Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Format Police procedural
Created by Dick Wolf
Starring Christopher Meloni
Mariska Hargitay
Richard Belzer
Ice T
B.D. Wong
Tamara Tunie
and Dann Florek
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of seasons 9
No. of episodes 202 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Picture format 480i (SDTV),
1080i (HDTV)
Original run September 20, 1999 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (also known as Law & Order: SVU) is an American drama television series about the Special Victims Unit in the fictitious 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. The show debuted on September 20, 1999 as a spin-off of the crime drama Law & Order and follows the same opening style of its parent. SVU is currently the highest rated series of the Law & Order franchise, and is one of NBC's top rated shows. The Law & Order franchise also includes two other series dramas: the original Law & Order, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Contents

[edit] Production

[edit] Technical information

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been shot on film in the 16:9 aspect ratio since at least 2003 (the year first-run episodes also began airing in HDTV). This presents the unique oddity of reruns in this format providing more (previously cropped) material than when the episodes were first run broadcast in 4:3. Since 2006, all new episodes of the multiple Law & Order series have aired in widescreen for 4:3 screens, following other NBC shows such as The West Wing, ER, and Crossing Jordan. Recently USA Network began airing reruns as early as season 2 in wide-screen (16:9) letterboxed format.

[edit] Title sequence

As is traditional with Law and Order series, the opening title card features a voiceover by Steven Zirnkilton:

“ In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories. ”

Then the episode begins.

SVU uses a re-mixed version of the theme music from its parent show Law & Order. The title theme for the UK terrestrial channel Five version is the instrumental version of the song, "I'm Not Driving Anymore" from Rob Dougan's Furious Angels.[1]

Since the second season on, the franchise convention of the characters walking toward the camera at the end of the opening sequence was replaced by the cast gathered in front of a desk. This characteristic was symbolic of the large credited cast (nine members as of 2007).

The photo in the opening credits for Dann Florek (from the beginning of the show) and Ice-T (starting with the second episode of season two) has only changed once since they first appeared on the show. The photo for Mariska Hargitay has changed five times (Season one has one photo, seasons two-four and the first four episodes of season five have another, the rest of season 5 has a third, and seasons 6-8 have a fourth and season 9 has a new picture). Christopher Meloni, Richard Belzer and B.D. Wong had new photos starting with the fifth episode of season five (coinciding with the debut of Diane Neal as Casey Novak). Neal had one photo for season five, a second for seasons six and seven, and a new photo for season eight and a new one for season nine. Tamara Tunie, who first appeared in the opening credits in season seven, has a new photo for season eight and yet another for season nine. The photos for each cast member were updated for season 9 to coincide with the addition of Adam Beach to the cast. The current order of introduction in the opening credits is Meloni, Hargitay, Belzer, Neal, Ice-T, Beach, Wong, Tunie, and Florek. Meloni, Hargitay, and Belzer have always been the first three, with Florek last, much as the district attorney has always been last on the original series.

Also, prior to September 2001, SVU's opening sequence featured two separate shots of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. After September 11, the show's opening sequence changed, with generic city shots replacing the World Trade Center. The original shots can be seen in syndicated episodes and the DVD collections of the first two seasons.

[edit] Broadcast history

The show originally aired on Monday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET for the first nine episodes, from September 20 through November 29, 1999. It was then shifted to Friday nights at 10 p.m. ET on January 7, 2000, and remained in that time slot through the end of Season 4 on May 16, 2003. SVU was placed in its current time slot for the Season 5 premiere on September 23, 2003 Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET and occasionally runs previous shows on Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes

Nine seasons of the show have been produced and broadcast with the season 9 finale on May 13, 2008. Season 10 is expected to premiere on NBC on 23 September, 2008, with 22 episodes complied to be released for that season.

[edit] Storylines

[edit] Plot inspirations

Like its predecessor, many Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes are clear references to high-profile real-life cases (or famous fictional works), and are based on thinly veiled dramatizations of these actual events, though the particulars and outcome may end up to be quite different. As many episodes of all three Law and Order shows, the plots are "ripped from the headlines" not only taking on high-profile cases, but instituting many mainstream cultural references as fictitious entities, such as a faux Facebook and MySpace.

[edit] Character drama

The show is more character-driven than the typical police procedural,[citation needed] with a less-than-complete focus on the main case. For example, detectives Stabler and Benson each signed up to work for the Special Victims Unit for different reasons: Stabler felt a moral responsibility to protect all people from the criminals that they had to deal with, especially because he had four children of his own, and later dealing with anger issues that drove away his wife and children. Benson was the child of a pregnancy resulting from the rape of her mother.

In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, more attention is paid to Benson and Stabler's relationship. This breaks from with the rest of the other Dick Wolf franchises. Benson and Stabler were seen struggling with their partnership. The emotional attachment between them became almost volatile at the end of the 2006 season, when Benson asked for a new partner. Concerning the Benson and Stabler relationship, Hargitay stated in an interview:[2]

"It's very complicated. Sometimes it's very much like brother and sister, and I think the reason that they're so close is that they share a passion for their jobs and for the people. They have a mutual respect for one another. I think that the average lifespan of an SVU detective is four years because of the difficulty and stress involved. They've been doing it for longer than that, so they feel like they're in their own world almost. There's also sexual chemistry between them, it's so loaded and layered. People ask me if they'll ever get together — and people want that, and sometimes I think even Olivia wants that — but I don't think that will ever happen."

[edit] Sex crimes investigations

Unlike the original Law & Order, SVU follows a distinct division of the New York City Police Department: the Special Victims Unit (called the Sex Crimes division in early episodes). As its name implies, the detectives in this division investigate crimes involving sexual assault, the very young, or the very elderly, as well as any crime loosely connected with any of the three. Their unit is based out of the fictitious 16th Precinct[citation needed] (sometimes called Manhattan SVU).

The NYPD does have a real unit that investigates sex crimes which, same as depicted in the show, is housed in separate Borough Patrols, (i.e. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens). In addition to the different name, the real Special Victims Squad only investigates the following types of cases:

  • Any child under 13 years of age who is the victim of any sex crime or attempted sex crime.
  • Any child under 11 years of age who is the victim of abuse by a parent or person legally responsible for the care of the child.
  • Any victim of rape (all degrees) or attempted rape (all degrees)
  • Any victim of Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees) or Attempted Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees)
  • Victims of Aggravated Sexual Abuse (all degrees)
  • Victims of Sexual Abuse 1st Degree

The Special Victims Squad does not investigate any murder, robbery or child pornography cases. Murders and robberies are investigated by precinct detective squads. If a sex crime is involved, the Special Victims Squad may assist in the investigation. Child pornography is investigated by the NYPD Vice Enforcement Sexual Exploitation of Children Unit.

[edit] Controversial subject matter

SVU contains by far the most controversial subject matter of any of the L&O series, focusing mostly on rape and child abuse, as well as episodes based on real incidents and current hot topic issues, such as physician-assisted suicide, abortion, and gun control.

[edit] Cast and characters

Main article: List of Law & Order characters

[edit] Principal cast

The cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2007-2008); from left, Diane Neal, B.D. Wong, Tamara Tunie, Christopher Meloni; Dann Florek, Mariska Hargitay, Ice T, Richard Belzer, and Adam Beach.
The cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2007-2008); from left, Diane Neal, B.D. Wong, Tamara Tunie, Christopher Meloni; Dann Florek, Mariska Hargitay, Ice T, Richard Belzer, and Adam Beach.

The characters of Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler were named for creator Dick Wolf's children. Wolf's third child, daughter Sarina, had a character named for her in the original L&O (ADA Serena Southerlyn, played by Elisabeth Röhm from 2001-05). Also, in Special Victims' Unit, Det. Benson's alcoholic late mother was named Serena.

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have signed contracts to pick up a ninth and tenth season, making the show a definite until 2009. Recently, it was revealed that all the current cast members will return as well. Adam Beach joined the cast starting with the ninth season.[3]

Two of the regular characters have appeared in two other NBC series: Capt. Don Cragen (played by Dann Florek), who was on the first three seasons of Law & Order and Det. John Munch (played by Richard Belzer), formerly a Baltimore detective on Homicide: Life on the Street. This character also made appearances on Law & Order, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Arrested Development, The Beat, The X-Files and the HBO series The Wire.

Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe), Jesse L. Martin (Det. Ed Green), Fred Thompson (Arthur Branch), Carolyn McCormick (Dr. Elizabeth Olivet) and Leslie Hendrix (Elizabeth Rodgers) are the only actors to play the same character on all four Law & Order series (Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury). Fred Thompson (Arthur Branch) is the only one of them to also appear in Conviction, another show in the Law & Order universe.

[edit] Casting changes

The show, like its parent show, has had several cast changes, although the original four credited cast members (Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer, and Dann Florek) have remained with the show through the first ten seasons.

Munch's partner, Det. Brian Cassidy was played by Dean Winters during the show's first season. Cassidy was an immigrant detective, just assigned to the unit, who transferred to narcotics because he was having trouble dealing with some of the disturbing cases the division dealt with regularly.

Michelle Hurd played Det. Monique Jeffries. Jeffries was originally a minor character, but when Dean Winters left the show midseason, she played a more prominent role as Munch's partner. Hurd played the role for a few episodes during the second season, after which she left the show.

After Hurd left the series, the Monique Jeffries character was replaced with Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola (played by rapper-turned-actor, Ice-T); he has been on the show since season two. While technically Munch's partner, Fin has become much more prominent on the show than Munch; while Munch usually remains at the station, with sometimes only a few lines in some episodes, Fin is much more active in aiding the main characters' investigations, and is often sent on undercover assignments as well.

Also in season two the show added Stephanie March, as Alexandra Cabot, as a permanent supporting ADA to the show. In season five, Alexandra was shot and presumed dead, but actually was placed in the Witness Protection Program for her safety. Casey Novak, portrayed by Diane Neal, replaced Cabot; however, Cabot came out of Witness Protection and returned to testify against the man who gunned her down. In early 2006, Stephanie March reprised the character of Alexandra Cabot in the now-defunct series Conviction. Diane Neal's first episode was season five, episode five ("Serendipity"). Neal has announced that her last episode will be the 2008 season finale.[4]

B.D. Wong began appearing as George Huang, a forensic psychiatrist on loan from the FBI, in the penultimate episode of season two. He was a frequently recurring character during season three before being elevated to contract status starting with season four.

Tamara Tunie, as Melinda Warner, is the division's current Medical Examiner on the show. Having played the role in virtually every episode of seasons four, five, and six; Tunie was added to the opening credits for the show's seventh season.

In 2006, Connie Nielsen was cast as Det. Dani Beck, a multi-lingual warrants detective who comes from a specialized unit, to fill in for Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay, while she was on maternity leave) who was undercover for the FBI at the time. Beck's husband, a police officer, was murdered in 2002, and she and partner Elliot Stabler flirted with the possibility of a romantic involvement. In the November 21, 2006 episode, she admitted to him she felt she was unable to deal with the nature of the crimes handled by SVU, but implied she'd be willing to stay if Stabler asked her. When he told her she needed to remain for herself, not him, she told him goodbye and exited the series.

It was announced that Adam Beach would be joining SVU full-time starting in season nine with the role of Chester Lake, a character who first appeared in a guest-starring role as a Brooklyn SVU detective. In the January 16, 2007 episode, he helped Fin and his son stop a serial rapist, then returned in the eighth season finale as a transfer to Manhattan SVU.[3] On April 18, 2008, it was reported by the Hollywood Reporter that Adam Beach was leaving his role on SVU as Chester Lake after his one season contract had officially expired.

On May 13, 2008, the season finale, both Adam Beach and Diane Neal left the show.

[edit] Casting and character list

Season Senior Detective Senior Detective Senior Detective Junior Detective Junior Detective Captain Psychologist Medical Examiner Assistant District Attorney Sergeant
1 Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) John Munch (Richard Belzer) Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters) Monique Jeffries (Michelle Hurd) Don Cragen (Dann Florek) Dr. Emil Skoda (J.K. Simmons) Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers (Leslie Hendrix) Various Vacant
2 Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) Vacant Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong) Dr. Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March)
3
4
5 Casey Novak (Diane Neal)
6
7
8 Dani Beck (Connie Nielsen)
9 Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) Chester Lake (Adam Beach) Vacant John Munch (Richard Belzer)
10 Vacant TBA

[edit] Season 10: 2008-2009

NBC has confirmed a tenth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit beginning in fall of 2008.

[edit] Prominent guest/recurring stars

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
See also: List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit cast members

In season one, Reiko Aylesworth (best known as Michelle Dessler from the FOX television series 24) played ADA Erica Alden in episodes "Slaves," "Remorse", and "Contact". Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon), also appeared in episodes of the first season. This pattern of varying ADAs ended with the introduction of Alexandra Cabot in season two.

In seasons one to three, Lance Reddick (best known for his roles on two HBO television series, Desmond Mobay/Detective Johnny Basil on Oz and Cedric Daniels on The Wire) had a recurring role as the Medical Examiner. He is now on FX's Rescue Me. Most of the guest stars the played victims and criminals in seasons one to three were prisoners of OZ.

From season three on, Judith Light has had multiple appearances as Bureau Chief, turned judge, Elizabeth Donnelly. One other character that was important was Det. Ken Briscoe (nephew of Lennie Briscoe), played by Chris Orbach (son of Jerry Orbach). He appeared in early episodes of the show, along with his father.

Marlo Thomas has made several guest appearances playing attorney and former judge, Mary Conway Clark, who had a mentoring relationship with assistant District Attorney Casey Novak.

Mary Stuart Masterson appeared in three episodes of season six ("Weak", "Contagious", and "Identity"), one episode of season seven ("Ripped") and one episode in season eight ("Philadelphia") as Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, who attended the police academy with Olivia Benson and was on the NYPD force for two years. Elliot Stabler turned to Hendrix for comfort in season seven after a confrontation in a courthouse restroom with his former partner, Pete Breslin.

Joel de la Fuente has a recurring role as TARU Tech Rueben Morales, a computer expert who helps the detectives with online evidence. In the season seven episode "Web," he played a major part in the investigation of a young man who was running a web site featuring himself and other underage boys. During the investigation, Morales told Stabler that he had given his nephew a computer as a gift. The nephew had met and been molested by an online predator via the computer and Morales joined SVU to ease his guilt and try to save other children from that fate. As was the case with Tunie's and Wong's characters, his role has expanded early in season eight, though he is not a main star.

Caren Browning has had numerous appearances since the middle of season four as Capt. Judith Siper, and Mike Doyle has appeared on numerous occasions as Forensics Tech Ryan O'Halloran over the same period. Siper and O'Halloran often lead the canvass for evidence at crime scenes, and often are able to provide key clues when analyzing that evidence in the crime lab. Welly Yang has appeared numerous times as an unnamed (although sometimes identified as "Georgie" in the credits) CSU technician. Paula Garcés also played a recurring CSU technician, named Millie Vizcarrondo. In the season seven episode "Name", involving the disappearances of several Puerto Rican boys, she teamed up with Detective Stabler and played a significant part in the investigation.

Julie White has a recurring role as neurosurgeon Dr. Anne Morella.

Patricia Kalember has been playing Judge K. Taten since the fourth season.

In addition, the show has had many guest stars, including cast from Law & Order, including Jesse L. Martin as Det. Ed Green, Angie Harmon as Abbie Carmichael, Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy, Steven Hill as Adam Schiff, Dianne Wiest as Nora Lewin, and Fred Thompson as Arthur Branch. In addition, a number of doctors appeared on the show from time to time, including Leslie Hendrix as Elizabeth Rodgers, Carolyn McCormick as Elizabeth Olivet, and J.K. Simmons as Emil Skoda.

Prominent actors appearing as defense lawyers include Peter Hermann (Mariska Hargitay's husband) as Trevor Langan, Annie Potts as Sophie Devere, John Cullum as Barry Moredock (Alexandra Cabot's former law school professor), David Thornton as Lionel Granger, Ned Eisenberg as Roger Kressler (Eisenberg previously appeared as two other attorneys before assuming the role of Kressler), CCH Pounder as Carolyn Maddox, Illeana Douglas as Gina Bernardo, Steven Weber as Matthew Braden, Rhea Perlman as Roxanna Fox and Beverly D'Angelo as Rebecca Balthus.

Marcia Gay Harden has appeared twice (Season seven, "Raw" and Season eight, "Informed") as Agent Dana Lewis, who uses her undercover alias, Star Morrison, to infiltrate a group of white supremacists and an ecoterrorism ring.

Rob Estes, whose detective show Silk Stalkings also pushed the envelope of adult subject matter, played a villain in one SVU episode. Estes' Chris Lorenzo and Mitzi Kapture's Rita Lee Lance can be considered the forerunners of Benson and Stabler, as Lance and Lorenzo often investigated sexual-based murders on Silk Stalkings.

The seventh-season opener featured Robert Patrick and Robert Walden. The season seven finale featured Brittany Snow.

Eighth-season guest stars included Jerry Lewis (as Munch's homeless uncle), Robert Vaughn, Charles Shaughnessy, Leslie Caron, Ken Howard, Elle Fanning, Chris Sarandon, Bob Saget, Catherine Bell, Bernadette Peters, Brian Dennehy, Blair Underwood, Michael Michele, Kal Penn, Bill Goldberg, Ray Wise, Pablo Santos, Cary Elwes, Kim Delaney and Tim Daly. The finale had the return of Vincent Spano, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Ludacris and Steven Weber. Star Jones Reynolds and Nancy Grace were also in the finale where they portrayed themselves.

Cynthia Nixon guest starred in the ninth-season opener played the part of a woman with multiple personalities.

Melissa Joan Hart and Kyle Gallner starred in an episode with a student accusing his teacher of rape.

Will Arnett guest starred as a travel agent arranging trips that allowed 'clients' to molest young orphan boys.

Aidan Quinn and Judy Kuhn played husband and wife with Paulina Gerzon as their mentally challenged daughter, who is the only witness to her mother's assault.

Sam Waterston reprised his role of Jack McCoy, now as the newly appointed District Attorney of New York County.

Method Man and Gloria Reuben both guest starred in a recent episode together. He as a street thug and she in a new role on the show as A.D.A. Homicide Bureau Chief Christine Danielson.

Priscilla Lopez has been introduced as Executive A.D.A Lydia Ramos.

Erika Christensen guest starred as FBI Agent Lauren Cooper in the episode "Signature".

Bill Pullman was in the episode "Closet" as Kurt Moss, a newspaper editor and for a short while Olvia's boyfriend.

Robin Williams guest starred in the episode "Authority" as the main suspect in the case.

Stephen Collins and Matthew Davis starred as father and son, respectively, as coffee importers who were accused of raping and murdering the son's fiance in the episode tittled "Trade".

[edit] Response

[edit] U.S. television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Law & Order: SVU on NBC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season Timeslot Season premiere Season finale TV season Ranking Viewers (in millions)
1st Monday 9:00 p.m. / Friday 10:00 p.m. September 20, 1999 May 19, 2000 1999-2000 #40 12.179[5]
2nd Friday 10:00 p.m. October 20, 2000 May 11, 2001 2000-2001 - -
3rd Friday 10:00 p.m. September 28, 2001 May 17, 2002 2001-2002 #14 15.2[6]
4th Friday 10:00 p.m. September 27, 2002 May 16, 2003 2002-2003 #16 14.83[7]
5th Tuesday 10:00 p.m. September 23, 2003 May 18, 2004 2003-2004 #21 12.72[8]
6th Tuesday 10:00 p.m. September 21, 2004 May 24, 2005 2004-2005 #23 13.5[9]
7th Tuesday 10:00 p.m. September 20, 2005 May 16, 2006 2005-2006 #23 13.8[10]
8th Tuesday 10:00 p.m. September 19, 2006 May 22, 2007 2006-2007 #30 11.9[11]
9th Tuesday 10:00 p.m. September 25, 2007 May 13, 2008 2007-2008 #30 11.3[12]

SVU premiered on a Monday in 1999. After the November 29 episode, the show was sent to Friday nights where it found its audience and following its first season became a top 20 show. Beginning with the fifth season, the show was aired on Tuesdays to compete with CBS's Judging Amy and ABC's NYPD Blue. SVU has surpassed, in both ratings and popularity, the original Law & Order television program. This is a rare occurrence in the television industry.

[edit] Awards

Year Group Award Result Recipient(s)
2001 Edgar Award Best Episode in a Television Series Teleplay Won Michael R. Perry
for "Limitations"
2002 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Won Ice-T
Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated Martha Plimpton
2003 Edgar Award Best Episode in a Television Series Teleplay Won Dawn DeNoon and Lisa Marie Petersen
for "Waste"
2004 Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated Mariska Hargitay
NAACP Image Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Ice-T
Screen Actors Guild Best Female Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Mariska Hargitay
2005 Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated Mariska Hargitay
Golden Globe Award Best Actress in a Television Drama Series Won Mariska Hargitay
2006 Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Won Mariska Hargitay
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Christopher Meloni
NAACP Image Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Ice-T
Screen Actors Guild Best Female Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Mariska Hargitay
2007 Screen Actors Guild Best Female Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Mariska Hargitay
2007 Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated Mariska Hargitay
2007 People's Choice Award Favorite Scene Stealer in a Drama Series Nominated Richard Belzer
2007 Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated Marcia Gay Harden
2007 Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Won Leslie Caron

Hargitay is the first cast member from any member of the Law & Order franchise to win an Emmy (as well as a Golden Globe) for her role on the show.

[edit] DVD releases

Title Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Complete 1st Season October 21, 2003 February 28, 2005 January 20, 2005
The Complete 2nd Season September 27, 2005 November 21, 2005 March 6, 2006
The Complete 3rd Season January 30, 2007 July 23, 2007 August 1, 2007
The Complete 4th Season December 4, 2007 September 10, 2007 November 21, 2007
The Complete 5th Season September 14, 2004 June 16, 2008 [1] July 2, 2008 [2]
The Complete 6th Season April 1, 2008[13][14] N/A N/A
The Complete 7th Season July 29, 2008 N/A N/A
The Complete 8th Season N/A N/A N/A
The Complete 9th Season N/A N/A N/A

Seasons 1, 7, 8, and 9 are available for purchase on the Amazon Unbox Video System in the United States, since the iTunes Music Store deal was ended due to NBC Universal's conflicts with Apple.

Seasons 1-7 are also available on Netflix's Instant Viewing feature.

[edit] In popular culture

A parody of SVU called "Law and Order: Special Letters Unit" aired on the first episode of the 37th Season of Sesame Street. It consisted of four muppets made to look like Benson, Munch, Stabler, and Cragen. The plot involved each of the detectives searching for a missing letter "M". The Cragen muppet refers to the Stabler and Benson muppets as Meloni and Mariska (the names of the actors). Munch, Meloni, and Mariska are all names which begin with the letter M. Throughout the segment, Law & Order's distinctive "Chung-Chung" sound is parodied. In a NBC.com blog, Dick Wolf stated that he approved the parody, and hopes that Sesame Street continues the segment using the rest of the letters in the alphabet.[15][14]

SVU also served as an inspiration for the satirical Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit, an Off Broadway musical that parodied popular songs from several contemporary Broadway shows. Actors from the Law & Order franchise were featured as characters in the show, including names such as Jerry Orbach and B.D. Wong.

In an episode of The Simpsons, they parodied it with was Law And Order: Elevators Inspectors Unit.

In an issue of MAD Magazine, it was parodied as Lewd and Disorder: It's P.U.

[edit] Russian adaptation

Twelve episodes (in a random order, taken from the first three seasons of the show) were remade for Russian television to much success, which resulted in a full season order for fall of 2007.

[edit] Books

True Stories of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Penguin/Berkley 11/07) focuses on twenty-five shocking real crimes that inspired episodes of the popular TV show. Beyond the actual crimes, the entire criminal process is covered — from investigation and arrest to trial and verdict. Authors Kevin Dwyer and Juré Fiorillo offer fans of the show and those interested in crime-solving techniques a glimpse of the real stories and real people behind some of the most notable, notorious, and gut wrenching cases of sexually-based crimes in recent history.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rob Dougan. MP3.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-04.
  2. ^ Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay speaks!. Entertainment1.Sympatico.msn.ca. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
  3. ^ a b Casting and Character Scoop and Spoilers!. TVGuide.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
  4. ^ Exclusive: Diane Neal Bails on Law & Order: SVU" TV Guide. April 15, 2008. Retrieved on April 15, 2008.
  5. ^ "US-Jahrescharts 1999/2000", May 30, 2002. 
  6. ^ "How did your favorite show rate?", May 28, 2002. 
  7. ^ "Nielsen's TOP 156 Shows for 2002-03", May 20, 2003. 
  8. ^ "I.T.R.S. Ranking Report", June 2, 2004. 
  9. ^ "2004-05 primetime series wrap", May 27, 2005. 
  10. ^ "2005-06 primetime series wrap", May 26, 2006. 
  11. ^ "2006-07 primetime wrap", May 25, 2007. 
  12. ^ Season Program Rankings. ABC Medianet (2008-05-28). Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  13. ^ Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - 1, 5, 2, 3, 4...Next up is Aprils Release of Season 6!. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  14. ^ a b Season 6 Extra: 'Sunny Day, Sweeping The Clouds Away...'. TVShowsOnDVD. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
  15. ^ Sesame Street "Special Letters Unit". Blogs.nbcuni.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.

[edit] External links


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