Product Details

• Actors: Mariska Hargitay
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: September 14, 2004
• Run Time: 677 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002CX224
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,991 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - The Fifth Year" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the hard-hitting and emotionally charged second series from the critically acclaimed Law & Order franchise, chronicles the compelling cases of the elite Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department. Created by Emmy Award-winning producer Dick Wolf, this award-winning series follows the investigations of Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), a seasoned, seen-it-all veteran of the unit, and his tough but compassionate partner, Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), as they try to solve the city’s most heinous crimes. Directing their intense efforts is Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek, reprising his Law & Order role), whose tough but supportive approach guides the entire squad - which includes Detectives John Munch (Richard Belzer) and Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T), forensic psychiatrist George Huang (B.D. Wong) and ADA Casey Novak (Diane Neal) - through the dangerous challenges they face every day.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Well Done September 24, 2004

By Adam Raper

At the beginning I was questioning Universal's strategy to release season 5 before seasons 2,3,and 4. They said it was to help promote season 6. Plus I didn't really watch any episodes from season 5, the only one that I did watch fully was "Painless" on USA network. I must say I was very pleased with what I bought. I had never seen the episode "Loss" until I bought the DVD set. That episode is probably the best SVU I have EVER seen. After that episode I was sad to see Stephanie March go. However to be honest with you, I think her character got replaced with another one just as good. A lot of reviews that I've read say more bad things than good things about Diane Neal and her character. I will admit in her first few episodes her character didn't make some good decisions and had a lack of self-confidence. However towards the middle of the season and at the end I think that Diane Neal played her character very well.

The only thing that I don't like about this DVD set is the double sided discs, but that disadvantage is completely overlooked by everything else.

Here are my top five favorite shows on this DVD set:

1. Loss

2. Mean

3. Escape

4. Tragedy

5. Ritual

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insanely Addicting! September 20, 2004

By Dj Pawz

This is a definite box set to have if you like the show. Like many, I am also wondering why they chose to release the fifth year ahead of the others. Don't get me wrong, the last season was amazing, but those who have really only followed the show starting in the 2003-2004 season and bought the first season box set are missing all the stuff that had happened, but again amazing box set! The only downfall to this is that rather then the 6 or 7 disc set, they have reduced it down to four double sided discs and the way that they are packaged you're bound to put fingerprints or scratches on the discs. The extra features on the fourth disc are really good as well. I am waiting for the other box sets to make their way out onto shelves. Superb show!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite show July 1, 2005

By Erica Anderson

Of the few crime dramas I watch ("Cold Case", the original "CSI", "Without a Trace", and "Law & Order: SVU"), "Law & Order:SVU" is by far my personal favorite show. I watch this show religiously on both NBC and USA network. Out of the five seasons, I strongly believe that season five is the strongest season in the series because the storywriting has been so compelling. That is just my personal opinion. I was originally unhappy when Stephanie March left the series after the first 3 or 4 episodes in season five and was wary of Diane Neal as the new assistant D.A. Thank heavens I was proven wrong. Diane Neal has proved to be a worthy assistant D.A to me. Casey Novak is just as defiant and strong-willed as Alexandra Cabot was, especially when she butt heads with Detectives Stabler and Benson like in her first episode "Serendipity". Kinda funny how Diane made her first appearance on the show a couple of seasons back as a co-defendant, and now she is back as the new A.D.A. Sure the plot twists can be confusing but that makes watching this show so enjoyable to be. A lot of my favorite episodes comes from season five. One of my personal favorite episodes is "Ritual" where a young African boy is found murdered. His death appeared to be a ritual death but appearances can be deceiving. Ice-T really shines in this particular episode as 'Fin'. His involvement in the case really shines through and is definitely one of Ice-T's best performances. I really think Ice-T compliments Richard Belzer's snarky, conspiracy loving character. The dynamics between the detectives are certainly worth writing home about. Another really strong episode was the last episode with Stephanie March as Alexandra Cabot in "Loss" which involves a murdered undercover agent. I was moved by the ending and how Stephanie left the show. Although I predicted how her character would be written off, I still thought it was well written. I especially like the partnership of Detectives Stabler and Benson. Although I wonder why seasons 2, 3, and 4 weren't released prior to season 5, I still think that releasing season 5 was a great idea. It is my personal favorite season of the show, can't wait for season 4 now (which comes in second behind season 5).