Abel & Willing (4 May 2010)

A tormented social scientist haunted by his family's Holocaust past performs twisted social experiments on couples to test the limits of goodness in human nature.

Director:

Kevin Bray

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), Rene Balcer (developer),

Stars:

Jeff Goldblum, Saffron Burrows, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Jeff Goldblum	...	Detective Zach Nichols
Saffron Burrows	...	Detective Serena Stevens
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Captain Zoe Callas
Dallas Roberts	...	Dr. Abel Hazard
Derek Cecil	...	Ted Stoddard
Leslie Hendrix	...	Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
Eleanor Hutchins	...	Veronica Kalen
Nadia Bowers	...	Linda Stoddard
Brenda Withers	...	ADA Emma Niles
Steven Skybell	...	Leon Vorsichtiger
Cordelia Reynolds	...	Call Girl
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lawrence Ballard	...	Man
Paul Basile	...	Robert Smith Look-alike
Magaly Colimon	...	Tech Kallman
Timothy Davis	...	Leeland Kalen

Storyline

A tormented social scientist haunted by his family's Holocaust past performs twisted social experiments on couples to test the limits of goodness in human nature.

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Plot Keywords:

milgram experiment | hospital gown | holocaust survivor | nazi experiment | hospital bracelet

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal Cable Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

The two detectives are discussing the word "yar" and correctly refer to a quote by Katherine Hepburn in Philadelphia Story; however the line was directed at Cary Grant, not James Stewart. "Yar" is used to describe a boat or ship in very good condition.

User Reviews

L & O:Criminal Intent..Abel & Willing

The major case squad have another tough case to crack, this time trying to uncover the mastermind behind a series of crimes involving murders where a couple is selected, knocked unconscious with chloroform, strapped to chairs against their will and given instructions:either a husband or wife will be given a choice, to kill their respected spouse or die themselves. Detectives Nichols and Stevens(Jeff Goldblum and Saffron Burrows)believe that the one responsible for the construction of these crimes is a psychiatrist whose field is social work, such employment providing him with files on all the ones who were found dead, suction marks on the bodies, a single gunshot(most of the time to the head). It's ultimately based on a theory that if forced to choose between your own life or the fate of the one you are supposed to love the most, those with the gun will save themselves. Brought into the storyline, a haunting memory of what a man remembered about his father(a Nazi ordered a Jew to either kill his wife or himself), our detectives discover facts about their suspect which could provide a reasoning behind why he stages these "social science" experiments. Creepy performance from Dallas Roberts as the suspect, Abel Hazard(last name anglicize from a longer Jewish title) who approaches the experiments in a cold, detached way, a scientific theory challenged by Nichols as not only flawed, but akin to the Nazis who caused his people misery and death, comparing the psychiatrist's work to Dr. Mendele and Logen, evil people mistreating innocent people to prove a sickening point about the human condition when faced with a horrifying decision. Goldblum's always a joy to watch and his work opposite Roberts, two men psychologically dueling over a serious matter regarding multiple homicides, is certainly fascinating. Goldblum's best scene could be when he is encrypting a code prepared by the suspect before the major case squad, the unraveled clues obviously stimulating to a Sherlock Holmesian intellectual such as Nichols.