Noteworthy Discoveries:
Benson and Jefferies dress as punks to blend in at a rave. Jefferies is back, despite having quit the force earlier in the season—evidence that the episodes are being broadcast out of their originally intended order. While going undercover to get information, Finn infuriates Munch by referring to him as “my Jew”—another sign that this story was meant to be seen not long after the detectives were first paired (episode 23: “Wrong is Right”).
Relevant Testimony:
“I told Belzer, ‘If the Klan comes one day, all I have to do is worry about outrunning you.’ But basically, in America, whether Jewish people, Asian people, there’s some kind of bond.”—Ice-T
Episode 39: Folly
Original air date: March 23, 2001
Teleplay by Todd Robinson, directed by Jud Taylor
Additional Cast:
Patricia Kalember (Leslie DeSantis), Eddie Cahill (Tommy Dowd), Simon Jones (Darien Marshall), J. Tucker Smith (Gary Sutton), Linda Stephens (Mrs. Dowd), Marguerite MacIntyre (Darlene Sutton), Lee Bryant (Claudia Baines Marshall), Stuart Zagnit (Harrison Barnett), Mark Zimmerman (Attorney Katz), Debra Eisenstadt (Lab Tech Ellen Matthews), Amanda Naughton (Lisa), Jeff Robins (Bartender Bill)
Reviewing the Case:
Pretty boys are dropping like flies as they unzip their pants to pleasure older women because someone has declared open season on male escorts from the Man About Town “companionship” service. Various well-connected New Yorkers come under scrutiny, but a strange obsession turns out to be the inciting factor in this case full of complex people in a tangle of carnal desires. Adroit viewers may easily guess what the final twist will be, but half the fun is in the process of getting there.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Skoda describes people afflicted with “folie à deux,” a shared madness. Benson and Stabler debate the wisdom of keeping prostitution a criminal matter.
Episode 40: Manhunt
Original air date: April 20, 2001
Teleplay by Jeff Eckerle, directed by Stephen Wertimer
Additional Cast:
Adam LeFevre (Walden Falls Police Chief), Dan Frazer (Ontario Province Judge), Mike Dooly (ATF Agent Gus Stone), Charlotte Maier (Ms. Michaelson), Anna Belknap (Sarah Kimmel), Robin Morse (Off. Cheryl Baxter), Paddy Croft (Aunt Mary), Tom Alan Robbins (Ed Kushner), Meg Hartig (Annie Tassler), Dennis Predovic (“Olive” Olivetti), Robert Westenberg (Colonel Marsden), Thomas Bolster (Sgt. Pierre), Paul Sparks (Marty Potter a.k.a. Marvin Posey), Luther Creek (Eldon)
Reviewing the Case:
A woman’s abduction in Manhattan takes the detectives to a bucolic upstate hamlet. Is she still alive somewhere in this snowy rural enclave? Is her kidnapping the work of “The Bowery Stalker,” who Munch failed to catch during a previous flurry of rape-torture crimes? The only surviving victim from that earlier time is reluctant to ID suspects in a lineup. And it’s Canadians to the rescue, as New York cops and prosecutors cross the border in hot pursuit.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
While forced to share a shabby motel room with Munch, Finn recalls the glory days of Narcotics undercover work in the lap of luxury and reveals that is former partner “took a bullet that was meant for me.” Munch compares his previous job dealing with murders (in NBC’s
Homicide: Life on the Street
) to the current task at SVU: “Little did I know it’s the living victims that rip your guts out.”
Relevant Testimony:
“I had read about a 1993 Canadian serial killer case. (A wife helped her husband rape and murder young women, including her own sister—crimes that also inspired the 2000 Mother Ship episode ‘Fools for Love.’) And this seemed like an opportunity to slip in character development with Munch and Fin. I wanted to watch these guys who didn’t like each other at first be cooped up together . . . I liked the idea of small town because I grew up in one, but we actually shot the episode in New Jersey.”—Jeff Eckerle
Episode 41: Parasites
Original air date: April 27, 2001
Teleplay by Martin Weiss, directed by David Platt
Additional Cast:
Mili Avital (Irina Burton/Ava Paroulis), Victor Steinbach (Razvan Toscu), Michele Pawk (Valentina Valescu), Matt Servitto (Dr. Brad Stanton), Melissa Bowen (Pamela Stanton), Gary Basaraba (George Burton), Michael Berresse (Matt Sloane), Lance Reddick (Dr. Taylor), Neal Ben-Ari (Dr. Lowenstein), Peter Van Wagner (Al Shipley), Yuka Takara (Mahlin Amos)
Reviewing the Case:
After the discovery of a buried skull and other bones, a few false leads soon give way to a bleak scenario involving Eastern European immigrants. The remains appear to be those of a mail-order bride of ill repute who has been missing for several years. Her sister is married to an American and the mother of their young daughter. Toss in a shifty Romanian diplomat with a passion for growing orchids and this becomes a case complicated by international relations.
Relevant Testimony:
“(Guest star) Mili Avital flew in from California on the Red Eye and had to shoot her last, most emotional scene first. She arrived at 6 A.M. and by 7 was in makeup.”—David Platt
Episode 42: Pique
Original air date: May 4, 2001
Teleplay by Judith McCreary, directed by Steve Shill
Additional Cast:
Margot Kidder (Grace Mayberry), Bruce MacVittie (Colin Tandy), Rob Bartlett (Milton Schoenfeld), Doris Belack (Arraignment Judge Margaret Barry), Terry Alexander (Security), Chad Lowe (Jason Mayberry), Martin Kildare (ADA Malcolm Sanderson), Robert Turano (Sgt. Fuller)
Reviewing the Case:
“Pique,” a title with a double meaning, dips into unsettling territory. A married woman’s rape and murder sends the detectives on a quest to comprehend the mind of her former co-worker. He’s a guy with several conflicting alibis. What they eventually understand—thanks to profiler Dr. George Huang, in his first appearance on the show—is a disturbing psychopathology that would have made Freud cringe.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Margot Kidder, already acting for a decade before her 1978 big-screen turn as Lois Lane in
Superman
, plays the mother of all dysfunctions in this episode.
Relevant Testimony:
“I thought it was interesting that a sharp instrument represents a man’s penis—Vlad, the Impaler—and that an act of intercourse can be violent if you look at it clinically. I found the reference in DSM 4 (
Diagnostic Social and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
), a book that most psychiatrists use. I’ve read it cover to cover. I wanted to explore outside conditions that contribute to mental illness.”—Judith McCreary
Episode 43: Scourge
Original air date: May 11, 2001
Teleplay by Robert F. Campbell and Jonathan Greene, story by Neal Baer, directed by Alex Zakrzewski
Additional Cast:
Karen Allen (Paula Varney), Richard Thomas (Daniel Varney), Frank Deal (ADA Don Newvine), David Chandler (Malcolm Hunt), Kevin O’Rourke (Sam Tiffany), Donna Mitchell (Mrs. Lindberg), Brian M. O’Neill (Sullivan), Jim Weston (Quentin Lindberg), Liza Lapira (Rebecca Chang), Tasha Lawrence (Honey the Hooker), Kes Kwansa (Kabral N’Cuma), Kofi Boakye (Sekou Obeng), Jack McCormack (Arson Capt. Malloy)
Reviewing the Case:
Mental illness once again takes center stage, albeit from a distinctly different angle. Mutilated and murdered women, some of them hookers, spark a citywide panic about a modern-day Jack the Ripper on the loose. A frenzied mob even beats up an innocent man. Dr. Huang’s profile points to a schizophrenic with possible religious delusions. That’s just what Daniel Varney initially seems to be, though his estranged wife claims he’s basically a gentle person. The truth about his condition prompts one of those stunning revelations that give so many
SVU
dramas their third-act pungency.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Karen Allen, the tough female lead in 1981’s
Raiders of the Lost Ark
, and Richard Thomas, John Boy on
The Waltons
during the 1970s, are memorable guest stars in this harrowing season finale.
SEASON THREE
September 2001−May 2002
Regular Cast:
Christopher Meloni (Det. Elliot Stabler), Mariska Hargitay (Det. Olivia Benson), Richard Belzer (Det. John Munch), Ice-T (Det. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola), Dann Florek (Capt. Donald Cragen), Stephanie March (ADA Alexandra Cabot); Tamara Tunie (M.E. Melinda Warner); B.D. Wong (Dr. George Huang)
Regular Recurring Cast:
Ron Leibman (EADA Stan Villani), Daniel Sunjata (CSU Tech Burt Trevor), Judith Light (SVU Bureau Chief Elizabeth Donnelly), Joanna Merlin (Judge Lena Petrovsky), Tom O’Rourke (Arraignment Judge Mark Seligman)
SEASON THREE OVERVIEW:
For its third season,
SVU
did some fine-tuning, with shifting character roles, a dialing back of personal life stories, and a fleshing-out of the district attorney’s office. They’ve abandoned the “walk through doors” group shot from the first two seasons and now have the lead cast (Tutuola, Munch, Benson, Cragen, Stabler, Cabot) continue to pose in the squad room—and in this post-9/11 season, the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers no longer appear in the opening cityscape, which is now shown in reverse angle. But the content changes are what give
SVU
its own personality, with some extremely compelling stories this season that challenge conventional wisdom—despite a few that overreach and just become too complicated. There’s a flurry of B-list actors filling out the guest roles, which can inject some fun into the show, but they can also merely serve as a flag proclaiming “Here There Be Villains.” All in all, a very good season despite some growing pains.
Ratings Recap for Season:
9.3 rating / 17 share / 13,499,000 viewers
EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS
Episode 44: Repression
Original air date: September 28, 2001
Teleplay by Marilyn Osborn, directed by Henry J. Bronchtein
Additional Cast:
Shirley Knight (Dr. Warton), Amy Irving (Rebecca Ramsey), Brian Kerwin (Evan Ramsey), Kelly Hutchinson (Megan Ramsey), Blythe Auffarth (Jody Ramsey), José Zúñiga (Forensics Tech), George Hearn (Charles Southerland), Jim Frangione (Richard Weiss), Steven Mark Friedman (Attorney Willington), Sarah Hyland (Lily Ramsey)
Reviewing the Case:
Intensive—and possibly questionable—therapy leads an unstable young Megan Ramsey to blame her father for raping her as a child. The case seems shaky, but a search of the home turns up kiddie porn in her youngest sister’s room, and daddy is arrested. The porn turns into a setup—and then dad turns up dead, with all signs pointing to Megan. Suddenly, there’s another side to the story, and in a classic “gotcha” ending, all eyes revert to Megan’s therapist.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
This episode is the first since the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks, and the final sequence of the title credits (which once showed the Twin Towers) has been altered so that they do not appear.
Episode 45: Wrath
Original air date: October 5, 2001
Teleplay by Judith McCreary, directed by Jean de Segonzac
Additional Cast:
Ben Gazzara (EADA), Justin Kirk (Eric Plummer), John Doman (Rod Franklin), Lee Shepherd (Mr. Platt), Richard Joseph Paul (Adam Cordell, Jr.), Ebony Jo-Ann (Mrs. Harding), Divina Cook (Mrs. Barrantes), Orlagh Cassidy (Valerie Plummer), Trey Wilson (Bruce Derricks), Jernard Burks (Russell Williams), Denise Bessette (Janice), John Bianco (Victor Klaussen), Stephen Paul Johnson (Mr. Lawrence), Brent Meyer (Michael), Rob Leo Roy (Mr. Talbot), Irene Mazeski (Shirley)
Reviewing the Case:
This time, the woman in peril is . . . Olivia! OK, so the episode isn’t quite that sensationalistic, but when a former convict who Benson helped put away (wrongly, as it turns out) decides to exact a little revenge, things take a melodramatic spin. It all starts when three unexpected corpses turn up on a body farm (where corpses are studied scientifically), all connected to Benson’s old cases. The detectives journey through her old files, and find a lot of bitterness, which puts Benson on edge. But once the right man is pinned down, he’s got a secondary agenda—and he needs Benson to help him see it through.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
The SVU station house is in Precinct 16, and Benson’s badge number is 44015. Although in season one it seemed fairly clear that the Benson/Stabler partnership was relatively new, one of Benson’s convicted perps had already been in jail for seven years. It’s an unusual canonical change, in that prior and subsequent episodes seem to indicate Benson was new to SVU in season one, but writer Judith McCreary travels to the beat of her own backstory drummer.