| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Special Features
- All 22 episodes on six discs
- "The Beginning" featurette
- Dann Florek's squad room walkthrough
Watch Free Previews and Buy Episodes from Amazon Instant Video (Learn More)
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 1 |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Wolf penned series premier "Payback," which sets the scene, but not the tone. It's a lively, if uneasy mix between horror (rape) and comedy (risqué banter). As the show progressed, humor would be written out altogether (leaving Richard Belzer's Homicide-derived John Munch with increasingly less to do). Less emphasis would also be placed on the home lives of this "elite squad of dedicated detectives." Mostly, "Payback" introduces us to the unit, centering around partners Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). For two people with so little in common, they make a terrific team--arguably one of TV's best. Stabler is married with four children; Benton is single and her closest relationship is with her mother (Elizabeth Ashley). While Stabler can get a little rough with suspects, Benton tends to over-empathize with the victims. They report to the no-nonsense Captain Cragen (Law & Order vet Dann Florek). Like the parent program's Lenny Briscoe, he's a recovering alcoholic. Dean Winters and Michelle Hurd round out the rock-solid cast.
As it would continue to do in successive years, SVU's first season proved that network TV could explore sex crimes without being salacious or exploitative. "Uncivilized," for instance, concerns a child murder that is automatically pinned on a local sex offender, when the actual perpetrator isn't quite so obvious. "Disrobed," in which Brian Cassidy (Winters) leaves the department and Benson (with whom he had a brief affair) shoots a suspect is another standout in a strong year. SVU was followed by Criminal Intent in 2001 and features several guest appearances from Jerry Orbach (Briscoe) and Angie Harmon (Abbie Carmichael) from the original Law & Order. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Product Description
Customer Reviews
Although the original Law and Order was very much a story-driven show, this incarnation focused much more on the lives of the detectives on the Special Victims Unit. Christopher Meloni plays Detective Stabler, a family man who is very dedicated to his work. The fact that he has a wife and daughters makes him a very interesting character and adds to his movivation to get the job done, to get the bad guys off the street, so that it won't be his daughters being abused next. His partner, Detective Bensen, is played by Mariska Hargitay. She is in the work for different reasons. The fact that she herself was the product of a rape makes her also a very interesting character, as her motivations for being in the unit are very complicated. Richard Belser reprises his role from 'Homicide' as Detective John Munch, and he brings a lot of black humor to the show. It's just fun to watch him work, and Belser is a terriffic actor. His partner in the first year was Michelle Hurd, although she would later be supplanted by Ice-T. Hurd played a slightly off-kilter policewoman who wasn't quite prepared for the rigors of the job and was forced off the squad at year's end. Rounding out the cast was Dann Florek, reprising his role as Captain Cragen from the original Law and Order. I loved him in that series, and he is great here, too, walking the line between being tough and supportive with his detectives.
Although more emphasis was placed on the characters, this was still Law and Order, and that meant that the stories would have to be pretty darn good. And they were. The first season dealt with a plethora of sex abuses including rape, incest, child abuse, statutory rape, and more. Subsequent seasons would have a greater variety of story devices, but the first season was definitely a firm foundation for what turned out to be a fine series.
Bottom line: if you feel the need to be happy or uplifted after watching a program, this might not be for you. It is sad, haunting, and some of the stories will stick with you for a long time, much like the crimes it depicts. However, it has a ring of truth to it, it is still thrilling, and occasionally, we see an episode that really makes one think about a society which can produce such miscreants. Not a feel-good show at all, but an important one. Highly recommended.
As the intro to each episode states, the SVU, or Special Victims Unit, is in charge of particularly heinous crimes that are sexually based. Lead detectives are Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni). Detective Munch (Richard Belzer) is paired first with Cassidy (Dean Winters) and later with Jefferies (Michelle Hurd). Ice-T doesn't become Munch's partner until season two. The entire group of detectives is commanded by Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek).
As a previous viewer stated there are commercials at the beginning of disc one, but on that disc only. The set includes 22 full length episodes including the pilot for the series. Two featurettes are also on the final disc. Special Victims Unit: The Beginning features cast members and producers giving insight into the making of and success of the show. Dann Florek's Squad Room Walk Through clues us into life on the set and little tidbits about the squadroom such as the photo on Olivia's desk (that of Mariska's real mother, Jayne Mansfield with her two dogs Momsicle and Popsicle), the wanted pictures on the bulletin board (actually crew and office workers), the rationale behind props in Captain Cragen's office, and many more insider scoops.
If you're a fan of great writing and acting as well as cop shows, this is one set you can't miss. The fifth season of SVU is slated to be released on September 7th in time for the fall premiere of season six. After that, Universal is reportedly going to go back and release the other seasons in the actual order.
Now, the question you want answered is: Is it worth the money? The series alone is. It's highly entertaining and captivating. The special features are a little scarce, with only two good but short featurettes. In my opinion, ever dvd set of a television series should really go all out with the features. Let the public in on the process! Give us some outtakes and behind the scenes goodies. We know you have them! The show gets 5 stars, the set 4. Definitely worth the 40 bucks, but it would be nice to be let in on a little more.
