Carol Burnett (as Birdie Sulloway) and B.D. Wong in season ten’s “Ballerina”
Noteworthy Discoveries:
This episode introduces a new CSU tech named Dale Stuckey, who’s prone to making inappropriate statements at inopportune times. Actual footage of Carol Burnett’s early performances on
The Garry Moore Show
is used when the character, looking much like the deranged diva from
Sunset Boulevard
, watches her younger self on TV.
Relevant Testimony:
“’The specific Norma Desmond feel in that scene actually evolved from something Carol asked to do [to show Birdie’s vulnerability] by shedding the wig she wore in previous scenes and just wearing a turban as she watched her old films. When I wrote the script, I didn’t have any actual footage in mind. . . . Then [showrunner] Neal Baer mentioned seeing Carol on
The Garry Moore Show
when he was a kid. . . . It was an inspired idea (and typical of Neal). Carol hadn’t actually seen the clips for years and years (since they aired live decades ago) and loved seeing them again.”—Daniel Truly
Episode 219: Hell
Original air date: March 31, 2009
Teleplay by Amanda Green, directed by David Platt
Additional Cast:
Robert Wisdom (Father Theo Burdett), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Elijah Okello), Cicely Tyson (Ondine Burdett), Mike Colter (Samuel/Joseph), Julyza Commodore (Miriam Burdett), Sean Cullen (Brett Trask), Stephen Gregory (Dr. Kyle Beresford), Joanna Bonaro (Doris DiNuzio), Pietro Gonzalez (Felipe), Kola Ogundiran (Nathaniel), Andrew Guilarte (Rajiv)
Reviewing the Case:
SVU
has always been sensitive to the plight of refugees, a topic frequently eclipsed in the heated national debate about immigration. “Hell” examines the problem of child soldiers forced to fight in Africa’s many civil wars, which may eventually find their way onto the streets of New York. The throat of a little girl, possibly from Sudan, has been slashed. The initial suspect hails from Uganda. A more likely perp has somehow eluded capture for crimes against humanity.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Seeking help on the case, Cabot meets with a fellow Harvard alum who is now an official at the UN—marking the first time in its six-decade history that the international organization allowed a major network television production to film on the premises.
Relevant Testimony:
While shooting the episode in March 2009, Stephanie March told
CNN.com
, “I have a great job but really all I want to do is actually work with the UN. . . . It’s been a lifelong dream to be part of it in some way.”
Episode 220: Baggage
Original air date: April 7, 2009
Teleplay by Judith McCreary, directed by Chris Zalla
Additional Cast:
Delroy Lindo (Det. Victor Moran), Jeri Ryan (Patrice Larue), Nelson Vasquez (Mike Ocurro), Judith Delgado (Elena Ocurro), John Ashton (Chief of Detectives), Victor Anthony (Stefan Henriquez), Lisa London (Debra Huggins), Joe Passano (Supervisor), Jasmin Tavarez (Angela Ocurro), Dawn Yanek (Evie), Keith Baker (Oswald), Rick Younger (David Paige), Isaiah Stokes (Tyrone Beckwith), Timothy Mitchum (Paul), Deirdre Lorenz (Det. Nina Gardner), Nicole Mangi (Vicky Henningen)
Reviewing the Case:
A gruesome murder is attributed to a serial rapist whose crimes have begun to escalate. The city’s chief of detectives demands that the SVU squad play second fiddle to a seasoned cop from another precinct who is already on the case. He clashes with Stabler at first, but the two men establish mutual respect in an effort to catch the elusive and prolific killer.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Benson is unexpectedly absent from this episode due to Mariska Hargitay’s hospitalization for a collapsed lung. CSU Tech Mike Doyle’s lament to the SVU detectives is, “Now you know what I have to put up with,” when they witness annoying behavior by his colleague Dale Stuckey. Later the newcomer says something that causes Stabler to repeat three times in succession: “What’s the matter with you?”
Episode 221: Selfish
Original air date: April 28, 2009
Teleplay by Mick Betancourt, directed by David Platt
Additional Cast:
Hilary Duff (Ashlee Walker), Gail O’Grady (Ruth Walker), Annie Potts (Sophie Devere), Mike Pniewski (Ralph Walker), Anastasia Barzee (Monica Potter), Peter Hermann (Trevor Langan), Marilyn Torres (Maria), Miriam Colon (Yolanda), Tonye Patano (Judge Maskin), David Lipman (Judge Arthur Cohen), Deidre Goodwin (Nanny), Tracy Griswold (Uriah Faber), Ryan Raftery (Dennis Faber)
Reviewing the Case:
Commentator Nancy Grace of cable’s HLN (Headline News) may think she has cornered the market on murdered toddler Caylee Anthony, but
SVU
sure knows how to present a fictionalized mirror image of that genuine Florida case. A reckless young single mom reports the child’s disappearance and, despite numerous discrepancies in the story she tells police, is backed by her parents. In this instance, though, the grandmother is a harpy and another crime scenario comes into play regarding a disease that can be deadly.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
That old
Law & Order
ripped-from-the-headlines routine seems more cogent than ever with lines such as, “This car smells like a dead body!”—an exact quote lifted from the Sunshine State saga. Do the writers ever worry about scripts borrowing too much from their sources?
Relevant Testimony:
“If there are ever any similarities to real world events, the story always winds up going in a different direction than the original, almost always ending by shining a light on a social or ethical issue, leaving the last opinion up to the audience. We always run our stories and research through our legal department which checks and double checks all facts and similarities.”—Mick Betancourt
Episode 222: Crush
Original air date: May 5, 2009
Teleplay by Jonathan Greene, directed by Peter Leto
Additional Cast:
Swoosie Kurtz (Judge Hilda Marsden), Alex Kingston (Miranda Pond), Carly Schroeder (Kim Garnet), Melinda McGraw (Samantha Copeland), Kellie Overbey (Mrs. Garnet), Scott Bryce (Bill Garnet), Ezra Miller (Ethan Morse), Alexander Nifong (Steve Walker), Geoffrey Cantor (Ed Mangini), Jennifer Regan (Janice Morse), Nicholas J. Giangiulio (Mort), Brian Rogalski (Little Pete), Bill Winkler (Mark Walker), Conrad Woolfe (Rick Edwards), Kelly Kunkel (Daniela)
Reviewing the Case:
When the police question a high school girl who has foolishly sexted a boyfriend risqué photos of herself, they find evidence of battering. Although she remains mum on the subject, two male classmates come under scrutiny. All the kiddie porn concerns that emerge are merely a platform for launching an episode about a corrupt judicial process.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Stabler refers to the CSU’s Dale Stuckey as “the talk-too-much tech.” The officious Melinda McGraw is identified as a “corporation counsel,” an attorney for the city rather than the DA’s office. She handles civil legal matters, in this case the prosecution of a juvenile. The fifteen-year-old victim’s salacious pictures go viral, prompting others to taunt her as she navigates the school hallways—very much like the ubiquitous real-life TV public service ad warning teens about the dangers of internet intimacy.
Relevant Testimony:
“To this day, have not seen the (public service) ad. . . . Sometimes we’ll come up with a scenario in which we’ll put together a story for an episode, only to see our fictional story play out in real life just before the episode airs (what Neal calls ‘the headlines being ripped from us’). Other times, we hear about a case, use it for an episode, and all of a sudden, as we’re writing the episode, the momentum on the issue behind said case builds. That’s basically what happened with the naked-photo storyline in ‘Crush.’”—Jonathan Greene
Episode 223: Liberties
Original air date: May 19, 2009
Teleplay by Dawn DeNoon, directed by Juan J. Campanella
Additional Cast:
Alan Dale (Judge Joshua Koehler), Sprague Grayden (Pamela Galliano), Jon Patrick Walker (Tyler Brunson), Attorney Heshy Horowitz (Joe Grifasi), Silas Weir Mitchell (Owen Walters), Victor Arnold (Roy Lee Dodson), Linda Park (TARU Tech)
Reviewing the Case:
When a stalker/rape-provocateur is captured, he deserves some compassion for having been the victim of persistent childhood sexual abuse by his father. But this is not the only issue weighing on the young man’s trial judge, an otherwise law-abiding jurist whose own son was abducted as a toddler thirty years earlier.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Stabler agrees to do whatever it takes to elicit information from a repellent, unrepentant serial pedophile dying of emphysema in prison; It’s essentially a moment of torture-light. Munch tells Cragen: “I’m going out of town this weekend with my girl.” Fans of the acerbic and much-divorced detective are no doubt be left to wonder if he might take yet another trip down the aisle. But who is this mystery woman?
Relevant Testimony:
“(That dialogue about Munch’s ‘girl’) was the lone remnant of a story line that ended up getting cut out of my original script. It was to set up a possible new romance in a future episode, and was not referring to any of his many exes.”—Dawn DeNoon
“We’re thinking it could be Marlee Matlin’s character (assisted-suicide advocate Dr. Amy Solwey, seen in seasons five and six). She might come back.”—showrunner Neal Baer
Episode 224: Zebras
Original air date: June 2, 2009
Teleplay by Amanda Green & Daniel Truly, directed by Peter Leto
Additional Cast:
Carol Kane (Gwen Munch), Tim Bohn (Jacob Nauss), Judith Light (Judge Elizabeth Donnelly), Nick Stahl (Peter Harrison), Lizette Carrion (ADA Kristen Torres), Ronald Guttman (Edgar Radzinski), Kelly Bishop (Attorney Julia Zimmer), Tim Bohn (Jacob Nauss)
Reviewing the Case:
When a tourist’s body is found in Central Park with the word “guilty” written on her forehead, a suspect with paranoid delusions of governmental conspiracy quickly emerges. He eludes prosecution thanks to a mistake by CSU Tech Stuckey, and following his release murders and attempted murders begin piling up as detectives try to pin a crime on him. Munch turns to his ex-wife Gwen for assistance—but when a final piece of DNA falls into place, suddenly a new danger emerges from inside the department.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Carol Kane played Gwen Munch on the sixth season of
Homicide: Life on the Streets
. This
SVU
season concludes with Stabler looking at two bodies and noting, “What a way to end.” Since both Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay were still in negotiations at that point to re-sign their contracts, the line takes on a particular poignancy.
PRODUCTION TEAMS FOR ALL SEASONS
Creator/Executive Producer
Seasons one−ten:
Dick Wolf
Executive Producer
Season one:
Robert Palm, David Burke
Season two:
David Burke, Ted Kotcheff, Neal Baer
Season three−ten
:
Neal Baer, Ted Kotcheff, Peter Jankowski
Co-Executive Producer
Season one
:
Peter Jankowski, Ted Kotcheff
Season two
:
Peter Jankowski, Arthur W. Forney, Judith McCreary, Martin Weiss
Season three
:
Arthur W. Forney, Judith McCreary
Season four
:
Arthur W. Forney, Judith McCreary, Patrick Harbinson
Season five
:
Arthur W. Forney, Patrick Harbinson, Robert Nathan, Dawn DeNoon and Lisa Marie Petersen, Roz Weinman
Season six
:
Arthur W. Forney, Patrick Harbinson, Robert Nathan, Dawn DeNoon and Lisa Marie Petersen, Roz Weinman, Jonathan Greene, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters
Season seven
:
Arthur W. Forney, Patrick Harbinson, Robert Nathan, Dawn DeNoon and Lisa Marie Petersen, Jonathan Green, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, Ian Biederman
Season eight:
Arthur W. Forney, Patrick Harbinson, Jonathan Greene, Amanda Green, Dawn DeNoon
Season nine:
Arthur W. Forney, Jonathan Greene, Amanda Green, Dawn DeNoon
Season ten:
Arthur Forney, Amanda Green, Jonathan Greene, Dawn DeNoon, David Platt, Peter Leto