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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Hammered

Season 11, Episode 4, Aired Oct 14, 2009

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7.6

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Benson and Stabler investigate when called to a scene where an alcoholic man has awakened to find a woman's body beside him. Since the man claims not to recognize the woman, the detectives find themselves retracing the night's events and the possibility of a dangerous love triangle.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Scott Foley

Dalton Rindell
GUEST STAR
Linda Emond

Dr. Emily Sopher
GUEST STAR
Georgia Lyman

CSU Tech

Christopher Meloni

Det. Elliot Stabler
Mariska Hargitay

Det. Olivia Benson
Richard Belzer

Sgt. John Munch
Ice-T

Det. Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
Tamara Tunie

Dr. Melinda Warner
Dann Florek

Capt. Donald Cragen

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Fan Episode Reviews (10)

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SVU is flatlined... Is it too late for CPR?

1.0

"Abysmal"

By Lolotaki, Apr 06, 2011

I have been watching SVU since season 4, I bought the rest on DVD. I am THAT CLOSE to stop this habit. that close.
What has happened to this "once upon a time it used to be great" show?

It began at season 7.
First I thought it was bad writing to cover Mariska's pregnancy absence.
Then I had this feeling that Chris and Mariska went way too vain and wanted the scripts to be ALL about them.
After that it went to a phase of having guest stars with just great performances over AWFULL scripts.
Nowdays I feel like the stories are addressed to... 10years old kids.
What all this have in common? BAD writing.
Do the producers aim to another audience with low IQ? Cause they sure act this way.

(SPOILERS)
Take for example this story which is about alcoholism. We pretty much have a guy who is so wasted he doesnt even remember if he killed a woman found brutally murdered in his place. A fact that by itself is enough to make a point. But no, for the SVU creators we are apparently 6yo in mental age and we don't get it. So lets make the ADA alcoholic as well and get her drunk to the court room to prove HOW bad alcoholism is.
I FELT BAD for the actress. It was embarrassing to watch Lachti trying to support SUCH a weak story. Actually it has been embarrassing to watch her trying to support such a weak and exaggerating role from the beginning of her SVU days.
I am not from USA but I wonder if its allowed for ADAs over there to be SO hysterical and emotional driven in expense of their own cases. Her character was closer to a soapopera villain than to a primetime quality drama.

I will watch 2-3 more episodes. If this mess keeps going I am DONE with it. IT was a nice ride for 7 seasons but having my intelligence get insulted for 4 years now overcomes the limits of my tv-masochism. I'm afraid my loyalty to this show is history.moreless
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Another great episode.

9.5

"Superb"

By 2004ep3hatch, Apr 06, 2011

I will have to say after watching the show for years, his season has been great. Last season as well, every episode has had a differernt ending then I expected. I always fond myself standing up to see how it ends. This episode was great considering the subject. Drinking is a big problem and I liked the the way they used it in this episode. I did not expect to see the ending with Paxton(sp?), very interesting when I was just starting to like her. It brought somthing different to the show the way the squad did not get along with her. Well see what next episode bringsmoreless
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this episode could have been good but instead it was just ridiculous.

5.3

"Mediocre"

By edsappless, Feb 22, 2011

Hammered was another disappointing episode for season 11. So, let's start.

- okay storyline involving the alcoholic who claims he couldn't remember about what happened... too much predictable he was really the guilty one, but I didn't care for this
- they tried to deal with two different big issues in one episode??? this was a salade. they were talking about abortion and alcoholism at the same time? they must be running out of ideas, huh?
- I enjoyed seeing Paxton drunk in the court but.... the whole thing was just too forced. we never saw this coming and then they invent this ridiculous explanation and this ridiculous end for the character.
- one thing I really liked was Benson visiting her mother's grave. it was nice they bring those old memories again... but this episode had so many fails I can't give a good score for it.moreless
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The plot was not good. Paxton didn´t fit with the show.

3.5

"Bad"

By ABERETTA, Nov 26, 2009

The plot was not good at all. There should be better ways of having Paxton out of the show since she has never fitted in. In other episodes the problems with liquor had already been dealt with and in much more credible ways. It is a pity that this season is trying to be more psychological than any other thing. It is curious that in this episode they havent asked for the help of Dr. Huang (and this is a part of the poorness of the plot). In any case, it is interesting to see that somehow the show is more inquisitive about the attitudes of D.As.moreless
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What a relief ... Sonya Paxton is gone.

8.0

"Great"

By tedew, Oct 28, 2009

I gave this episode an 8, not because it is all that wonderful (it is actually rather pedestrian) but because it showcased the downfall and exit of Sonya Paxton.
I do like Christine Lahti quite a bit and saw her when she was promoting "Housekeeping" at the Vancouver Film Festival that year. I also enjoyed her in "Jack and Bobby". However, her arc here was Christine Lahti in overdrive to the extreme. For me her Sonya Paxton was the most annoying character anywhere in recent memory; it was cringe inducing. Can anyone actually tell me that they liked that shrill, histrionic, man hating, incompetent and abusive woman? Can you tell me that you are not relieved she is now gone? It is doubtful to me she would have lasted five minutes in that capacity in real life. The sudden plot turn in this episode revealing that she was a hapless alcoholic seems to be a cop out to my mind, but at least it provided a much needed exit.moreless
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Scott Foley as Dalton Rindell and Richar...

© 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.
Scott Foley as Dalton Rindell, Mariska H...

© 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.
Tamara Tunie as Dr. Melinda Warner on La...

© 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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NOTES (4)
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic – "Smrt kladivem" (Death by Hammer)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Czech Republic – January 24, 2012 on TV Nova
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- This episode won a 2010 Prism Award in the category Drama Series Episode Substance Abuse. The Awards were held on April 22, 2010.
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- Scott Foley, who played Dalton Rindell in this episode, is from Kansas City, Kansas, the same metro area where the convicted murderer of Dr. George Tiller lived prior to the murder. Even more eerie, the convicted killer of Dr. George Tiller is also named Scott (Scott Roeder.)
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- Elliot: What's with the, uh, bulletproof glass here? Victim's Colleague: We had that put in back in '93 after our sniper attack. A receptionist was shot in the arm. Another reference to Dr. Tiller. He was shot in both arms on August 19, 1993, a total of five times, by a woman named Shelley Shannon. She was sentenced to 11 years for attempted murder.
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- Victim's Ex-Husband: Once that doctor was shot in his own church in Kansas this summer, I petitioned the court for sole custody but… lost. A reference to the George Tiller murder in Wichita, Kansas on May 31, 2009. This statement appears to be ripped from the headlines of Dr. Tiller's murder, which occurred while he was serving as an usher at church.
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