Disabled (24 Mar. 2010)

The team tries to persuade a disabled woman who cannot speak confront and identify her rapist in court, while also protecting her from her angry, abusive sister.

Director:

Paul Black

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), Judy McCreary

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 (credit only)
Ice-T	...	Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
BD Wong	...	Dr. George Huang
Tamara Tunie	...	Dr. Melinda Warner (credit only)
Dann Florek	...	Captain Donald Cragen
Jill Scott	...	Janice Raleigh
Teddy Sears	...	Executive A.D.A. Garrett Blaine
Ralph Byers	...	Tony Griegs
Lisa Arrindell Anderson	...	Cara Raleigh
David Bishins	...	Mark Hubbard
Amir Arison	...	Dr. Manning
Adam Grupper
Caren Browning	...	CSU Captain Judith Siper

Storyline

The team tries to persuade a disabled woman who cannot speak confront and identify her rapist in court, while also protecting her from her angry, abusive sister.

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Plot Keywords:

muteness | rape of disabled woman | multiple sclerosis | disability | abused woman

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 2010 (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:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the woman caregiver hits her disabled sister with a bag full of soap bars, the victim's leg goes up - a normal reflex action a person with crippling MS wouldn't show.

User Reviews

"Baby Jane" Without The Camp

L&O: SVU is pretty much consistent when it comes to solid writing and getting really good performances from its cast and the revolving roster of guest stars, but this episode really hits it out of the park. The promos made as much as possible out of the appearance of THE BLIND SIDE'S Quinton Aaron, and his character does indeed play an important role in the story. But R&B singer Jill Scott, whom I've never seen act until now, had me wanting to climb into my TV set and THROTTLE HER! I haven't seen PRECIOUS, but I think her performance in this is probably every bit as good as Mo'Nique's will be when I do. Here, Scott plays the bitter, angry and physically abusive sister of a former opera diva (the equally stunning Lisa Arrindell Anderson) stricken with a particularly cruel and aggressive form of MS, who besides being abused, has now also been raped.

If you don't wince with horror at certain scenes in this one, check your pulse for signs of life. Where WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? mined its take on a toxic sibling relationship for shock and camp value, "Disabled" takes the subject seriously, not pulling away from the indignities and the cruelty that disabled, chronically ill and handicapped people must face every day, more often than not at the hands of loved ones.

Not to take anything away from Quinton, who is perfectly fine as Scott's sympathetic son, but it's Scott herself and Anderson who truly deserve the kudos, receiving solid support from the cast regulars. Another outstanding episode.