Recap: A pretty young woman auditions for a spot in a singing reality TV show. The producer not only subjects her to the traditional casting couch, but spikes her drink with quaaludes before he rapes her and leaves her unconscious on a park bench, where a passing pervert sexually assaults her shearling coat. When SVU starts to investigate, the detectives walk in on the producer in the process of sexually assaulting yet another woozy woman. But the first woman doesn’t remember the assault, and the second woman doesn’t want to press charges – it might hurt her chances in the music industry. Nevertheless, our good SVU detectives gather enough evidence to arrest the sleazy producer and keep him at Rikers.
The producer’s redheaded son then freaks out and holds his own girlfriend and her daughter hostage. Red will only speak to Olivia. In the process, Red panics and shoots his girlfriend in the leg. But Olivia eventually talks him down, and he lets the hostages go. Olivia walks out of the building under the admiring gaze of DA Harry Connick Jr.
Verdict: B+
What they got right:
There have been many real-life incidents of women in the music industry charging producers with raping them. American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi said that she was date-raped at the outset of her career. In 1991, the LA Times reported that at least three major record companies were dealing with sexual misconduct allegations. A woman recently filed charges against LA record producer Noel “Detail” Fisher, claiming that he locked her in a room and violently raped her following a Lil Wayne recording session. In the 1970’s, director Roman Polanski was convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and quaaludes. I’m sure that this list just scratches the surface. If you’ve heard of other incidents, post them here.
Victims of drug-facilitated sexual assaults often do not remember the details of the assault. The first victim of tonight’s show asked the detectives questions like “What was I wearing?” I’ve had many sexual assault victims ask me questions like that, trying to figure out what happened to them. It is incredibly traumatic to the survivor to not only have been assaulted, but to have her memory stolen as well.
What they got wrong:
Hostage situations like this are rare. In twelve years as a prosecutor, I handled several kidnappings, but no sexual assault cases involving a hostage crisis. Although many police departments have hostage response teams, they are not often used for situations like Red precipitated tonight. For example, the LAPD created a hostage rescue team in the 1960’s. In the fifty years since then, they have rescued “dozens” of hostages.
Silly Stuff:
I’m on vacation in Turks & Caicos, and I watched the show last night with my two sisters, their husbands, and some friends. We played the SVU drinking game, where you have to drink every time:
– Ice-T says “That’s messed up,” or the equivalent
– The familiar “dun dun” sound is played
– The characters drink coffee
– There is a celebrity guest
– Any of the main characters has an inappropriate relationship with a suspect or victim
– A D.A. says “I’m done here” or “we’re done here”
– Ice-T insults a suspect
– Any time a criminal makes a “Scooby Doo’ speech (as in, “I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for…”)
– Any mention of Olivia’s conception or her mother’s rape is made (drink twice)
– Someone on the show says semen (take a shot)
Needless to say, we drank heavily. Which is why I’m a tad late posting my entry this morning. Also, it took a major effort to find a reliable Internet connection – but, my wonderful readers, I couldn’t let you down.
Although this isn’t legal analysis, I thought you might enjoy my family’s tipsy reactions.
Regarding Harry Connick Jr. and whether his dating Olivia would be a conflict of interest:
“He’s so hot.”
“I’ll conflict your interest any day!”
“I’ll ride your conflict of interest til next Tuesday.”
“There’s no way a real DA could afford Harry Connick Jr’s suit.”
“There’s no way a DA that hot doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
In reference to the pizza rolls the girlfriend served Red:
“Ooh, the high life.”
“That’s the way to a man’s heart.”
“No wonder he held her hostage.”
About the standoff:
“Shoot him!”
“Shoot him!”
“Why isn’t Olivia letting them shoot him?”
“Shoot him!”
(The comments devolved as our blood-alcohol levels spiked.)
About Red’s hair:
“Redheads can’t part their hair like that. It’s false.”
About the potential for Red to keep dating his girlfriend after his arrest for holding her hostage:
“You guys might not work out from here on out.”
After the final dun dun:
“What ever happened to the attempted necrophiliac?”
Josh says
9 February, 2012 at 1:40 pmI agree that hostage situations like this are extremely rare for SVU to be involved in. Though in their defense, the son (can’t remember his name), did ask for Olivia. Though that kind of confused me as well, wasn’t it Fin and Rollins that got the confession out of her, and not Olivia? You’d think his beef would be with one of them.
Anyways the sisters story about how she was raped by her father, and the son not knowing kind of hit a little close to home for me.
I have a co-worker that I’ve grown pretty close to in the last year or so. 6 months ago I learned that she had been repeatedly molested by her step-father since she was 16 (she’s 21 now). It took her a year to find the courage to tell her mother about her experiences (part of it was due to her wanting her mother to be happy) and tell the police. She had to testify against him, and now he’s in jail for 15 years.
All that time, her little sister (who was 8 at the time I think) didn’t know the details of why her step-father was sent to jail. All she knew was that her bigger sister had something to do with it, and she resented her for it. She and her mother waited till last year when she turned 12 to finally tell her younger sister the truth about what happened between them. Then she finally understood.
Since then she’s had counseling and it’s convinced her to be more open about her experience. She’s told a couple other co-workers, but I’m the only guy she’s told this to at this time. So it meant alot to me, for her to tell me this.
But I digress, I just thought I’d comment on how the son not knowing what his father did to his sister and the gap it created between him and his mother & sister was pretty accurate. At least from the experience I was told about.
ALeotta says
12 February, 2012 at 6:15 pmHi Josh. You’re right about the effect that this type of crime has — it’s not just on the individual victim, but on entire families. Your friend’s experience with her stepfather is a common one — stepfathers were probably the bulk of my child-sex-abuse cases. I’m so glad to hear that your friend found the courage to speak up, and to bring him to justice. Not everyone can muster up that kind of strength. She most likely saved her 8 year old sister from suffering exactly the same abuse that she did.
Alenna says
9 February, 2012 at 11:18 pmHey, I like your new blog page!
To me this was probably the most entertaining all-around episode so far this season. However, it’s one of those episodes that it seems the SVU must have a Time Machine of some sort. It only took them 5 minutes to find Olivia Benson, another 5 minutes to find the mother and sister and get their story, another 5 minutes to get into Rikers and talk to the father and get his response, all the while the SWAT Team patiently waits outside on a busy New York street. No wonder why the poor little girl had to pee. in reality it would have taken many hours for the police to respond with such an assemble of swat team members and ….to a note under the door? I doubt it – a simple note under the door would not have caused such a reaction. I would think they’d have been talking with the hostage-taker kid on the phone for a long time. Or something. The kid’s arm would give out after holding a gun up for so many hours (those guns are heavy). They also probably would have had a official “negotiator” around there somewhere.
It was certainly Mariska Hargitay’s best acting performance of the season – similar in intensity to the episode “911” from the 7th season. I like Harry Connick Jr but his acting seems a little stiff, and I’m not sure what his purpose in this episode was. Eye candy for the viewers and a reason for Olivia Benson to smile I guess. One small part that seemed out-of-place was the lecture hall briefings – was it me, or did it seem rather rude for 2 speakers (Olivia and the DA – what’s his name?) to be standing in the center of the lecture hall talking out loudly while another speaker was at the podium briefing an audience? I guess I’m too picky.
ALeotta says
12 February, 2012 at 6:20 pmThanks for the compliment about the new blog look, Alenna! I love my website designers, AuthorBytes. I totally agree with you about the SVU Time Machine … but I usually don’t hold that against the show too much. It would be a hard show to watch if it unfolded in real time. Yes, Harry was eye candy! I don’t hold that against them either. 🙂 And I had the same reaction as you to the conversation in the lecture hall. Didn’t they see that there was an entire room trying to go on with a lecture? That said, it has been fun to see Olivia flirting a bit again.
James Pollock says
12 February, 2012 at 10:39 amNo discussion of the mother’s failure to report (and failure to protect her son) because she was apparently dependent on the abuser’s wealth for support?)
ALeotta says
12 February, 2012 at 6:26 pmGood point. That could be an entire episode itself. It could be Mom did or said something back in the day. Maybe a police report was made, and charges were declined. Or maybe she just took the alimony and got out of Dodge. As a prosecutor, I saw every maternal reaction possible, ranging from assaulting the stepfather to testifying on his behalf.
James Pollock says
13 February, 2012 at 11:53 amDo you think that fallout from the Penn State case will be mandatory reporting that includes parents?
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