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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 8 Episode 12

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8.7

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 1/16/07

Tutuola reluctantly works on a case involving the rape of a coed after his son Ken feels responsible for catching the rapist. Tutuola trying to solve the case with the rape victim unwilling to cooperate, crosses paths with another detective, Chester Lake, who is also investigating similar cases as part of Brooklyn SVU. The two clash at first but when another rape occurs, the two detectives must work together and pick up the pace before the rapist strikes again.moreless

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (12)

I’ve always liked Fin and when he gets to lead a case I find it’s a pleasant change from the archaic same old from Benson & Stabler.

8.2

By Clint_Malarchuk, Mar 29, 2011

Don’t get me wrong, there is a reason why Law & Order: SVU is the most exiting crime-drama on television (with exception only to The Wire). But with all the anger management that Olivia gives to Elliot and the crossovers into the personal lives of Elliot’s kin it’s important that we are able to find solace with a different member of SVU.

Tonight the intolerant Fin has to run case that was initiated when his son, Ken came to him about a friend he thinks is a rape victim. The stubborn former undercover narcotics officer can’t seem to get the case off the ground at first. But when the list of people being hurt grows a Detective Chester Lake from the Brooklyn SVU thinks he has found connections with the rapes in Manhattan and a group of murders he is working on from his borough. Although the two personalities make for problems at first they can eventually put their differences aside and find clinics owned by the same doctor where all the victims had visited.

The killer is narrowed down to a small but very tight family containing a doctor a lawyer and a janitor. Are we getting an idea of who the killer might be? Anyways, the janitor, Henry has always been overlooked by his doctor father. Without him feeling any sense of pride, Henry has always been craving fatherly attention. It turns out that actually any attention will do for Henry. This includes raping a killing his father’s patients and making scrapbook clippings of all the newspaper articles surrounding his wrongdoings. He just wants to be gawked over.

So they arrest and arrest the Henry until he has to be brought with the gaze of the media watching. Well it’s what he always wanted and that’s what Law & Order: SVU is all about. Making dreams come true.

Speaking of a dream coming true we have been seeing a lot of actor Kal Penn (Henry) lately. Aside from being the killer in tonight’s show he was also recently a terrorist in 24. This means he has gotten into two of my reviews as a guest star in just one week. You know have made it in Hollywood when that happens.

Get the links to this review and read others at www.MikeonTV.commoreless
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This was amazing with two very cool men eating up the screen.

9.2

By crbjc, Mar 29, 2011

Ice-T is one of the coolest of the cool, but Adam Beach can reduce any intense situation to a cool mountain Lake; perhaps in giving his character the name Lake they were refering to that aspect of the man. I have watched his career for years and he always seems capable of infusing a sense of serenity into anything he does. He never removes himself from his heredity but it does not dominate the man either. He is who he is and perhaps that also is an aspect of cool. Together Ice and Beach made for a very cool episode that was just fun to watch.moreless
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Bad, Bad Black Sheep

9.5

By XMLarry, Mar 29, 2011

Another excellent, mostly solo epsisode surrounding Finn and a Brooklyn SVU officer tracking down the same person for attacks in both burroughs with some help from his estranged son. Interesting how they figured the father for the attacks, rapes and murders all along until they discover it is his unwanted son trying to prove himself worthy at something (what some people will do for fame). A nice break from the Eliot - Olivia storyline which does get tiresome after a while. Will they bring back Connie Neilsen (aka Dani Beck) as a possible love interest for Eliot somewhere down the line. Stay tuned...moreless
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It's obvious that the SVU writers are trying to branch out more. They're going more out there. I'd like to see more of Adam Beach & Ernest Waddell. It's guest stars and original that keep this sahow good. Outsider is a step in the right direction.moreless

9.7

By IdiotsloveBoxes, Mar 29, 2011

I really liked this episode. I think the SVU writers are starting to branch out. They can't maintain a top show's high ratings going forever on the same episode formula (boy-rapes-girl, girl-doesn't-want-to-testify, Olivia-says-something-sappy, detectives-argue, ADA-wants-more-evidence, defense-wins-in-court, confession, unhappily ever after). In the last couple of episodes they've dug deeper into character's histories, provided more in-depth fictional investigations, used supporting characters more effectively, opened the door to future story lines. In Outsider, I think we saw more vibrant guest characters with the victims & the murderer. Outsider wasn't based on just an innocent victim (good) and a sick murderer (bad). I didn't comepletely like the rape victim in this episode, but I felt a little sympathy for the perv. They're revamping the SVU formula.

In Outsider, we are introduced to a new detective with potential to be a part of the series. I thought Adam Beach as Chester Lake could be a good replacement cast member in case any of the SVU stars decide to leave, which is a definite possibility if the show lasts as long as Law & Order. He's a lot more entertaining than that Connie Nielsen ever was (overall). Then, there was that one moment of interaction between Lake & Casey (you all saw it, don't deny it). It was just about 15 seconds of chemistry, but it could very well be the beginning of a potential story arch for Diane Neal, a relationship, a break-up, ect. However, I don't want to see Beach just added to the cast, unless someone else leaves. I think they need to expand the current characters more, especially George Guang. Even though an FBI psychiatrist may not have a major place in most police investigations, B.D. Wong could still have a bigger part. He's been in hardly any episodes lately. Also, it was refreshing to see Ernest Waddell as Ken Randal again. but this time, his part wasn't devoted to the fact that his charcter is gay or that he has a bad relationship with Fin. This time, we see Ken as a more open, sympathetic, and generally less defensive character. I'd like to see him as a recurring guest star, as long as it doesn't go backwards into the old poor-lonely-gay-son-of-a-cop persona. Granted, this episode didn't feature the powerful Elliot-Olivia factor or courtroom-drama that we all love, but maybe that's for the best. A good long-running drama should surprise you. Every episode should show the viewer something they have never seen before. After a few seasons of the same kind of episodes, I think Law & Order: SVU is going out there again.moreless
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Were we all watching the same episode? Ugh. Worst SVU ever and a complete waste of time.

1.1

By KimZ1111, Mar 29, 2011

This had to have been The Absolute Worst Law & Order, SVU I've ever seen: painful, predictable, nearly vomit-inducing. Ice-T has absolutely zero acting skills. The storyline was interesting but I couldn't get through the stilted-ness of Tutuola. I can't believe they still have this guy on their payroll. Ice-T needs to go back to rapping because acting is definitely not his cup of tea. I did enjoy the addition of the new character but I missed Benson and Stabler. I hope they don't repeat this train wreck type of show. This is one episode I feel I wasted my time watching.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Christopher Meloni	Det. Elliot Stabler
Dann Florek	Capt. Donald Cragen
Ice-T	Det. Odafin Tutuola
Mariska Hargitay	Det. Olivia Benson
Richard Belzer	Det. John Munch
Diane Neal	A.D.A. Casey Novak

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Yin Chang	Chun Hao	Guest Star
Adam Beach	Detective Chester Lake	Guest Star
Navid Negahban	Dr. Rankesh Chanoor	Guest Star
Joanna Merlin	Judge Lena Petrovsky	Recurring Role
Ernest Waddell	Ken Randall	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (4)
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- The use of Edgar Allan Poe for the themed restaurant reflects the many Poe references made in Homicide: Life on the Streets which was set in the same world as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and in which Richard Belzer was a regular.
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- At one point when Lake and Tutuola are reviewing the cases, Lake refers to Anna Fischner as Amy Fischner.
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- In the last scene when Tutuola shoots the suspect in the arm he has a clear wound but few frames later when the cops and the reporters are there no wound is visible.
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- While it is never mentioned outright that Lake is of American Indian ancestry, there is a nice subtle clue in his telling Tutuola about his father, who helped build the great skyscrapers of New York. After World War II, many Native Americans found work as 'high iron' workers, in cities all over the United States. Many construction foremen praised their bravery, stoicism and dedication to performing the most difficult tasks at the highest levels.
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QUOTES (7)
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- Fin Tutuola: Well, you pull that off, Casey, I'll give you my badge.
  Chester Lake: (steps up) And I'm buying dinner.
  Casey Novak: (smiles) I'm not a cheap date.
  Chester Lake: I'll remember that.
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- Henry Chanoor: I'm going to visit a friend in Montreal.
  Fin Tutuola: Yeah, and I'm Dudley Do-Right.
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- Chester Lake: (to Tutuola) I did my homework before I showed up. Stabler and Benson get gold stars in Cragen's class. Where does that leave you?
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- Fin Tutuola: Any ships left yet today?
  Dock Foreman: No, she's the first one out.
  Chester Lake: Stop the lines.
  Dock Foreman: Are you nuts? Why?
  (Lake shows his badge)
  Dock Foreman: (over radio) Stop the lines.
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- Fin Tutuola: Dr. Chanoor ever bother you?
  Nurse: You kidding? I'd slice his nuts off with a scalpel.
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- Ken Randall: Dad, what's up with Ming's case? Her folks are packing up her things and moving her back home.
  Fin Tutuola: Maybe they just want her on a tight leash.
  Ken Randall: Tight? Try medieval.
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- Uni D'Avella: (to Fin) You wouldn't have filed a report either. The perp they described looked like the Unabomber, and I haven't heard anything on the news that he escaped.
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NOTES (4)
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- Kelli Giddish appears in this episode as victim Kara Bawson. In season 13, she joins the regular cast as Detective Amanda Rollins.
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Czech Republic March 30, 2010 on TV Nova
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- This is the first appearance of Adam Beach as Det. Chester Lake. He later became a series regular in season nine.
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- Special billing was given to Adam Beach (Special Guest Star) and Kal Penn (and Special Guest Appearance by) in this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (4)
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- Fin Tutuola: The sketch ran next to Kara's photo, that's how he picked her. Fame turned him on.
  Donald Cragen: Everybody wants their fifteen minutes.
  
  Cragen is invoking Andy Warhol's 1968 iconic statement, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes."
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- Fin Tutuola: Yeah, and I'm Dudley Do-Right.
  
  Tutuola is referring to the Dudley Do-Right segment from The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show which eventually earned its own series, The Dudley Do-Right Show. Dudley Do-Right was a good-hearted but bumbling Canadian Mountie who was always trying to catch his arch nemesis Snidely Whiplash and win the girl, Nell Fenwick, but without success.
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- Allison: We dress up as Edgar Allan Poe's characters
  
  The name of the theme restaurant the witnesses work in is "Eddie Allen Poe's". Edgar Allan Poe was a nineteenth century American poet and short story writer best known for his tales of the macabre. The two works mentioned, the poem The Raven and the short story The Tell-Tale Heart are a couple of his better known works.
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- Uni D'Avella: The perp they described looked like the Unabomber.
  
  In the years since Ted Kaczynski's arrest and conviction, the term 'Unabomber' has often been used in film and media to refer to an unidentifiable yet dangerous criminal that is virtually unidentifiable due to disguise.
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