Review of "Outcry" (Tuesday, October 26, 2004 NBC Episode of "SVU")
Walt
Once again, NBC has in my opinion screwed up royally in choosing to air a new
"franchise" episode opposite a baseball playoff game, in this case Game 3 of
the World Series. I know a lot of non-sports people hate this, but the fact is,
there are too many people for instance that I know for whom events like the
baseball playoffs come before ANY regular programming, and especally with the
playoffs ratings now equal or ahead of where they were last year (and the first
two games of the World Series are way ahead of last year), this will hurt "SVU"
and "L & O" when the final ratings come out in May as only first-run episodes
count in the ratings average. I would have postponed the last three episodes of
"SVU" myself until after the Presidential election, airing those starting on
November 9, cutting down on repeats once new episodes began airing.
Anyway, a reminder that this episode will repeat on Sunday, November 7, at
11:30 PM ET/PT on USA Network. See below for more:
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This episode opened with construction workers on a site of a new dormitory at
Hudson University where they find a woman who had been missing for a few days
tied up with duct tape. Loved how when Elliot and Olivia were there how Olivia
claimed that social service laws (that actually do not exist) required her to
be taken to the hospital with both the victim (Tandi McCain, Amanda Seyfried)
and her stepfather objecting to her being taken to the hospital, and her being
scared about being taken there. Elliot then admonishes Olivia quite a bit, and
rightfully so for crossing the line, even though Olivia was more concerned at
that point about getting evidence.
Good job by Elliot to calm down the father, who then allowed Elliot to speak
to the daughter, who explained what happened.
Nice way how off-campus that the Detectives talk to several Army Cadets who
were at a party around the time that happened, with their explaining how Tandi
was actually at the party in question, but one of the cadet's attorney (Trevor
Langdon, Peter Hermann) stopped that cadet in his tracks. Tandi then denies
about her being at the party in the question.
Like how Elliot then talked to a newspaper reporter (Jamie Barragon, Lyle
Taylor) about the case over drinks, and off the record said he was looking at
the Cadets, but that wound up in the paper, which in turn leads to one of the
"suspects" named in the paper (Joe Avery) being chased by a bunch of people who
cause him to go in the street, leading to his being hit by a car and his being
in a coma.
We then see the Chief of Detectives get on Elliot for what happened, and then
Jamie was screamed at by Elliot, with Jamie noting another reporter had the
name. Jamie also then notes a Bodega owner named Fred saw Tandi in his store on
Saturday afternoon, with Fred claiming to recognize a photo, only the photo was
actually of his daughter Kathleen.
Tandi's parents refuse to at first let Elliot and Olivia talk to Tandi before
they explain what might happen if they didn't with the press, with Tandi
admitting she was in the bodega, except that the kidnappers would have killed
her if she did, and then she points to photos of who she said raped her when
that happened.
Nice twist after that (even if it was predictable) where they then go to one
of the local news stations that have videos of Tandi having at the party, with
Don threatening to have him arrested if he aired it and getting a warrant to
prevent such tape from airing. We next see Casey arguing with a Judge over the
tape, which the Judge squashes for 24 hours while they go over the case, with
that identifying one of the Cadets interviewed earlier (Luke Delvecchio).
Luke then claims he shot the tapes that he wanted to sell, and Munch and Fin
are all over Luke for that. Luke then admitted he didn't come foward earlier
because he was concerned he'd be kicked out of the Cadets for giving a woman
alcohol.
Like where Elliot and Olivia then are all over the stepfather (Ron McCain,
Michael O'Keefe) for trying to "protect" Tandi, with it turning out that Ron
appeared to have actually raped Tandi, at least according to prints on the
sheetrock. Ron's boss then notes how Tandi's real father apparently had given
Ron a hard time for dating Alice (Tandi's mother). Like how Elliot and Olivia
then interrogate Ron to the point where he assults Elliot and is then arrested.
This included an earlier complaint by a then-seven year old Tandi in 1995 that
claimed Ron raped her with that subsequently being recanted.
We next see Elliot and Olivia talking about the case at a bar where the TV
station has an exclusive interview with the McCain family where Tandi talks
about what "happened" (with her recanting), with Don ordering that Elliot then
arrest Tandi for filing a false rape report. That entire sequence to me was
totally unexpected, though in retrospect I should have realized it would be
such when we had the earlier situation over the tape that showed Tandi drunk at
the party.
Olivia was shocked to find out about Tandi being arrested, with Olivia wanting
to talk to Tandi alone. Elliot goes in first to talk to Ron about letting Tandi
talk to Olivia by herself.
Olivia eventually does talk to Tandi, who tries to convince Tandi, who then
finally admits that it was actually Mike Tucker, Ron's boss who raped Tandi,
and also said that Mike would have fired Ron and cost him his insurance. When
Elliot and Olivia then talk to Mike, he of course denies it.
Casey then explains the truth to how Tandi would be fried in court over her
changes in stories, but Tandi decides to go ahead anyway after Olivia convinces
her it would be for the best.
At trial, Tandi then explains she named the cadets at first out of wanting it
to "go away", then admitting that Mike was the one who actually raped her, and
how he did it, including how Tandi "wanted it" before actually doing so
(twice), and also how Tandi hid at the construction site for two days because
she felt ashamed of what happened.
We next see Elliot testifying on the earlier false rape allegations. Elliot
held his cool throughout, though it was not enough for Mike Tucker to be found
not guilty. Tandi then told Olivia at the end she was not sorry about what
happened, and at that point another woman comes forward and reports that she
had also been raped by Mike Tucker six months before Tandi.
This was another episode that went every-which-way for a while, but in the end
turned out to be another outstanding episode.
Walt
E-mail me at: Free...@juno.com
Check out a great web-based "Law & Order" Message board at:
http://www.alhenastar.net/forums/index.php where you can also discuss many
non-"L & O" topics.
wps
news:20041026225756...@mb-m26.aol.com:
Minor goof in this episode. When Olivia was interviewing the cadet on the
street, he had the insignia of a staff sergeant (three stripes and rocker)
on his epaulet. But when the camera shifted to a shot over his shoulder
the insignia changed to a corporal (2 stripes).
Connemara
news:20041026225756...@mb-m26.aol.com...
> To all:
>
> Once again, NBC has in my opinion screwed up royally in choosing to air a
new
> "franchise" episode opposite a baseball playoff game, in this case Game 3
of
> the World Series. I know a lot of non-sports people hate this, but the
fact is,
> there are too many people for instance that I know for whom events like
the
> baseball playoffs come before ANY regular programming, and especally with
the
> playoffs ratings now equal or ahead of where they were last year (and the
first
> two games of the World Series are way ahead of last year), this will hurt
"SVU"
> and "L & O" when the final ratings come out in May as only first-run
episodes
> count in the ratings average. I would have postponed the last three
episodes of
> "SVU" myself until after the Presidential election, airing those starting
on
> November 9, cutting down on repeats once new episodes began airing.
Yeah yeah yeah yeah......................well for someone who is such a big
baseball fan and so sure that all of this should not have aired, how come
you can write up a review three minutes before the hour when the show ends?
Drop all this sports crap! We all know how you feel....and it is getting as
tedious as the Shannen Doherty posts were. Wolf knows more than you do
about programming his shows. I guarantee you that the ratings are not all
that big of a deal -- especially since if the game *****IS***** such a big
thing it should affect *****ALL***** other shows that will be in the final
ratings. No one is going to care about the games ratings when it comes time
to buy advertising for next season's series. So, if as you say the games
affected the ratings, they should be affecting all of the ratings equally.
And, by the way....I was raised in New England as a Red Sox fan through and
through and I forgot about the game until after I had watched "Gilmore
Girls" at 7PM CT and then "SVU" at 9 PM. Actually, totally forgot. I could
have watched it in between -- or flipped back and forth, but I didn't. The
whole world is not like you and your friends, just because you think they
are.
Michelle
--
"Facts, or what a man believes to be facts, are always delightful. Get your
facts first, and then you can distort 'em as much as you please."
Mark Twain [b. Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835 - 1910)
Walt
I say what I do because I'm looking at the overall ratings picture, which only
counts FIRST-RUN episodes, and that is where NBC is going to be bitten big-time
come May.
I watched the episode flipping back-and-forth to the game during commercials,
but the ratings say there are a lot of people who have given up regular TV
altogether during this baseball postseason, and it has not only affected "the
franchise." That's why CBS last week yanked their entire Wednesday night
schedule, conceding that night to FOX for Game 7 of Yankees-Red Sox, and had
that game not been a rout by the time "L & O" aired, the rating for that
episode last Wednesday would probably have been in the 6.5-7.0/10-12 share
range.
As a real fan of "the franchise", that is what I'm concerned about.
David / Amicus
The day after the rape she went out and bought a sandwich and soft drink
and then went back into hiding? So she taped herself up?
After the trial I still thought the step-father did it. As they walked
off together I expected to see a smile on her face.
But then another victim came forward.
Can Stabler have the assault charges dropped against the step-father?
Walt
The fact another victim came forward I thought while corny was a great way to
finish the episode anyway. It sent a message to girls who might have been
afraid to report a rape to do so, as we saw at the end with Luanne. Mike Tucker
probably will be spending considerable time behind bars for what he did to
Luanne and probably other girls.
lainiekazan
> David:
>
> The fact another victim came forward I thought while corny was a great way to
> finish the episode anyway. It sent a message to girls who might have been
> afraid to report a rape to do so, as we saw at the end with Luanne. Mike Tucker
> probably will be spending considerable time behind bars for what he did to
> Luanne and probably other girls.
> Walt
>
told them watching specific incidents on the show have given them the
courage to come forward -- that's probably why they included the
sort-of clumsy -- but slowly effective -- ending. It's a reminder
that the Almighty (or karma, if you like) works in mysterious ways.
>
>
lainiekazan
> Michelle:
>
> I say what I do because I'm looking at the overall ratings picture, which only
> counts FIRST-RUN episodes, and that is where NBC is going to be bitten big-time
> come May.
>
> I watched the episode flipping back-and-forth to the game during commercials,
> but the ratings say there are a lot of people who have given up regular TV
> altogether during this baseball postseason, and it has not only affected "the
> franchise." That's why CBS last week yanked their entire Wednesday night
> schedule, conceding that night to FOX for Game 7 of Yankees-Red Sox, and had
> that game not been a rout by the time "L & O" aired, the rating for that
> episode last Wednesday would probably have been in the 6.5-7.0/10-12 share
> range.
>
> As a real fan of "the franchise", that is what I'm concerned about.
> Walt
>
>
The show (like the other eps so far this season) will probably be
repeated in December, after sweeps month. I appreciate that they
showed a new ep opposite the Series; I'm sick of baseball, and I would
have really pi##ed off if they'd scheduled *another* re-run. Wolf and
the NBC war room staff know they have a core audience that needs its
loyalty reinforced, I guess.
Connemara
"Walt" <waltra...@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
Walt,
>
> I say what I do because I'm looking at the overall ratings picture, which
only
> counts FIRST-RUN episodes, and that is where NBC is going to be bitten
big-time
> come May.
Ad revenues are based more on February and May sweeps than overall ratings.
That is what the big wigs look at -- where the dollars come from.
> I watched the episode flipping back-and-forth to the game during
commercials,
> but the ratings say there are a lot of people who have given up regular TV
> altogether during this baseball postseason, and it has not only affected
"the
> franchise." That's why CBS last week yanked their entire Wednesday night
> schedule, conceding that night to FOX for Game 7 of Yankees-Red Sox, and
had
> that game not been a rout by the time "L & O" aired, the rating for that
> episode last Wednesday would probably have been in the 6.5-7.0/10-12 share
> range.
On the other hand, like NBC, ABC ran all new shows against game 7 including
its new hit "Lost," the tried and true reality show "The Bachelor" and if I
recall correctly a "20/20" episode at 9 CT or 10 PM for you easterners who
seem to believe that all of us in the middle part of the country should
adjust to your time schedules.
> As a real fan of "the franchise", that is what I'm concerned about.
And your predictions of doom and gloom over one sporting event or another
for the past several seasons that I have participated on this board have not
come true yet. BTW, you said in a post somewhere that FOX shows would
benefit from waiting until a January debut because there wouldn't be
interruptions -- how could you ever forget "March Madness" or hockey if
the lockout ends or any number of NBA games or the Superbowl or ad
infinitum.
The point is that there will always be things that the shows have to go up
against -- that is the point of competition. If you never go against
something that is worthy competition than the ratings are falsely inflated,
and trust me the networks and the businesses buying ad time know that. They
will not pay as much for a thirty second slot on a show with high ratings if
its competition is so poor that the ratings are only high because there was
nothing else to watch.
Give it up Walt.
Michelle
Ursula
> To all:
>
> Once again, NBC has in my opinion screwed up royally in choosing to air
> a new
> "franchise" episode opposite a baseball playoff game, in this case Game
> 3 of
> the World Series. I know a lot of non-sports people hate this, but the
> fact is,
> there are too many people for instance that I know for whom events like
> the
> baseball playoffs come before ANY regular programming, and especally
> with the
> playoffs ratings now equal or ahead of where they were last year (and
> the first
> two games of the World Series are way ahead of last year), this will
> hurt "SVU"
> and "L & O" when the final ratings come out in May as only first-run
> episodes
> count in the ratings average. I would have postponed the last three
> episodes of
> "SVU" myself until after the Presidential election, airing those
> starting on
> November 9, cutting down on repeats once new episodes began airing.
>
Once again, in my opinion, NBC has made a genius decision to offer quality
programming to those of us actively trying to avoid sports on tv. There
are too many people for whom quality regular program comes before ANY
sports programming, and especially with the playoffs gaining in ratings,
there is a greater need to offer the best possible alternatives, in order
to hurt the chances of sports programing and maintain the ratings of
ordinary programing as a viable alternative to advertisers when sports are
offered elsewhere.
(Sorry, it had to be done, particularly if any of TPTB may be lurking, and
might be persuaded by Walt's misguided, sports-oriented nonsense. Left up
to him, we'd _never_ get new episodes...)
Ursula
--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/
David Johnston
wrote:
I'm sure they were dropped after Stabler told the D.A. that he would
have done the same thing.
david
"Walt" <waltra...@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
> David:
>
> The fact another victim came forward I thought while corny was a great way
to
> finish the episode anyway. It sent a message to girls who might have been
> afraid to report a rape to do so, as we saw at the end with Luanne. Mike
Tucker
> probably will be spending considerable time behind bars for what he did to
> Luanne and probably other girls.
> Walt
IIRC, the rape happened six months ago. Unless the girl pulled a Monica
(saving dress with generic material), probably no physical evidence.
Witnesses disappear and memories fade. The girl didn't not promptly report
the rape. Sounds like it would be a tough case to prove.
David Johnston
Might be, but with multiple rape allegations extensively reported in
the media, the guy isn't going to go unpunished regardless of whether
they can convict him. Also, in he said/she said cases, it doesn't
hurt for the man to be already famous as an accused rapist.
david
"David Johnston" <rgorma...@telusplanet.net> wrote in message
news:417ff8af...@news.telusplanet.net...
> >
> >IIRC, the rape happened six months ago. Unless the girl pulled a Monica
> >(saving dress with generic material), probably no physical evidence.
> >Witnesses disappear and memories fade. The girl didn't not promptly
report
> >the rape. Sounds like it would be a tough case to prove.
> >
>
> Might be, but with multiple rape allegations extensively reported in
> the media, the guy isn't going to go unpunished regardless of whether
> they can convict him. Also, in he said/she said cases, it doesn't
> hurt for the man to be already famous as an accused rapist.
But she will be seen as an opportunist. She didn't report the rape at the
time. She sees the rich guy tried for rape and decides to jump on the
bandwagon. She'll be portrayed as a gold-digger, like the girl who accused
Kobe Bryant of rape. Since the guy was found not guilty in the first trial,
the jury in the second trial will probably never hear about the first
alleged rape.
David Johnston
>But she will be seen as an opportunist. She didn't report the rape at the
>time. She sees the rich guy tried for rape and decides to jump on the
>bandwagon. She'll be portrayed as a gold-digger, like the girl who accused
>Kobe Bryant of rape. Since the guy was found not guilty in the first trial,
>the jury in the second trial will probably never hear about the first
>alleged rape.
Only if they change venue to Timbuktoo.
Walt
The ratings on October 6 and 20 episodes of "L & O" speak for themselves: The
two lowest rated new episodes in a long time (8.4 10/6, 8.7 10/20) were a
direct result of baseball, and while "Lost" did do well, remember, the first
half of the episode in the east aired opposite the pre-game show on FOX and the
game I believe was still in the first inning when "Lost" ended. That's why
"Lost" did well even opposite Game 7.
Chelsea Christenson
> (Sorry, it had to be done, particularly if any of TPTB may be lurking,
> and might be persuaded by Walt's misguided, sports-oriented nonsense.
> Left up to him, we'd _never_ get new episodes...)
Even though I had been tuned into the game before 10pm, I switched over
and watched the whole thing. And I live in New England. It's just that
I have my priorities straight....
Ursula
Could that just have been a matter of camera angle? That one stripe was
out of sight (perhaps past the curve of the shoulder) in the second shot?