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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

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Law & Order (TV Series)

Original title: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)
Year: 1999
Running time: 60 min.
Country: United States
Director: Dick Wolf (Creator), David Platt, Peter Leto, Constantine Makris, Jean de Segonzac, Juan José Campanella, Arthur W. Forney, Steve Shill, Helen Shaver, Alex Zakrzewski, Jonathan Kaplan, Ted Kotcheff, Richard Dobbs, Alex Chapple, Jud Taylor, Michael Slovis
Screenwriter: Dick Wolf, Dawn DeNoon, Jonathan Greene, Amanda Green, Judy McCreary, Lisa Marie Petersen, Warren Leight, Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters, Julie Martin, Patrick Harbinson, Robert F. Campbell, Daniel Truly
Music: Mike Post
Cinematography: Geoffrey Erb, George Pattison, Tony C. Jannelli, Tom Weston, Phil Oetiker
Cast: Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Christopher Meloni, BD Wong, Tamara Tunie, Kelli Giddish, Diane Neal, Raúl Esparza, Stephanie March, Danny Pino, Peter Scanavino, Mike Doyle, Joel de la Fuente, Joanna Merlin, Caren Browning, Isabel Gillies, Peter Hermann, Robert John Burke, Dean Winters, Michelle Hurd, Judith Light, Lynn Marocola, Michaela McManus, Ned Eisenberg, Audrie Neenan, Adam Beach, Tom O'Rourke, Erica Bradshaw
Producer: (Broadcast by: National Broadcasting Company (NBC))
Genre: TV Series. Drama | Courtroom Drama. Cop Movies. Crime. Sexual Abuse
Synopsis / Plot: TV Series (1999-present). 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.'

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.

Awards: 2011: Emmy: Nominated for Best Actress in Drama Series (Mariska Hargitay)

2010: Best Guest Actress (Ann-Margaret). Nominated for Best Actress (Hargitay)

2009: Emmy: Best Guest Actress (Burstyn). 4 Nominations

2008: Emmy: Best Guest Actress (Nixon). 3 Nominations

2007: Emmy: Best Main Actress (Caron). 3 Nominations

2006: Emmy: BEst Actress in Drama (Hargitay). Nominated for Best actor (Meloni)

Show 12 more awards

2005: Emmy: Best Guest Actress (Plummer). 3 Nominations

2004: Emmy: 3 Nominations, Including Best Actress in Drama Series (Hargitay)

2008: Golden Globes: Nominated for Best Actress Series TV Drama (Hargitay)

2004: Golden Globes: Best Actress Series TV Drama (Mariska Hargitay)

1999: Producers Guild Awards (PGA): Nominated for Best TV Series

2003: Writers Guild of America (WGA): 2 Nominations for Best Screenplay in Episodic Drama

2010: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nominated for Best Actress in Drama Series (Hargitay)

2009: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nominated for Best Actress in Drama Series (Hargitay)

2008: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nominated for Best Actress in Drama Series (Hargitay)

2006: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nominated for Best Actress in Drama Series (Hargitay)

2006: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nominated for Best Actress in Drama Series (Hargitay)

2003: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nominated for Best Actress in Drama Series (Hargitay)

Critics' reviews

"It takes a while to pull you in -- but once it does, you're likely to stay"

Robert Bianco: USA Today
"A crackling-sharp spinoff...The show swiftly finds its balance. Not every series lends itself to cloning, but the essential qualities of 'Law and Order' seem made for it"

Caryn James: The New York Times
'You'd need a magnifying glass to find a nuance. But it works, and grippingly'

Tom Shales: The Washington Post
"[It] promises to be a solid cop drama capable of occasionally stretching toward greatness."

Howard Rosenberg: Los Angeles Times
"Meloni is smirky, Hargitay whiny, and transferred-from-'Homicide' detective John Munch (Richard Belzer) seems out of place. But Wolf has proved an expert at integrating cast changes on 'L & O', and we have to believe he'll iron all this out"

Joel Brown: Boston Globe

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