Reviews & Ratings for
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" Harm (2007)

15 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Did any of these jerks watch the episode?, 27 December 2007
Author: rcuthbert-3 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The premise of the crime was the murder of a young woman made to look like an attempted rape. Remember? Nah. Probably not. It was discovered that she had traveled to Iraq and was involved with an organization that treated former torture victims, of which the Iraqi expatriate was one, who subsequently died from a condition incurred under torture. This torture was carried out by a PRIVATE contractor in a PRIVATE prison and the good doctor was a private contractor for the company that carried out the torture. Under the USA Patriot Act, the private contractors working in Iraq have immunity. If you will remember, or watch the damn show again, you will discover that the private security company protected and transferred the employee that carried out the torture, murdered the young woman at the beginning of the show, and the NY police had no authority to extradite him because he was protected by the Dept. of Homeland Security as was the doctor.

This is a plausible plot, and to make it absolutely clear to the right wing morons who have commented, this was not about the military against terrorists. This was about the murder of a US citizen (the young woman, remember?) by a criminal, protected by a for profit corporation and the USDHS.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
What does it mean to do harm?, 22 August 2010

Author: roslynr from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I just watched this episode again. It concerns the death of a young woman who helps immigrants with her Arabic language skills, and the death of a New York City taxi driver, and the connections between these two victims. I think it is a fascinatingly complex story of two people who died, their families, and those who may have been responsible for this. Particularly interesting is the tension between the medical doctors in the story. Medical examiner Dr. Warner insists that the Hippocratic Oath cannot be compromised. FBI psychiatrist Dr. Wong is not so sure. Dr. Sutton, who is put on trial, really believes it is right to use her skills as a psychiatrist to interrogate prisoners who are kept in "stress positions" up to 48 hours. The doctors disagree strongly about what serves the greater good. While all are sincere in their beliefs, ultimately, only Dr. Warner behaves ethically.

2 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
You've Got To Be Kidding!, 19 October 2010

Author: Robert W. Anderson (bayareabob@mac.com) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The creators, producers, and writers have been using the whole Law & Order franchise as a platform for their political beliefs for sometime now. But this episode sets a new standard for America bashing. Hollywood in general, and this franchise in particular have been creating story lines for some time where the enemy is the United States of America. They went over the top though with episode. If you want to the United States portrayed as an enemy this is the show for you. In this episode the US is portrayed as torturing innocent people with brutal techniques on an almost routine basis. And physicians are involved helping them get maximum brutality for their torture buck. In this episode the American intelligence community and military are portrayed as evil. This kind of America bashing is not only disgusting, but boring as well. If you want to watch anti-US propaganda this is the episode for you.

7 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Rendering a Top Rated Cop Show into an obvious Propaganda piece for the Political Left!, 23 October 2007

Author: redryan64 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

We all too often are subjected to comparisons between the Military and our Police Departments. Both are trained in and most usually are armed with some weapon or another. They both exist in order to provide protective bodies who act for the individual and for all citizens of our Nation collectively.

Even a Law Enforcement Body like the Chicago Police Department, in which this writer spent 35 years of his adult life, has been highly consistent over the years in spewing out such platitudes of questionable veracity as: "The Chicago Police Department is a Semi-Military Organization." Hmmmmmm, that's very interesting! Let us dissect and examine it a little more closely. You know, get out the old Gilbert Kids' Junior Microscope and look in closer, a lot closer! In the Military, be it our Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard, all operations are designed to be conducted in a strictly co-ordinated manner. Thererfore, they move out and proceed to carry out their given orders for a particular mission, all as a cog in the wheel of a greater campaign. Seldem, if ever, do the members of a particular unit, ship or plane realize then just how their action effects the whole big picture.

In Police work, there is a daily grind in an ongoing succession of mostly unrelated occurrences. The guys on the front line, usually called 'Trooper', 'Patrolman' or some such appropriate designation. They mainly do just what the one name implies; namely they go on patrol, looking for trouble spots and particular incidents and remain available to receive assignment to complaints via that marvel invention of the 20th Century, the 2 Way Radio!* The Cops who staff these 'Cruisers' or 'Beat Cars' are usually in two man operations mode, but often are 'riding solo'. And following a daily Roll Call, where their Shift or 'Watch' 'Boss', inspects the personnel, hands out certain assignments, makes any Court Notifications, disseminates crime pattern info and otherwise conducts the on-going Roll Call training. After that, the guys all leave for their particular 'Routes' or 'Beats', at which time until the end of their shifts, THEY ARE VIRTUALLY THEIR OWN BOSS! This is nowhere near being Military-styled activity. If anything, as far as the domestic scene goes, it is our Red-Suspendered friends, the Firemen, who operate in closely coordinated operations, performing under the orders of an Officer of Higher Rank (Lieutennant, Captain, Batallion Chief, Chief, etc.).

This particular episode of "LAW & ORDER:SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT" does its best to confuse us and blur the distinctions between that which is Military and that which belongs to Civil Life in the U.S. of A. The purpose of this slant on the War Against Terror, Iraqui Theatre of Operations is to have the public at large make an unfair, skewed assessment of the on-going War there.

The story involves the death of an Iraqui born Naturalized Citizen of the United States who dies because of 'Torture' inflicted on him in a "Super Secret" C.I.A. Prison Camp, while the Doctor who had been present in supervising him, looked on and even tried to help him back in the Island of Manhattan, New York, N.Y.

C'mon, Mr. Dick Wolf, try to keep this anti-War, anti-George Bush excrement out of your stories. There are plenty of angles to pursue in the Police World! (And, by the way, how did this occurrence qualify as a "Sexually Oriented Crime", which is the Critereon for this Unit to exercise and pursue?).

We know that this would be a very different view taken by your Dick Wolf Productions staff if the lives in question were say the product of a "Partial Birth" abortion procedure. That'd be perfectly with the "Liberal" view point, right? Just remember, there is very little in common between Solderin' and Copperin'! And don't you forget that, Mr. Dick Wolf!

This leaves one to wonder, just what would have been the outcome of say WORLD WAR II if such irresponsible behaviour carried on then! Remember the 3,000+ lives lost on 9/11/2001 and the ruination to so many families. This is a real War we're in and don't you forget it!

NOTE: * There was an old Comic Strip from King Features called "Radio Patrol", which centered on the exciting(?)adventures of the Police Cars with 2 way Radios. It was later adapted into a RADIO PATROL(1937) Serial by Universal Pictures and as well as a Radio Show.

7 out of 35 people found the following review useful:
What Happened To My Show?, 31 January 2008

Author: belles-chaussettes from United States

A terrific series is turned into garbage by propaganda writers. It reminds me of the 70s when every returning vet from Viet Nam was portrayed as a crazed loon at the top of a water tower with a rifle.

The supposed torture of an Iraqi story could have been written by John Kerry & company of non-vets. For years they had advertised its episodes as being "ripped from the headlines." The only headlines this story was ripped from was the conspiracy nut newspapers that claim the US blew up the twin towers. When John Munch is the voice of reason we have gone to a very strange place indeed.

Can we please return to compelling stories?

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