Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Unofficial Companion [Paperback]

Susan Green (Author), Randee Dawn (Author), Dick Wolf (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Unofficial Companion is a comprehensive guide covering all 10 seasons (including the current 20082009 season) and will include a synopsis and an objective analysis for each episode, as well as commentaries or recollections from the people involved in crafting the one-hour tale. It goes after the heart of SVU through interviews with actors, writers, producers, casting agents, location scouts and others. Moreover, the authors peek behind the scenes of the bicoastal operation, observing the progress of an entire episode shot in New York City and a script fine-tuned in Los Angeles. The book provides fascinating insight, delighting SVU devotees who love on-screen and backstage trivia. In addition, creator Dick Wolf offers readers a gripping foreword to the book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susan Green is an award-winning journalist. She freelances for Vermont Life, a quarterly magazine; the Burlington Free Press, the state's major daily newspaper; and Seven Days, an alternative weekly. She also has reviewed films for BoxOffice magazine and written entertainment stories for The Hollywood Reporter. Her articles have appeared in Rolling Stone, Premiere and USA Today, among other national periodicals.

With Kevin Courrier, Green coauthored two editions of Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion (Renaissance/St. Martin's Press, 1998 and 1999). Her coffee-table book about Bread & Puppet Theater came out in 1986 (Green Valley Media). She contributed a chapter to Backstory 3: Interviews with Screenwriters of the `60s (University of California Press, 1997) and her short fiction has been published in several literary journals. Randee Dawn is a New York-based journalist and is a senior editor with The Hollywood Reporter. Randee freelances for MovieMaker magazine. She has previously worked for Soap Opera Digest, National Public Radio's Living on Earth and WGBH-TV's The Ten O'Clock News. In the past 20 years she has covered the entertainment industry for Billboard, The Boston Phoenix, E! Online, New Musical Express and other national and international publications. She also contributed to the first edition of Les Series Tele, a French book about American television and has a paralegal certificate from New York University.

Her short fiction has appeared online in 3AM Magazine and on the Well-Told Tales podcast.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: BenBella Books (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933771887
• ISBN-13: 978-1933771885
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Book about the best cop show on TV September 30, 2009

By Lee Goldberg VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

If you're a fan of SVU (as I am) or are simply fascinated by television (as I am, too), you will love this book. It delves into every aspect of the production of the show, offers detailed information on the writers, cast and crew, as well as the obligatory (and surprisingly entertaining and informative) episode guide. I wish they'd tried a little harder to get the scoop on why some actors were fired instead of glossing over it (which is why I held back one "star"), but some compromises probably had to be made to get the level of cooperation the authors enjoyed from the writers, cast and crew, all of whom are interviewed and length. It's refreshing to read a book about a TV show that doesn't lapse into mindless, fannish drool, but is a thoughtful, intelligent and comprehensive overview. Not only is the book informative and interesting, it's also surprisingly up-to-date...the episode guide covers every season except the one that just started last week. I hope they will update the book as the series goes on.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SVU's Home Companion July 19, 2010

By G. Ibarra

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're an SVU fan this is a must have. I have all of the DVD's except the last season and one of the frustrating things about the episodes is the "one word" title for each. If you want to watch a particular show you really have to dig around because the title is no help. This book is a help..gives the title, a synopsis and which season the episode is in. But beware, it's still hard to figure out for instance just when did Stabler and his wife split and go back together and why didn't they finish a story line they started - Sometimes you'll find they DID finish the story but in a different L&O. That said, the book is interesting and gives some personal insight into the characters on and off screen. I recommend it for SVU fans.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For any SVU fan July 4, 2010

By Lisa Siegel VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're a fan of SVU, I highly recommend purchasing this book. It has an introduction by Dick Wolf, the creator of the Law & Order franchise and goes into depth about every character and the people who portray them. It also has episode descriptions for seasons 1-10. I was amazed at how much information they have for each episode. It gives you the title, the episode number, the additional cast (guest stars), 'Reviewing the Case' (a basic summary of the episode) and 'Noteworthy Discoveries' (goes into further description of the plot). There are also pictures of the cast in the book. Some are pictures we have seen before; for example, the season 10 cast (what they show at the end of the opening credits), the cast in various places (award shows, simply out and about, etc.) and some pictures of the behind the scenes/camera people. There's a really sweet picture of Mariska and her father, Mickey Hargitay (he was in season 5's 'Control'). I'd describe all of the pictures, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone.

So if you're a fan of the show, you'll love this book. It'll bring you back to 1999 when it all began to 2009, when the 10th season aired.