IT BEGINS, ALWAYS,with a sound.
DUN-DUN (or chung-chung, or even doink-
doink, depending on phonetic preference).
A sound that, along with the authoritative
voiceover proclaiming, “In thecriminal justice
system, sexual-based offences are considered
especially heinous...”, is the rigorously adhered-
to opening gambit of a show that, while being
dismissed as pulpy, remains one of the longest-
running and most successful procedural dramas
in television. After 17 years, with countless “I’m
sorry, what?!” plotlines and most of its police
procedural kin —CSI,NYPD Blue,Cold Case,
all the otherLaw & Orders— lying cold in the
telly graveyard, whatisit aboutSVU?
SVUAPPEARED IN 1999, EXPELLED
FROM the brain of the creator of the original
Law & Order, Dick Wolf. Wolf, an ex-staff
writer onHill Street Blues,had gone to NBC
bosses nine years before with a simple premise:
an episodic drama series in which the irst half
focuses on the investigation of a crime, the
second half the prosecution.SVU, the irst
spin-off from the main show, zeroed in on sex
It’s built on clichés, unspeakable topics and implausible twists, yetLaw & Order:
SVUhas outlived its siblings. Here’s why this police procedural reigns supreme
WORDS TERRI WHITE
crimes (its original title) and premiered with a
solid 18 million viewers.
Crucially, while the individual story
explored is new each week — and often based
on real-life cases like the Cleveland house of
horrors and Rihanna’s assault (though their
version killed off a singer whose likeness is, of
course, purely coincidental) — the storytelling
arc remains consistent: the crime, the
investigation on the wrong track, the
investigation on the right track, and resolution
(spoiler: they’re guilty).
The other constant: the cast. They provide
a perspective; the perp always viewed through
them. In this case, the eyes belong to Sergeant
Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), a tough-as-
tacks woman in a man’s world investigating —
primarily — crimes against women (backstory:
she’s a product of rape herself). She’s the
moral compass who — comfortingly, but yes,
in a stretch of credulity — believes the victim
without question and ights, often at personal
cost, for what is just.
Alongside original partner Elliot Stabler
(Oz’s Christopher Meloni) and now DA RafaelBarba (Raúl Esparza) and Det. Fin Tutuola
(Ice-T, who has some of the best lines including:
“They glued pubic hair to his face and told him
he was the wolfman!”), Benson is the anchor of
this dysfunctional yet familiar family. They ight
(Benson and Barba), bond (Benson and Stabler)
and protect (Tutuola and Benson). They make
the shadowy streets of New York and brown
walls of the squad room feel like home. One
we’re welcomed into every week. In there it’s
warm. It smells of burned coffee.
Outside of the core cast, the guest stars
are impressive — Bradley Cooper, Whoopi
Goldberg, Zoe Saldana, Patricia Arquette,
Chloë Sevigny, Sharon Stone and Norman
Reedus have appeared, as has Martin Short as a
demented killer psychic; Sarah Hyland as a
demented killer teenager, and Robin Williams as
a demented audio engineer (more terrifying
than it may initially sound).NATURALLY (AND NARRATIVELY),
tropes are relied upon, offering a strange security
in their recognition. The squabbling couple —
he’s balding — return to a blood-stainedPROPER PROCEDURE