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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 9 Episode 3

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6.6

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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 10/9/07

A teacher claims that a student pursued her after she's charged with raping him.

Fan Episode Reviews (9)

The law catching up with science? Only in our dreams...

7.0

By XMLarry, Nov 16, 2011

What started out as a he said, she said, turned into a "let us blame biology" episode. While there may be some truth to the fact that the kid could not control himself, it still needs to be dealt with on a legal level. The nightmare for this kid only continues when he gets sent to that facility for juville sex offenders. And a million dollar payoff from the company that ran that facility. That may be legal even after the place was shut down but talk about unethical. I feel for the teacher and the quandry it puts her in since it was her idea to be leiniant to him.moreless
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This episode was okay. There was nothing special about it.

7.0

By SweetMissJaye, Nov 16, 2011

When I watch an episode of Law & Order SVU, I don't expect perfection but I do expect the episode to be good. This episode seemed rushed and everything didn't add up to me. It began well but then gradually fell apart.

The first thing I didn't like was that Munch wasn't in the episode. That's two episodes in a row without Munch. I know that he's a Seargent now but that doesn't mean he can't be in the episodes. That's just not right to me. I like Adam Beach but if I had to pick between him and Munch, I'd choose Munch. When Adam Beach was brought to the show, I read an article that said he wouldn't be replacing any cast member. The article also said no cast member was leaving the show. So where is Munch?

I think that Melissa Joan Hart did well. The kid, who I recognized from roles on Smallville and CSI NY, did well also. It's not their fault that the episode just wasn't well written. For example, the show began two months after he raped her. So what occured during that two month span? Did they avoid each other in the school? Why did she wait two months to have an abortion? Did she not know she was pregnant until right after she was arrested? Since she had meds for the STD, isn't it possible that she'd have known she was pregnant sooner than two months?

I really liked Diane Neal as Casey Novak in this episode. This is the most emotional I've seen her get in an episode. I don't recall ever seeing Casey get so upset or furious. I loved it. Casey Novak's job has to be extremely tough on her and it must take it's toll on her, but we hardly get to see that. We do get to see when she gets in trouble with her boss or with the captain. Another question I have about this episode is why did Casey feel so responsible for what happened to the boy. It really wasn't her job to check out the facility. Shouldn't that have been his lawyer's responsibility?

This episode left a lot to be desired. I have never disliked two back-to-back episodes of SVU before. It's unsettling to feel this way. I hope the writers get it together. Hopefully the episodes will be better from here on out. And bring back Munch!moreless
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The main characters shined in this episode.

9.1

By mstheresa1969, Nov 16, 2011

I really enjoyed watching this episode, especially the performances by Christopher Meloni and Diane Neal. In both instances, you can see how they are getting involved emotionally with the case. An example was when Elliot told Melissa Joan Hart's husband that he needed to forgive her and he decided not to press charges against him to show him forgiveness. Also how Casey got physical with that one guy after Shane was raped. But what was really sad was at the end that Shane was given one million dollars for filing a lawsuit against the treatment center and MJH,who was the real victim, got nothing. Talk about life not being fair :-(moreless
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It was a little disturbing at points.

8.9

By SVU_CSI_Xfiles, Nov 16, 2011

The fun thing about SVU is that i am almost always surprised when it comes to new episodes. they are very well thought out with a good twist or three, but this one as a little bit too much. It was so confusing to watch and all throughout it I was a little grossed out with the very idea of the episode. that could mean nothing, but I just think that this might have gone over the top. A teenager and a teacher have some sort of sexual relations, both claiming they were raped. But, of course, it can't be that simple, it has o have a few SVU twists thrown into it. Overall the episode was okay, it was just a little bit disturbing, but not the worst in the history of SVU.moreless
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Worth the watch if only to see Casey grabbing that guys shirt...

8.5

By hanarulzdaroom, May 27, 2011

This episode was above average for me. It was nice to see Karl Gallner as I think he's an amazing actor (athough this is the 2nd time I have seen him playin a rape victim AND a rapist). And I haven't seen Melissa Joan Hart since her Sabrina days so that was also enjoyable. Although the episode did seem to me to have a similar theme to another, I cant put my finger on which...

If your a massive Casey Novak/Diane Neal fan then Im thinking you will enjoy this episode. Its nice to see some Casey-centric episodes lately and this was no different. In fact, I couldnt help enjoy when Casey got a little excitable and grabbed a mans shirt in frustration and scream at him. And then when Liv literally had to drag her out the room only added to my amusement. Casey does seem proper bad ass, and she is one of my main reasons for watching SVU atm. Diane Neal manages to portray Casey's passion to perfection, while still making me laugh with her quirky one liners.

Anyway, back to the episode. We started off thinking (well I know I did), that the teacher raped the student, only to be told it was the other way round. And then the rapist became the rape victim, so this episode was very much about the our perceptions of the characters changing, which kept me interested. Also, the message that the law hasn't caught up with science was also, once again, put across. Overall, I enjoyed this episode, and it was great to see some more of Casey. My only main critism is, where the hell is Munch? He has been my favourite character in SVU since the very beginning, and Im not liking that he's being phased out this season.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Christopher Meloni	Det. Elliot Stabler
Mariska Hargitay	Det. Olivia Benson
Diane Neal	ADA Casey Novak
Ice-T	Det. Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
Adam Beach	Det. Chester Lake
BD Wong	Dr. George Huang

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Melissa Joan Hart	Sarah Trent	Guest Star
Kyle Gallner	Shane Mills	Guest Star
Quincy Dunn- Baker	Jimmy Trent	Guest Star
Joanna Merlin	Judge Lena Petrovsky	Recurring Role
Peter McRobbie	Judge Walter Bradley	Recurring Role
Joel de la Fuente	TARU Tech Ruben Morales	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (3)
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- Under the 5th Amendment, Shane did not have to testify at his trial, but once he is on the stand, he can be cross examined. Because of this, a defendant's testimony's ability to exculpate himself should outweigh any potential damage cross examination will do to his case. Hence no defense lawyer would risk putting her client on the stand to answer two simple questions which were already made known to the jury.
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- Sarah's husband pulls her chart from the wall and reads it outside her hospital room. While not impossible, it is unlikely this would have occurred. Strict HIPAA confidentiality laws keep charts in a centralized and monitored area. Even before the new laws, even the patient was restricted from access to the record without signing a release.
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- Detective Lake mentions he is a member of the Mohawk tribe.
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QUOTES (3)
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- Sophie Devere: I want whoever did this to burn!
  Casey Novak: Are you sure? Because I wouldn't want to punish someone who's not responsible for his actions.
  Sophie Devere: Don't you dare put this mess off on me!
  Casey Novak: I put Shane in this mess because I bought into your sideshow in court.
  Sophie Devere: I gave Shane my best defense; I did my job. Do yours.
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- Sophie Devere: (of Shane) Hey! It's not his fault that the law hasn't caught up to science.
  Elliot Stabler: Hey! The law is one-size-fits-all. It's not customized for every brain; Shane knew right from wrong.
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- Olivia Benson: Casey, you're drowning here. And unless Stabler can convince that guy to change his mind, I can't even throw you a life jacket.
  Casey Novak: I'm a big girl. I know how to swim. (walks away)
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NOTES (4)
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- International Episode Titles:Czech Republic: "Nezvladatelne pudy" (Uncontrollable instincts)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Czech Republic June 29, 2010 on TV Nova
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- Special billing was given to Annie Potts (and) in this episode
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- Mariska Hargitay's hair is noticeably longer in this episode than in other season nine episodes, indicating that the episodes are not being aired in order of filming.
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ALLUSIONS (4)
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- Sophie Devere: The filth that the police found on the defendant's computer would make Larry Flynt blush.
  
  Larry Flynt is the controversial and outspoken head of Flynt Publications, the company that publishes Hustler magazine and other pornography. He has frequently been taken to court on obscenity-related charges.
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- Sarah Trent: Holden tells Phoebe he wishes he could stand in that field of rye
  
  Sarah is talking to her English class about Holden Caulfield, the protagonist and narrator of J.D. Salinger's famous novel The Catcher In the Rye, which was first published in 1951.
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- This episode seems to be in part ripped from the headlines of the Texas Youth Commission scandal in early 2007.
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- On the side of the bus that Shane gets off of, there is an advertisement that says "IT'S TIME TO SAVE THE WORLD" with a picture of a solar eclipse behind it. This is an ad for the show Heroes, one of NBC's most popular programs at the time this episode aired.
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