Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Alien (2005) User Reviews

If the criminal and the victim are a girl child

[yazguloner · 10/10 · 16 May 2021]

If the criminal and the victim are a child... become criminal and victim at the same time. For example; if the child has two mothers, if the child of homosexuals ...

Naivety, innocence ... and sad...

Too much commentary for a one-hour drama

[garrard · 6/10 · 16 July 2009]

Though the intent was good to portray a controversial issue, "Alien" tried too hard to make a statement for everybody, making the playing field a little one-sided in favor of the more liberal view of same-sex unions while portraying the opposite viewpoint in a more negative light. Not only does the installment delve into the aforementioned, it briefly tackles bullying, Catholicism, and psychological abuse - quite heavy-headed for a story to be resolved in one hour which, unfortunately, it does not.

The acting is good from guests Amy Pietz as the partner of a the dying biological mother of Emma (Raquel Castro), Mary Beth Piel and Edmund Guest as Emma's grandparents, and Daniel Manche as the "victim" that turns out not to be an "innocent." This one does not showcase as much of the main cast as much as it usually does, though it gives Stabler (Chris Meloni), Munch (Richard Belzer, and Huang (B.D. Wong) an opportunity to express their respective opinions.

Leaves big questions unanswered while concentrating on trying to make a point

[cinemaman · 1/10 · 26 March 2015]

The show starts off in usual strong SVU tone then takes a couple turns, as is often the case. But after we learn that it was actually little Emma who savagely stabbed Daniel so hard that it permanently paralyzes him, all emphasis of the story quickly shifts when it is learned that she was being harassed at school by Daniel. Then all emphasis of the remainder of the show is completely on how Emma's grandparents are teaching her that her lesbian moms are wrong in the life they are living. Never mind the fact that Emma carried out the malicious attack (regardless of how young she is), and never mind the evidence of possible abuse in the form of several pictures taken by Emma's second mom Zoe showing Emma in different naked poses, as well as Zoe giving her naked massages. These points of the show are simply swept aside as an afterthought so that all attention can go to how sadistic the grandparents are being in telling Emma that her moms are going against God's will, which happen to be the exact teachings that are taught at the catholic school Emma's lesbian moms have insisted on sending her to. I agree with a previous reviewer that this was way too complex of an issue to try to tie up in one hour, and unfortunately, big questions are left hanging so they can concentrate on making a point of how wrong the grandparents are being with their conservative views, even though the crime they are guilty of pales in comparison to what was committed earlier in the episode. I love SVU overall, but do not love this episode.

"Lying's a sin"

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 29 April 2021]

Really wanted to like "Alien" so much more. The subject is a very interesting one and very complex, actually did worry on first watch that it would be too complex. It is also a subject that is very relevant, it was back then and it still is, and it had potential to be relatable to anybody who is in same sex relationships who has had long-term abuse and generalisations thrown at them. 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' was great in its prime, so in the early seasons, and was known for its uncompromising yet tactful handling of difficult subjects.

Which sadly is not the case with "Alien". This was a complex issue that was handled badly, and it is hardly surprising that such negative attitudes towards what is dealt with it still exists. It is a very rare example of a 'Special Victims Unit' episode that is about bigotry while managing to be pretty bigoted itself, "Raw" (also from Season 7) had an even tougher and hard hitting subject that saw bigoted characters but was actually a lot more tactful in execution. Season 7 was more variable than the previous six seasons and "Alien" is not just one of the worst from the season but also one of my least favourite episodes of the show's early period.

"Alien" is not irredeemable. The production values are slick, gritty and professional. The music is haunting while not spelling out the emotions too much.

There are some thought provoking lines, when showing the points of view of a few of the regular characters. Especially Munch's. With one exception, the acting is very good. Can't fault any of the regulars and Amy Pietz's performance in particular of the supporting characters hits hard.

However, 'Special Victims Unit' is usually much more tactful and sensitive in its dealing of controversial and complicated subjects. Here the execution felt very heavy-handed, very over-generalised and very one-sided. Did see that in Season 7 onwards that it was becoming clear on what the writers' thoughts, or judgements, were on some subjects. It was crystal clear here in "Alien", with it going too far with particularly what religion has to say about same sex relationships, with nearly all the supporting characters referring to it.

'Special Victims Unit' did much better in many other episodes at expressing more than one point of view and seeing it from both sides, here it's near one hundred percent one-dimensional. Am going to be another person to agree about there being too much content and that it is too complex an issue to explore in a short period of time, this could easily have been a two parter which would have given ample opportunity to go further on exploring motivations, characters' thoughts, tying up loose ends and presenting more viewpoints. The writing has its moments but feels too talky, not always focused and pretty preachy, a lot of it is also very soapy.

It is an episode that starts off very promisingly but too early and quickly becomes ridiculous and heavily unrealistic once the emphasis on Emma's background completely over-shadowed the earlier crime (treated as an afterthought later on), rather than the powerful episode it should have been. Was just too annoyed with the one-sidedness and heavy-handedness and confused from the many loose ends to be moved. Found myself disliking all the supporting characters, even the ones one is meant to feel sympathetic towards. Emma to me came over as inconsistently written and with everything she said constantly contradicting with what was being said and shown before and with reality. Raquel Castro's performance was overwrought at times. Lets not get started on the most unprofessional and twisted defense lawyer of the show, who should have gotten more than just removal from the case. Or the patronising and alternate reality-like ending, that sends a bad message of what people can get away with and what others get punished for.

Overall, very disappointing episode. 4/10.

No winners in this one

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 12 February 2013]

If there was ever a televised lesson on the need of the Harvey Milk School for LGBT kids it's this episode of SVU. At the end there are no winners coming out of this story. I am glad to say the biggest loser might just be Stephen Bogardus who is an attorney for some Christian Right organization who's flirting with disbarment.

This could have been a better episode, but for the life of me I'm still not getting why a lesbian couple would send their daughter to a Catholic school. Raquel Castro goes and she's bullied by one kid in particular played by Daniel Manche. She retaliates by stabbing him in the back causing severe spinal injury.

Castro gets let off easy when evidence of the bullying surfaces. That precipitates a custody battle. During the episode the girl's birth mother dies and the surviving partner has Castro. Encouraged by Bogardus the grandparents of the deceased partner file for custody. Allegations of child abuse ensue.

In the end no one wins here. Biggest loser is young Manche who is now a paraplegic. As the Rodgers&Hammerstein song goes, he was carefully taught that homosexuality is one big old sin and when you sin so openly, you've got carte blanche to do whatever. That kid is really paying for the ignorance of his parents and I doubt he'll ever get it.

Confusion.

[penncentralcp · 5/10 · 8 January 2024]

Setting aside partisan politics as written in other reviews, there are alot of subjects covered in this episode. Each subject could warrant a stand alone episode in their own right. Bullying, violence among children, manipulative inlaws, religion, custody and same sex relations are all squeezed in to a confusing and unsatisfying hour. The acting isn't bad and some of the characters have their say and that's what works. The casting is pretty good too.(Mary Beth Piel is notable as the wicked granny and a prototype for her later tole in the Good Wife).

This episode, however seems to be a precursor for much later seasons where the pivots seem less on solving crimes and more on melodramatic "justice". (And proof positive that lead actors should stay in front of the camera, not behind it).

The first seasons of SVU are timeless, even though this one didn't quie hot the mark.