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DVD Law & Order Special Victims Unit - The First Year
Originally called Sex Crimes, executive producer Dick Wolf wisely opted for something less lurid when the second in the inexhaustible Law & Order franchise hit the air in 1999. Still, as the opening voiceover makes clear, the "sexually based offenses" investigated by New York's Special Victims Unit can be "especially heinous." This six-DVD boxed set includes all 22 episodes of the first compelling season.
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 Benton (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
Review(s): DVD Law & Order Special Victims Unit - The First Year
A must have.
Excellent 1st season. All 22 episodes just grab you. Definitely a must have.
The best show out there!!
There is no question that this show is the best on television. Riviting and exciting, this show has you on the edge of your seat. This product will definatly compel you buy the rest of the seasons.
great show!@!
this is a great season although not quite as good as the seasons to follow... but yet not a disappointing episode in the group... would recommend the law & order svu series to anyone who loves cop or law shows or the regular law and order series.
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I love this series, but I refuse to buy season 5 until 3 and 4 come out. Call me crazy, but why would I not want to watch the episodes in order? I've been waiting for years for them to fill in the gap between 2 and 5. What are they doing?! More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 14 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The second season of Law & Order: SVU differs from the first as not as much time is spent on the detective's families. Ice-T and Stephanie March debut in the first episode of the season as Det. Fin Tutuola and ADA Alex Cabot, respectively. Michelle Hurd leaves the show shortly into the season as her character quits after being relegated to desk duty since being accused of having sex with a suspect. The show really hit its stride in this season. Seemingly everyone is involved with every episode, as opposed to today where Fin and Richard Belzer's Det. Munch do very little. Late in the season, B.D. Wong debuts as psychiatrist Dr. Huang. His character is a bit darker (for lack of a better word) in earlier episodes. Overall, this is a great season for the show and I highly recommend... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 27 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Dick Wolf (Law & Order) has claimed that Arthur Conan Doyle inspired him to create Criminal Intent. Indeed, the brilliant--if socially awkward--Robert "Bobby" Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) and cool-headed partner Alexandra "Alex" Eames (Kathryn Erbe) do come across like a modern day Holmes and Watson. Rather than England, however, they're members of New York's major case squad. (Trivia buffs may find it of interest that D'Onofrio played Holmes's arch-nemesis Moriarty in the 2002 made-for-cable movie Case of Evil.) The show, which premiered in 2001, added "criminal" to the successful "law" and "order" equation. Each episode moves back and forth between the efforts of Goren and Eames to track down "the worst criminal offenders" and the efforts of the offenders to evade... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Vincent D'Onofrio DVD Release Date: Released the 21 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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As season two of Law & Order opens, Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth) finds himself assigned a new partner in Detective Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) in the wake of the murder of his old partner Greevy (George Dzundza). From that point on, this is when the revolving door began to turn for the ensemble cast of Law & Order, even though the rest of season one's cast returns here. Michael Moriarty's and Richard Brooks' DA team are still the best duo in the history of the show (say whatever you want about longtime vet Sam Waterston, Moriarty will always be superior), and Sorvino and Noth are excellent together. The characters are given more depth, and the stories are more intense; containing that "ripped from the headlines" feel that the show would gain notariety for. The late Jerry Orbach, who... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Dennis Farina DVD Release Date: Released the 04 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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From its gritty documentary look to its signature note-knocking "tching-tching" that signals scene changes, Law & Order was a groundbreaking cop show when it debuted in 1990. It has since earned Emmys for Best Dramatic Series and spun off satellite franchises, and reruns of the original series are as omnipresent in syndication as those of I Love Lucy. Devoted fans and those who came late to the series can catch it from the beginning with this six-disc set that contains all 22 episodes from the inaugural season.
Law & Order is television's most resilient series. It has survived wholesale changes to its ensemble. One of the secrets of the show's durability: its compelling structure. The first half of each hour-long episode is classic police procedural in which "Law,"... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Dennis Farina DVD Release Date: Released the 15 October 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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