If you're like me, and became a rabid fan of Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit
in its latter seasons, then the first season DVD box set of SVU might come as a
shock. For one thing, Ice-T, who plays Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola, is nowhere to be seen in
the first season. In fact, there's also no sign of Assistant District Attorney
Cabot (Stephanie March) or the present ADA, Casey Novak (Diane Neal). The SVU
detectives depended on a rotating team of ADAs in its first season, including Abbie
Carmichael (Angie Harmon), a character from the original L&O. However, the
show's two main anchors, Detectives Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) and Olivia
Benson (Mariska Hargitay), are present from day one, and their on-screen
chemistry is as effective as ever. Comic Richard Belzer reprises his Detective Munch
role from Homicide: Life On The Street, and Law & Order veteran Dann Florek
rounds out the main first season cast as Captain Donald Cragen, the SVU commander.
The first few episodes are interesting for a fan to watch because they are
somewhat uneven in tone. The series was still trying to find it's voice at this
point, and it often careened into comedic moments that were over the top.
However, the off-the-wall humor was soon dialed down, and SVU quickly settled
into the confident, fast-paced police procedural that's best known for today. The
first season also offered more insight into the private lives of the two lead
detectives, giving the audience a view of Detective Stabler's loving family, as
well as Detective Benson's unsuccessful but persistent quest in the dating
game. Another interesting fact about these early shows was that Benson herself
came off as being a young, green detective who clashed with her veteran partner
Stabler. Since then, starting in the latter half of the first season, we see
Olivia Benson growing into a more wise, seasoned detective. This is a clear
indication of a well-defined character arc through skillfull writing and Ms. Hargitay's sturdy, understated performance.
Among the standout episodes of the first season is "Stalked", a smart thriller
that has Benson and Stabler tracking down a psychotic who preys on women.
"Closure" is a more poignant show that details the trauma of a rape victim, who
is superbly played by guest star Tracy Pollan. "Limitations", another good
episode with plenty of twists and turns, deals with the SVU team racing
against the clock to find a rapist before the statute of limitations run out.
And "Entitled: Part One", is an enjoyable crossover that sees the SVU squad team
up with the cast of the original Law & Order (although there's no telling when
the second half--which is a regular Law & Order episode--will be released on DVD, the SVU half of this story is still satisfying
as a stand alone episode).
The entire first season is contained on six DVDs, which come in a handsome
package with plenty of information (both in a booklet, as well as on the package
itself) detailing where you can find a particular episode. There are two special
features on the sixth disc: a 25-minute documentary that looks back on the first
season with the SVU cast and crew, and a humorous walk-through of the station
house set with actor Dann Florek, who plays Captain Cragen. It would have been
nice to have commentaries from the cast and crew on select episodes, and it also
would have been great to have outtakes, as well. Hopefully
this might be something that will be considered for future SVU DVD sets. There
are no closed captions, but the DVDs are equipped with splendid English
subtitles for the hearing impaired.
With the spotlight on sex crimes, SVU can get pretty lurid at times. But
through thick and thin, the viewer is always fascinated, because at the end of
the day, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is a superb, engrossing crime
thriller that is often thought provoking as much as it is entertaining. --SF