Joe Hellandback

1. A trio of rapists who met whilst taking part in a clinical drug trial claim their behaviour is a side effect of the drugs they were given. Barba has to argue that the company is criminally responsible whilst the company argue there is no alternative but to test drugs on human volunteers. 2. A homosexual rapist targets those who claim to have been cured of their homosexuality by Christian deprogrammers, many different viewpoints and pressure groups getting into the case, giving Barba an almighty headache in court.

The Good; surprisingly gory by SVU standards with the scissors sticking out of the poor saps head. Interesting dynamic between the sisters, one actually jealous of the other for her father abusing her (if this was actually abuse, how much older was the older sister and was it consensual?) and trying to lure him into the same with her (maybe she was too young for him?). The whole interrogation scene was convincingly oppressive. Nice to hear Benson's brother Simon even mentioned. The Bad; False ID again, Benson tries to show the traumatised witness a single photo of the suspect and say 'Is that him?' (over 70% of false convictions stem from improper eyewitness ID). Also once again we have more leading than a dog walking service. Why do Fin and Carisi go by themselves to the apartment for the arrest, surely they should have at least a couple of more officers as back-up? Surely you can't have a relative as your legal council? And at what point did she wave her right to legal council, the sister stormed out but I don't ever remember her saying she didn't want a lawyer any more? Surely given her behaviour they should immediately give the 'victim' a psych evaluation? Actually not as bad as I thought it would be from everyone's reviews 7/10

Let Dick fire him, it would only take him a day to work his way back up the corporate ladder.

https://www.themaven.net/bluelivesmatter/news/no-prison-for-father-who-raped-11-year-old-daughter-forced-abortions-rR5uQiKtH02z2WC9AAUJNg Well, I think we've found the next 'ripped from the headlines' story!

1. A sex toy maker creates a bunch of underage sex dolls. Can Barba prove this to be child porn and should he? 2. An academic publishes a study which claims that men and women perceive the issue of consent differently. Barba must defeat him in the courtroom or every he said/she said rapist will have an automatic get out clause. 3. An ex-wife accuses her ex-husband, an expert in psychology and bio-chemistry of transforming her into his brainwashed sex slave and now attempting to do the same to his daughters. 4. A homeowner surprises a burglar planting child porn on his home computer. Is this a frame job or has a prisoner on the inside arranged it to give him grounds to appeal, claiming the same was done to him? 5. A powerful woman in the entertainment business claims to have been raped by one of her employees. But when the team investigate they discover the suspect is in the process of suing her for sexual harassment. Where does flirting end and sex crimes/harassment begin?

Someone should do a count of how many people the SVU have gotten killed without repercussion over the years, I can think of Will Truman, the folks killed in the gunfight were Stabler quits and the coffee magnate's son who gets dragged off the roof by his crazy lawyer purely because the SVU had to grandstand and have their Perry Mason moment. Thinking about it the SVU actually took the side of the insurance companies against the welfare of the girls?

Catching up in the UK, hooray! Mixed feelings about this one. The whole rape aspect was virtually an add on to get SVU involved with the whole opioid epidemic sweeping the US (as we've seen many times before on the show, they're always sticking their noses into animal smuggling etc) and treatment facilities fleecing those affected. The Good; quite liked the social worker and the depiction of the troubled girls was good, for once the team seem to appreciate the impossible job the staff face. Amazingly I really liked the Benoah scenes, I think people are right that Brook Shields will eventually kidnap him but it will be a shame as I like the relationship developing between the 2. Fin's visit to the drugs squad was a genuinely good scene. The Bad; once again we have the detectives giving witnesses the 3rd degree and then wondering why they lack co-operation? Another breach of ID procedures. Also we have Olivia trying to intimidate the drug dealer in true Stabler fashion and it's pretty laughable. And of course the rich white doctor turns out to be corrupt, couldn't have a case where it was just an out of control teenager who just couldn't be helped, could we, there must always be either an easy solution or someone to blame? SVU cliché; Rich white doctor is the criminal The coroner seems to be able to distinguish between rape and the girl prostituting herself in return for drugs? Scene I'd have liked to have seen; A distraught family comes to the SVU and demands to know what they'll do with their wayward daughter now that the SVU has closed down the facility as no others will take them for fear of being sued and the medical insurance companies are now refusing to pay out? Then Fin's drug squad source calls them up to report several of the girls from the facility have now turned up in the morgue having OD'd. Olivia asks Barba did they do the right thing and he replies no one knows what the right thing to do is in this situation, they can only follow the law. Fin compares the crisis to the crack epidemic but Carisi counters this time it's only the junkies wiping themselves out. Rollins wonders what the world will be like in 20 years time when a whole generation of vulnerable people have effectively self-euthanized? 7/10

1. An allegation against a social worker has one of the team go undercover in that department and begin to appreciate the impossible situation they face with an overwhelming workload, scarcity of resources and lack of co-operation from the courts, police etc 2. After a victim is found unconscious and raped in Central Park the SVU investigate a team of paintball enthusiasts who hire beautiful women for them to hunt for sport. 3. The team investigate an internet craze of sexual one-upmanship with some of the competitors straying into illegal activities. 4. The team investigate a female customer for underage prostitutes who robs and murders their pimps afterwards and shares the money with their girls. 5. The team face 'The Spiker', an internet anarchist who adds LSD, GHB, Rohypnol to the water fountains in girl's schools, strip clubs, beauty pageants etc and films the results.

Okay after 19 years it is perhaps inevitable that they're running out of stories although you'd think the perversity of mankind would always provide something new 'ripped from the headlines'. This was so obviously a rehash and once again we have the SVU detectives screwing up by feeding the 'victim' the details as they're questioning her, allowing her to shape her story to fit their pre-conceptions, you'd think they'd learn. And of course once the press is involved they can't lose face by admitting they were wrong. Amazingly I actually quite liked the Benoah aspects of this story, I thought Brooke Shields was very good in this role, we actually feel for her but I hope that means we will see less of him from now on, he could always be away visiting his grandmother etc Personally I'd like SVU to make it to 21 seasons, just to get the record but it looks like it will have to try a lot harder to get there.

I would almost take the opposite view, they have pretty rich white victims partly as a stereotype (the people they think a rapist would target) and also to titillate the viewers.

After a one night stand Fin is arrested for rape by internal affairs. The NYPD's attempts to keep the case out of the news are stymied by a leak and his arraignment hearing turns into media circus which escalates into a riot outside the courtroom between protesters and counter protesters after the situation is inflamed by bloggers alleging sexism and racism. When the accuser disappears under mysterious circumstances Fin is released without charge but the shadow of suspicion lingers over him, even from colleagues. Returning to his flat he receives a call from Italian diplomat DiSatio from Scorched Earth telling him he knows what it's like to be falsely accused and humiliated in such circumstances, Fin realising he has been set up from beginning to end and that this is DiSatio's revenge on him.

I always thought it would be a great story if you had a gang of rapists deliberately targeting guys in very macho professions, knowing they would be the last people who would ever report the crime.

No, no, everyone loved Dawn by season 7 when she gets more to do than get rescued and give Buffy unconditional love (and of course Michelle gets hot/legal, got to keep those ephebophiles happy as the rest of the Scooby girls hit their 20s). Noah by contrast has I think become more and more unpopular as time goes on.

Poor Noah, he was always on a hiding to nothing, the Scrappy Doo brought in to make Benson less of a 'tragic spinster' who sacrificed her private life for her career. I think Dawn Summers was only time that ever actually worked on any TV show? Maybe Ally McBeal too. I like the fact that the characters have a life outside, I like seeing Fin interact with his son but it shouldn't dominate the show as it has come to do. SVU always preached, I remember when they just had to slip in comment on 'Sanctuary cities', claiming everything had become worse lately (i.e. since Trump was elected). And you just wanted the INS agent to look at them and say 'Well if you won't help me enforce my laws, why should I help you to enforce yours?' Lately though it has just become so OTT, there's no Stabler to balance Benson out (sanctimonious thug that he was) and no Cragen to keep her in check. With none of the Benson/Stabler will they/won't they sexual tension Noah has become her emotional substitute and people don't want to see that. If Noah is taken away to live with Brooke Shields I think most SVU viewers would actually celebrate. Personally I would like to see Benson visit or even mention her brother and his family although I sometimes wondered if there were little hints of GSA between them (wouldn't THAT be a storyline!).

coThe Good; I have to say I didn't see the conclusion coming, I thought it was going to turn out that none of the boys were guilty and that one of the girls was jealous and had violated the victim with a foreign object. The Bad; huge resources devoted to a 15 year old girl who hasn't come home yet after getting drunk at a party, even calling in the head of SVU when she was off duty? COME ON! And frankly I don't think I've ever wanted to slap a victim quite so much, she was truly obnoxious. No way does taking pictures of a drunk 15 year old girl in her underwear qualify as child porn, the family of that boy has every right to sue the NYPD. SVU clichés; Benson convinces a victim to testify with her whisper voice The SVU just have to arrest the suspects in the middle of class in the most embarrassing way possible (knowing that one has committed no crime!). Benson and Rollins lead a victim through her rape accusation when all she can remember is that she blacked out after drinking and is now sore the morning after. Other; People always comment on the trope that the rapists in SVU are so often white, wealthy and upper class males (I mean if you're a white, male, wealthy doctor/stockbroker played by the guest star then you're ALWAYS guilty). I always figured that was partly political correctness but also the poor simply can't afford good lawyers to give Barba a run for his money in the courtroom. The stereotype of the wealthy white middle aged male sex abuser is from the 'recovered memories' scandal of the 80s, they were the sort of guys who could afford to send their daughters to therapy and were the victims of their allegations. The assembly scene at the end was well intentioned but way OTT, it reminded me off Revenge of the Nerds. 5/10

He rocked that full set beard before it became fashionable! It's funny I used to be a big fan of Buffy/Xena and the amount of women who fancied Ares/Spike/Angelus even though they were evil was amazing.

Another thing that struck me is that the girls seemed very quick to blame this affair they had with their teacher for all their problems, I mean they were 16 at the time, still a crime but they weren't children, the guy's an ephebophile, not a paedophile. I'd love a new DA to come in and start telling everyone to stop all this but I guess we watch TV shows for human interaction, not the good guys at loggerheads with one another.

The Good; Quite liked the bit with the shell which I must say that I missed the significance of the first time I watched this ep. Some nice Fin/Carisi and Carisi/Barba stuff and now we all know a little bit more about Dante's Inferno. The Bad; Let the witness talk, stop interrupting/leading them. You do not do suspect ID's off your I-phone with only one person as a suspect, mistaken witness ID is thought to be responsible for 70% of false convictions. Equally take proper witness descriptions, not just rely on the few things that stood out to them. Fin shouldn't antagonise the waitress by telling her to 'focus' either. Summary; You have to wonder that they didn't try for a plea bargain, he drops the charges against her for assaulting him and she drops the rape? Note how quickly and gleefully Fin jumps on the chance to arrest the ex-teacher, even Rollins seems to have her doubts on the subject. You'd wonder that his lawyer didn't tear the accuser up on the witness stand, pointing out she only recovered this memory when she was facing years in jail and it was completely uncorroborated, so easy to depict her as a woman scorned. Surely it's unethical for Olivia to try to influence Barba's decision (when he's been drinking!), the whole point of the DA is that they should have some independence from the police (in the UK they don't even meet face to face, the CPS evaluate the casefile sent via computer). Olivia lashing out at the lawyer was a painful scene although you know how she feels, how many victims have done the same to her? How lovely does Brook Shields still look? Although the irony of course is that the nudity she did earlier in her career would now technically qualify as child porn! Overall; 8/10

The Good; There's a brilliant book by Connie Fletcher called 'What Cops Know', basically the 10 mins before closing time stories of Chicago cops and you see its' influence again and again in TV drama, especially the chapter on sex crimes. This ep was obviously written by someone who'd read it, lots of familiar touches, the 'gentleman' rapist taking trophies, giving it to his beloved (Oedipus much?) etc . As others have commented nice to see a non-Olivia centric episode. Nice Norma Bates performance from the perp's mother, rather reminds me of the old horror film Sleepaway Camp. Like Fin mocking Carisi's Catholicism just as he used to do with Stabler. The Bad; the opening sequence rather spoils things, we know the girl can't be lying because we've already seen this happen to the old lady. The rapist's mother seems a little too welcoming to the boys for such a snob. Couldn't they find a social worker who doesn't know Liv? Really wrong of Liv/Amanda to keep pushing forwards in the hostage situation, they should have just barricaded him and tried to talk him down, equally stupid for Amanda to expose herself on the roof. Fin leads the old victim with the image on his phone which surely must break the rules. Equally not a great idea to interview in front of the daughter. Olivia's logic that people who make false allegations must have been genuinely abused at some point is beyond belief and confirmation bias in its' worst form. SVU clichés; All other cops apart from the SVU are inept/uncaring Rollins insults the foster mother about doing it for a 'few bucks' then asks for her co-operation. It's the alley at the foot of the steps again! Surprised we haven't seen the Central Park tunnel/rocky outcrop this season yet. Summary; one suspects that the social services investigation is taken so seriously because of Olivia's position. She may not be suspended because there's no sexual element to all this. When I see Dean Winters I must confess I scan the background for Terminators/Liz Lemon. Noah is really the Scrappy Doo of the SVU world and unlike Dawn Summers, Maddie Harrington or Penny Scavo he has never grown on us and I don't think ever will. He's designed so that Olivia doesn't seem such a tragic figure who sacrificed her family life for her work and doesn't need a male partner. I'd much rather we saw her hanging out with her half brother Simon and his family instead. Overall score; 7

The Commander yes, Joseph Fiennes, no

Apologies that I'm so far behind but I'm watching in UK; The Good; Finn's groovy Cuban gear, you keep expecting him to burst into Mambo No5. Good scenes with the victim's refusing to testify, it was years ago, they put it behind them, they don't want to go through it all again, you really feel for them. The Bad; plenty I'm afraid, do we really believe the Cuban police would co-operate in bringing the suspect to the US? Perhaps if they made a formal extradition application but after Finn just snatches him? It would have been more realistic if Finn had just kidnapped him, paid a few bribes to get out of Cuba and dumped him on the courthouse steps with a note. The confrontation with the suspect's wife later surely must constitute witness tampering? And for a man who had so many run ins with Internal Affairs Cassidy hasn't learned his lesson about giving Liv the gypsies warning. The testifying witness' boyfriend might as well have a t-shirt with 'cliche' printed on the front. SVU clichés; People can just walk into the squadroom Olivia has to persuade a tearful victim to testify Despite having not offended for 6 years once back in NY the suspect just can't resist attacking his prior victim again. Summary; In many ways I think this was an ep of missed opportunities. Carissi brings up the illegality of Finn's actions and how we'd feel if it happened the other way around but that's never followed up upon. Equally when Olivia indignantly moans to Rollins that 'All I could think was that I'm the one who asks the questions' you want Rollins to say 'Well how do you think the people we interview feel?' but she doesn't she demonstrates the traditional SVU groupthink. Some have said the bruise investigation is OTT but nowadays teachers are forced to actively inquire about such things by law. Is it just me or does Olivia increasingly look like Sarah Palin these days, especially when she wears her glasses? Surprised we didn't have some reference to Barba's Cuban heritage, the Cuban diplomat winking at him and saying 'Uncle Felix sends his regards' or something and it's revealed he has a relative in Cuban prison for political activity or something. Marks out of 10; 7

What I found interesting about this is the contrast between how it is depicted in the film and the TV series. In the film Jezebels is depicted as quite a fun place where although the women are ultimately still slaves they have many of the freedoms others lack, their cage is gilded. I guess in this PC age that would be unacceptable?

Anyone else think that despite being the villain of the piece the Joseph Fiennes has become quite the heartthrob? In the book the Commander and his wife are both elderly, like Jacob in the biblical parable. In the movie he was more of a fatherly figure as played by Robert Duvall and his wife Faye Dunaway a fading beauty who resented Offred accordingly. But this series portrays him as young and handsome and a lot of women I've spoken to seem quite sweet on him?

What I find interesting is that politically the series doesn't seem to know where it wants to go. It was written in the mid 80s when the Reagan revolution was in full swing and Iran was still reeling from the Iranian Revolution (including people being publicly hanged from cranes in Tehran, a trope HT has adopted). It was also a time of the AIDS hysteria against homosexuals, rampant televangelism, nutball militias setting up in backwoods American and the rise of the religious right, arguably all in a backlash against the malaise of the 1970s. The author basically took what happened in Iran and transposed it to the US with fundamentalist Christianity rather than fundamentalist Islam, the ultimate extremism of Reaganism. What is ironic of course is that the whole Gilead seizing power by faking a terrorist attack and declaring a national emergency is right out of the nutball rightwing militia handbook, it's their paranoid theory, not normally the left wing's. Equally the massacre of the marchers is straight out of Tiananmen Square (passive resistance only works against democracies, if you're free to protest against a police state you don't actually live in a police state). But I honestly cannot think of a time in history when the whole Gilead scenario is LESS LIKELY. People who look at the Handmaid's tale and say 'Oh this is what's happening in Trump's America' puzzle me greatly. This is a president who appeared on the cover/videos of Playboy, married a nude fashion model and appoints women to key positions of power not to mention his Jewish son in law. Rather than trying to build fences/restrict air travel to keep people in he's trying to do it to keep people out. The religious right is in terminal decline, the militias are a ghost of what they once were, homosexuals are more free than ever before and pretty much everyone has more civil liberty than ever before. The threat from terrorism is extremely real and it truly embodies the evils demonstrated in HT. But I guess it's easier to look inwardly and try to 'blame America first' than confront an implacable alien enemy who cannot be reasoned with or brought down by peaceful means?

I can't decide which is worse, this one or the one based on the Weiner case, never has the SVU come close to genuine fascism,