Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 8)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 8
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	September 19, 2006 (2006-09-19) – May 22, 2007 (2007-05-22)
Home video release
DVD release
Region 1	February 17, 2009
Region 2	April 13, 2009
Region 4	June 3, 2009
Season chronology
← Previous Season 7 Next → Season 9
List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes

This article contains a list of episodes for season 8 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Cast

• Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler
• Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson
• Richard Belzer as Det. John Munch
• Ice-T as Det. Fin Tutuola
• Diane Neal as ADA Casey Novak
• B. D. Wong as Dr. George Huang
• Tamara Tunie as Dr. Melinda Warner
• Dann Florek as Capt. Don Cragen

Recurring

• Connie Nielsen as Det. Dani Beck
• Vincent Spano as FBI agent Dean Porter
• Michael Weston as Simon Marsden
• Adam Beach as Det. Chester Lake

Guest stars

This season Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's guest stars consisted of; Robert Vaughn, Gregory Harrison, Danielle Panabaker, Robin Weigert, Charles Shaughnessy, Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, Debra Jo Rupp, Michael K. Williams, Elle Fanning, Ken Howard, Bob Saget, Bernadette Peters, Catherine Bell, Chris Sarandon, Brian Dennehy, Paget Brewster, Victoria Wyndham, Blair Underwood, Michael Michele, Tiffany Evans, Kal Penn, Bill Goldberg, Ray Wise, Cary Elwes, Emily VanCamp, Marian Seldes, Kali Rocha, Kim Delaney, Tim Daly, Kathy Baker, Laura Leighton, Sarah Drew, Hunter Parrish, Peter Hermann, Dylan Walsh, Barry Bostwick, Steven Weber, Ludacris, Nancy Grace, Star Jones, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Marcia Gay Harden.

Episodes

Season no.	Series no.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
1	162	"Informed"	Peter Leto	Dawn DeNoon	September 19, 2006	08001
A young woman, Haley Kerns (Kristen Bush), shows up at a hospital emergency room beaten and with her head shaved. Despite signs of sexual assault, she demands only a morning-after pill and refuses a rape kit. Kerns is accosted on the street by Benson, who pleads with her to submit to the rape kit. Benson follows Kerns back to her apartment but is asked to leave when Kerns locks herself in the bathroom. Benson does so, but not before taking Kerns' soiled underwear from her assault for a DNA analysis. When she returns to Kerns' apartment, she finds the woman missing and encounters Agent Dana Lewis (from season 7's "Raw," played by Marcia Gay Harden), who reveals that Kerns is her confidential informant on an eco-terrorism investigation. After Stabler is wounded while following a lead on Kerns' whereabouts, Benson and Lewis must find Kerns and get her to cooperate in preventing a terrorist bombing. Ebon Moss-Bachrach also guest stars.
2	163	"Clock"	James Hayman	Allison Intrieri	September 26, 2006	08003
Stabler and Tutuola team up to investigate when a teenage boy, Connor Wesley (Daniel Farcher) and a teenage girl, Janey Speer (Betsy Hogg) go missing on a school field trip to a museum. The case takes a different turn however, when they realize Janey has Turner's syndrome so she looks twelve even though she's seventeen. When the missing boy is found the team wonders if they were even missing in the first place. Connie Nielsen is introduced at the end of this episode as Stabler's new partner, Det. Dani Beck. Gregory Harrison, Deborah Raffin, Robert Vaughn, Larry Pine, Jason Butler Harner, and Betty Buckley guest star.
3	164	"Recall"	Juan J. Campanella	Jonathan Greene	October 3, 2006	08005
Stabler and Cragen have concerns about Beck's reputation as an overzealous investigator. She works with Stabler on a vexing rape case in which they are unable to make the charges stick until a surprise witness (Leslie Caron) comes forward. Charles Shaughnessy, James Naughton, Robin Weigert, and Lily Rabe guest star.
4	165	"Uncle"	David Platt	Dawn DeNoon	October 10, 2006	08004
When a mother and daughter are found raped and murdered, Stabler and Beck take in a homeless man who turns out to be Munch's uncle, Andrew, played by Jerry Lewis. Initially he's their main suspect until they find their way to a new suspect, Brent Allen Banks (Timothy Adams). Unfortunately, when their only evidence, a bite mark on one of the victims linked to a suspect in a prior rape case, is thrown out of court the suspect walks. Stabler and Beck follow the suspect in a last ditch scramble to catch him in the act of committing his next rape, but Munch's uncle takes the law in his own hands.
5	166	"Confrontation"	David Platt	Judith McCreary	October 17, 2006	08006
Stabler and Beck disagree on how to handle a case in which the attacker seems to be coming back to rape his victims again and again. They soon discover the rapist has a much more deviant plan that anybody thought and Beck gets in over her head when she attacks the man she believes to be responsible for the crimes. Mariette Hartley, Michael Kelly, Patricia Kalember, Marin Ireland, and Matthew Arkin guest star.
6	167	"Infiltrated"	David Platt	Dawn DeNoon	October 31, 2006	08009
Casey Novak is forced to get Benson, still undercover with the FBI, to come back to New York to testify in a rape case. While undercover with an Oregon environmental group, Benson is injured by an overzealous deputy sheriff and charged with assault. She is eventually released but is questioned about her group's involvement with a murder. She then sets out to clear her group's name and finds that the murdered man was a pedophile. She finds a room under his garage and discovers the murder scene. The local sheriff finds two sets of prints at the scene, the murdered man's and those of a ten year old girl who went missing seven years ago. Benson is then released from the FBI (it turns out that the group she had infiltrated had nothing to do with terrorism; the actual terrorist leader had been arrested two days ago) to go back to New York. As she is still unaware of the urgency of Novak's case, she decides to stay and help the FBI find the missing girl. In the end Benson finds the girl, who had developed Stockholm syndrome. Benson just makes it back to New York in time to testify. Vincent Spano, Debra Jo Rupp, and Charles Martin Smith guest star.
7	168	"Underbelly"	Jonathan Kaplan	Amanda Green	November 14, 2006	08007
Three teenaged homicide victims with matching tattoos lead Detectives Stabler and Beck to an underage prostitution ring. With the victims' pimp, Victor Bodine (Michael K. Williams), as the prime suspect, detectives must rely on one of his young girls Belinda "Passion" Holt (Charlie Ray), to testify against him. Also, Benson's jealousy flares when she quietly returns to the squad room and witnesses an intimate moment between Stabler and Beck (she does not, however, witness a kiss between Stabler and Beck after a round of drinks with Novak). Benson then tells Capt. Cragen that she is not ready to come back to SVU, and leaves without saying hello to Stabler. Joe Grifasi, Victor Slezak, and Julito McCullum also guest star.
8	169	"Cage"	David Platt	Patrick Harbinson	November 21, 2006	08008
Detectives Stabler and Beck investigate a car accident involving two foster children. The accident leads the detectives to the foster parents and some questionable medical practices involving controversial "rebirthing" therapy. As the detectives dig deeper into the case, they discover other gruesome secrets involving the children, and after one of the foster children, Eden (Elle Fanning) sets the drapes in Beck's living room on fire, attempting to murder Beck and commit suicide, Beck says goodbye to Stabler and Special Victims Unit. Ken Howard, Margo Martindale and Leo Burmester guest star.
9	170	"Choreographed"	Peter Leto	Paul Grellong	November 28, 2006	08010
A woman is found dead in Central Park, and when medical examiner Warner can find no apparent reason for her death, Det. Stabler begins the investigation by talking to the victim's husband, Wesley Masoner (Chris Sarandon), who owns a dance troupe, as his friends Glenn (Bob Saget) and Naomi Cheales (Catherine Bell) pay a condolence visit. Stabler's investigation unravels a case of drugs, infidelity and an elaborate plot that impacts everyone involved in the troupe. Stella Danquiss (Bernadette Peters) defends Wesley. Stabler also discovers Detective Benson is back in town, as she is reassigned to be his partner (or, as she points out, 'handler') once again.
10	171	"Scheherazade!"	David Platt	Amanda Green	January 2, 2007	08002
Stabler agrees to hear the dying confession of a cancer patient named Judson Tierney (Brian Dennehy), but first he and Benson do some digging into what possible crime Tierney could be guilty of and come up with an unsolved case that goes back 47 years. Tierney is later found responsible for 21 armed bank robberies, murder, and kidnapping. Tierney's daughter, Sheila (Paget Brewster) refuses to see him in his last days, but as he lays dying she goes to his bedside. John Doman and Judith Light guest star.
11	172	"Burned"	Eriq La Salle	Judith McCreary	January 9, 2007	08011
Stabler and Benson are at odds over whom to believe in a “he said, she said” rape case involving a husband and wife (Blair Underwood, Michael Michele) in the middle of an extremely bitter child-custody dispute. Tiffany Evans guest stars.
12	173	"Outsider"	Arthur W. Forney	Paul Grellong	January 16, 2007	08016
Fin looks into an alleged rape at the college where his son, Ken (Ernest Waddell), attends. Fin is joined in his investigation by a Brooklyn SVU detective named Chester Lake (Adam Beach), who is working a strikingly similar case. Kal Penn, Sakina Jaffrey, and Kelli Giddish guest star.
13	174	"Loophole"	David Platt	Jonathan Greene	February 6, 2007	08012
An anonymous letter leads to an apparent child-pornography case and the testing of pesticides on unwitting apartment tenants. Olivia is also exposed to the pesticide and develops medical symptoms similar to those exhibited by the victim and his mother. The latter part of the episode explains a controversial United States Environmental Protection Agency rule that allows intentional dosing of human beings in pesticide experiments.[1][2] Casey Siemaszko, Wayne Duvall, Peter Riegert, Karen Olivo, Bill Goldberg, James Naughton, and Ray Wise guest star
14	175	"Dependent"	Peter Leto	Ken Storer	February 13, 2007	08015
After a mob lawyer (Cary Elwes) is attacked and his wife brutally murdered, Benson and Stabler question their daughter (Emily VanCamp), but her wild night of drunken partying leaves her unable to recall her actions, even though her father insists she was at the scene of the crime. Stabler is charged with excessive force when the daughter's boyfriend (Justin Klosky) dies in his custody. Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick also guest stars.
15	176	"Haystack"	Peter Leto	Amanda Green	February 20, 2007	08013
In a "ripped-from-the-headlines" episode, overzealous reporter Cindy Marino (Kali Rocha) accuses new mother Laura Kozowloski (Ashley Williams) on television of kidnapping and trying to kill her baby. That's the last straw for the despondent woman, who promptly commits suicide. Although everyone is under suspicion, including the mother and her ex-husband, Dan (Pablo Schreiber), the case takes an unusual emotional toll on Detective Stabler who is drawn in on the mother and her past. Marian Seldes, Judith Light, and Dana Ashbrook guest star.
16	177	"Philadelphia"	Peter Leto	Patrick Harbinson	February 27, 2007	08017
Benson investigates a rape case outside her jurisdiction and must meet with Dr. Rebecca Hendrix (Mary Stuart Masterson) to discuss her recent actions which have compromised her performance. Also, Benson finally unravels a part of her past when she finds her brother Simon Marsden (Michael Weston) who may be a rapist. In one of the rare episodes that actually acknowledge adult male-on-male rape, the detectives struggle to move forward on a case where all four male victims refuse to cooperate to bring the rapists to trial. Kim Delaney guest stars.
17	178	"Sin"	George Pattison	Patrick Harbinson	March 27, 2007	08021
A successful preacher (Tim Daly) is the prime suspect in a murder case, until his wife (Kathy Baker) provides detectives with a taped conversation. John Cullum also guest stars.
18	179	"Responsible"	David Platt & Yelena Lanskaya	Allison Intrieri	April 3, 2007	08014
Stabler and Benson are forced to dive in to the world of underage drinking when a death leads to high school binge parties and a mother (Laura Leighton) who not only supplies booze to her daughter (Sarah Drew)'s friends but sleeps with those friends as well. Judith Light, Hunter Parrish and Leven Rambin also guest star.
19	180	"Florida"	David Platt	Jonathan Greene	May 1, 2007	08018
When Detective Benson gets into the middle of an investigation of her brother Simon Marsden (Michael Weston), the case begins to threaten her career. As Simon makes a run for it, Benson investigates further into his family life, and begins to question whether or not she was the product of a rape in the first place. She digs deeper to discover that Simon was the victim of a frame-job by Capt. Julia Milfield (Kim Delaney). Josh Casaubon, Vincent Spano, and Frankie Faison also guest star.
20	181	"Annihilated"	Peter Leto	Amanda Green	May 8, 2007	08019
A woman's murder appears to be the result of a professional hit, when her fiancé (Dylan Walsh) receives death threats, apparently resulting from his CIA career. Elliot, investigating this, finds that the man may not be all that he seems; the case takes a shocking turn when the man's original family are all found dead. Meanwhile, Elliot continues to rebuild his relationship with his family.
21	182	"Pretend"	David Platt	Dawn DeNoon	May 15, 2007	08020
The team investigates the death of a partially clothed teenage boy wearing a leather mask. The detectives discover that the victim's best friend (Michael Welch) is the killer and has a video, showing that the boy's death was the result of a backyard wrestling match gone wrong. The trial ends with the boy's conviction on a lesser charge and is sentenced to probation when the key witness, the victim's girlfriend (Misti Traya) fails to show up at the sentencing hearing. When the girlfriend is injured in an attack instigated by the defendant, the case takes a bizarre turn when information surfaces that the girl is far older than she appears and has been defrauding the foster care system for over a decade.
22	183	"Screwed"	Arthur W. Forney	Judith McCreary	May 22, 2007	08022
In the season 8 finale, Darius Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), goes on trial for the rape and murder of a woman and her 14-month old child. The case brings Fin under fire from the media and even has Munch and Stabler at odds. Novak prosecutes the trial that brings Stabler and Tutuola, among others, to the stand. Many previous stories are brought into the trial, such as Stabler's daughter Kathleen's DUI, and Benson's illegal money-wiring to her half-brother, Simon Marsden (Michael Weston). It is also revealed that Kathy Stabler, Elliot's wife, is pregnant again. This episode -- a sequel to events from season 7's "Venom" -- ends with a cliffhanger concerning Stabler, Benson, Cragen and Novak's jobs.

References

• Episode Guide at TV.com

Notes

1. ^ "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – “Loophole”" (PDF). Pesticide Action Network North America. http://www.panna.org/resources/documents/lawAndOrderLoophole.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-08. 
2. ^ Argüello, Martha Dina (2007-02-07). "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on organophosphate pesticide". Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles. http://www.sierraclub.ca/pipermail/winnipeg/2007-February/000005.html. Retrieved 2007-07-08. 

External links

• Official episode guide
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 8 - TV IV
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 8 on the Law & Order wiki
• Season 8 episodes at IMDb.com

Preceded by Season 7

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit list of seasons

Succeeded by Season 9