Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Anchor (2009) User Reviews

Skewers the more "conservative" element of the media

[garrard · 9/10 · 10 December 2009]

Producer Dick Wolf and crew take a few jabs at the likes of Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh, among others in this installment about the horrific murders of three "anchor" children at the hands of an overzealous American "patriot". The lines are delivered by guest star John Larrouquette who plays the reluctant defense lawyer of the accused.

The installment also allows cast member Ice-T the bulk of the screen time as his character becomes the prime force for the SVU team getting involved in a case that is normally not in its jurisdiction. The actor acquaints himself well, especially in his confrontations with fellow cast mate Dann Florek.

As is the cast of most installments, the "surprise" ending comes within the last few broadcast minutes, but a sharp viewer will see it coming before it actually occurs.

Emotional Episode

[wrenleung · 9/10 · 14 April 2020]

I come from immigrant parents so this episode hit me hard. It was strange that Cabot did not present evidence (photos of the kids, chains, etc) in court. Maybe it was edited out. The ending was a bit dark but the season started off dark to begin with.

Bad powers can manipulate a good man... ?

[yazguloner · 10/10 · 30 June 2021]

Another dead end and again master manipulators, another race and immigration problem, and sadly innocent children And yet another great story.

Fin is at the center of the story. Fin and Cabot are doing wonders. Gordon Garrison (Bruce McGill) and Randall Carver (John Larroquette) are excellent at their performances.

The court scene in the second half is wonderfulll

And Munch said, "I say we should take radical groups seriously. How right he is when he says.

(2021 Trump and the Capitol attack)

Loved this episode!

[cagordon22 · 10/10 · 16 January 2010]

This script was excellent and realistic, and played out very well. Since I work in hospitals, I unfortunately see the result of hate-motivated race crimes all the time.

I'm glad SVU finally addressed the growing problem of the followers of the hatemongers that do encourage frightened people to hurt "others" who aren't WASPs. I'm amazed that the other reviewers found it implausible that there are crazed followers of ultra-conservative talk show hosts that commit horrendous crimes. They should try working in an E/R just one Saturday night.

I'm not saying that there should be restricted speech for any one with any view, but we should all be more aware of the people that take these hatemongers too seriously. Good for L&O producer Dick Wolfe for exposing these cowards who hurt others.

Looks like Anchor hit all the right nerves

[nathanh-4 · 10/10 · 30 April 2010]

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.

OK here it is

[Zebrafil · 10/10 · 26 December 2010]

The point of this episode which has firmly eluded O'Reilly and others is this: If one blames the pundits for what idiots do in their name, the same idiots will escape responsibility for their actions. O'Reilly unconscionably accused Dick Wolf of cowardice. Wolfs program showed the bad side of liberalism when it goes to far. And by the by; Glenn Beck accuses everyone who corrects his history as being a nerd blogger in his underwear living in his Moms house. Beck IS as his image is depicted in this episode: an impotent little man who has to make noise and O'Reilly needs to man up if he does not want to fall into the same hole.

Anchor babies

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 10 May 2022]

"Anchor" was hardly one of those doomed from the get go sort of episodes. Was very worried hearing that there would be political/social commentary, because when the franchise gets political it is not subtle about it too often. The topic though is a hard hitting one and actually as relevant today as it is now. Certainly didn't mind that there was a lot of focus on Fin, there are plenty of good Fin-centric episodes and he is great in support and lead.

Unfortunately, "Anchor" could have been so much better. The topic was so promising and did have power when it was focused upon, but more often than not it was lost amidst the overuse of the politics. Was really looking forward to taking a break from Stabler, Olivia and their unprofessionalism (well certainly in this season at least) and more of Fin and Munch, but "Anchor" is proof that not every episode that isn't related to them is immediately good. Of Season 11, this is one of the weakest outings and a disappointment after two great episodes.

It is not all bad. It's well made, intimately photographed and slick with no signs of under-budget or anything. The music didn't sound melodramatic or too constant and enough of the direction is accomodating while still having pulse.

Two lines have relevance, the one about hate speech from authority figures (chilling in its truth) and Munch's "before the internet" rant. Ice-T is excellent in a fine showcase for Fin, Richard Belzer has amusing moments and Bruce McGill is deliciously unsettling.

Despite starting off intriguingly, "Anchor" is a mess once the case comes to court and when it starts taking shots at media personalities and getting political. It can be fun seeing media personalities being taken a swipe at and being challenged for their beliefs, but this felt more than poking fun and more like a personal attack. Am also getting tired of seeing media personalities, same with medication and video games, being used as reasons for crimes committed and in an over-generalised way. The political slant pretty much completely takes over the case to the extent that it was easy to forget what the episode was about in the first place and it did waste what was a promising start.

And sadly the commentary is very in your face and preachy, it is very clear which side of the argument surrounding this tough subject the writers were on and it is obvious in the writing for the defense lawyer. The dialogue is clunky and ham-fisted, especially for the defense lawyer (whose dialogue was sometimes distasteful), and the shoehorned in love interest and even Fin's writing is beneath him. Really disliked how Cabot was written, she comes over as very stupid and not very professional, especially her rant at Garrison which was pure soapbox level. Also did not care for John Larroquette, he is usually a watchable actor but he comes over as very hammy and his Southern drawl is one of the worst accents in 'Special Victims Unit' history. The story starts promisingly but then gets predictable and subtlety-deprived, before ending on a very rushed, last minute and slap in the face note.

Overall, very disappointing. 4/10.

just plain not believable

[wdstarr-1 · 2/10 · 27 December 2020]

Without getting into spoilers, this episode had one of the two least believable jury verdicts in all of the episodes of L&O-verse shows I've seen so far. No, nuh uh, no way, not gonna happen, and for me it completely sank what, frankly, hadn't been a very good story anyway. And for god's sake, will somebody please bribe John Larroquette to never do a Southern accent on television again.

(The other non-credible jury verdict I'm thinking of, by the way, was in SVU's "Authority," a/k/a "The One With Robin Williams," back in season 9, two years earlier.)

'Dittoheads'

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 30 April 2015]

Not that I don't agree with the commentary, but I think it got a bit heavy handed in this SVU episode.

Unlike so many people who listen to Rush Limbaugh and Rush Limbaugh like commentator like Bruce McGill in this story, I remember that my ancestors were immigrants. Only American Indians are allowed to claim native status and even they migrated from Siberia according to most anthropologists.

Thomas Sadoski is one of those enthralled with McGill's words and actually goes out and murders three 'anchor' children. A term used to describe kids born to immigrant parents right here on American soil and their citizenship becomes assured.

The immigrants are being helped by Morris Dees like lawyer John Larroquette and he takes it upon himself to defend Sadoski for those murders. He wants a platform to denounce McGill with.

In my area of the USA we have a station WBEN which specializes in these rightwing talk shows. Rush Limbaugh who calls his listeners 'dittoheads' is really making fun of them. That's the part that a lot of people don't get, most especially those listeners. In the end nothing changes except Larroquette gets into an unusual jackpot. Of course SVU does solve its serial killings.

Rush's ratings are plummeting and his listeners going elsewhere. That's what Larroquette should have tried. Bad ratings are the unpardonable sin. This is still America, one has a right to free speech, one has not a right to sponsors.

How did they get away with this?

[dirkxxvi · 1/10 · 26 December 2009]

I'd like to start off by saying that Law and Order SVU is easily one of my favorite shows so it's not like I came upon this episode randomly. In fact I bought this episode off I-Tunes in the interest of supporting the series. However, what started out as interesting first half quickly devolved into petty name calling with a side of political propaganda. I personally always thought that the talking heads at Fox News were paranoid about the liberal media being out to get them but after this episode those concerns might be understated.

I mean lets look at the basics of this episode. Guy goes around and kills 3 children, which according to his lawyer was a product of brainwashing from conservative pundits. The episode even goes so far as to show the defendant admitting he killed those children while being questioned on the stand.

Shortly afterwards the D.A. examines a star witnessed who seems to be an imitation of Rush Limbaugh, keep in mind this is the person accused of brainwashing the defendant. However instead of demonstrating that the defendant is at fault, Cabbot goes after the witness on the basis of his questionable political views. A fight ensues between people conservatives and liberals in the gallery to which the defendants lawyer uses to further his clients defense. Shortly after we find the defendant is found not guilty. No probation, no commitment to a psychiatric facility. Instead the defendant is free to go. Sure he gets killed at the end of the episode by his own lawyer, but the very idea that a jury would find someone like this not guilty, especially in a state like New York, is preposterous. Remember this is the state that sent Plaxico Burress to jail for two years after basically shooting himself in the leg with an unregistered hand gun and you want me to believe that some guy that killed 3 kids is going to get anything less then a needle in his arm?

Either way I'm sorry but the writing of this episode was extremely pathetic, which is a huge surprise considering some of the amazing plot twists that the SVU staff have come up with over the years. I don't know who was the driving force behind this episode but short of Dick Wolf, that person should be fired. If anything the one thing this episode taught me that liberals can be just as petty and insensitive as conservatives. In closing the only thing I ask is that the writers focus less on pushing political agendas, and more on creating stories based on finding and trying perps.

Amateurish attempt at social commentary

[gring0 · 2/10 · 18 March 2010]

I enjoy and respect L&O SVU but this episode was easily the most infuriating I have seen; enough so that, for the first time, I walked away in disgust. The final trial scene, where a public prosecutor starts attacking her own witness, sounded like the writers gave vent to their loathing of Fox news and decided to subject the viewers to their soap-box rant. The resulting fracas where thugs attack each other in a court of law added to the farce. With the previous episode involving a biker gang managing to remove white blood cells and actually manipulating DNA was ridiculous enough, watching this makes me think the series has replaced its integrity for the pleasure of broadcasting its own prejudices. I am not suggesting that I don't share the concerns expressed on the show regarding broadcasters who show no responsibility for their rants, but it should not do so at the expense of the story. I would have thought the likes of O'Reilly, Beck an Limbaugh would be easy enough to denigrate without descending into overblown histrionics. The MO of the murders also defied any sense of reality and makes me question what motivated the writers to resort to it. I am especially disturbed by this episode as it was my girlfriend who introduced the show to me here in China; freedom of speech is something I hold dearly, and having to live in a country that shows absolute contempt for the values I cherish makes me angry when the regime is given another excuse to justify its suppression of free speech and information. www.tracesofevil.blogspot.com

If you can't beat them, demonize them!

[brimfin · 1/10 · 11 December 2009]

(This comment does contain spoilers.) Oh, those poor liberals. Conservative talk shows are actually criticizing them! What can they do to counter that? Well, if you can't beat them, demonize them! Oh, but conservative talk radio is intelligent and insightful. How the heck do you demonize that? Why, invent your own talk show host, Gordon Garrison, a white supremacist who hates immigrants. Oh, and he also has a follower named Thagard who is so dumb he thinks it's patriotic to kill immigrant children. Now be careful to never actually call Garrison a conservative, but have him criticize liberals and then mention his name in the same sentence along with Limbaugh and Beck and the audience will draw their own conclusions, right? Oh how clever!

But wait, you need a liberal character to oppose him. So here comes Randall Carver, a "cop-hating bottom-feeder" according to Fin. He says that SVU isn't doing their job and forms a protest against them. (Now, it's okay for liberals to protest; that's just "free speech". But if conservatives protest, it's "an angry mob"). Anyway, Randall's daddy was in the Klan, but his daddy couldn't be a bad man, so he must have been brainwashed by the Klan. So Randall decides Thagard must have been brainwashed too – by Garrison. Putting his own self-interests up front, Randall defends this child-murderer with the claim, "It's all Garrison's fault." And Randall wins – the child murderer goes free! Then he whispers in Randall's ear that's he off to kill more kids. Randall thinks, "Oh my gosh, what have I done?" No problem. He takes the law into his own hands and shoots Thagard dead. The only thing missing is a final scene where Fin leads Randall off in cuffs and Randall pleads, "But you don't understand. I'm not to blame. It was all Garrison's fault!"

This show often brags that it's "ripped from the headlines." Was there some spate of children being murdered by talk-show brainwashed people that I hadn't heard of? Didn't think so. NBC advertised this as "a landmark episode." Well, it did set a new low standard for the show. But ultimately, it only made the liberals look bad – and a little desperate.

More personal political views being preached to watchers

[andimaggie · 3/10 · 12 December 2009]

I have watched all of the Law & Order series since the beginning of their conception. What I have noticed particularly over the past couple of years is that they are becoming more and more far left wing. I am actually an Independent and agree with certain subjects on both sides of the line so I try to base my observations on situations that are blatantly leaning a certain direction. Personally, if I wanted to watch television about politics including right and left wing perspectives I would turn on a news channel or a political talk show. Many shows that are currently being televised have picked a side with the majority being liberal. I am quite capable of forming an opinion about different issues without being lectured by a "alleged" fictional drama. I also find it offensive that Dick Wolf would actually use the names of Limbaugh, Beck, and O'Reilly. That in itself is totally judgmental and self-righteous and would never be tolerated by the far right wing! You can definitely bet on that. Although, that is probably a mute point because I don't believe I have seen too many shows that demean liberals with their demonstrative opinions. There is no debating what line of the fence he leans on and he is also using his show to propagate his own personal views. This is also why Law & Order is becoming very tiresome to watch and it just may have been around quite long enough. Let's have some entertaining shows that don't try to teach the American public the values they perceive we should have. I also agree with the other commenter who states when liberals protest it is "free speech" but if conservatives complain, they are an angry mob. I was under the impression that free speech applied to all citizens of this great country regardless of your political leanings. And I would just one more time like to mention that I don't particularly lean either way but I feel what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. We should at least treat differing opinions with respect if for nothing else the constitution states this right. Thank you for letting me state my first amendment rights!!!

L&O SVU is not awful, but......

[ckmiller66 · 1/10 · 12 December 2009]

How in the world can the producers, writers and so forth get away with using the names of three living political commentators, who currently use their 1st Amendment right to free speech and happen to be conservative rather than liberal be spoken about the way they were as part of a so called "ficticious" script and at the end of the episode they run a Disclaimer stating that it's not about real people, blah, blah, blah? I don't get how that works. Can someone explain this to me like I'm a five year old? That script was so wrong in every way, but I still love the show, especially Mariska, and her work with sexually abused women outside of her fabulous acting job on Law and Order SVU. She's a real life hero to me.

Not just left wing, but dishonest to boot

[jdbnh · 1/10 · 14 December 2009]

The real problem I have with this episode is not so much the far left viewpoint it is obviously expressing, but with the blatantly dishonest way it expresses it.

Beck, O'Reilly, and Limbaugh have never advocated violence against illegal immigrants. Their beef has not been with the immigrants themselves but with the lax enforcement of our immigration laws.

Those who disagree with their views should stick to facts rather than making things up.

It's a shame, too. I used to like this show, and watched it every week. I can't bring myself to watch it anymore.

I don't like being told what to think

[championbc-99-5005 · 5/10 · 16 December 2014]

**I don't think this review actually has spoilers in it, but I don't want anyone on my case so I issued the warning for those who might interpret it differently. There is no revelation of whodunit or how it ends in this review, though some of the others will let you know those things ** I will begin by saying that I do not listen to Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck, or any of the other conservative radio hosts. I listen a lot to NPR except when I'm driving long stretches and fear it will put me to sleep (somebody in the show agreed with me, saying it will make us all "zombies"). Having said that, I don't like these cutesy indoctrination shows that try to tell us what to think.

Liberal souls love the first amendment, except when applied to conservatives. That's the main thrust of this episode: the danger of conservatives having 1st Amendment protection, because, after all, they incite violence! So get good ol' Jack from MacGyver, and turn him into Rush Limbaugh. Great work, Mr. Wolf, of even getting him to pose for a poster that makes him look like Limbaugh's long lost twin brother. We got the message before that.

But just in case we hoi polloi are still too sheepishly stupid to draw the conclusion you wanted us to draw, go ahead and mention Limbaugh, O'Reilly,and Beck, even though you have a disclaimer with the show that no "real people" are to be represented here.

I loved that this show as going to give Fin a chance to develop his character, and it does a great job of that. The investigation was heart-rending, and this could have been a great show.

But it ended up being a cheap political ad. If I were a right-wing conservative, I would be furious. If your theory is right, I might even be furious enough to want to kill the writer of this show.

As an NPR listener, I only resented the insult to my intelligence. Don't do it again. I might smash your window and then get a liberal lawyer to represent me.

racists remarks about newsmen

[russellrodems · 12 December 2009]

i find that once again some idiot that makes pretend TV shows jumps into the political arena i saw the show where the actors refer to limbau beck and o"reilly as racists due to the fact that they are trying to actually help to protect America and American workers dick wolf should stick with pretend life . he obviously has no clue about real life issues how many illegals do you hire dick I've been out of work for a year they slashed our work force and went to the border and ..didnt hire illegals but sponsered green cards for mexes to replace us for4$ a hr less at least they say they have green cards so dick ..what a appropriate name in the real word ,yes ,the immigrants are taking our jobs and putting Americans out of work . in fairy tale land .your world..anyone who realizes this is a problem and actually says something about it ..is a racist..hers a couple of #,s for ya over 40 million Americans under/ unemployed.. 28 million illegals WORKING IN America

Triple murder...not guilty...have we jumped the shark?

[mossfan18 · 1/10 · 23 May 2022]

Watching this in 2022. Can you imagine someone killing 3 minority children and blaming it on Fox news AND GETTING AWAY WITH IT!? That's what this episode was... Kill 3 kids and no other defense outside of the TV told me to do it. The verdict was laughable, and im starting to see this show really slipping in quality and starting further from what is plausible in law.

Heavy-Handed Garbage

[gregorynewton5 · 2/10 · 8 February 2024]

The writers were so eager to paint conservative commentators as crazy that they abandoned their job to tell a believable story. It wasn't enough to have nut-job fans demonstrating in the courtroom without being removed, and the "media conservative" be melodramatically wild-eyed and threatening on the witness stand. But nearly every character has to add their own commentary before it's over, at the expense of having realistic dialog, and having ADA Cabot arguing with the witness counter to the legal position of her own case is unforgivably stupid.

And the bewildering murder that ends the episode - was that heavy-handed enough?