| "Uncivilized" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 1.07 | → |
| Production number: E0912 First aired (US): 15 November 1999 First aired (CAN): 15 November 1999 First aired (AUS): 20 March 2000 | ||
 | ||
| Teleplay By Robert Palm & Wendy West Story By Robert Palm Directed By Michael Fields | ||
Summary[]
A young boy is found raped and murdered in Inwood Hill Park and suspicion quickly falls on a convicted sex offender.
Plot[]
A young boy named Ryan Davies is found murdered in some bushes in Inwood Hill Park. A Girl Scout gives Benson and Stabler a tip about two teenage punks, Jimmy G and Mike D, who were talking about the murder. Jimmy and Mike point the finger at paroled sex offender Bill Taylor Turbit, who lives in a rundown apartment near where Ryan was found. Turbit is very nervous, and the cops are immediately suspicious. His alibi is his presence at a neighborhood bar, but the bartender says he left for a short period of time, making it possible that he committed the crime.
Turbit is accused, and the neighborhood practically riots at his arraignment, with parents being horrified that someone like Turbit was living in their neighborhood. But DNA from Turbit does not match what was found at the crime scene. And the bartender at Turbit's tavern admits that he lied, and that Turbit was at the bar all night, so his alibi now checks out. But it doesn't matter -- upon his release, Turbit gets killed by Ryan's understandably enraged father Terry Davies, who firmly believes that Turbit was Ryan's killer.
Jimmy and Mike have conflicting stories regarding Turbit's daily routine. And a partial print off of Ryan's glasses matches Jimmy. Finally, they piece it together after separate interrogations -- Jimmy and Mike were Ryan's attackers. Jimmy and Mike had learned of Turbit from a website, and began messing with Ryan, but ended up kidnapping Ryan, initially as a "joke." Ryan lost his glasses, and started freaking out. Jimmy raped Ryan, but Jimmy claims that he is not gay. Jimmy accidentally killed him by snapping his neck with a bike chain that they previously took off his bike, while trying to keep him from screaming. Jimmy was able to glean enough information off the internet to frame Turbit.
While Mike shows a lot of remorse, Jimmy has none, as he believes that Ryan "was a loser anyway." For Stabler, whose son, Richard "Dickie" Stabler, is almost the same age as Ryan was, it's a case that's so horrifying, that solving it is a small consolation.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast[]
- Dean Winters as Detective Brian Cassidy
- Michelle Hurd as Detective Monique Jeffries
- Isabel Gillies as Kathy Stabler
- Lisa Tharps as A.D.A.
- Erin Broderick as Maureen Stabler
- Holiday Segal as Kathleen Stabler
- Patricia Cook as Elizabeth Stabler
- Jeffrey Scaperrotta as Dickie Stabler
Guest cast[]
- Stephen Bogardus as Bill Taylor Turbit
- Jessica Hecht as Attorney Kreutzer
- Ian Reed Kesler as Jimmy G.
- Austin Lysy as Mike D.
- Terry L. Beaver as Morris Klein
- Torquil Campbell as Christopher James
- Steve Ryan as Hank the Bartender
- Randy Danson as Dr. Greenblatt
- Adam Grupper as Dr. Malloy
- Mike Hodge as Captain Lloral
- David Jung as Forensics Technician
- James Coyle as Forensics Technician Assistant
- Bill Mitchell as Judge Connelly
- Camilla Enders as Teacher
- Myk Watford as Terry Davies
- Caren Browning as Linda Davies
- Ellen Horst as Girl Scout Mom
- Jonathan Fried as Angry Father
- Ryan Shively as Policeman
- Jerry Careccio as First Boy in Park
- Dominick Charles Carbone as Second Boy in Park
- Joanna Wolff as Girl Scout
- Anthony Fortunato as Kid
- Elaine Formicola as Mrs. James
References[]
- Danny Baker
- Ryan Davies (victim)
- Aldous Huxley
- Men in Black
- Inverted Jenny
- Joseph Stabler
- Elvis Presley
- Adam Schiff
- Frederick Law Olmsted
- Calvert Vaux
Quotes[]
- Cragen: All right people, what have we learned?
- Benson: No one can handle crimes against children.
- Jeffries: Yeah, and lesson two: get out after two years.
- Stabler: Three: No one can handle their children.
- Cragen: Specifically, here?
- Jeffries: Who lets an eight year old out alone?
- Munch: You watch over them twenty-four hours a day, you wind up with safe little neurotics.
- Cassidy: You ever think about having kids?
- Munch: Why, when I have you?
- Munch: When I was a little kid, my parents told me never to eat sweets.
- Cragen: So, as an adult, you overcompensate?
- Munch: Yeah.
- Cassidy: So I guess your parents said "never get married" either, huh?
- Lawyer: Not all sex offenders are repeat offenders.
- Stabler: You show me a first time offender, I'll show you a guy who's never been caught before.
- Cassidy: So why didn't you ever have kids? Didn't want the responsibility?
- Munch: I wouldn't want to give a kid the responsibility of me.
- Christopher James: You never told me your first name.
- Benson: Olivia.
- Christopher James: "Olivia". Origin of name: Greek, four syllables, means "olive tree"...
- Cragen: How can a man be found sane enough to stand trial, be convicted and then upon release be found insane and locked up again?
- Morris Klein: It's called civil commitment.
- Cragen: And they need a test case. Well, like you said, Counselor, I only catch 'em, but last I heard, the rule of law was you do the crime, you do the time and Mr. Turbit did his.
- Stabler: Tell your teacher, or your mom or your dad.
- Kind: What if your dad's the one hurting you?
- Stabler: ...Then you tell Dickie, and he'll tell me.
- Cassidy: Hey, Jimmy G! What's up?
- Cassidy: I've been on this beat for 8 months.
- Stabler: Right.
- Cassidy: And at first I was fine with it. But sometimes, I just, um, I just can't...
- Stabler: Instead of seeing a woman, you see a uterus, cervix
- Cassidy: Yeah.
- Stabler: It's the clinical phase. It lasts a while.
- Cassidy: So what's the next phase?
- Stabler: You don't want to know.
Background information and notes[]
- While Munch and Cassidy are questioning the two teenagers, behind them can be seen the stairway that would later be immortalized in the 2019 Joker movie.
- This is the last appearance of Holiday Segal in the recurring role of Kathleen Stabler; Allison Siko takes over the role starting with the season three episode "Popular".
- This is also the last appearance of Lisa Tharps as the A.D.A. for the Special Victims Unit. She previously appeared in "Hysteria" and "Wanderlust".
- Actress Caren Browning (Linda Davies) would later return as the recurring character CSU Captain Judith Siper in several episodes.
- Actor Austin Lysy (Mike D.) would later return as Defense Attorney Russell Hunter.
- Christopher James tells Olivia that her name comes from the Greek oliva, which he says means "olive tree". This is false. The name was invented by Shakespeare as either a female English version of the French Olivier, which was itself a French variant of the German Alfihar ("elf army"), or an English version of oliva, which was the Latin form of elaia, the original Greek word for "olive tree".
- The packages of cookies on Munch's desk are a Canadian brand, President's Choice. René Balcer, longtime executive producer for the Law & Order franchise, is Canadian.
- The famous Nintendo series Pokémon is mentioned during the episode, but it is mispronounced, using a short 'e' sound instead of a long 'e'.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Apartment of Bill Turbit |
Home of |
The Tavern |
Home of |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Apartment of Bill Turbit |
Office of |
Home of |
Supreme Court |
| Previous episode: "Sophomore Jinx" |
"Uncivilized" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 1 |
Next episode: "Stalked" |