Law & Order: New York Spiraling Down (1999– ) Online

A somewhat mild criminal episode given the past, usual fare of SVU, this one shows off the genuine acting abilities of the ensemble and guest performers, the most prominent of whom are Treat Williams as Jake Stanton and Andre Braugher as his attorney Bayard Ellis. Too, the camera work is quite splendid, adding dramatic panache to a particularly fine script.

The episode covers so much ground - teenage prostitution and early-onset-athlete dementia - without any maudlin overtones or polemic. Truth is, this would have made for a fine movie; it is, in my humble estimation, the best episode of the SVU series.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Having helped take care of my very demented stepfather (traumatic brain injury AND Alzheimer's, toward the end he needed to be coached in order to brush his teeth) for ten years, I can say, the writers of this episode did an excellent job, and so did Treat Williams, of portraying intermediate-to-severe level, on-and-off dementia. Treat's performance is utterly heartbreaking, and Beth Chamberlin, who plays his wife, is even more so.

Special bit of brilliance by the scriptwriter: the prosecutor asks whether he (Jake) paid the 14-year-old girl for sex and solicited from the undercover officer, and he totally misses the point that he's on trial for statutory rape, and answers "sure, but lots of guys cheat on their wives!"

The SVU squad comes up against some divided loyalties here as they set up a sting to trap johns using underage hookers. Their sting yields one very big fish.

The fish is former quarterback Treat Williams who was once the toast of New York, something like Joe Namath back in the day. Now he's busted in a cheap hotel with an underage hooker.

Mariska Hargitay however feels sorry for Williams and quite out of channels gets him Andre Braugher as a defense attorney whom the squad has dealt with before. What Williams and his wife Beth Chamberlin have been living with is his diminished capacity brought on by way too many concussions.

That sets Mariska up against ADA Stephanie March who doesn't like being submarined by the cops she works with.

Braugher wins his case with an examination of Williams on the stand. It is a devastating and heart breaking scene. As is this story with Williams as once great athletic hero who can't come to grips with his illness.