Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | |
---|---|
Also known as | Law & Order: SVU Special Victims Unit SVU |
Format | Police procedural |
Created by | Dick Wolf |
Starring | Christopher Meloni Mariska Hargitay Richard Belzer Ice-T Michaela McManus B.D. Wong Tamara Tunie and Dann Florek |
Country of origin | ![]() |
No. of seasons | 10 |
No. of episodes | 211 (List of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 55 minutes |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | NBC |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
Original run | September 201999 – present |
Chronology | |
Related shows | Law & Order Homicide: Life on the Street Law & Order: Criminal Intent Law & Order: Trial by Jury |
External links | |
Official website | |
IMDb profile | |
TV.com summary |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (also known as Law & Order: SVU or simply SVU) is an American drama TV series about the Special Victims Unit in a fictional version of the 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 franchise also includes two other series dramas: the original Law & Order, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Contents |
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.
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, Ice-T, McManus, 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.
Prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the show'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.
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. The USA network also runs previous episodes. The first episode is usually on at 4:00 p.m. ET. and run to 12:00 p.m. ET. The amount of episodes can vary, as some nights USA has feature shows such as WWE Monday Night Raw at 9:00 p.m. ET. on Mondays
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 or MySpace account.
The show is more character-driven than most police procedurals (such as the rest of the Law & Order franchise), with a less-than-complete focus on the main case, similar. For example, detectives Elliot Stabler (Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Hargitay) 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 conceived when her mother was raped and Olivia had to put up with much of her subsequent alcoholism.
In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, more attention is paid to Benson and Stabler's relationship. This breaks form 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."
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 rape, sexual assault, and child molestation, as well as any crime loosely connected with any of the three.
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:
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.
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 Law & Order (A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn, played by Elisabeth Röhm from 2001-05). Also, in Special Victims' Unit, Benson's mother was named Serena.
Hargitay and 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.[3]
Two of the regular characters have appeared in two other NBC series: Capt. Don Cragen (Florek), who was on the first three seasons of Law & Order and Det. John Munch (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. Sam Waterston's character, Jack McCoy guest starred on both Trial by Jury and SVU as Executive A.D.A. and D.A. respectively.
The show, like its parent show, has had several cast changes, although the original four credited cast members (Meloni, Hargitay, Belzer, and Florek) have remained with the show through the first 10 seasons.
The show's first A.D.A. was Abbie Carmichael played by Angie Harmon. She had no specific role at the show's beginning, though she would have remained until Stephanie March came in to be A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot, the first episode of the series as well as Carmichael's term as A.D.A. was Payback was her only one due to contract.
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 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, he 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, Tutuola is much more active in aiding the main characters' investigations, and is often sent on undercover assignments as well.
In season two, the show added Stephanie March as Alexandra Cabot, as a permanent supporting A.D.A. to the show. In season five, Cabot is shot and presumed dead, but was actually placed in the Witness Protection Program for her safety. Casey Novak, portrayed by Diane Neal, replaces Cabot; however, Cabot comes out of Witness Protection and returned to testify against the man who gunned her down. In early 2006, March reprised the character of Alexandra Cabot in the now-defunct series Conviction. Neal's first appearance in SVU was in season five, episode five ("Serendipity"). Neal's last episode was the 2008 season finale.
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 warrants detective who comes from a specialized unit, to fill in for Benson (Hargitay 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 Stabler flirted with the possibility of a romantic involvement. In the November 212006 episode, she admits to him she feels unable to deal with the nature of the crimes handled by SVU, but implies she would be willing to stay if Stabler asked her. When he tells her she needs to remain for herself, not him, she tells him goodbye and exits 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 Tutuola and his son stop a serial rapist, then returned in the eighth season finale as a transfer to Manhattan SVU. On April 182008, it was reported by the Hollywood Reporter that Adam Beach was leaving his role after his one-season contract had officially expired.
On May 132008, the season finale, both Beach and Neal left the show. It was announced on June 242008 that Michaela McManus would replace Neal as the show's new A.D.A. when SVU returned for its tenth season.
A list of characters who have been featured in the opening credits of the show.
Season | Senior Detective | Junior Detective | Sergeant | Senior Detective | Junior Detective | Junior Detective | Captain | Psychiatrist | Medical Examiner | Assistant District Attorney |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) | Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) | Vacant | 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 |
2 | Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) | Vacant | Dr. Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) | Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) | ||||||
3 | Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong) | |||||||||
4 | ||||||||||
5 | Casey Novak (Diane Neal) | |||||||||
6 | ||||||||||
7 | ||||||||||
8 | ||||||||||
9 | John Munch (Richard Belzer) | Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) | Chester Lake (Adam Beach) | |||||||
10 | Vacant | Kim Greylek (Michaela McManus) |
* denotes character who hasn't appeared in opening credits, yet commonly appeared on the show
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 201999 | May 192000 | 1999-2000 | #40 | 12.179[4] |
2nd | Friday 10:00 p.m. | October 202000 | May 112001 | 2000-2001 | - | - |
3rd | Friday 10:00 p.m. | September 282001 | May 172002 | 2001-2002 | #14 | 15.2[5] |
4th | Friday 10:00 p.m. | September 272002 | May 162003 | 2002-2003 | #16 | 14.83[6] |
5th | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. | September 232003 | May 182004 | 2003-2004 | #21 | 12.72[7] |
6th | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. | September 212004 | May 242005 | 2004-2005 | #23 | 13.5[8] |
7th | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. | September 202005 | May 162006 | 2005-2006 | #23 | 13.8[9] |
8th | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. | September 192006 | May 222007 | 2006-2007 | #30 | 11.9[10] |
9th | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. | September 252007 | May 132008 | 2007-2008 | #30 | 11.3[11] |
10th | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. | September 232008 | May 2009 | 2008-2009 | TBA | TBA |
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' 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.
Year | Group | Award | Result | Recipient(s) |
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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 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. |
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 |
People's Choice Award | Favorite Scene Stealer in a Drama Series | Nominated | Richard Belzer | |
Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | Mariska Hargitay | |
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | Marcia Gay Harden | ||
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Won | Leslie Caron | ||
2008 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | Mariska Hargitay |
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | Robin Williams | ||
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Won | Cynthia Nixon | ||
2009 | People's Choice Award | Favorite Female TV Star | Nominated | Mariska Hargitay |
Title | Release dates | ||
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |
The Complete 1st Season | October 212003 | February 282005 | January 202005 |
The Complete 2nd Season | September 272005 | November 212005 | March 62006 |
The Complete 3rd Season | January 302007 | July 232007 | August 12007 |
The Complete 4th Season | December 42007 | September 102007 | November 212007 |
The Complete 5th Season | September 142004 | June 162008 | July 22008 |
The Complete 6th Season | April 12008 | September 222008 | N/A |
The Complete 7th Season | July 292008 | February 162009 | N/A |
The Complete 8th Season | February 172009 | N/A | N/A |
The Complete 9th Season | N/A | N/A | N/A |
The Complete 10th Season | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Seasons 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are available for purchase on the Amazon Unbox Video System in the United States, since the iTunes Music Store deal was originally ended due to NBC Universal's conflicts with Apple Inc.. Now that the conflict has been resolved, Seasons 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are available on iTunes in both HD and standard formats.
Seasons 1-7 are also available on Netflix's Instant Viewing feature.
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. 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.[12]
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 Orbach and Wong.
In an episode of The Simpsons, the show was parodied as "Law And Order: Elevators Inspectors Unit".
In an issue of MAD Magazine, it was parodied as "Lewd and Disorder: It's P.U".
In an episode of The Sopranos, the character Chris Moltisanti incorrectly mentions the series as Law & Order: SUV (as in Sports Utility Vehicle) instead of SVU.
In the new Chick-fil-A calander, "Bovines in Blue", the show is parodied as the Special Grilling Unit led by Randy Steakowitz, a parody of Elliot Stabler.
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.
True Stories of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Penguin/Berkley 11/07) focuses on 25 real crimes that inspired episodes of the 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 include the real stories and real people behind some of the most notable sex crimes in recent history.
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