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"Game"
SVU, Episode 6.14
Production number: E5216
First aired (US): 8 February 2005
First aired (UK): 4 July 2005
First aired (CAN): 8 February 2005
First aired (AUS): 2 June 2005
  th of 502 produced in SVU  
th of 502 released in SVU
  th of 1271 released in all  
Novak Game
Written By
Patrick Harbinson

Directed By
David Platt

Plot[]

While investigation a brutal beating and murder, Stabler learns that the crime-scene photos match a new video game. The defense attorney later blames the killing on the game.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

Quotes[]

Stabler: "Pedestrian struck. Send a bus." Sounds like cop talk.
Tutuola: How does a cop on the Upper East Side know about an accident downtown?
Stabler: Unless he's the one who ran her over.

[about the murder victim]
Tutuola: Whoa, her pimp's cold. Hears one of his girls get taken out and doesn't do squat.

Stabler: Mr. Prasad! Were you screwing this woman last night?

Stuart Davis: I get requests from goofballs every day.
Stabler: You always do what goofballs ask?
Stuart Davis: If they pay well enough, yeah.

Stabler: Okay, so he goes ten blocks to kill himself. What's wrong with his own roof?
Dr. Warner: I answer that. I can tell you what he was doing before he jumped. See the glitter on his pants, known in the trade as "booty dust".
Tutuola: Larry had himself one last lap dance before he took the plunge.

Stabler: You couldn't even face her, could you? You had to use a car to knock down a woman? And even then you couldn't face her. You had to sneak up behind her as she was crawling away, and then you kicked her? You're nothing but a scared little punk.

Oliver Gates: Garrett plays these games up to 40 hours a week.
Novak: It's amazing he had time to commit murder. Let me know when you have the results.

Novak: Larry got that e-mail two hours before he killed himself. Did you want to push him over the edge?
Garrett Perle: No.
Novak: Oh, then why would you send it, huh? Did the game make you do that, too?
Garrett Perle: No.
Novak: Then why?
Garrett Perle: It was a joke.
Novak: First you say kicking a woman to death is a game and now this is a joke? Do you think this is funny?
Garrett Perle: You're confusing me.
Novak: Well, you weren't confused. You knew exactly what you were doing. You were afraid Larry was going to turn you in to the police. So you preyed on him until he killed himself. [points to the photo in the e-mail] Larry Tauber, murderer, LMAO. What's that mean, LMAO? Why don't you tell us?
Garrett Perle: Laughing my ass off.
Novak: What? I'm sorry. I can't hear you.
Garrett Perle: Laughing my ass off!
Novak: Larry's dead, Melody's dead and you're laughing your ass off.
Garrett Perle: Yeah, you bet I am. Because you are a joke. This whole damn thing is a joke.

[her closing summation]
Novak: Did Garrett and Louise get the idea from a game? Yes. We get ideas all the time. From books, from TV, from friends, from life, from everywhere. We don't act on them. We know that the idea doesn't justify the deed. Don't let Mr. Gates blind you to the facts. Real people ran over a real person, and then they beat her to death. Melody Quinn felt real pain. She bled real blood. And she died a horrible and lonely death. It was not a game. Now, did Melody's killers know what they were doing? Well, their taunting of Larry Tauber, the one member of their trio with the humanity to feel regret, proves that they did! Garrett Perle said it himself. It was a joke! Well, you know what? Murder is no joke! So don't let them use a game as an excuse for their cruel and callous actions.

[after his and Louise's conviction]
Garrett: Bang-bang. You're dead.


Background information and notes[]

  • The video game NtenCity and its legal woes are very similar to the furor over Grand Theft Auto III. In 2003, the makers of GTA III, Rockstar Games, were sued after two teens claimed that they were inspired by the game to murder, which is what this episode is based off.
    • The act of modifying the video game NtenCity is based on Columbine killer Eric Harris adding levels to the video game Doom, called the "Harris levels".
      • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was a major source of controversy at the time of the release of this episode. A mod named "Hot Coffee" was released which re-enabled content that the game developers had created, but had disabled and was inaccessible by players in an unmodified game. The content that was re-enabled by the mod allowed the player to graphically simulate sex with various girlfriends throughout the game. This resulted in the game being rated Adults Only in the United States in July 2005 (a few months after the episode aired), forcing Rockstar to issue patches and eventually ship a new version of the game that removed the content altogether and prevented the mod from working to get its Mature rating reinstated.
    • In addition, Ice-T, who portrays Tutuola, also appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the voice of Madd Dogg.
  • Garrett Perle mentions using a cat as a silencer. This is a reference to another video game, Postal 2 which was released in 2003.
  • The controller that is used during the PET scan is actually a Nintendo GameCube controller except the colors are slightly different.
  • Goof: Cragen turns off the TV/game after Dickie Stabler shows them the game but after Cragen talks, the camera is back on the screen which shows the lady still on the screen bleeding.
  • Video games are also the subject of the episodes "Avatar", "Intimidation Game", and "Burning With Rage Forever" along with the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "F.P.S.".
    • In this episode, Fin doesn't know what a video game Easter egg is. By the time of "Intimidation Game", he is portrayed as having been a gamer who has been playing for twenty years, plays shooter games with a clan, goes to gamer conventions, and knows all sorts of gamer slang.

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3

Crime Lab
One Police Plaza
Monday, January 24

152 East 99th Street
Monday, January 24

Tektop Games
143 Broadway
Tuesday, January 25

4 5 6

Apartment of
Stuart Davis
132 Rivington Street
Tuesday, January 25

United States
Attorney's Office
Office of Raul Menendez
Thursday, January 27

Mercy General Hospital
Neuroradiology
Department
Friday, January 28

Previous episode:
"Quarry"
"Game"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season 6
Next episode:
"Hooked"
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