Anchor (9 Dec. 2009)

After Fin catches a serial killer who is targeting immigrant "anchor babies," his high-profile ACLU lawyer argues that he was brainwashed by a right-wing television personality.

Director:

Jonathan Kaplan

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), Amanda Green,

Stars:

Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Meloni	...	Detective Elliot Stabler
Mariska Hargitay	...	Detective Olivia Benson
Richard Belzer	...	Sergeant John Munch
Ice-T	...	Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
Stephanie March	...	A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot
BD Wong	...	Dr. George Huang (credit only)
Tamara Tunie	...	Dr. Melinda Warner
Dann Florek	...	Captain Donald Cragen
John Larroquette	...	Randall Carver
Thomas Sadoski	...	Joe Thagard
Megalyn Echikunwoke	...	Nicole Gleason
Christine Toy Johnson	...	Keiko Nishimura
Yaya Alafia	...	Audrina (as Yaya DaCosta)
Audrie Neenan	...	Judge Lois Preston
John Schuck	...	Chief of Detectives Muldrew

Storyline

When two young girls are similarly murdered a little over a month apart, Detective Odafin Tutuola decides to investigate the gruesome crimes. After a third killing, Fin discovers that all three children were "anchor babies" of immigrant families, and reaches out to the Center of Immigrant Services. After sifting through the Center's hate mail, and witnessing a fight between immigration lawyer Randall Carver and Joe Thagard, a fanatical follower of a xenophobic talk show host, Fin begins to narrow in on the killer.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal Media Studios (UMS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola: Munch!
Sergeant John Munch: [wakes up] What?
Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola: Let's get back on this hate mail.

User Reviews

Looks like Anchor hit all the right nerves

I'm not an American so I have a different perspective on this episode. It's easily one of the best episodes that SVU has ever produced. I respect that the writers treated us like adults because they acknowledge that crime isn't simply "good vs evil". Instead it has complex causes and the media is intrinsically entwined with people's motivations for crime. Remember the cause of the Spanish-American war? It was the press, trying to make money by creating anger amongst the citizens, even when that meant making up lies to sell paper. The deep divides in the USA were created then, as now, by media moguls. They are morally culpable even if not legally liable.

The final scene where the murderer whispers a comment to the defense lawyer, clearly making the lawyer question his own morals, was perfection. His reaction was icing on the cake.

I can see that the series hasn't changed in tone. It has simply improved by bringing better and more complex themes than "bad guy gets caught". There's nothing "left wing" about being an intelligent show with depth. So to the people who think it has become "left wing", I say no, it is you that has changed. You might like to question the cause of that change in yourself.