have to say when the characters were listing off the
numbers of children who were uncounted for, I couldn’t help but hope that the writer
had simply pulled this number out of the air, rather than from an actual report. However,
at the halfway point of this episode the episode introduces a completely new plot element,
as the suspect who kidnapped three young children up and dies, and when the truth behind
his death is revealed the episode sets off down a completely new path, as our detectives
discover yet another disturbing truth about Hurricane Katrina that the US government is
looking to sweep under the carpet. Plus, if the episode wasn’t already busy enough
the writing also brings the idea of freedom of the press into play, as our detectives have
to contend with an ambitious court reporter who is looking for a big story, and while his
efforts initially prove to be a hindrance, the episode manages to transform this reporter
into a heroic figure who sacrifices his freedom so that the government can’t bury the
truth. In the end while all these ideas are worthy of attention, and this episode does a
lovely job of making it look like Detective Benson had wandered out on to some pretty thin
ice, the simple truth of the matter is that the episode would’ve been better served
if it had focused it’s energy on a single idea rather than split it’s attentions
between the three. I also found myself a little annoyed by some awkward moments of
overacting, such as Dr. Huang’s impassioned plea that they find the missing girl, or
downright cartoonish protrayal of the FBI agents.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS
UNIT
Episode Nine, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Constantly choosing the lesser of
two evils is still choosing evil."
The debate over abortion rests at the centre
of this episode, as we see a young sixteen year old girl and her boyfriend find themselves
at the centre of a heated court case where the writing would seem to be suggesting that a
tragedy could’ve been averted if the young girl had been allowed easy access to a
proper abortion. Now while this episode does a fairly good job of looking at both sides of
the argument, it has a fundamental flaw at it’s core that it completely ignores, and
crossing one’s fingers and hoping the viewers don’t ask the question that would
completely derail the story is never a good move. I mean the writing goes out of it’s
way to establish that this young woman is desperate to have an abortion, and it even
offered up a scene where the girl details all the steps that she took, but it utterly
ignores the question of why didn’t she simply contact another clinic? I mean
it’s not like a city the size of New York would only have one clinic that performed
abortions, and while I accept that two teens aren’t presented as the sharpest knives
in the drawer, this episode asks us to believe that this girl was calling the clinic three
times a day for two weeks, and not once did she ever consider picking up the phone book
and looking for another clinic. I mean a smart writer could’ve explained away this
problem, but ignoring it simply makes it the elephant in the room that the writing seems
to be hoping the viewers won’t notice. Of course if the question had been asked than
the teenagers would’ve lost the sympathy that the writing was building to justify
their horrific crime, and this episode clearly had it’s heart set on painting them as
victims of an evil pro-life doctor who drove them to commit this desperate act. Still it
was nice to see the father of the girl wasn’t made out to be a stereotypical
bible-thumping monster, which did earn the writing a check mark in my good column.
2.5 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS
UNIT
Episode Eight, Season Seven
NBC Production
"'Til Death Do You Part"
The Law and Order franchise must be a pretty
high profile writing assignment in the television industry, so one has to imagine that the
producers wouldn’t have to look at the work of any unproven writers who hadn’t
quite grasped the fundamentals of writing. However it would appear that one managed to
slip through the cracks as this episode managed to commit a truly irksome rookie blunder.
I mean one would think that it’s simple storytelling logic that one should wrap up
one story thread before jumping to a new one, but this episode essentially drops one idea
in midstream so that it can play with a ripped from the headlines plot. Now the episode
starts out like a typical SVU episode as we find our detectives investigating a string of
rapes that have been committed by a serial rapist. However, once the episode reveals who
the rapist is, and the case start to develop the writing veers off onto a tangent that it
never returns from. I mean having the suspect indicted on the charges does not mean the
case against him is over, and the episode seemed to be all ready to move on to the actual
court case, as we had a criminally underused Teri Garr on hand to play the defence
attorney, and the evidence against out rapist made it seem like D.A. Novak was going to
have to work for her guilty verdict. However, rather than continuing the story, instead
the writing decided that what viewers really wanted to see was repeat performance of the
Terri Shrivo case, as we see the ever loyal girlfriend/wife of the serial rapist drinks
herself into a persistive vegetative state, and we have the moustache twirling rapist
pushing to end her life, while the woman’s mother battles to keep her daughter alive.
In the end this sudden decision to switch plots in midstream felt like amateur hour, as
did the final scene where the writing goes above and beyond to show viewers it’s what
the woman would’ve wanted.
2 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS
UNIT
Episode Seven, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Nothing weighs on us so heavily
as a secret."
Ask and you shall receive, as in my review of
the previous episode I asked a question that is directly addressed in the opening moments
of this episode, as it would appear that any and every case that involves a child would
seem to fall under the Special Victims umbrella. Now this episode looks to have lifted a
script from the Cold Case series, as the body of a child is discovered, and objects in the
body vicinity make it pretty clear that this body was dumped over 30 years ago. Now it
would appear Mariska Hargitay decided to take this issue off, because Christopher Meloni
is given a new partner for this episode. Now Detective Benson is joined by a young female
detective who has reasons to be emotionally invested in this case. Truth be told though
the problem with cold cases like this one is that there is a rather detached quality about
them, and while the scene where the parents of the missing boys are brought together
managed to sell the emotional impact, the rest of the episode lacked a sense of urgency.
The scene where the killer is confronted about his victims also felt a bit hollow as we
see the man has one foot in the grave, and the answer to the big mystery of who was the
boy in the box is left unanswered. I also have to say I wasn’t quite won over by
Detective Benson’s new partner, as while her reason for being interested in the case
was intriguing the episode doesn’t really dig any deeper into the character, and as
such she is little better than a thinly fleshed out character type. I’d much rather
the writing had done more with the idea of a person becoming so obsessed with an idea that
they are blinded to how central this one element has become in their life, as when the
killer stated he didn’t remember the victim’s name, the non-reaction by this
character struck me as a missed opportunity.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS
UNIT
Episode Six, Season Seven
NBC Production
"The sun also shines on the
wicked."
A rather strange episode for this series
as while I'm not sure I have a solid grasp on what the "Special Victims Unit"
mandate is, the opening monologue for this series would seem to suggest that they are only
brought in to investigate sexually based offences, and this episode marks the first time
that this series has made the suggestion that they are brought in on any and every case
involving children. Now I guess it makes sense as the squad would have a wealth of
experience dealing with children, but truth be told it did strike me as a little odd that
the writing didn't take a moment to explain why SVU had been called upon to investigate a
school shooting. Now the episode offers up a throwaway red herring subplot involving the
discovery that one of the children being questioned is being abused by a neighbour, but
truth be told this episode did have our characters wandering pretty far afield, as we
learn the school shooting is linked to a white power group who specifically targeted
minorities. Now the episode does earn marks for offering up a pretty explosive finish as
the court case against the sniper erupts into a literal shooting spree, and two of our
regular cast members take bullets. On the other hand the episode is a little bit over the
top in it's presentation of the racist group, as pretty much every word they speak is a
racial slur, and the episode doesn't even bother to make these characters into anything
but venom filled bigots. Now I'm not asking for a in-depth character study of the societal
factors that shape a racist but it would have been nice to get some sense that these
characters brought more to the table than insults and paranoia. Plus this episode didn't
exactly do itself any favours with it's multiple twist endings and it's decision to
abandon any pretence of being a debate about free speech with it's
"jack-in-the-box" explosion of violence.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS
UNIT
Episode Five, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Only those who will risk going
too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
A rather run-of-the-mill episode that is
redeemed by some powerful performances from the guest-stars, as we see the SVU detectives
are brought in to investigate a pair of seemingly linked murders where the word
"killer" is scrawled next to the naked bodies of the victims. Now the
investigation quickly reveals the both victims were homosexual meth addicts who were
infected by a mutated version of H.I.V., and the motive of the murderer is pretty easy to
figure out when this information is brought to the table. Still in spite of it's rather
obvious resolution, and the overall sense that it does feel like the writing is offering
up a lecture of the dangers of a high risk lifestyle, the last half of this episode
benefits tremendously from a pair of standout guest performances, as the murderer is
afforded a number of powerful moments where his motivation is perfectly etched on the
actor's face. My favourite sections of the episode centre around the grief stricken father
of one of the murder victims, and his final speech where he talks to the judge is a very
powerful moment. There's also a lovely courtroom moment where A.D.A. Casey Novak blows a
gaping hole in the logic that the murderer was using to justify his crime, as it's not
often one gets to see such a crystal clear moment where a case was won. There's also a
minor subplot involving Detective "Fin" Tutuola discovering his son is gay, and
while I'm always pleased to see the sorely underused Ice-T given some time in the
spotlight, this section of the episode is handled with such kid's gloves that there was
never any doubt where the writing was going to take us.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS
UNIT
Episode Four, Season Seven
NBC Production
"No Wire Hangers!"
After Mariska Hargitay's big performance last
week I guess it only makes sense that the attention would swing the other way in this
episode, as Detective Stabler is front and centre in this episode. Now truth be told the
running subplot involving Detective Stabler increasingly aggressive behaviour has never
really won me over, as frankly the police officer on the verge of losing control is such a
over used plot device in police procedurals that I simply can't work up much enthusiasm,
no matter how effective the performances are. What makes it even more tiresome is that the
back-story that is offered up in this episode feels like exactly the type of nightmarish
childhood is hardly breaking any new ground. In fact the tearful admission that Detective
Stabler makes in this episode almost had a pre-packaged feel to it that I couldn't help
but be unimpressed by the lack of originality on display by the writing. I mean I realize
that not every story has to offer up a radical twist and that sometimes the simplest
explanation works best, but this episode felt like it was trying to impress us with this
eye-opening moment of character insight while the story follows the exact path that I went
in expecting it to. As for the actual story, it's a pretty simple story, as we know who
the guilty party is before the opening credit arrive, and the explanation for the attack
is revealed soon after, so there's not much in the way of mystery. Now the revelation that
the suspect is the son of Stabler's former partner added an interesting wrinkle, and the
final moments of the episode take an unexpected turn, but frankly the centrepiece of this
episode felt like reheated leftovers, and as such I couldn't help but feel a little
disappointed.
2.5 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS
UNIT
Episode Three, Season Seven
NBC Production
"If you cut down the trees you
will find the wolf."
I'm not quite convinced Mariska (Detective
Benson) Hargitay's performance in this episode is really worthy of another Emmy
nomination, as she is called upon to do little more than express her growing concern for
the child on the other end of the phone, and the director's fondness for the extreme
close-up often times stepped all over her performance, as it's difficult to judge how
effective an emotion is being conveyed by an actress when all you can see is her eye.
However, this was a tightly written episode that managed to build toward a pretty intense
climax, and I'll give the episode full marks for how it managed to build up the suspense.
The episode also revolves around a pretty clever premise as we see a young child phones
911 claiming that she is being held captive, and while I never fell for the idea that the
threat wasn't real, the episode does a nice job of selling why the other characters would
come to believe they were being played for fools, though Detective Munch's little trick
with the voice changer was a bit much. In the end the episode was a success thanks to the
simple fact that is was able to build up a very real sense of danger, and there were
several moments where the writing deftly ramped up the tension level, with the scene where
the girl's captor picks up the phone being a great deflating moment. It's also nice to see
some real detective work on display in this episode, as far too often this series depends
upon the stories provided by the witnesses and victims, while our detectives are left with
little actual leg work. In fact it's rare to see these characters actually venture out of
the station house, so this episode made for a nice change of pace. Plus it's always nice
to get a Canada reference.
4 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS
UNIT
Episode Two, Season Seven
NBC Production
"Genius is more often found in a
cracked pot than a whole one."
While the comic book geek in me enjoyed the
guest-appearance by Wonder Woman, I have to say this episode is one of those occasions
where the writing was trying a little too hard to dish out the clever plot twists that
there were a couple moments where it utterly failed to explain why a character would do
what they did. I mean to me it looked like the daughter had committed the perfect crime,
and the final moments of the episode established that the mother and daughter worked as a
team, so the five-million dollar question becomes why did the mother leader the police to
her daughter’s safety deposit box? I mean to me other than to give the police the
information they needed to crack the case there seemed to be little reason for the mother
to do what she did, and it’s never a good thing when the writing has a character
doing something stupid because the plot needed them to. I also found myself a bit curious
about the idea that this episode looks to be a pretty close match to last week’s
episode of Law and Order, as once again we have a cold-hearted villain using a hostage to
orchestrate a "no jail" deal, but this time out we have our villain successfully
pulling it off, which steps all over the big argument that was offered up at the end of
the Law and Order episode. Now the sex crime that shows up in this episode was certainly a
novel one for this series, and the section where the characters discussed the idea of
genetically engineered children managed to grab my interest. However, to me the episode
was trying to be a little too clever, and I’m always annoyed when the writing
attempts to convince us that the villain is super smart by making the heroes look
downright stupid. Still, the scene where Stabler states that he’s the father of four
was an inspired exchange.
3 out of 5 Stars
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LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
Episode One, Season Seven
NBC Production
"If you stare into the Abyss long
enough the Abyss stares back at you."
I can’t say I cared much for the hoops
that the writing had to jump through to get Detective Stabler into such a precarious
situation in the final moments of this episode, but the uniformly solid performances left
me in a very forgiving mood. I mean I have to confess I’ve never been a huge fan of
Chris Meloni’s portrayal of a cop on the verge of losing control, largely because
most of the time it felt like a tired cliché that has been done to death in pretty much
every other police procedural. However, I have to say this episode offered up a number of
scenes where Chris Meloni left me truly impressed with his ability to bring Detective
Stabler’s darker side to the surface as he goes fairly deep undercover in an effort
to catch a serial rapist. From the raw power of the scene where the character has to
confess his crime during the group therapy, to the equally impressive scene where the
therapist confronts him about his barely contained rage, this episode did a lovely job of
playing with the idea that Detective Stabler has gone well past the line. The episode also
benefits from the presence of guest-star Robert Patrick (X-Files, Terminator 2), who turns
in a wonderfully chilling performance as a rapist who initially appears to successfully
battling his internal demons, but as the episode progresses it becomes all too apparent
that he’s lost this fight. The episode also doesn’t shy away from asking the
question of whether Stabler’s actions drove the rapist back down this dark road, but
the episode stops short of actually answering the question, and one has to imagine a
defence attorney is going to have a field day with this case. Now there was the occasional
plot contrivance like the lack of a panic button in the specially equipped van, but as
I’ve already said this episode was all about the performances, and they were very
strong.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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