Law And Order Svu (DVD) Review

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 27th, 2010

Nominated for 7 Emmys in its first five seasons, Law & Order SVU (Special Victims Unit) continues the success of NBC's blockbuster Law & Order franchise. The brainchild of Law & Order creator Dick Wolf (former writer for hit TV shows such as Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice), Law & Order SVU is filmed on location in New York City. It follows the traditional half-police drama/half-courtroom drama format that made its forerunner a smashing success, yet SVU focuses exclusively on sexually based offenses?

Law & Order SVU tells the story of a group of dedicated detectives who work for the elite group known as the Special Victims Unit. Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) heads up the unit which includes four regular detectives - Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), John Munch (Richard Belzer), and Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T). While investigating rapes, murders, and other vicious crimes, the detectives often consult with police psychologist Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong) who provides special insight into the minds of suspected predators. Once the detectives gather the necessary evidence, they turn their case over to Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak (Diane Neal) who brokers deals and prosecutes the cases that put these nefarious criminals behind bars?

The Law & Order SVU DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the series premiere "Payback" in which a cab driver is discovered stabbed to death with his genitals cut off. When detectives Stabler and Benson investigate, they find out that the man is a former soldier from the Serbo-Croatian conflict and that he was a rapist. Benson, a child of rape, is sympathetic to the actions of rape victims, and Stabler must keep her from crossing the line to protect the probable suspects? Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Sophomore Jinx" in which a female college student's murder investigation is obstructed by the college when the SVU suspects a member(s) of the school basketball team, and "The Third Guy" in which an elderly woman is tied up and raped in her apartment, but the investigation takes a unique twist when the initial suspects are cleared and a new perpetrator enters the picture?

Below is a list of episodes included on the Law & Order SVU (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (Payback) Air Date: 09-20-1999
Episode 2 (A Single Life) Air Date: 09-27-1999
Episode 3 (?Or Just Look Like One) Air Date: 10-04-1999
Episode 4 (Hysteria) Air Date: 10-11-1999
Episode 5 (Wanderlust) Air Date: 10-18-1999
Episode 6 (Sophomore Jinx) Air Date: 10-25-1999
Episode 7 (Uncivilized) Air Date: 11-15-1999
Episode 8 (Stalked) Air Date: 11-22-1999
Episode 9 (Stocks & Bondage) Air Date: 11-29-1999
Episode 10 (Closure) Air Date: 01-07-2000
Episode 11 (Bad Blood) Air Date: 01-14-2000
Episode 12 (Russian Love Poem) Air Date: 01-21-2000
Episode 13 (Disrobed) Air Date: 02-04-2000
Episode 14 (Limitations) Air Date: 02-11-2000
Episode 15 (Entitled) Air Date: 02-18-2000
Episode 16 (The Third Guy) Air Date: 02-25-2000
Episode 17 (Misleader) Air Date: 03-31-2000
Episode 18 (Chat Room) Air Date: 04-14-2000
Episode 19 (Contact) Air Date: 04-28-2000
Episode 20 (Remorse) Air Date: 05-05-2000
Episode 21 (Nocturne) Air Date: 05-12-2000
Episode 22 (Slaves) Air Date: 05-21-2000