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| Jen Caulder (Nicole Sullivan) after being raped on the subway. |
The February 26, 2000 episode of Mad TV featured a segment in which Nicole Sullivan and fellow cast member Michael McDonald put together an ill-conceived audition tape for Law and Order. Two months later, on April 28, 2000, NBC aired an episode of Law and Order's spinoff series, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in which Nicole Sullivan guest starred. It is perhaps a bit surprising that a comedic actress should make an appearance on a drama such as this. But it is perhaps not so surprising given the fact that (a) Ms. Sullivan has in fact had extensive experience playing dramatic roles, and (b) a guest role on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, which films in and around New York City, is simply an example of Ms. Sullivan putting to good use the time she spent this winter in New York City while working on her sitcom gig. This episode of SVU not only represents Ms. Sullivan's first dramatic role in a television series in over five years, but it also is more substantial than her previous roles and while I don't think that is was likely very challenging for her (although this is a good show, Law and Order is to Shakespeare as fast food is to caviar), it still substantially boosts her acting credentials and I would not at all be surprised if she were considered for other dramatic roles in the near future.
Nicole Sullivan fans couldn't have asked for much more than this. Nicole Sullivan is clearly the most important guest star here, and her prominence is underscored by the fact that her name appears in the opening credits. Her first appearance comes in the very first scene, when Jen Caulder, apparently a stockbroker (we see her shouting orders to buy and sell into a cell phone) boards the "C" train in New York City. While on a crowded subway train, she is assaulted by a man with a boxcutter, who pins her against a door and rapes her. The rape scene makes for compelling drama as we see Caulder, pinned tightly against the door and helpless against her assailant, while the subway car occupants ignore the crime. [This is quite possible in New York City, where it is also possible to be stabbed to death while more than thirty curious onlookers watch you die.] In her next scene, she is recounting the attack to Detectives Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay): "So much for taking kickboxing." Although it's a dramatic role, there's an element of humor here; when given a police sketch of the rapist, she says "[t]hat looks like him. It also looks like the Unabomber." A first suspect is arrested, and she is asked to identify the rapist in the first police lineup. She doesn't recognize any of the men. But after another arrest is made, she immediately recognizes her assailant in the second lineup. Her identification is pivotal - unfortunately, Caulder's role is pivotal in other sense, as she goes back to retrieve her scarf, and talks with the other victims - who have not yet identified the rapist - thus prejudicing their identifications and rendering all the IDs inadmissible. The rapist's defense attorney makes a motion to dismiss the case and the motion is granted. Fortunately, an eighth victim who had not been previously contacted, not only recognizes the rapist but was impregnated by him - and the amniocentisis performed on this woman proves to be fairly incontrovertable proof that the defendant in the original trial is the rapist (as is the fact that he recognizes her when he is in custody).
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| Jen Caulder (Nicole Sullivan) tries to ID the rapist. Benson and Stabler watch. |
I was surprised - although, given Sullivan's background, perhaps I should not have been - at the ease with which she assumed a dramatic role after five years of Mad TV. [She hasn't been on a drama series in over five years, although it's possible that she has performed dramatic roles theatrically since then - as I do not live in Los Angeles, I really don't know.] The scene in which she is being questioned by Stabler and Benson is probably the best of her four scenes. Although I don't personally know anyone who has been raped, or sexually assaulted, her rape victim seemed "believable": she seems at one moment flippant while a moment later she seems quite traumatized; she wants to see her attacker caught and is helpful to the police, but she does not at all seem vengeful. And the actual rape scene, as I noted earlier, is quite compelling; here the role is necessarily inarticulate and she relies mainly on facial expressions and gestures to convey a sense of helplessness, the way she slumps to the floor like a crumpled doll after the attack is particularly effective.
If there is a recurring pattern in Nicole Sullivan's career, it is that she hasn't gotten many breaks - she wasn't as well-connected as some other aspiring actresses - but whenever she was given a chance, she bootstrapped herself to a higher level of stardom. Before Mad TV, she didn't have that much success as an actress, but she quickly established herself as the breakout star of Mad. I would not be surprised if this role causes more people to take her seriously as a dramatic actress and leads to more dramatic roles. As a fan I would hate to see her stop doing comedy altogether; rather, I would hope that she finds time to do both. And if you haven't seen this episode already, wait for it to air again, or beg, borrow or steal a copy; it should be on NBC this summer in reruns, if not on the USA Network.
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