Haven (10 Feb. 1999)

The unlikely suspect in the murder of a community activist and director of a community center in Harlem is a teen from the neighborhood who got into an Ivy League school with his help.

Director:

David Platt

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), David Shore,

Stars:

Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt, S. Epatha Merkerson

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Jerry Orbach	...	Detective Lennie Briscoe
Benjamin Bratt	...	Detective Rey Curtis
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Lt. Anita Van Buren
Sam Waterston	...	Jack McCoy
Angie Harmon	...	A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael
Steven Hill	...	D.A. Adam Schiff
Avery Waddell	...	Jerome Warren (as Avery Kidd Waddell)
Curtis McClarin	...	Charles Perry
Ron Foster	...	Councilman Clayton
Ruben Santiago-Hudson	...	Attorney Winters
Ed Wheeler	...	Rev. Jared Young
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Bogert	...	Prof. Arlen Howard
Denise Burse	...	Sarah Chase
Sean Cullen	...	Prof. Davis Mills
Leelai Demoz	...	Kyle Jefferson

Storyline

The unlikely suspect in the murder of a community activist and director of a community center in Harlem is a teen from the neighborhood who got into an Ivy League school with his help.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1999 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Studios USA Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Affirmative Action On Trial.

A well-liked community organizer in Harlem is found with his head bashed in. The detectives track down the murderer, one of the organizer's protégés who was admitted on a scholarship to an Ivy League college based on his character and race. The victim had pushed the student, Avery Waddell, beyond his limits of endurance and the kid snapped. A community college wouldn't do. Neither would CCNY. The kid had to attend an Ivy League college -- and succeed.

Waddell and his attorney, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, give sterling performances, Waddell projecting anger and resignation, and Santiago-Hudson a feverish desire to put affirmative action on trial because it led to Waddell's "extreme emotional disturbance." This curious arrangement puts the black attorney in the position of discrediting affirmative action, and Sam Waterston in the position of defending it.

The case explores the way in which a bright kid can be unprepared for the demands of an elite college. The high school he graduated from, drastically underfunded and abused, had out-dated equipment. The Encyclopedia Brittanica on the library shelves was missing three volumes. Waddell couldn't locate Europe on a map. He'd never heard of "Moby Dick" and missed all the similar allusions. He simply lacked the shared data base that students at expensive colleges take for granted. The argument is made convincingly.

Of course, the Mentor shouldn't have been murdered but he should have lessened his demands and placed Waddell in a more comfortable setting. Expensive schools can be really exacting. I studied Mandarin Chinese in two Ivy League schools, with classes beginning six days a week at eight in the morning and ending at four in the afternoon. A fellow student and I then fell to our homework, with a brief break for dinner. Typically we'd quit at one in the morning, with the assignments not yet finished. I also attended and taught at community colleges so I have a cognitive comparative scale.

Frankly, I felt sorry for Waddell's character, although we can't allow murderers to act out their disappointments. My impression, for what it's worth, is that more kids are becoming like Waddell's character than like those elite students among whom he felt so uncomfortable. A recent poll showed that a substantial percentage of seniors couldn't place the American Civil War in its correct half century. A majority of Americans can't name a single Supreme Court Justice or any decision other than Roe vs. Wade. One in five of us can't name the country we achieved our independence from. (Wrong answers included China and France.) Wait up, Waddell! We're coming!