Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Season 1 (DVD)

I was never a particular fan of the original Law and Order. But I instantly took to its first spinoff, Special Victims Unit (SVU), when my mother introduced me to it some years back. Admittedly the show had already been on for a few seasons by then and so I was unfamiliar with the backgrounds of the various characters. But I became enough of a fan to react withdelight when I discovered that the series was available on DVD. Special Victims unit, unlike the original, brings to light a disturbing issue that until then was almost never brought up directly on television, sex crimes. Everything from rape to child molestation to domestic abuse, SVU sheds a light on the disturbing and unspeakable things we as individuals can do to one another, as well as the emotional and psychological effects those crimes can have, not only on the victims but also on the investigators who work tirelessly to bring the perpetrators to justice. One thing is for certain. If you want constant laughs, don't watch this. Oh John Munch in particular can and often does provide a bit of comic relief in the earlier seasons but that isn't the series' primary focus. THe first season of SVU introduces us to detectives Eliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), as well as all the rest of the squad. The season opens with Payback, as the squad is investigating the murder and castration of a taxi driver. As often happens however, the investigation quickly reveals a disturbing side to the victim that suggests that his murderer may have had good reason to hate him, as well as ample justification for the crime. Others include "...or just look like one," in which a would-be model is raped and her body dropped off in front of a hospital. This particular case hits close to home for Stabler, whose daughter Maureen seems to be exhibiting the classic signs of an eating disorder. In Wanderlust, a travel writer is murdered seemingly after having just had sex. Suspicion quickly falls on the disfunctional family of the man's former landlord, particularly when it's discovered that her minor daughter may have been having a sexual relationship with the deceased. In CLosure, the squad is faced with a baffling series of rapes in which the perpetrator asks his victims if they like it and then forces them to shower afterwards and steels a piece of jewelry from each of them. This story ark isn't resolved until the second season. In CHat Room, a girl claims to have been raped by a man she met on the internet, leading the SVU into the world of online pedofilia. In Limitations, the SVU is ordered once and for all to close an unsolved case of three rapes before the Statute of Limitations expires in a matter of days. THings become complicated however when one of the victims appears to be protecting the perpetrator on religious grounds. In Nocturn, a laundromat turns in some disturbing photos of a young boy, leading the SVU to investigate a piano teacher for longterm child molestation. They discover a series of tapes chronicling the life of a boy named Evan, but when they track him down they discover that his testimony may not be of any help since he's more deeply scarred than any of them realized. In Remorse, a local reporter tries to catch her rapist by discussing the incident on the news. During the investigation, Munch quickly becomes attached to the courageous woman. In Contact, the detectives find themselves faced with a series of subway rapes perpetrated by a flash and dash assailant and a number of possible suspects. THe season ends with Slaves, in which the SVU detectives find themselves investigating the disappearance of a young Romanian woman while at the same time contending with psychological evaluations by the higher-ups, who warn Captain Cragen that one of his detectives may no longer be fit for their job. All in all, SVU season one gets the series off to a solid start and as the later seasons will show, it only gets better from here. And the DVD set features some excellent extras, among them interviews with the cast and a tour of the SVU set with Dan FLorek (Captain Cragen) as the guide. So it's definitely worth owning. And I intend to collect the entire series as finances permit.

This series has it all, drama, humor, twists, controversy, romance, action, explosions, gunfights, hand to hand combat, compelling characters, death, destruction, and justice all wrapped up in a thought provoking and entertaining show. I happened across this series while flipping channels months ago and began recording it with DVR. Eventually I liked it so much I bought the DVDs. I don't particularly take to many series, especially drama, but this one is hands down the best I've seen. I prefer to learn from a show rather than just glimpsing someone's imagination on a weekly basis, but there IS a lot to be learned from this series. There is excellent diversity in the characters, representing varying beliefs and opinions on the intense subjects covered. They come from different backgrounds, ethnicities, religious affiliation and life experiences. They touch on so many important sociological issues and seem to make a fair representation of not only the people on the right side of the law but of the criminals as well. Almost no matter how heinous a criminal's actions are, they have found a way to still make them human. There are absolutely monsters as well, but as much as you think you're going to abhor the perpetrator when they are discovered, sometimes you simply can't help but feel some measure of compassion. I read the 1 star reviews, which for the most part dissed the DVD quality not the show, and I'll agree that in this age of Blu-ray High definition, super high tech, fancy hullabaloo, these DVDs fall a bit short. It is however in no way difficult to see or enjoy unless you're really neurotic about nitpicky aspects of visual appearance. It is annoying to have to watch commercials at the beginning of the first DVD, but take a bathroom break, they go away, and it stops conveniently on the main menu! An absolutely essential feature they DO have is that when you skip the opening credits it goes straight to the beginning of the show not well into the first part. Some series that will remain nameless in this review *coughsfamilyguycoughs* don't do that and it's extremely annoying. Sure the quality could be better, sure they could have more features, but when I actually miss the characters when I'm not watching the show, lack of extensive bells and whistles aren't going to keep me from buying the DVDs. The bottom line is, if you can handle the dark rotten underbelly of society, and you want to not only be entertained, but also informed, then this is an excellent series for you. If you want to sit zombie-fied watching only non thought provoking shows for sh*ts and giggles you may want to try something else. To conclude I'll leave you with one of my favorite all time quotes... Detective John Munch(Richard Belzer): There should be a special level of hell for this pus-sucking gangrenous malignancy of a mental amoeba.

I love Law and Order: SVU and have been a fan for many years, but not until the fourth season did I start to watch it, so I bought Season 1 so I could see it from the beginning. The Special Victims Unit deals with crimes of rape, incest, and child abuse to name a few, topics that were often ignored on TV before this show came out and opened the forum for discussion on it. I also think it's empowering that the detectives in any rape case encourage the victims to come forward and get help because so many victims choose not to for various reasons. Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni (Benson and Stabler) bring such emotion to their characters and they are both phenomenal actors and have such chemistry together that you love them as a team. The show is so well written and riveting and you are hooked from the "dunk dunk" sound in the first segment. Every episode is amazing! If you've been watching for years, Season 1 had two different cast members that are not in most of the other seasons. Detective Cassidy is Munch's partner (before Detective Tutuola - Ice T) and he's new to the Special Victims Unit and he requests a transfer in the second season after a fling with Olivia in Season 1, but mainly because he can't handle the nature of the crimes they investigate anymore. Also present is Detective Jeffries, an African American female detective, who also partners with Munch and also left in season 2. To be honest, when her character was gone, you didn't even notice because she was more of an extra compared to the other characters and her character was never fully developed like the others. One thing I liked was that more focus was put in the first few seasons on Stabler's family, which as the seasons went on, they were seen less and less. Season 1 had many amazing episodes but some of the best ones were "Stalked" about a sadistic realtor Benson believes raped and murdered an ADA and who turns his attention to Benson; "Closure" about a victim (Tracy Pollan) who can describe her attack in detail but not the rapist and when the case stalls and it's revisited months later, she claims to have moved on but she hasn't; and "Limitations" where Cragen is told he needs to close 3 rape cases that are almost at the 5 year mark for statute of limitations and the team scrambles to catch the rapist. You will not be disappointed!!!

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 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.

I’d heard of SVU before, but I didn’t watch it until last summer when I saw one of the episodes from season 9 on TV. I immediately watched from the beginning on Prime and wanted to buy the early seasons on DVD. I personally think they are the best years of the series and seasons you can watch over and over. Season 1 is very engaging and the pilot is strong as you learn about the detectives’s personal reasons for being in the unit during the case. I like the comments that Benson and Stabler exchange with each other during investigations. Episodes that stayed in my mind the most include “Stalked”, “Limitations”, “Chat Room”, “Closure” and “Remorse”. The special features are great, especially the tour that Dann Florek, who played Captain Cragen, gives of the squad room. I always study the set design when I watch TV and movies, so I liked seeing the special items that the actors had on their desks that shared more about both their characters and themselves personally. Overall I really recommend Season 1. Especially if you’ve been watching SVU's newer seasons or haven’t seen the beginning (and the whole 12 “Stabler Years”).

I ordered this DVD for certain episodes I particularly like. The DVD is very good quality. My only complaint is that the episodes are framed on the sides by black bands, as are many tv shows and movies. I prefer the image to fill the screen without losing anything. Still, a good buy.

I'm always one of the last to know about / watch great TV shows. And every time I tried to watch an episode of Law & Order:SUV coincidentally it was the same three. So I just gave up. Then I watched Law and Order: Criminal Intent and had to purchase all ten seasons of the series. After thoroughly enjoying all of the episodes of the seasons, I purchased the complete set of seasons for the original series Law & Order as well as the Law and Order:SVU Seasons 1 through 13. Dick Wolf is a genius. Once I began watching Law and Order: SVU I couldn't stop watching the episodes until I finished the entire First Year in four days - darn job! Getting to know the detectives, their professional and personal lives was very interesting. How they dealt with the sometimes awful cases was compelling. It showed just how hard the job these men and women do. Some people aren't cut out to handle it. Seeing where former members end up from five years ago attest to the difficulty level of remaining on the job. This takes being married to the job to a new level. It's amazing that Stabler managed to have four kids. His wife seems very understanding and he obviously loves his children & appreciates his wife's ability to keep the household running during his frequent absences. Even the kids are used to it. A teen daughter Drive him crazy with worry. His little boy knows his father is terrified of something happening to him. All in all he's a lucky man. His partner on the other hand has deep-rooted issues she's had to deal with her entire life. She is the daughter of a never caught rapist. It's not surprising that she ended up in this unit. The smartaleck, conspiracy theorist played by Richard Belzer is often perfect for much needed comic relief with such disturbing and draining work. His wealth of information is perfect for the youngest team member. Michelle Hurd brings a toughness, hardness that such a brutal job calls for. A lot isn't known about her. Their Captain is wise and weary. The forensic psychologist was shown in not the best light. I recognized the red haired Medical Examiner from the Law & Order: Criminal Intent series. The guys from the Original Law and Order series had a case that crossed with one from the SVUnit. It was good to see the respect they had for each other. A sentiment definitely not shared by many other officers and detectives who often call the SVUnit derogatory slang names. But its necessity is without a doubt. I can't wait to begin Year Two. The one very poignant picture in the opening credits are the Twin Towers. Since this series began in 1999, they would have no idea what was coming two short years later. The series First Year contains six discs with 22 Episodes. Stupid Cliffhangers! Luckily I have Season Two already in the DVD player.

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 the 40 bucks, but it would be nice to be let in on a little more.

Received quickly and in great shape. Already watched the whole season!

Fantastic A1 customer service. Item arrived in perfect/mint condition. I highly recommend!

Neat to go back to the beginning of the series!

Fast shipping!

This was delivered today so it was really early! It's for Christmas for hubby so I will update later Thankyou so much