Gritty and Important
The first Law and Order Spinoff series, Law and Order: SVU is an often stark and depressing look into the most destructive crimes being committed today. This series offers an uncompromising look into the minds of some truly disturbing sex offenders and reminds us about what happens every day that we'd rather just ignore. Occasionally lurid and often brilliant, this show combines Law and Order's entertaining, 'ripped-from-the-headlines' storytelling while reminding its audience about what is casually glossed over in the news every night.
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...
Another Great Spin-Off From the Original L & O!
Dick Wolf masterminded another great spin-off from the Law & Order franchise with Law & Order SVU (originally titled Sex Crimes)which consistently now ranks in the top 20 shows. This DVD set is an exciting way to capture the beginnings of the series and to see how much growth has occurred in the writing and character development. The series manages to tackle a number of gripping sexually based subjects without being exploitative. In fact, the writing on this series is top-notch and never seems to grow stale or contrived.
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...
Worth it, but needs more special features
Chances are that if you're thinking about buying this set, you've seen the show enough to judge the quality. The writing is top-notch, the acting is great, and the cases tend to strike an emotional chord within us who want to see sex offenders brought to justice. I won't bore you with an episode-by-episode rundown. The show is set up differently from regular Law & Order in that you actually get to know the characters from their private lives and why they react to certain crimes and criminals the way they do.
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...
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