Relevant Testimony:
“Previously, rape was considered different than sodomy. In my opinion, that was absurd. To this day, they laugh at men who say they’ve been raped. The thinking is that men have more upper body strength. But rape is more psychological than anything else.”—Judith McCreary
Episode 54: Monogamy
Original air date: January 4, 2002
Teleplay by Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, directed by Constantine Makris
Additional Cast:
John Ritter (Dr. Richard Manning), Bobby Cannavale (Kyle Novacek), Erin Broderick (Maureen Stabler), Audrie J. Neenan (Judge Marilyn Haynes), Peter Hermann (Trevor Langan), Fernando Lopez (Ramone Vargas), Marianne Hagan (Erin Sena), Tricia Paoluccio (Nicole Manning), Starla Benford (Carol Daley)
Reviewing the Case:
The show was on a roll with this second-in-a-row of two excellent episodes, both chasing down controversy to propel plot. At first John Ritter’s wholesome Dr. Manning seems genuine in his grief after his pregnant wife is attacked and her baby cut out of her, then disposed of. Still, when the case goes to trial, it all hinges on whether the baby ever took a breath to determine if the attacker can be tried for murder or not.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
This episode introduces Peter Hermann’s Trevor Langan to the rotating cast of defense lawyers; he takes on a second major role as Mr. Mariska Hargitay a little over two years later.
Relevant Testimony:
“I’ve always been the welcome committee to
SVU
. Peter (Hermann) came on and I was like, ‘Wow.’ Then it went on for like three months or so, this flirty checking-it-out. He didn’t work (on the show) that often, and then we started dating and the rest is history.”—Mariska Hargitay
Episode 55: Protection
Original air date: January 11, 2002
Teleplay by Jonathan Greene and Robert F. Campbell, directed by Alex Zakrzewski
Additional Cast:
Fernando Lopez (Ramone Vargas), Elpidia Carrillo (Maria Ramos), Jean-Luke Figueroa (Luis Ramos), David Zayas (Det. Milton), Louie Leonardo (Fredo Garcia), Dylan Price (Det. Danny Tatum), Sevanne Martin (Nurse Lisa), Zabryna Guevara (Annie Colon), Teresa Yenque (Graciella Hernandez), Otto Sanchez (Eddie Fuentes), Susan Pellegrino (Dr. Barrett), Michael Mosley (Ronnie), Bill Golodner (Sgt. DaCosta), Al Espinosa (Andy Penza), Paul Baron (Kevin McDonald)
Reviewing the Case:
It’s never a good sign when cops in a L&O episode promise they’ll protect innocents from the criminals they’re trying to convict. Here, mother Maria Ramos leaves her injured son Miguel alone in the hospital, and detectives have to untangle a complex web to first track her down, then identify the too-close-for-comfort shooter, and finally convince her to testify against the suspect. But Maria decides to take matters into her own hands, with tragic results.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Belzer turns in a thoughtful, surprising performance when Munch “talks ten-year-old” to Maria’s other son.
Relevant Testimony:
“The idea is that it’s over for now, but it may not really be over. This was about the difficulty of sometimes keeping witnesses safe, and what a witness goes through. They want to do the right thing, and sometimes they get driven from doing the right thing into doing the wrong thing, and it can cost you to do the right thing.”—Jonathan Greene
Episode 56: Prodigy
Original air date: January 18, 2002
Teleplay by Lisa Marie Petersen and Dawn DeNoon, directed by Steve Shill
Additional Cast:
Jill Marie Lawrence (Cleo Conrad), Michael Pitt (Harry Baker), Brian Sullivan (Joe Poletti), Robert Clohessy (Vinnie), Michele Pawk (Daisy Baker), Antonio D. Charity (Albert), Ellen Lancaster (Dr. Di Remegio), Michael X. Martin (Ned Rubens), Mariann Mayberry (Candy Forrester), Guthrie Nutter (Scotty Wells), Lenore Pemberton (Edie Jenks), Jacob Smith (Phillip Mahoe), Shaheen Vaaz (Shaheen Puniwar), Katie Walder (Corey Thorne)
Reviewing the Case:
A young sociopath named Harry who likes tormenting animals and collecting their skulls seems an obvious lock on the death of an animal cruelty officer, but the evidence—and a tip-off from the suspect—leads them to a less juicy, but not less guilty, suspect. It’s a case that twists and turns satisfyingly—at least until the final act, which is bound to leave viewers wondering about Stabler’s detection abilities.
Relevant Testimony:
“Harry is a serial killer in the making. So we used him like (Clarice Starling uses Hannibal Lecter in)
The Silence of the Lambs.
This guy has the thinking of a serial killer because he’s going to be one. The kid knows our killer more than we do, because this kid is him (eventually).”—Dawn DeNoon
Episode 57: Counterfeit
Original air date: January 25, 2002
Teleplay by Amanda Green, directed by Arthur W. Forney
Additional Cast:
Robert John Burke (IAB Sgt. Ed Tucker), Michael O’Keefe (Marcosi), Khrystyne Haje (Francesca Jesner), Paul Regina (Jeffery Trapani), Armand Schultz (Ragolia), Jenn Thompson (Mandy Mangun), Rochelle Bostrom (Samantha Ragolia), Gordon Joseph Weiss (Brandon O’Keefe), LeAnna Croom (Stacia Green), Billy Strong (Phil Urzi)
Reviewing the Case:
An intriguing script brings the refreshing temporary partnership of Benson and Tutuola, who spar while overseeing two rapes and one rape/murder tied together by an alleged cop demanding sexual services in return for not arresting his victims. In a nice piece of misdirection, however, the most recognizable guest star is not the perp, and detectives have to look outside the blue wall to chase down their man. But can they get to him before he kills his latest victim—who he “arrested” straight from her own home?
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Munch, a hypochondriac, shows up with a bum foot injured while skydiving. Tutuola has an eighteen-year-old child. Green, who heretofore had been the series technical advisor, contributes her first script. She will quickly move up the ladder to co-executive producer.
Episode 58: Execution
Original air date: February 1, 2002
Teleplay by Judith McCreary, directed by Alex Zakrzewski
Additional Cast:
William Hill (Allen Cooper), Laura Hughes (Hannah Cooper), Heather MacRae (Andrea Mason), Ty Burrell (Alan Messinger), Nick Chinlund (Matt Brodus), Timothy Wheeler (Robert Rule), Anthony Chisholm (Leroy Russell), Glynis Bell (Judge Whitemore), Martin Kildare (Wade Harris)
Reviewing the Case:
In this format-altering story, Stabler and Huang race against the clock to tie an about-to-be-executed serial killer in New Jersey to a decade-old crime against another likely victim, but no one in their path is very helpful. It’s an intriguing premise, to start off more or less at what would normally be the end, but does reduce the tension throughout the rest of the episode: Since viewers know they interview the killer, who attacks Huang and Stabler, just how they get there becomes a few shades less compelling.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
As with episode 57, “Counterfeit,” one of the lead detectives (in this case, Benson) has virtually no face time. Stabler reveals that his former partner killed himself after not being able to solve the case they are now pursuing. It isn’t clear if they were partners at the time. This episode’s format change enhances the storytelling.
Relevant Testimony:
“The teaser is actually the climax, then we start at the beginning. But we don’t actually find out (the cops’) worst fears have been realized until the end of the show. They realize the guy won’t outright confess—he wants the guard to beat him, because no state will execute an unhealthy man. Which is the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life.”—Judith McCreary
Episode 59: Popular
Original air date: March 1, 2002
Teleplay by Stephen Belber, story by Kathy Ebel and Belber, directed by Jean de Segonzac
Additional Cast:
Isabel Gillies (Kathy Stabler), Brittany Slattery (Cynthia Wilmont), Christopher Orr (Ross McKenzie), Billy Kay (Tommy Kessler), Jason Fuchs (Nick Radsen), Elena Franklin (Amy Bergen), William Charlton (Principal Charest), Allison Siko (Kathleen Stabler), Laura Interval (Darlene Wilmont), Ned Luke (Mr. Wilmont), Myra Lucretia Taylor (Principal), Craig Woe (James Woodrow), Scott Geyer (Mr. Bergen), Christy Baron (Mrs. Bergen), Sprague Grayden (Mia Kessler), Laura Marie Duncan (Carol Porter)
Reviewing the Case:
A comment from Stabler’s wife Kathy sends the detective searching for a fourteen-year-old rape victim who doesn’t want to come forward, and what he and the other detectives learn is that some boys pimp their girlfriends even in middle school, and that oral sex isn’t “really sex.” The episode reveals a seamier underbelly to being popular than anyone wants to believe, which at the same time makes this an uncomfortably realistic tale of a very bad love triangle.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
This is the first episode with Siko as Kathleen, previously played by Holiday Segal.
Episode 60: Surveillance
Original air date: March 8, 2002
Teleplay by Jeff Eckerle, directed by Steve Shill
Additional Cast:
Emily Deschanel (Cassie Germaine), Peter Hermann (Trevor Langan), Rob Bogue (Kevin Wilson), Nate Mooney (Terry Willard), Lena Georgas (Valerie Baxter), Michael Nader (Robert Prescott), Michael Lewis Wells (Paul), Max Leavitt (Jeff Doolittle), Susan Pellegrino (Dr. Barrett), Wayne Pretlow (Ralph Grady), Joseph Adams (Ray Campbell), Jennifer Laura Thompson (Aimee Slocum)
Reviewing the Case:
When a cellist is attacked in her apartment, investigators turn up hidden cameras—and the hidden love life of a tech-savvy stalker, who has set up his own shrine and Internet Web cam devoted to her. But after the musician is later shot, Benson and Stabler are left chasing the stalker and his actual girlfriend, while discovering that sometimes one sickness attracts another, even darker version. A harrowing and smart episode with a shocker of an ending.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
This is an early performance by Emily Deschanel, sister of Zooey, who went on to the lead role in Fox’s
Bones
in 2005. And soap fans should enjoy the appearance of a blond Michael Nader, who played the dark-haired Dimitri Marick on
All My Children
.
Relevant Testimony:
“We were concerned all the bells and whistles (the gizmos used in the script) might take over the story. There are two sides to the coin, of course: Catch the cretins, but at what cost? From a writer’s perspective, sometimes you bend yourself like a pretzel to service the technology in an episode.”—Jeff Eckerle
Episode 61: Guilt
Original air date: March 29, 2002
Teleplay by Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, directed by David Platt
Additional Cast:
Ned Eisenberg (Roger Kressler), Beau Gravitte (Roy Barnett), Kay Lenz (Linda Cavanaugh), Bret Harrison (Sam Cavanaugh), Lee Pace (Benjamin Tucker), Thomas Piper (Tommy Priore), Don Sparks (Dr. Phil Mitrano)
Reviewing the Case:
It’s a rule of law, or maybe just of
Law & Order
episodes: At some point, every major character will find a case that pushes his or her buttons and will do Whatever It Takes to secure justice. This time, it’s Cabot’s turn as she does her damnedest, including shading the truth on a warrant, to put a serial molester who lures adolescent boys behind bars for good. March (Cabot) is excellent, but gets upstaged by the introduction of Judith Light as SVU Bureau Chief Elizabeth Donnelly, who may just be the ballsiest character the franchise has ever invented—male or female.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Light’s introduction lends depth to the DA’s office and helps avoid the revolving door of otherwise unimportant EADAs to whom Cabot must report.
Relevant Testimony:
“It was a group decision to have a bureau chief. We’d used Fred Thompson (who played District Attorney Arthur Branch on
L&O
at the time) and Dianne Wiest (DA Nora Lewin prior to Thompson), but it was hard to schedule them in. The
SVU
prosecution needed its own boss.”—Michele Fazekas
Episode 62: Justice
Original air date: April 5, 2002
Teleplay by Lisa Marie Petersen and Dawn DeNoon, directed by Juan J. Campanella
Additional Cast:
Keir Dullea (Judge Thornburg), Kathleen Goldpaugh (Sister Kay), Cloie Wyatt Taylor (Mary Elizabeth), Valerie Mahaffey (Brooke Thornburg), Michael Luggio (Tony Degalio), Bonnie Dennison (Heather Porter), Myk Watford (Tommy), Gina Nagy (Sharlene Degalio), Libby George (Beth Fischer), Jana Robbins (Emily Porter)