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« Law & Order: SVU
Episode Recap: "Savant"
I'd seen the promos for this episode of Law & Order: SVU over the past week heralding the special guest appearance of Aidan Quinn. I was intrigued. Would Aidan (lovable movie star whose heyday was arguably the '90s) going to play an against-type villain as previous guest stars Martin Short, Henry Winkler, John Ritter, Cindy Williams and Matthew Modine have done? Or would he remain the lovable Aidan from Benny & Joon?
OK, the first thing I had a problem with (and maybe this is just me): If I come across my kid covered in blood, I am not going to let her come back with me into the apartment while I look around. Seriously. He didn't even know if the guy who caused all that blood was still inside! Couldn't he have left her with a neighbor while he did a quick pass to check out the wife? Also — and if this is rude let me know, because I don't want to be un-P.C. here — is there a reason this family wouldn't have gotten this kid braces? They can obviously afford it.
One highlight: You gotta love the pregnant woman mistaking Finn and Detective Lake for a gay couple. I especially loved it when Lake touched Finn's leg. You don't usually get humor from the SVU show, so it was a nice touch.
Side note: Saw the commercial for Gone Baby Gone. Now, I read the book and really liked it so when I read that Ben Affleck bought the rights to the Dennis Lehane novel and directed the film, I was pretty bummed. But I have heard nothing but good things. Who knew? Maybe he should stay behind the camera.
What I really liked about this episode was that the entire cast was involved. I would have liked a bit more Benson, but don't SVU fans always say that? Stabler and Benson, it's our mantra. Also nice to see Julie White from Grace Under Fire keeping busy as the doctor who told Aidan's character his wife was pregnant.
Now, using the Patriot Act to give the unit the runaround on Aidan's character's whereabouts was especially weird for me, as I had just finished watching the Frontline documentary on PBS about Dick Cheney. Good thing he was innocent... if not exactly lovable. At least he wasn't the one to rape his wife, right?
Not really crazy about the boyfriend's son doing it. Sometimes these shows need three twists just to mark the commercial breaks.
Lots of weird humor in this one, with the kid wanting hugs from the detectives and the judge and mimicking the sound of her mom with her lover. I didn't really like the child actress, though. She seemed a little affected to me. Granted, she was playing someone with a syndrome that makes her socially awkward, but she kind of grated on me.
So in the end, Aidan still looks pretty hot even though his character was a real jerk. Remember: You can always rent Benny & Joon.
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TVGuide Links:
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Oct 17, 2007 5:27 PM
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I JUST started watching this show and I have to admit, I liked it very much. Glad I stumbled on it.
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Oct 17, 2007 5:40 PM
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The Blog is back!! Woohoo!! Where were you last week when Olivia's hair mysteriously grew back?
I also thought that the little girl needed braces, more so the actress not necessarily the character...
Liked the team dynamic, still don't actually know why the new guy is there...don't even remember his name...
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Oct 17, 2007 8:50 PM
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The actress, Paulina Gerzon, was wearing fake teeth. Here is a link to her IMDb page to see how beautiful she really is.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1105207/
I know that they did that to make a stark contrast in how she really looks.
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Oct 17, 2007 11:26 PM
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I loved the scene with Chester and Finn, too. It was hilarious, and nice to see SVU lighten up a little. I love Munch and his conspiracy theories. They need to have that in there more, too.
veinia, I just read in Ask Ausiello that Mariska'a hair was longer in last week's episode because that one was shot out of sequence due to a problem with Melissa Joan Hart's availability. I'm glad somebody answered that question, because it was bugging me,too.
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Oct 18, 2007 1:14 AM
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Glad the blog is back. Now how about one for "Criminal Intent"? USA needs to keep that show around.
I didn't like Det. Lake at first but he's growing on me. Loved his little moment with Fin.
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Oct 18, 2007 3:45 AM
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I thought the ending was sad when Aidan Quinn forcefully took the little girl away when she mistakenly thought that the mother was coming home with them. I know the mother was wrong with the affair, but darn, that was harsh.
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Oct 18, 2007 8:07 AM
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isis333 - thanks for the link! Glad to know she was wearing false teeth.
Pieces of this bothered me for the same reason they bothered some of you. Tearing the little girl away from her mother like that in the end was awful.
And Aidan Quinn's character was seedy - he'd taken money in exchange for secrets - even if the secrets were false. I actually enjoyed the episode until about the last 10 minutes.
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Oct 18, 2007 8:36 AM
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YES!!! An SVU blog -- yipppeeeeee!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Ok, excitement out of the way, I must say MORE BENSON!! I love my Marish! 
Anyhoo, the name of the actress is Paulina Gerzon -- longtime All My Children fans would recognize her as Edmund & Maria's daughter Maddie Gray. I KNEW she looked familiar so I did my research too. What was familiar? The ears, ironically enough. LOL! But I thought she was good d-- the teeth were 'abominable' but whatever, I'll overlook it. Judge Petrovsky's face when the kid asked for a hug was priceless, not to mention their faces when she imitated the noises her mom made! LOL! I laughed & laughed w/ that one!
Highlight of my evening was Dets. Lake & Tutuola at the clinic...they're the "cutest" gay couple ever! LOL! Fin's face alone was worth the price of admission!
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Oct 18, 2007 11:20 AM
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I didn't like this episode. I thought the story and twists were dull.
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Oct 18, 2007 2:47 PM
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Traci - I wasn't under the impression that the mother was raped at all. She willingly had sex with her lover and after he left, his son came in and killed her. I say this b/c the semen they found in the bed matched the father... that's how they focused on him in the first place. They originally thought it was rape before they realized she was having an affair.
I'm glad so many others noticed the hair change... I thought I was nuts! And I had no one to ask!! No one else I know watches this show!
Sidenote about Williams Syndrome (what the little girl was suffering from):
I got this from a Canadian website about how the syndrome affects their appearance (which explains the false teeth the actress was wearing):
Facial features:
All the children have a facial similarity, referred to as "elfin" features. They include a wide mouth with large, slack bottom lip; very retrousse nose with flattened bridge; slightly "bulgy" cheeks; irregular teeth widely spaced; sometimes a squint.
Traci, thank you for the blog! We really missed it!
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Oct 18, 2007 4:15 PM
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Daesey,
You are quite correct on the rape now that I think back. As for the teeth when I searched Wikipedia for symptoms of Williams Syndrome I got this:
It is characterized by a distinctive, "elfin" facial appearance, along with a low nasal bridge; an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers, coupled with unpredictably occurring negative outbursts;
I suspect you are right though since the teeth were so obvious. But I still think her rich parents would have fixed that.
Thanks for being a part of the blog and keeping me on my toes.
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Oct 18, 2007 5:25 PM
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Tracey I can't believe you weren't blown away by the performance of that young actress! She was absolutely phenomenal.......and in my humble opinion, deserves an Emmy nod for her performance!
Also loved the interaction between Lake and Finn at the doctors office! Funny stuff!
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Oct 19, 2007 9:22 AM
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Nope. Sorry. Just screamed child actress to me.
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Oct 19, 2007 11:16 AM
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I was wondering where the blog went! I was looking around for it like crazy. It's about time someone started this back up.
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Oct 19, 2007 6:11 PM
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Hi Fellow SVU Fans,
I just wanted to let you guys know I resigned from the blog last week. The bosses at TV Guide want me to take on fewer responsibilities so I had to let it go.
Thanks for all your support. I am sure the great web guys are looking for a suitable replacement as we speak.
Cheers
Thank you for the information on Richard Belzer's episodes being cut. I was very irritated over the situation, since I really miss seeing Sgt. Munch and want him back on the show ASAP. On ALL the episodes.
I'm starting a letter campaign, encouraging all Belzer (John Munch) fans to write in and voice their wish for him to be included in every episode.
Please send your letters to:
Wolf & Baer
SVU
Chelsey Piers
Pier 62/Suite 305
New York, NY 10011
To further show Belz how much we miss him on the show, please e-mail a copy of your letter to his manager:
Eric Gardner
Panacea Entertainment
Juno@panacea-ent.com
Many thanks for taking the time to write! Let's bring Belz back to SVU!
If you want to write to the magazine re: Richard Belzer or anything else for that matter.
TV Guide
Radnor, PA
19088
or
letters@tvguide.com
Include your name address and phone number.
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