Design
- Episode aired Sep 27, 2005
- TV-14
- 43m
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
A female con artist is found at the center of a colossal designer baby ring.A female con artist is found at the center of a colossal designer baby ring.A female con artist is found at the center of a colossal designer baby ring.
Photos
BD Wong
- Special Agent Dr. George Huang, M.D.
- (as B.D. Wong)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBobby Flay appears as a fictional chef in this episode. At the time this episode aired, Flay was married to Stephanie March, who plays A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot.
- GoofsIn Pallister's first interview with his lawyer present with Stabler and Benson, the lawyer refers to April as "the defendant." At that point, April had not yet been charged with any crime and was the one alleging his client of rape. The word he should have said was "complainant."
- Quotes
Dr. George Huang: Why should you get a break?
April Troost: I'm too beautiful for prison.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Law & Order: Flaw (2005)
Featured review
What "Demons" should have been
Am saying that because Season 7's first episode "Demons" has always been a disappointment. The first disappointing season premiere for 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit', one of the weakest ones of the earlier seasons and after following on from such a consistently strong Season 6. The original 'Law and Order' and 'Criminal Intent' had Season 6s that were not near as strong, yet their Season 7 premieres were much better (especially 'Criminal Intent's' "Amends").
"Design" however was a big improvement over "Demons" and was an excellent episode, everything that that episode should have been but overall wasn't. For me, this felt more like a premiere than "Demons" did and where the season properly started. "Design" is not quite one of the best episodes of 'Special Victims Unit' or of the early seasons, but as far as Season 7 goes it's in the better half. Pretty much everything is executed to an exceptionally high standard.
The slick, subtly gritty and intimate production values are still present, while not going too far on the intimacy that it becomes too drab and closed up. The music lets the writing do all the talking without over-emphasising the emotions, while the direction is subtle without being bland or leaden.
Furthermore, the script is tightly structured and intelligent, conveying a wide range of emotions, especially in the latter stages when the complexity comes in. The story is full of clever twists and turns and is hugely entertaining and also very suspenseful. It is suitably complex with the entire truth not being what one expects at all. My only issue with it was that it was occasionally on the over-complicated side from packing in quite a number of surprising and anti-thesis of easy revelations and in a short space of time. The ending is tense and touching.
Characterisation is spot on, with nobody being sketchy and even when things become more personal the character writing didn't become over-heated or have characters going too far. That was one of the biggest problems had with "Demons", but here with Olivia in "Design" it was very easy to relate to Olivia's feelings when realising how wrong she got it (the last time this was done this powerfully was with Stabler in Season 1's "Nocturne"). The perpetrator is a fascinating character, one that is so rootable at first but then they become so chilling in how cold-blooded they are.
Likewise the acting can't be faulted, with a steely yet sympathetic turn from Mariska Hargitay and a knockout unsettling one from Estella Warren.
Summing up, excellent. 9/10.
"Design" however was a big improvement over "Demons" and was an excellent episode, everything that that episode should have been but overall wasn't. For me, this felt more like a premiere than "Demons" did and where the season properly started. "Design" is not quite one of the best episodes of 'Special Victims Unit' or of the early seasons, but as far as Season 7 goes it's in the better half. Pretty much everything is executed to an exceptionally high standard.
The slick, subtly gritty and intimate production values are still present, while not going too far on the intimacy that it becomes too drab and closed up. The music lets the writing do all the talking without over-emphasising the emotions, while the direction is subtle without being bland or leaden.
Furthermore, the script is tightly structured and intelligent, conveying a wide range of emotions, especially in the latter stages when the complexity comes in. The story is full of clever twists and turns and is hugely entertaining and also very suspenseful. It is suitably complex with the entire truth not being what one expects at all. My only issue with it was that it was occasionally on the over-complicated side from packing in quite a number of surprising and anti-thesis of easy revelations and in a short space of time. The ending is tense and touching.
Characterisation is spot on, with nobody being sketchy and even when things become more personal the character writing didn't become over-heated or have characters going too far. That was one of the biggest problems had with "Demons", but here with Olivia in "Design" it was very easy to relate to Olivia's feelings when realising how wrong she got it (the last time this was done this powerfully was with Stabler in Season 1's "Nocturne"). The perpetrator is a fascinating character, one that is so rootable at first but then they become so chilling in how cold-blooded they are.
Likewise the acting can't be faulted, with a steely yet sympathetic turn from Mariska Hargitay and a knockout unsettling one from Estella Warren.
Summing up, excellent. 9/10.
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Mar 31, 2021
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