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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 8

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 8)
Season 8
DVD cover art
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 19, 2006 (2006-09-19) –
May 22, 2007 (2007-05-22)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 7
Next →
Season 9
List of episodes

The eighth season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 19, 2006 and ended May 22, 2007 on NBC. The series remained in its 10:00 p.m. Tuesday timeslot. With the introduction of a new partner for Detective Stabler, early episodes of Season 8 took on a significantly different focus when compared to those of previous seasons.

Production

The eighth season began filming when Mariska Hargitay was in the final stages of her pregnancy. As a result, two episodes "Informed" and "Scheherazade" made use of desks, folders and headshots to disguise Benson's abdomen. "Informed" became the season premiere but "Scheherazade" was not incorporated into the plot until 2007.[4] The episode "Burned" was directed by Eriq LaSalle who worked with Neal Baer and Mariska Hargitay on ER. He described the episode as "a compelling story with edgy performances."[5]

When writing the episode "Responsible", Neal Baer stated that he referred to "an article about... how there's been leaps in terms of research about the effects of alcohol on teenage brains."[4] Judith McCreary stated that information she used to write "Confrontation" came from a Google search; "I ran across a story about women who were raped more than once by the same guy and that made me wonder if his biological clock was ticking."[6] Diane Neal joked about the writers' penchant for disturbing web searches saying "I'm sure a couple of the writers are on the feds' most wanted Internet predators list too, because they're doing all this research on pedophilia."[7]

Judith McCreary also wrote the season finale "Screwed" during which illegal activities involving the detectives are brought up in the courtroom. She said "I wanted to explore chickens coming home to roost. A lot of shit these cops have been doing they haven't paid for. Benson committed a felony; she should've been kicked off the force and gone to prison."[8]

Cast changes and returning characters

During a six episode absence by Mariska Hargitay, Connie Nielsen was cast to play Stabler's temporary partner, Detective Dani Beck. Dick Wolf said that he was "thrilled that we have someone of Connie's obvious talent, beauty and stature to come in for these episodes. It doesn't get any better than this."[9]

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges made his second on SVU in "Screwed" which concludes the seventh season episode "Venom". Neal Baer explained that he saw this episode as an opportunity to have Adam Beach's character, Detective Chester Lake, become a longer term addition to the show; "Chris causes Ice-T's character Fin major, major, major problems that go back many years. While everything is in disarray, SVU needs some extra hands and Adam's character is brought in to help out."[10]

Three episodes in the second half of the season starred Michael Weston as Simon Marsden, Olivia's half brother. Hargitay described this storyline as "probably the biggest thing that's ever happened to Olivia."[11] The episode in which Marsden is introduced features an appearance by Mary Stuart Masterson in her recurring role of Dr. Rebecca Hendrix.

Cast

See also: List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit characters

Principal cast

Actor Character Main cast Recurring cast
Christopher Meloni Det. Elliot Stabler entire season —
Mariska Hargitay Det. Olivia Benson entire season —
Richard Belzer Det. John Munch entire season —
Ice T Det. Fin Tutuola entire season —
Diane Neal ADA Casey Novak entire season —
B.D. Wong Dr. George Huang entire season —
Tamara Tunie ME Dr. Melinda Warner entire season —
Dann Florek Capt. Don Cragen entire season —
Adam Beach Det. Chester Lake — episodes 12 & 22

Recurring cast

Guest stars

Charles Shaughnessy played Martin Trenway, an attorney who goes on trial for rape, in "Recall".

The season premiere "Informed" saw Marcia Gay Harden reprise her role as Special Agent Dana Lewis, for which she received an Emmy nomination.[12] Acting opposite was Kristen Bush, who shaved her head for the role. After agreeing to do this, Bush said "It was a kind of tenuous connection as to why she was shaved. I probably should have investigated it more, but whatever."[13] The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series was won by Leslie Caron for her performance in the third episode "Recall".[12] Caron played Lorraine Delmas, a rape victim whose statute of limitations is long over. However, her testimony gets newer evidence admitted after her rapist strikes again. Caron's scene, which was spoken predominantly in French, was described as "a rare appearance in front of American cameras."[14]

Jerry Lewis guest starred in the fourth episode "Uncle". He played Andrew Munch, the uncle of Detective John Munch. Neal Baer promoted the episode by saying "He brings both depth and heart to this role and gives insight into how often older people with depression are misdiagnosed."[15] In the fifth episode "Confrontation", Elanor Hutchins played Elizabeth Hassenback, a woman who was raped and later murdered. Elizabeth Hasselbeck, co-host of The View, objected to the use of a name that was similar to her own and called for a boycott of SVU based on this.[16] With the sixth episode "Infiltrated", Vincent Spano began playing FBI Agent Dean Porter, the case agent for Detective Benson's undercover work. The character would go on to cross paths with SVU detectives again in later episodes. In the seventh episode "Underbelly", Diane Neal had a scene with her husband Marcus Fitzgerald who played an ADA.

Karen Olivo played Jennifer Benitez, the mother of a sick boy who is desperate for help but also afraid of having her immigration status found out.

In the eighth episode "Cage", Margo Martindale played Rita Gabler, a foster parent whose methods have a devastating effect on a young girl. Neal Baer continued to praise her performance and in 2011 said "I know how good she is because when I did SVU, she put Elle Fanning in a cage and told her to set Connie Nielsen on fire."[17] The ninth episode "Choreographed" marked the return of Mariska Hargitay's character to the Special Victims Unit. The episode starred Bob Saget as a suspicious husband. Hargitay expressed her excitement about working with Saget and called him "America's biggest secret."[18] The eleventh episode "Burned" starred Michael Michele as an alleged rape victim who gains the sympathy of Detective Benson but not Detective Stabler. This reunited her with Eriq LaSalle, Neal Baer and Mariska Hargitay from her time on ER. LaSalle, who directed the episode, joked that "It also gave [him] an excuse to boss Michael Michele around."[5]

The twelfth episode "Outsider" starred Kal Penn as a rapist following an unusual pattern. "Outsider" also introduced Adam Beach to the show; his character forms a temporary partnership with Detective Tutuola. Neal Baer described the guest stars as bringing "some funny moments to SVU" and also applauded the tension shown between Adam Beach and Ice-T.[19] Bill Goldberg appeared at the beginning of the thirteenth episode "Loophole". Wrestler Bill Goldberg is Neal Baer's cousin and was given a physically intimidating role.[20] The sixteenth episode "Philadelphia" showed Detective Benson clashing with a New Jersey cop played by Kim Delaney. Delaney mentioned being an SVU fan especially because of the subject matter addressed in the show and said "It's what we read about in the paper, unfortunately too many times."[21]

The third last episode "Annihilated" was predicted to be an emmy contender for Christopher Meloni in the Envelope section of The LA Times.[22] Dylan Walsh guest starred as Malcolm Royce, a family man involved in a murder suicide. Meloni described Walsh's character as "outwardly a family man like Elliot, who has everything going for him, but this guy's living a double life."[23] In the second last episode "Pretend", Misti Traya guest starred as a woman who had been posing as a teenager for years. Noting the similarities, Neal Baer said the writers were "stunned" to hear about the sex offender Neil Havens Rodreick who was caught disguising himself as a twelve-year-old shortly after the episode was written.[4] In the season finale "Screwed", Chris "Ludacris" Bridges concluded the storyline of his character Darius Parker by defending himself in court. Baer described his performance saying "He defends himself which is cool. So now he takes on the role of a lawyer with Steven Weber playing his lawyer as well."[10]

Episodes

See also: List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes
No. in
series 		No. in
season 		Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code 		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1621"Informed"Peter LetoDawn DeNoonSeptember 19, 20060800114.55[24]
1632"Clock"James HaymanAllison IntrieriSeptember 26, 20060800314.41[25]
1643"Recall"Juan J. CampanellaJonathan GreeneOctober 3, 20060800514.30[26]
1654"Uncle"David PlattDawn DeNoonOctober 10, 20060800413.89[27]
1665"Confrontation"David PlattJudith McCrearyOctober 17, 20060800612.98[28]
1676"Infiltrated"David PlattDawn DeNoonOctober 31, 20060800913.36[29]
1687"Underbelly"Jonathan KaplanAmanda GreenNovember 14, 20060800714.76[30]
1698"Cage"David PlattPatrick HarbinsonNovember 21, 20060800814.20[31]
1709"Choreographed"Peter LetoPaul GrellongNovember 28, 20060801014.64[32]
17110"Scheherazade"David PlattAmanda GreenJanuary 2, 20070800215.17[33]
17211"Burned"Eriq La SalleJudith McCrearyJanuary 9, 20070801114.41[34]
17312"Outsider"Arthur W. ForneyPaul GrellongJanuary 16, 20070801614.17[35]
17413"Loophole"David PlattJonathan GreeneFebruary 6, 20070801213.45[36]
17514"Dependent"Peter LetoKen StorerFebruary 13, 20070801512.94[37]
17615"Haystack"Peter LetoAmanda GreenFebruary 20, 20070801311.94[38]
17716"Philadelphia"Peter LetoPatrick HarbinsonFebruary 27, 20070801711.73[39]
17817"Sin"George PattisonPatrick HarbinsonMarch 27, 20070802112.86[40]
17918"Responsible"Yelena Lanskaya & David PlattAllison IntrieriApril 3, 20070801411.16[41]
18019"Florida"David PlattJonathan GreeneMay 1, 20070801811.41[42]
18120"Annihilated"Peter LetoAmanda GreenMay 8, 20070801910.94[43]
18221"Pretend"David PlattDawn DeNoonMay 15, 20070802012.75[44]
18322"Screwed"Arthur W. ForneyJudith McCrearyMay 22, 20070802210.28[45]


References

  1. ^ Lambert, David (November 21, 2008). "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - 8th Season Set Officially Announced: Date, Price, Packaging and More!". TVShowsOnDVD. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  2. ^ "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Season 8 - Complete [2006] [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  3. ^ "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Season 8 (5 Disc Set) (DVD)". EzyDVD. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Jacobs, Evan (2007-02-20). "Mariska Hargitay and Dr. Neal Baer Tell All About Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". Movie Web. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  5. ^ a b "NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit January Guest Star Appearances". Movie Web. 2007. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  6. ^ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 35
  7. ^ "Diane Neal Interview". Rumble in the Morning. WNOR. 2005-10-15. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  8. ^ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 334
  9. ^ "Connie Nielsen Fills In For Mariska Hargitay On Law & Order: SVU". Star Pulse. 2006-02-02. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  10. ^ a b Jacobs, Evan (2007). "Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Dr. Neal Baer Are on the Case with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". Movie Web. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  11. ^ Freydkin, Donna (November 27, 2006). "Hargitay has reasons to smile". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  12. ^ a b "SVU Emmy Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  13. ^ Lawrence, Vanessa (2007-03-06). "Girl Interrupted". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  14. ^ "Leslie Caron to appear on SVU". Reuters. 2006-05-02. Retrieved 2013-08-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Jerry Lewis To Guest Star on 'Law & Order: SVU'". Star Pulse. 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  16. ^ Medsker, Deb (2006-10-25). ""View's" Hasselbeck hassles "SVU"". Premium Hollywood. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  17. ^ Storm, Jonathan (2011-08-09). "At 60, she's enjoying ride to big role in new drama". The Philly Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  18. ^ Mariska Hargitay (2006). Season 8: Bob Saget Interview. NBC. Retrieved 2013-08-08. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "Film stars Adam Beach and Kal Penn Guest Star on NBC's Law & Order: SVU". The Futon Critic. 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  20. ^ "Bill Goldberg to Guest Star on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". Movie Web. 2007. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  21. ^ Kim Delaney (2007). Law and Order Special Victims Unit Kim Delaney Interview. NBC. Retrieved 2013-08-08. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Sheenan, Paul (2007-05-08). "Emmy alert: what to watch on TV". The Envelope. The LA Times. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  23. ^ "Q&A with Christopher Meloni". TV Guide. May 2007. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  24. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. September 26, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  25. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 3, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  26. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 10, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  27. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 17, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  28. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 24, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  29. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. November 7, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  30. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. November 21, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  31. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. November 28, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  32. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. December 5, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  33. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. January 9, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  34. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. January 17, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  35. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. January 23, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  36. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. February 13, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  37. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. February 21, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  38. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. February 27, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  39. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. March 6, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  40. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. April 3, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  41. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. April 10, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  42. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 8, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  43. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 15, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  44. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 22, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  45. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 30, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2012.

Bibliography

  • Green, Susan; Dawn, Randee (2009). Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Unofficial Companion. Dallas: BenBella Books. ISBN 1-933771-88-7.
Preceded by
Season 7 		Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
list of seasons 		Succeeded by
Season 9
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