"Official Story"

Guest Star John Doman

This week on Law & Order SVU, the show opens on a group of Occupy Wall Street protestors carrying signs reading “99%” and “Kill Rand” behind police barricades.  A stretch limo pulls up and a businessman gets out of the car.  A protestor (Jacob Wallach) confronts him, “How do you sleep at night, Rand?”  “I’m serving my country, man.  I sleep just fine.”  William Rand (John Doman), CEO of Battle Tested Security is seen on TV in an interview.  Cut to Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) who opens the door to his home and sees his wife, Zara Amaro (Alison Fernandez).  “Surprise!”  His daughter rushes to her arms.  “Welcome home.”  Cut back to Rand, back in his limo, supposedly headed home at the end of the day.  He takes a drink out of a water bottle and starts to feel woozy.  He asks the driver why he is going uptown, “We’re supposed to be going to the Heliport.”  He blacks out.  Obviously, the drink was drugged.  Cut to a kid on a school field trip that spots a disheveled and tied up man in the grass by the park.  It’s Rand with the words, “Payback is a bitch” written on his naked body.  The tour guide says, “Get the kids out of here.  I’ll call 911”.  Cue the theme music.

Turns out, all this is about something that happened four years ago.  Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Amaro gets the whole story from the real victim, Cory Green (Megan Ketch).  She retells the whole nightmare.  She was working for Battle Tested Security in Bahrain for less than a month.  They drugged and raped her, then held her for 72 hours in an interrogation room.  Finally, she was able to call her dad.  After she reported the crime to the Department of Justice (DOJ), her rape kit disappears.  “It’s not just what these guys did to me.  It’s that they knew they could get away with it.”  The cops are even more determined to nail the bad guys.  In walks David Haden (Harry Connick Jr.) the new Executive Assistant District Attorney.  The DA is here because it’s a kidnapping of a high profile figure.  He has pull and gets into the US Attorney’s Office.  “You mean now that we are privatizing war, these contractors are above the law?”  The US Attorney pushes back, “They are prosecutable, at the DOJ’s discretion.  If you can prove there is a cover up of the rape.”  Amaro even reaches out to his wife about how much she deals with these contractors.  She says she knows someone and will hit them for more information.  “These people have reach.”  She assures him, she can handle herself.  “Can we let this go for now?  I’m only here for a few more days.”  It’s obvious they are still in love.  Meanwhile Benson and Haden are having a romantic dinner.  Haden pointedly lets it slip that he’s divorced and the ex has the kids.  He pushes for Benson to have another round.  She is interested but gives him a rain check. 

This is not a summary of the episode; it is a recap of the five best moments of the show.  Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.

#5 Best Moment of the Show.   The Occupy Wall Street guy who confronts Rand is questioned by Benson and Amaro.  He says he saw a military guy hanging around with the decal ‘Special Forces’ on the back window of his car.  Surveillance cameras caught him.  His name is Donald O’Keefe (Holt McCallany), former marine.  He’s doing security, escorting oil to Somalia.  Captain Craigan gives the go ahead to bring him in.  “Handle with care.  This is a guy who shoots pirates for a living.”  The cops go in with extra reinforcements.  They find O’Keefe inspecting arsenal by a ship yard.  The cops are expecting trouble.  Instead, O’Keefe was expecting the cops.  “Is this about Donald Rand?  What took you so long?  After what he did to my little girl, he got what he deserved.”  Turns out his daughter is Cory Green, the real victim.  After all that backup heat, O’Keefe gives himself up without a fight.  Looks like it was much ado about nothing.

#4 Best Moment of the Show.   O’Keefe spills everything, “My daughter worked for Rand’s company in Basraid for only a month before four of those animals drugged and raped her.  She reported it to the nearest base commander.  Four years later, no charges have ever been filed.  The Department of Justice (DOF) says it’s out of their jurisdiction.  They are not military.  Detective Odafin Tutuola (Ice –T) responds, “So a rape for another rape, that’s okay with you.”  O’Keefe replies, “I gave him enough of the baton to make him think about it, every time he sits down.”  The mental picture is not a pretty one. 

#3 Best Moment of the Show.   Now that the cops have O’Keefe in custody, Rand asks for a line up.  The suspects are all lined behind the one way glass.  Rand takes one look and denies ever remembering anything.  He turns around and walks back out with his assistant.  WTF?  The cops feel so used.  Everyone thinks Rand recognized O’Keefe and plan to even the score himself.

#2 Best Moment of the Show.   Finally, Haden has his ace in the hole.  Dr. Rausch (Annie Meisels) spills everything.  She examined Cory after the crime.  She performed the rape kit.  She remembers Cory’s wounds.  She remembers everything.  She spills it all in Haden’s office.  The next day Dr. Rausch sits in front of the grand jury and denies having any memory of the incident.  Haden goes apocalyptic. “You do realize you’re under oath here”.   It’s no use.  She’s obviously been gotten to.  She looks shaken, but still holds onto her story, “Yes I do.” 

Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.  The last moments of the show was on light speed; so hang on tight, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.  In one continuous scene, every loose string is tied up.  O’Keefe gets a shiv in the gut from another inmate.  Cory is held down and raped again.  George Coleman (Craig Walker), who is supposed to be in protective custody (as he is the only insider who will flip), is found dead in bed, supposedly from alcohol overdose.  Benson’s apartment is tossed and Amaro’s wife is threatened as ‘they’ know where and when she will be deployed.  But all is not lost.  Another insider flips.  This time, it’s someone with insurance.  He has secured the rape kit just for a rainy day.  It’s Joe Marshall (Billy Brown).  “I was told to secure the rape kit.  I removed it from army custody and transported it to corporate headquarters.”  Amaro asks, “Who gave you those orders?  “The CEO of Battle Test Security, William Rand.”  Rand is arrested seconds before he boards his helicopter.  By the time Cory gets to tell her dad on the phone, “They got him daddy.  They got them all.  We did it.  I love you too.” It’s almost anticlimactic. 

Epilogue.  Amaro tells his wife over the phone, “Hey, how was your flight?  You okay?  No, it’s done.  You be safe over there.  Yeah, I love you too.  I miss you.”  He hangs up and kicks his desks in frustration.  You know it’s not over for him.  He still worries about her.

Next week on Law & Order SVU, Mariska Hargitay reminisces over her two favorite episodes.  Sounds like old footage to me.

"Theater Tricks"

Guest Star Fisher Stevens

This week on Law & Order SVU, the show opens on a fantasy sex club/play ala Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut with full face gold animal masks for the male patrons for maximum anonymity, and only the barest of coverings for the female patrons.  Double standards for men and women?  Nothing new there.   A supposedly simulated rape turns out to be real.  Again, no surprises there.  After the performance, Ted Scott (Fisher Stevens), the director of the ‘play’ walks over to the ‘actress’ only to find her dazed and obviously worked over.  Cut to Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and ADA Alex Cabot (Stephanie March) just finishing up a girl’s night out.  They comment on how much fun they had ice skating.  The relationship feels forced.  The comments do not ring true.  Benson's cell phone rings.  I’m glad that’s over with.  Cut back to the ‘play’ where the director tries to explain to Benson his S&M act is really ‘Immersive Theatre’.  Turns out, the ‘actress’ Meghan Weller (Jenn Proske), was attacked on stage, with the whole audience watching.  Nobody called the police, because everyone thought it was part of the show.  Cue the theme music.   

This is not a summary of the episode; it is a recap of the five best moments of the show.  Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.

#5 Best Moment of the Show.   Benson interviews Meghan, the victim who thinks she was acting in ‘Dante’s Inferno’, the interactive play where the audience walks through all nine circles of Dante’s Hell.   Meghan’s scene was played out in ‘Lust’.   All Meghan can say was he was wearing a goat mask.  “Someone else held my wrist.  He was wearing a hawk mask.  I just moved here six months ago from Hennepin, Minnesota.  This is the first play I auditioned for.”   What a cliché!   Why do small town girls with big city dreams keep moving to New York City?  Oh right, that’s where they shoot Law & Order SVU.

#4 Best Moment of the Show.  After Meghan’s interview, Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) sums it all up, “Small town girl moves to the city.  She gets raped.  The audience applauses.”   Captain Craigen (Dann Florek) quips, “This is why the NEA was gutted.”  Me thinks he speaks the truth.

#3 Best Moment of the Show.  The trace of all the credit cards used to purchase show tickets leads the detectives to Jason Roberts (Adam Driver)’s apartment.  Three guesses who has the walls of his room covered with Meghan’s photos?  Ding Ding Ding.  That’s right.  Turns out, Jason Roberts, Meghan’s IT guy, has a live web cam installed in Meghan’s bedroom, shower, living room, etc.  You know, typical Class A Stalker moves.   He has had Meghan under 24 hour surveillance for “security” purposes for months.  But he’s not the perp!  There is someone else sicker than he is!!!   Another red herring leads the detectives to Judge Gerald Crane (Kevin Pollak), who admits to being in the play, and assaulting Meghan.   But he’s not the perp either!  There is someone else who set him up and is sicker than he is!!!

#2 Best Moment of the Show.   The resident techie, Leo Gerber, (Gilbert Gottfried) and the person of interest, Jason Roberts, sit side by side with their laptops.  It’s obvious some tech fun will ensue.  Jason proofs his innocence by bringing up web cam footage of him during the times emails were sent via Meghan’s fake ‘Sugar Babies’ web account.  He is seen giving his mother a foot massage.  That’s when Gilbert Gottfried jumps in, “What kind of camera is that?  Is that a motion activated camera?”  “It’s custom installed night vision.”  “ Motion activated is terrific, until she gets a cat.”  It’s obvious he’s stalked before.  Priceless.

Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.  All the clues lead to Meghan’s ugly roommate, Holly Schneider (Gayle Rankin), who sets Meghan up due to her jealousy.  Rollins gets her to break by saying, “I get it.  I’m from a small town too.  I think I come up here, my life’s going to change.”  Holly loses it, “You don’t get it.  You’re just like Meghan.  Guys show up to help her.  It was my audition.  She just came to help me run lines.  As soon as Ted saw her, he wanted her, and you didn’t say no.  Do you know what I had to do for that audition?   I am so tired to be the ugly duckling.  I wanted you to know what it felt like to be dirty and used, to have to give it up.  It’s about time something bad happened in your life, don’t you think?"  The abusee becomes the abuser.   Rollins closes the scene, “All those abusive men in Meghan’s life, and she was betrayed by a woman.” 

Next week on Law & Order SVU, Harry Connick Jr. joins the force as David Hayden.  SVU will never be the same again.  It’s obvious Benson and he hit it off.  They share a kiss in the last shot.

"Spiraling Down"

Guest Star Treat Williams

This week on Law & Order SVU, the show opens on a white girl and a black boy in bed.  The boy gives the girl a present; it’s a piece of jewelry.  She breaks into a big smile.  She’s obviously in love.  The next scene, a man walks into the apartment with a pair of hot pink platform pumps in a shoe box.  The girl adores the pumps and can’t wait to try them on.  The black boy asks the man, Marcus, “How much?”  Marcus puts up five fingers.  “Oh no way,” says the boy, “take those shoes off.”  Marcus chimes in, “Maybe we can work something out.”  Marcus starts kissing the girl.  The girl tries to pull away.  The boy stops her, “Come on baby, it’s Marcus.”  We all know how this is going to go.  The next scene we see a John walking out of a hotel room, complaining to the black boy, “She’s crying.  Give me my money back.”  The boy walks back into the hotel room; the girl says she doesn’t want to do it anymore.  There’s a scuffle.  She hits him.  He goes to the bathroom to see to his wound.  She uses her cell phone to call her dad.  Cue the theme music.

The girl’s dad walks into the squad room looking for Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino).  “My daughter Vicki.  She’s in trouble.  I’m Captain Haines.  I served with your wife in Baghdad.  My daughter Vicki is only 14.  You have a daughter.  You have to find her. 

This is not a summary of the episode; it is a recap of the five best moments of the show.  Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.

#5 Best Moment of the Show.   The cop finds Vicki in the hotel room where she turns tricks.  But she doesn’t want to leave.  “Vicki, your dad wants you to come home.”  “No, I’m not leaving.”  The cops arrest her pimp, Trey, who is cocky as all get out, “She won’t talk.  I own that bitch.”  Finally, the cops figure out a guy like that’s got to have something on the side.  “Let’s check him out online.”   They find a photo of Trey’s real family, to include two children in Brooklyn.  They show the photo to Vicki.  “I guess Trey never told you about his baby momma.”  That finally gets Vicki to break her brain washing.

#4 Best Moment of the Show.  The cops decide to hold a sting to catch all the Johns, when who walks in but the famous ex-football star Jake Stanton (Treat Williams).  He’s all talk when the cops raid him.  The next thing we know, Stanton is holding court in the squad room, reliving his finest hour.  Jake looks at his wallet and sees the note reminding him to call his wife.  “Oh, I’m supposed to call my wife.  Got me on a short leash.  I know what she’s gonna say.  The same thing she always says, “Get a lawyer!”  Looks like this melodrama has been played out before.   

#3 Best Moment of the Show.  Jake’s wife lays it all out for the cops.  “Jake has taken too many knocks to the head during his quarterback days.  The MRI is inconclusive.  There is no treatment.  All the doctor says is don’t let him out of my sight.  We’re broke.  He handled the finances until this year.  There is nothing left.  I can’t even get a lawyer to come down to help us.  He says we’re going to have to use a public defender.”  The wife tries to hold it together.  She fails.  She burst into tears.  This is when Benson reaches into her desk and pulls out a business card, “He’s a friend”.  This is a first.  The arresting officer refers the defendant to a lawyer, Bayard Ellis (Andre Braugher).

#2 Best Moment of the Show.   Amaro is Skyping his wife, Maria.  She asks about Jason, her military buddy.  Amaro has doubts about his wife and Jason’s relationship.  He thinks they may be having an affair.  “He’s a good dad.  I’m glad you can help him out.  Thanks for doing this for me.”  Amaro pushes, “I never heard of this guy until he showed up.”  The wife pushes right back, “I hate this call.  I think we’re having a conversation, turns out you’re interrogating me.”  Looks like there’s trouble in paradise.

Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.  Stanton is on the stand.  He admits to prostitution.  His mind keeps flipping back to his quarterback glory days.  His lawyer asks him three times, “How many years have you been married?”  Stanton produces three different answers.  It’s obvious even to him that he’s lost his mind.  “Do you know where you are Jake?”  “Please, stop.  I’m very tired.  I just want to go home.”  He’s lost it.  It’s painful to watch.  Outside the courtroom the crowd gathers around Stanton, asking him to relive his glory days, even the cops.  Stanton can’t take it anymore.  He sees an opportunity to take the cops gun.  He does.  He points it at himself and pulls the trigger.  It’s over.  His wife screams.  Ellison is in shock.  Amaro calls it in.  It’s all over for Jake Stanton, football hero.

Next week on Law & Order SVU, a playact goes horribly wrong, with the entire audience watching; yet nobody calls the cops.  Whose fault is that?

"Lost Traveler"

Guest Star Mark Margolis

This week on Law & Order SVU, a cute curly haired 10 year old boy in a private school uniform is followed on a busy street by a grown man, trying to hide.  The boy senses he’s being followed, stops, looks behind him, takes his cell phone out, calls someone… We hear the phone ring; the man stalking him takes out his cell phone.  The cute little boy says, “Stop following me dad.  We practiced.  I know the way.”  The dad gives up the charade when the boy tells him, “I’m ready.”  He walks down the subway stairs alone, and makes it to the school.  At school he is picked on by the older boy who spits on his palm, ‘since his mother is a gypsy palm reader’.  The principal sees it, and gives him a napkin to wipe his hand.  This is obviously not the first time he’s being bullied.  Cut to the end of the school day, the boy-Niko makes it to the subway entry, but it’s blocked off due to construction.  That’s the last time we see him.  The cops are notified of a missing person’s case.  “He should have been home at 4pm, and you waited until 7pm to report him missing?”  The dad explains, “My wife said the cops probably wouldn’t care because of who we are.”  The local cop on the beat seems to underscore the racism.  He says, “These people are different.  They’re gypsies.”  The dad is franctic, “We bought him a cell phone, I keep calling, but he doesn’t answer.  Niko doesn’t have a lot of friends.  At school they bully him. Kids tease him for being Romani.”  Amaro pushes, “What about a favorite handout? Some place he likes to go?”  The dad answers, “You’re in it.”  The cops canvas the school.  The principal doesn’t know the parents.  The kids say he’s kind of weird.  Then we find out there is a rabbi who runs the community of gypsies, only he’s called The Rombaro, and he works for the King of the gypsy.  The Rombaro takes care of everyone, that is everyone who plays ball.      

This is not a summary of the episode, it is a recap of the five best moments of the show.  Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.

#5 Best Moment of the Show.   The wife, Nadia Grey (Alexandra Silber) screams at the husband, Tomas Grey (Donnie Keshawarz), “You didn’t pay.”  The cops look confused.  “ We stopped paying our tides, so we could pay for Niko’s (Cameron Ocasio) school.  The Rambaro (Mark Margolis) said that this could not stand, that we had to be punished.”  The cops make a visit to the Rombaro’s house in Greenspoint.  It is posh.  Compared to the Greys’ house and where the rest of the gypsies live, it is a mansion.  The Rombaro makes it clear.  The line has been drawn.  “The Greys want to be outsiders.”  Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) blurts out, “Are you using a kid to make them pay you?”  Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) make nice, “I’m hoping you didn’t take the child.  We’re hoping this will be a happy ending, and just a misunderstanding.”  The Rombaro dismisses them, “Make sure they get an almond candy on the way out, Alba.”  Amaro and Rollins feel like they just visited ‘The Godfather’.

#4 Best Moment of the Show.  The father bursts out of their home while the cops are still outside the house at a canvas.  “Detectives, he’s alive.  My wife and I have been calling his cell phone every five minutes, it’s been busy, now it just went to voice mail.  He’s been deleting his messages.”  Amaro asks, “Did he call you back?  The dad is certain, “He is alive.”  He is so naive.

#3 Best Moment of the Show.  The IT expert, played by Gilbert Godfried, traces the cell. Despite of Godfried’s grating voice, the scene moves quickly along as the IT expert lays it out for the cops.  He says the cell phone has been calling from an ip address.  He gets an address.  It’s to a Chinese takeout with an online ordering system.  The owner says the client called to complain to say the food was too spicy for his little boy.  “I could hear the kid crying in his background.”  The S.W.A.T team bursts into the apartment yelling, “Get your hands up.  Get your hands up.”  All we hear is a little boy saying, “Don’t hurt my daddy.”  The cops realize, “It’s not Niko.  It’s not Niko.”  Classic Red Herring. 

#2 Best Moment of the Show.  Turns out the man with the boy in the apartment gives the cops a lead.  There is a mentally handicapped gypsy boy, Mark Rajick (Michael Barra), kept locked up in his mother’s basement across the street.  He looks good for the crime.  The cops even finds Niko’s lucky rabbit’s foot in Mark’s bed, and a Metrocard that was used near where Niko was seen last.  The cops find Niko’s dead body, burned with cigarettes at a construction site.  Mark’s goose is cooked.  But wait, The Rambaro makes his bail and he is returned home.  The next thing we know, the cops are called back to the scene.  Niko’s mom, Nadia Grey, just tried to set Mark Rajick on fire.  She poured gasoline through the window, try to spark him.  Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) tries to calm the waters, “We’re going to need to talk to Nadia before you take her in.  Nadia, what happened?”  Nadia is distraught, “You had him and you let him go!  He murdered my baby!  He killed my son!  This is justice.  He burned him.”  Benson is shocked, “Nadia, who told you that?”  All Nadia says is, “You know what I know.  That my son is dead.  This is what I know.”  Benson briefs the rest of the cops, “It wasn’t released to the press that Niko’s body had cigarette burns.  There was no way the parents could have known.”  Do  the gypsy really have the power to commune with the dead? 

Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.  The ME doesn’t think the handicapped boy, Mark Rajick, did it.  The cigarette wounds tell a different story.  Finally the cops wake up to who’s been tipping them off the whole time.  The two pretty girls in the private school (Caswell Academy) Niko was attending; Courtney Lane (Lili Reinhart) and Emma Butler (Quinn Shephard).   Mark turns them in.  This is when the faint of heart should turn away.  Courtney, the ring leader, tortured Niko with a lit cigarette while her accomplice, Emma, did nothing to stop her.  Emma flips on Courtney, “I told her to quit and we should just go.  He was crying.  He was going to call his mom.  Then Courtney grabbed his scarf and I was yelling stop, stop.  She said he’s just a dumb gypsy.  Who’s going to miss him?”  Both of them frame Mark and tips off the cops.  In the final scene, when Courtney’s father, who’s sitting next to her when she reveals everything, wants to lawyer up; Courtney tells him, “It’s a little late for that.”  The little psychopath is right. 

This is a horrific crime, perpetrated by a juvenile psychopath, who looks as innocent as the day is long.  ¾ through the show, all of us were still thinking it had to be the handicap boy across the street.  This was indeed a shocker to all of us.  A well written episode.

Next week on Law & Order SVU, the grid iron legend, Treat Williams, suffers from diminished capacity, and claims, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

"Educated Guess"

Guest Star Tim Guinee

This week on Law & Order SVU, the show delves into the rights of the mentally ill.  When you are already labeled as mentally ill, you are easy prey for predators who know that nobody will believe you when you cry foul. 

The show opens on a girl being chased by her boyfriend in the woods.  We know she likes him because she takes off her clothes to tease him, and then makes him chase her.  Cut to a park scene, with Detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) on a sting, trying to pass as a jogger and a guy with a backpack.  They are just about to give up when a practically naked guy, our boyfriend from the earlier scene shows up calling for his girlfriend, Amber, who’s nowhere in sight.  He takes off the last bit of his clothing, and is officially naked before he faints.  A bystander videotapes the whole scene on his cell phone and posts it on YouTube soon after.  Everything that’s happened so far is a red herring.  That’s right.  The crime has nothing to do with the public exposure.  Typical SVU.  Tutuola makes the call for a bus to Laguardia Psych, since he thinks this guy is crazy.  All the while, the naked guy is talking to Amber, whom he sees in her underwear, but nobody else sees.  After the guy is taken the two cops begin to argue.  Tutuola says the guy’s ‘psych’, Rollins says he’s just on a bad trip.  Tutuola challenges her call, “You know the difference between a chemical wig out and a psychotic break?”  Rollins says, “Yes, I can.  I grew up around both.  My sister.”  Another tidbit about Rollins’ past is revealed.  This is not a summary of the episode; it is a recap of the five best moments of the show.

Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.
#5 Best Moment of the Show.   At the hospital, the security guard tells Rollins and Tutuola they can leave, he’s got it.  Of course, another incident takes the guard’s attention away, and the naked guy makes a break for it.  He barges in on a room with a girl crying out for help; turns out he walked into a guy in the process of raping a girl.  He saw a guy threatening her with a knife, but not his face.  The next morning, he swears in front of the judge at arraignment that he saw the crime.  That’s when the judge orders an investigation.  The cops can’t agree on whether or not to believe him.  Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer) is the voice of reason, “We have a description.  We go to Laguardia.  If the girl exists, we find her.”  Turns out she’s Gia Eskas (Natasha Lyonne).  The doctor says she had to be sedated last night.  She is real.  Finally, the psych patient will get justice.   

#4 Best Moment of the Show.   When questioned by Benson and Rollins, Gia denies it, “If it was one of my fellow inmates, they all lie.  I’m working on my triggers, that’s why I’m here.”  She talks tough, "Some girls travel, go to college to get away.  I go to Laguardia Psych.”  After the long questioning session, she finally changes her tune for the first time when Rollins asks her to comply with a rape kit.  Rollins, “If she was raped, it’s going to be hard as hell to get anyone to believe her.”  Benson, “Which makes her the perfect target.”

#3 Best Moment of the Show.  The forensics is in on the rape kit.  They found sperm and the DNA of an unknown male.  There are lacerations scars and perenatal tags.  Gia’s been sodomized for years.  The cops question Gia’s mom, Diane Eskas (J. Smith Cameron).  She says, “Gia’s father is in Four Winds Hospital being treated for Schizophrenia.  Mental illness runs in his family.  At first I was going to call the police when she cried rape, but Gia said she just made it up.  Gia was sick like her father.  She takes her meds, then she stops, cause she thinks she’s cured.  She told me once she wants me to find her body.  Sometimes I think my daughter thinks I hate her.”  The mom is no help whatsoever. 

#2 Best Moment of the Show.  Ethics do not come with the job.  Turns out, one of Gia’s co-patients was trying to protect her.  She went to a security guard for protection.  The guard spills everything since he didn’t think he did anything wrong.  “Gia comes to me, says she needs a gun.  She said she’ll do anything to get a gun.  She drops to her knee and does me.  No, I didn’t give her a gun, and it wasn’t sex, it was just a BJ.”  Are you kidding me?!?  The parting ‘Bill Clinton’ remark by Tutuola was not amusing.  Thanks to our former president, oral sex is no longer considered sex.  If this is the norm, this is indeed a sad state of affairs. 

Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.   Finally, Rollins and Benson gets Gia to crack by sharing her own story.  Benson, “I’ve been attacked, I’ve been assaulted, and my gun didn’t protect me.”  Gia, “It doesn’t matter.   Who’d believe me?  Nobody ever believes me.”  Benson, “We believe you.  I believe you.”  Gia, “All I wanted was someone to pay attention to me.  He was interested in something I had to say.  I thought, finally!  Someone sees me.  Now I just wish I could disappear.”  Benson asks again, “Who raped you?”  Gia, “My uncle, George.”  “I thought I was safe in here, and then he got in to rape me again.”  Benson, “He’s been raping you since you were 14?”  Gia, “Sometimes in his garage, sometimes in his bedroom.  He said it will be our dirty little secret.  I told my mom.  You should see the look on her face.  She wouldn’t believe it.  George takes care of her, if she can’t make rent, or groceries, George takes care of it.  In the real world, he’s sane and I’m not.”  Rollins and Benson search through the uncle, George’s bedroom, and find a tool box.  It’s got a combination lock.  Rollins ask, “What’s George’s birthday?”  Gia’s mom gives it up, “9/29”.  They try the combination and it’s not it.  “What’s your birthday?”  They ask the wife.  Again, Gia’s mom answers, “6/16”.  They try the combination and it’s not it either.  Finally, Rollins asks the obvious, “What’s Gia’s birthday?”  George’s wife refuses to comply.  It’s Gia’s mom who finally gives in, “4/24”.  The tool box opens.  Rollins pulls out a photo of Gia in her pink bra.  The date on it says 4/24/01, which is on her 14^th birthday.  Case closed.

There are four disturbing parts in this episode.   Excuse me while I get on my pulpit.

#4 Most Disturbing Part of the Show.  Listening to the rapist, George Zane (Tim Guinee), retell his version of the story, “I was her first.  She was so shy.  She had on a pink bra.”  Amaro asks, “How long have you two been dating?”  George, “You mean how long we have had sex.  I made us both wait until she was 17.”  Amarao, “It was you with Gia in the on call room?”  George, “Yes.  She can’t live without me.”  George’s attorney adds, “That’s why he impersonated a doctor to visit Gia.  He didn’t want his wife to know.  Show them the letter.”  George then takes out an obviously old and tattered folded up letter with a young child’s writing, ‘I love you, Uncle George.’  The attorney goes on, “A rape victim wouldn’t send her rapist a love note.  Are we free to leave?”  The fact that the note was written by Gia when she was 12 does not deter the defense attorney from using it as a ‘Get Out of Jail Free Card’ for her rapist.  Where is his humanity?  George is obviously a predator that will be brought to justice, but his defense attorney is a predator with a shield against prosecution.  He has the shield of criminal law to stand behind when he uses all the tools at his disposal, to the detriment of the victim. 

#3 Most Disturbing Part of the Show.  Finally, Gia’s rapist is behind bars.  He’s looking at multiple counts of sexual assault.  Gia is safe now.  H’s never getting out.  Benson asks, “Has your mother come to see you yet?”  Gia answers, “No, I don’t want her to.  I know I have to forgive her to move on, but not today.”  Benson, “You sound strong.”  Gia, “The doctor warned me it’s gonna be a long road back.”  Benson, “I know it’s hard to imagine it now, but you survived the abuse, you’re going to survive the recovery.”  No one wants to focus on the long road ahead of the victim, who’s been victimize for almost half her life.  Bystanders think the crime story is over when the perpetrator is caught.  But they forget about the victim.  The survivor has to retell her story over and over again.  It will take a lot of therapy to heal and be whole again.  Places like The National Center for Victims of Crime are there to help all victims of crimes.  Visit their site at http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbID=DB_VictimAssistance207

#2 Most Disturbing Part of the Show.  Rollins and Benson get ready for the fight ahead of them, trying to prove Gia’s uncle is the rapist.   Rollins, “This is going to be an uphill battle.”  Benson, “That’s why we do it.”  Rollins, “Something happen to me on the job, part of the reason why I had to leave.”  Benson, “Someone you work with?”  Rollins, “It’s not worth pursuing.”  Benson, “That’s why they win.  Let’s not let it happen to Bella.”  Now we know Rollins was the victim of abuse at her other job.  Now we know she backed down from doing the right thing because the fight was going to be too hard.  Now we know what millions of other women do.  For women who feel nobody would believe them.  For women who feel they will never get justice, there is help.  Places like Safe Horizon is a safe haven for victims who think they have nowhere to turn.  Visit their site at http://www.safehorizon.org/

#1 Most Disturbing Part of the Show.  Nobody believes the mental patient by virtue of their label.  Everyone thinks, “If you’re in a psych ward, you must be crazy.  So everything you say must be made up.”  Even the psychiatrist falls for this trap.  I feel this is a teachable moment that SVU failed to take advantage of.  Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions; disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior.  Examples of mental illness can include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviors.  While there are actively psychotic patients who are picking butterflies out of the air; there are plenty more anorexics and gambling addicts who are highly functioning members of society.  To learn more about all the myriad of mental illness, visit The National Institute of Mental Health site at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml

"Russian Brides"

Guest Star Timothy Busfield

This week on Law & Order SVU , the Russian mob is running a Mail Order Bride, aka extortion/kidnapping/murder scam on lonely American businessmen.  The show opens up on a brunette in a short neon skirt, running away from obviously bad men chasing her in a car, at night.  There is a scream.  The next morning, two bus boys find the dead body.  The ME and the cops break it down.  There is no face, the teeth are pulled, and her fingertips are gone.  But the body has two distinct tattoos; one is a butterfly and the other is Cyrillic writing, specific to the Russian mob.  It is the mark of a prostitute with the English translation of “Mother, forgive me.”  “They didn’t want us to know who she was, but they wanted to make sure somebody got the message.”  Cue the theme music.


This time Detectives Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) and Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) does the canvas in Brighton Beach, also known as Little Odessa due to the large number of Russian immigrants there.  Nobody wants to cooperate with the cops, for fear of retaliation from the mob.  No surprises there.  “Good thing witnesses are like children.  They respond to bribes and threats”, says Tutuola.  Amaro answers, “And they’re easy to trick.”  This is not a summary of the episode, it is a recap of the five best moments of the show.


Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.
#5 Best Moment of the Show.  Amaro finally reveals a little of his past. When Detective Olivie Benson (Mariska Hargitay) guesses his parents were divorced, he admits it.  Turns out his dad use to bounce his mother off the wall.  We can see his past weighs on him.


#4 Best Moment of the Show. This week’s guest star, Timothy Busfield, plays the lonely businessman who falls in love with his Russian bride.  When she is kidnapped and a ransom is demanded for her safe return, he does exactly what he’s told.  The cops find him waiting by the beach through a cell phone trace, obviously agitated.  When he sees the cops he starts to scream, “You have to get out of here.  They said if I paid, they’d let her go. If I paid, they’d let her go…”  Then, the realization sinks in.  “Is she dead?”


#3 Best Moment of the Show.  Timothy Busfield’s friend, the tax lawyer, advises him to tell the cops everything. He does.  “We met on a Russian matchmaking website.  My buddy use to sleep with 8-10 girls all the time.  But I saw Lena (Izabella Miko) and knew there was something about her.  I had to fly to Moscow to meet her. We had a real soul connection.  One night her ex made a big scene outside her hotel, I could see how scared she was.  We got married.  It was like a fairytale.  One day, they called.  They said they had Lena and would kill her if I didn’t give them all my money.  I dropped the money in the garbage can on the beach.  I was supposed to wait by the carousel.”  It’s so predictable; it was actually painful to hear him retell his tale of seduction and deceit.  It begs the question; just how many scams have the Russian mob pulled so far?


#2 Best Moment of the Show.  An online payment is traced to QuickSecure, a Paypal-esque online credit card processing startup.  Tutuola and Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) try to get an address to Lena’s ex.  QuickSecure is run by geeks who won’t budge. “Our clients pay us top dollar to maintain their privacy.  You want information?  Show me a search warrant.”  He backs down right after Tutuola threatens to shut him down.  “Okay, okay, just don’t call the FBI.  This is the physical address of the website.”  As soon as Tutuola gets the info, the door busts open with G-men.  “This is the FBI. Put your hands up and move away from the keyboards.”  The geek is stunned.  “You lied to us?”  Tutuola leaves him a parting remark,  “Ain’t that a bitch.” I have to admit it felt good to stick it to the online startup.


Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.  Captain Craigan (Dann Florek) goes undercover.  That’s right; Craigan finally gets to stretch his acting chops.  He plays the lonely businessmen, of course. The old "Lena" shows up as the new "Irene".  Craigan opens up about his dead wife, Marge, and his regret over not having any children.  Finally, we learn about Craigan’s personal life.  It’s filled with regret and loss.


In the final scene, the sting fails and the new "Irene" makes Craigan.  She spills her story and says her pimp, Liev, is holding her four year old daughter.  She has to do what Liev says or he’ll kill her daughter.  The cops buy her story and she agrees to set up a sting to catch Liev.  It does not go well.  Liev is spooked and there is a shootout.  Liev is dead.  The new "Irene" cries out in agony, “My daughter is dead.  I’ll never see her again.”  But she is given another chance.  There is a safe house she knows of.  The cops raid it.  But in all the chaos, the new "Irene" escapes.  She kills the uniformed cop assigned to watch her and makes a run for it.  We believe her all the way until the end, when she is cuffed.  She smiles a wicked smile.  This woman is very good at what she does; deceiving men.  Turns out her daughter is dead, but not by Liev.  Liev found her killer years ago and they’ve been working together on these scams ever since.


Next week on Law & Order SVU, a patient in Ward Six accuses an orderly of raping her.  Even she says no one would ever believe her. Why? “He’s sane, I’m not.” Who’s telling the truth?

"True Believers"

Guest Star Sofia Vassilieva

This week on Law & Order SVU, a young blonde piano student at the Manhattan Academy of Music is seen on her way home.  She stops at a bodega to pick up some supplies, and gets into the elevator in her building with a black guy.  She tries to be friendly; even though it's obvious she's not comfortable.  She makes it inside her apartment, when the same black guy barges in and pulls a gun on her.  She tries to stay calm, offers him a drink, and says her name is Sara.  She offers him money, but he doesn't want money.  She tries to tell him he doesn't need a gun.  She says she'll do whatever he wants her to.  He tells her to lie down.  He gets on top of her.  She does not struggle.  The scene is painful to watch as you know what's going to happen.  But the blonde girl remains calm.  There are plenty of other SVU stories that start out similarly, but it is never this quiet.  The victim always screams and fights back.  You are left with the question, why is this girl so calm?  Is she mentally challenged?  Is she compensating for something in her past?  Something is not right.  This is not a summary of the episode, but a recap of the five best moments of the show.


Here's the countdown to the  Five Best Moments of the Show.
#5 Best Moment of the Show.  Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) is questioning the girl, Sara Walsh (Sofia Vassilieva).  Benson wonders why Sara waited so long to report the rape.  Sara says she had to perform at a recital.  "I didn't yell.  I didn't fight back."  Benson tries to make her feel better, "You're alive.  You did what you had to do."  A patient advocate walks into the room, and she tells Sara, "As your advocate, I need to tell you, one of your options is not to file charges."  Cut to Benson's lok of disbelief on her face.  WHAT?!?  This girl just got raped and you're telling her not to tell the police?  What kind of advocate are you?


#4 Best Moment of the Show.  Two heavy hitters return in this episode.  Linus Roache returns as Bureau Chief Michael Cutter, and Andre Braugher returns as Bayard Ellis, defense attorney.  Both are formidable opponents.  But in the end, Andre wins the case when he tears into Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) for finding the gun under the perp's couch, or should I say, planting the gun under the perp's couch.  Since his partner, Benson, never sees the actual gun leaving the defendant's hands, she can't swear to it.  Amaro thinks Benson betrayed the Blue Wall by not backing him up.  In the end, he gets some sage advice from Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer), "You should have cuffed him, sealed the room, and then search it for weapons."


#3 Best Moment of the Show.  Cutter gives his summation in court.  "This is not 1970.  This is 2011.  It's the defendant's action that is in question."  All throughout the trial, Ellis, the defense attorney keeps bringing up the victim's past to paint a picture of a girl with loose morals.  She picks up men at bars.  She sleeps with other balck men days before the rape.  Now, finally, the voice of reason is heard.  It shouldn't matter what kind of person the victim is.  She is the victim, that's all that matters.


#2 Best Moment of the Show.  When Sara's boyfriend shows up at her door with flowers, looking for some romance, Sara is in the middle of cleaning up her apartment after the cops trashed it looking for evidence.  She is not ready to tell him yet.  She doesn't let him in; instead she makes up a lie.  "It's bed bugs.  I'm in the middle of cleaning the whole place."  Up until then the boyfriend wants to come in; but as soon as she drops the bed bug bomb, he backs off.  He's happy to leave her right then and there.  I guess for him, the wedding vows should be, 'In sickness and health, 'til death or bed bugs do we part.'


Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.  The jury finds the defendant not guilty.  Not guilty for the charge of criminal possession of a weapon.  Not guilty for the charge of rape.  Sara is crushed.  She can't believe she was put through hell for no reason.  She regrets ever filing charges.  But Benson tries to console her.  She tells Sara, "Sending him to prison doesn't begin to heal you.  Healing begins when someone bears witness.  I saw you.  I believe you."  Those who know Benson's background will know this advice as, "Do as I say, not as I do."  As Benson has yet to tell her own story, of how her own mother was raped, and how she is the product of that rape.


Next week on Law & Order SVU, a mail order bride scam goes horribly wrong.  Why is there no end of lonely men falling for these scams?

"Missing Pieces"

Guest Star Lisa Joyce

This week on Law & Order SVU , the show opens up on Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) accompanying her ward from last season, Calvin, and his grandparents to what looks like a street fair. Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) is also spending time with his kid. He tells his daughter she’s too young for a bare midrift 'Princess Jasmin' Halloween costume. His mother tells him he’s too protective. So far, this week’s episode is turning out to be a family show. Cut to a blonde woman walking into a bodega, asking for diapers; but not just any diapers, they have to be ‘organic’ diapers. I guess the writers are trying to imply she’s a good mother by having her ask for organic diapers. She runs out of the bodega. A minute later, we hear her scream. The next scene, Benson is questioning her on the street, “They stole my car. My baby was inside.” The cops debrief each other, “Mom says her 3 month old was in the back seat. They’re tourists from Buffalo. A baby taken on Halloween. Just what we need, another tourist horror story.” Cue the theme music.

The bodega owner didn’t see a thing, but the mother, Ali Martel (Lisa Joyce), insists her car was taken with her baby inside. “We need to find Nate. He’s lactose intolerant. He needs soy milk.” Do we believe her? Meanwhile the baby’s dad, shows up on the scene, reeking of alcohol. This is not a summary of the episode, but a recap of the five best moments of the show.


Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.
#5 Best Moment of the Show. The clock keeps ticking on how long the baby has been missing. The squad room is a flurry of activity. Someone gets a call, “We might have a lead on the car. It’s abandoned on the Willis Avenue Bridge.” Benson and Amaro is first on the scene. The driver side window in smashed. There’s no sign of a baby. Benson screams to check the trunk. Amaro is frustrated at how slow it takes to get the tools. He rips open the trunk. Still no sign of the baby. Benson yells out, “We need a Level One Mobilization”. She means business. They’re going to search the river, ground level, and utilize air support. The baby could be anywhere. Will we find him in time? Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking, “3 hours missing”.

#4 Best Moment of the Show. The whole squad room is busy taking tips from good Samaritans on the whereabouts of the baby. A Hispanic male walks into the precinct with a empty car seat. “I need to talk to somebody. I didn’t do anything”. Turns out he bought a car seat from a peddler in a park. The man sits in the squad car and IDs the peddler. The peddler has an entire baby paraphernalia spread out for sale, including a cooler. He’s looking good for the crime. Amaro and Benson bring him back to the interrogation room. The peddler denies everything. Lab results come back with soy formula in the cooler. Amaro, “They put their baby in the cooler?” Benson, “The baby’s body.” Now, the parents are looking good for the crime. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking, “17 hours missing.”

#3 Best Moment of the Show. Benson is questioning the father. Amaro is questioning the mother. The scene switches back and forth. Benson to the father, “Do you recognize this cooler?” “All those coolers look alike. How do you know this is mine?” “Because it has your finger prints on it.” “The M.E. found fecal matter in it.” “Maybe Ali was busy and she put a diaper in there just for a minute.” “No mother puts a dirty diaper in a cooler. Tell me what did happen. Because we know that baby was not taken. How did the baby end up in the cooler?” The father is overloaded. He shuts down. Amaro is working the mother. “Stop, so far you’ve been telling the truth, but this thing with Nate in the car. That’s a lie, Ali.” Ali breaks, “We had to sleep in a motel, the Binghamton Motor Lodge. We didn’t want my sister to know.” The cops dispatch detectives to the motel. Meanwhile, the clock is still ticking, “33 hours missing.” We all know it, but no one wants to say it. This does not end well.

#2 Best Moment of the Show. Finally, Amaro breaks through to the mom, “She’s going to draw a map where they buried the baby”. The clock reads, “39 hours missing.” The cops are combing the beach, literally; since a cop is using a brush to brush away the sand on the dead infant buried underneath. Benson says, “She buried him with his blanket and his toy.” Amaro answers, “She didn’t want him to be alone.” The sky is raining. The drops fall in the detectives faces, rolling down their cheeks, mimicking tears. They are all in mourning.

Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show. All that is left is to determine who did the crime; the mother or the father. The Medical Examiner gives her verbal report.

This baby was cared for. There were no visible signs of trauma. Back to working the father and mother separately. Benson and Tutuola on the dad. Amaro and Rollins on the mom. The dad claims, “I didn’t kill my son.” “Your son is on the autopsy table right now. If you plead guilty and say Ali has nothing to do with it, then Ali goes free. I know you want to protect her.” Amaro on the mom. “Ali, you drew me that map, you wanted us to find Nate. You wanted us to know.” Benson on the dad again. “You love her, that’s why you need to do the right thing.” Finally the dad cracks, “He wouldn’t stop crying. I just wanted him to stop crying so I can close my eyes. So I picked him up and I shook him until he stopped crying.” But wait, back to Amaro on the mom, “I did it. It was me. Nate was crying. And then he quieted down. I put him in the tub. I dosed off. I woke up. Nate was under water.” Wait a minute. Who did it? The ME breaks the tie. “This baby wasn’t dropped, shaken, or hurt. It was SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). It will take a while to confirm, but right now it’s my instinct. So it turns out they were both protecting each other. Amaro tells the mom it was nobody’s fault. Ali, “You mean he just died?” Amaro, “Yes, why didn’t you call for help?” Ali, “Would you believe us?” Oh, snap! She’s right. Who would believe an alcoholic father and an abused mother didn’t kill their baby?

This is not your mother’s Law & Order SVU. The crime was there was no crime. The perps never made it to court. They were let go and sent on their merry way, to pay for this cover-up the rest of their lives. Fade out on the couple consoling each other with Benson and Amaro looking on.


Next week on Law & Order SVU, a music academy student cries rape.  The prosecution says she was promiscuous.  Who do we believe?