Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | |
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Season 1 | |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 22 |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | September 20, 1999 – May 19, 2000 |
Season chronology | |
The first season of the crime drama television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , premiered on September 20, 1999 on NBC and concluded on May 19, 2000. Created by Dick Wolf, it is the first spin-off of Law & Order and follows the detectives of a fictionalized version of the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit, which investigates sexually based offenses. SVU originally aired on Monday nights at 9pm/8c EST, but it was moved to Friday nights at 10pm/9c after the ninth episode. Showrunner Robert Palm felt too disturbed by the subject matter and left after the season's conclusion. [1]
The season has been well-received, with critics praising its captivating narratives and memorable characters. The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit first season DVD box set was released on October 21, 2003, in Region 1 format. [2]
Inspiration for the series came from a 1986 murder in Central Park committed by Robert Emmet Chambers whose strategy in court was to sexualize the victim. [3] The season one episode of Law & Order , "Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die" is based on this case. Dick Wolf wanted to continue exploring similar themes in a dedicated legal drama and hired Ted Kotcheff and Robert Palm as executive producers of the new series, as well as Jean de Segonzac, the franchise director for Law & Order. Robert Palm was previously an executive producer on Law & Order and was the first person to use the term "mothership" to distinguish the original from its spin-offs. [4] This phrase has become popular with fans of the franchise.
Unlike the original Law & Order, filming for SVU began in North Bergen, New Jersey since there was not enough real estate available to get a studio in Manhattan. The production staff were still told to think of the area as being Manhattan. [5] As with Law & Order, writers for the series primarily worked in Los Angeles. However, SVU featured more female writers with the series aiming to bring a "strong woman's perspective" to the screen. [4] Writer Dawn DeNoon has mentioned that many of the writing staff were fired during the first season because their scripts were not up to par. [1]
For the lead roles, Christopher Meloni was cast as Detective Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay was cast as Detective Olivia Benson after they auditioned together. [6] Hargitay, who had to move from Los Angeles to New York when she got the role, said she was able to do this on short notice because she was already planning on moving to New York to pursue a Broadway career. [7] The squad commander role was filled by Dann Florek, who had portrayed Captain Don Cragen for the first three seasons on the original Law & Order and later reprised his role in Exiled: A Law & Order Movie . He joined the cast on the condition that he not be asked to audition. [1] Richard Belzer was cast as Detective John Munch, continuing his role from the series Homicide: Life on the Street . In Belzer's words, he was cast because "Dick Wolf and Tom Fontana got drunk at a party". [8] Halfway through the season, Richard Belzer reprised his role of Munch in Homicide: The Movie, which briefly shows his character out on a case in his SVU context in New York. At Belzer's insistence, his character was partnered with Brian Cassidy, who was portrayed by Dean Winters. However, Winters' contractual obligation to the HBO series Oz forced him to leave halfway through the season. Michelle Hurd, who portrayed Detective Monique Jeffries, filled Winters' void for the remainder of the season, and was at that point added to the main credits. [9] [10]
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The first season featured the highest number of crossover appearances in SVU. Angie Harmon portrayed her Law & Order character ADA Abbie Carmichael for six episodes. Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe) and his new partner Jesse L. Martin (Det. Ed Green) were shown working together in the third episode. Almost the entire cast of the original series appeared in the crossover episode "Entitled." Another character establishing ties to the original was Detective Ken Briscoe, the nephew of Lennie Briscoe. He was played by Chris Orbach, the son of Jerry Orbach. The younger Orbach later said that he had mixed feelings about his role on the show, as he felt he "only got the gig because of [his] old man." [11] Years after that, he'd admit to friends that he was simply very nervous on set about living up to his dad, and felt out of his depth.
Family members of both lead detectives appeared in the opening episode. Kathy Stabler, Elliot Stabler's wife, was played by Isabel Gillies. Gillies continued to play Kathy Stabler over the course of the next 11 years either as a guest star or a recurring actress. She recalled that she was in the middle of buying a wedding dress when she got the call to be on SVU. [5] Elizabeth Ashley was cast to play Serena Benson, Olivia's mother. Serena Benson did not appear in SVU again but was mentioned several times. Her character's history of being a rape victim who never got justice—and whose attacker was Olivia's biological father—figures in many later episodes.
Some of the earliest revelations about Detective Benson's personal life are found in "Stalked." In this episode, Bruce Kirkpatrick played a rapist who decides to intimidate the detectives once he learns that he is under investigation. An episode dealing with mental illness, "The Third Guy," featured a guest performance by Denis O'Hare. He played an intellectually disabled rapist who elicits differing opinions in the SVU.
The episode "Closure" aired shortly before Detective Brian Cassidy left the Special Victims Unit. However, because of its nonlinear storytelling, it portrayed Cassidy as still working for the unit months later. Despite the continuity error, the producers decided to revisit this episode in the second season owing to the cliffhanger ending and Tracy Pollan's well-received performance as Harper Anderson, a rape victim who becomes obsessed with taking revenge on her attacker. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. [12]
Reiko Aylesworth was one of the actresses who originally auditioned for the role of Olivia Benson. [6] Instead, she was cast as Assistant District Attorney Erica Alden, whom she played in the last three episodes of the season. In the season's penultimate episode, "Nocturne," Kent Broadhurst played Lawrence Holt, a piano teacher who molests his students. Wilson Jermaine Heredia played Evan, Holt's student and victim, who knows more about Holt's crimes than he lets on. [13]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
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1 | 1 | "Payback" | Jean de Segonzac | Dick Wolf | September 20, 1999 | E0901 | 14.13 [14] |
Two detectives from the NYPD's Special Victims Unit, Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler, investigate the stabbing and castration of a cab driver, only to learn that the victim had purchased a phony hack license from an inmate (Matt Skollar) at Rikers Island. Further investigation reveals that the dead man was a Serbian soldier named Stefan Tanzic, who had been indicted on charges of ethnic cleansing. Herself a child of rape, Benson has trouble separating herself from the case after realizing that the victim was a rapist. Stabler tries to keep her from crossing the line in her attempts to protect suspects whom she feels were justified in their actions. Guest starring: Gordana Rashovich, Elizabeth Ashley, Ned Eisenberg, Tina Benko, Ronald Guttman, Mark Zimmerman, Mili Avital
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2 | 2 | "A Single Life" | Lesli Linka Glatter | Miriam Kazdin | September 27, 1999 | E0903 | 13.06 [15] |
When the body of Gretchen Quinn is found wearing only a red slip after having been thrown out of a window, Benson and Stabler soon find out that "Gretchen Quinn" was just an alias. While trying to piece together her life, the detectives are led to the victim's psychiatrist (Dennis Boutsikaris) and a well-known television newscaster (Michael Nouri), both of whom were sleeping with her. It soon comes to light she was a young woman who changed her name and identity after graduating high school, to get away from her sexually abusive father (Paul Hecht). Guest starring: Dennis Boutsikaris, Laila Robins, Paul Hecht, Michael Gaston, Matthew Arkin, Michael Nouri
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3 | 3 | "...Or Just Look Like One" | Rick Rosenthal | Michael R. Perry | October 4, 1999 | E0907 | 12.20 [16] |
After teen model Jazmin Burgess is beaten, raped, and dumped in front of Roosevelt Hospital, Benson and Stabler investigate to find out why a sixteen-year-old girl was out alone after midnight. High levels of drugs in Jazmin's system lead them to take a look at not only the modelling agency with which Jazmin was signed, but also the photographer (Ritchie Coster) who was supervising her last shoot (and had booted her out because she was "too heavy"). Stabler's disgust with the whole issue is aggravated by his concern that his daughter Maureen, who has been refusing to eat, may be anorexic. Guest starring: Bebe Neuwirth, Catherine Dent, Ritchie Coster, Damian Young, Todd Stashwick, Lianna Pai, Laura Poe, Michael Mastro, Peter Marx
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4 | 4 | "Hysteria" | Richard Dobbs | Dawn DeNoon & Lisa Marie Petersen | October 11, 1999 | E0908 | 13.72 [17] |
When a young woman is found dead, she is initially believed to be a prostitute and the latest victim of a serial killer. As they look into her home life, however, Benson and Stabler realize that the victim does not fit the pattern, and may not be connected to the other deaths after all. After Munch's instincts lead the team to believe their suspect is a cop (Joe Lisi), Cragen consults his old friend Det. Lennie Briscoe for help.
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5 | 5 | "Wanderlust" | David Jones | Wendy West | October 18, 1999 | E0905 | 14.30 [18] |
After a travel writer (Bruce Barney) is found nude, strangled, and beaten to death with lingerie stuffed down his throat and duct tape over his mouth, Benson and Stabler initially suspect his landlady's (Patricia Richardson) boyfriend (John Dossett), a convicted child molester. But suspicion soon turns to the landlady and her daughter (Lynn Collins), who seemed far too interested in what their tenant was doing with his time. After learning the daughter had a sexual relationship with the tenant, things take an even stranger turn. | |||||||
6 | 6 | "Sophomore Jinx" | Clark Johnson | John Chambers | October 25, 1999 | E0904 | 12.48 [19] |
After a female student is found raped and murdered at a local college, Benson and Stabler turn their attention to two star players on the school's basketball team. However, the college, unwilling to risk the negative publicity that the investigation could bring to the school and the upcoming championship, blocks their investigation at every turn. But the worst secret actually lies with one of her teachers.
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7 | 7 | "Uncivilized" | Michael Fields | Story by : Robert Palm Teleplay by : Robert Palm & Wendy West | November 15, 1999 | E0902 | 11.95 [20] |
When a young boy is found murdered, suspicion leads Benson and Stabler to a recently paroled child molester (Stephen Bogardus), who soon becomes a test case for a new and broader application of civil commitment. Although they both hate what the man has done in the past, it is soon obvious to the detectives that the teenagers who initially steered them in the man's direction (Jerry Careccio and Dominick Charles Carbone) are hiding disturbing secrets of their own. | |||||||
8 | 8 | "Stalked" | Peter Medak | Roger Garrett | November 22, 1999 | E0911 | 10.57 [21] |
When the body of an assistant district attorney is found raped and beaten in Central Park, Benson lets her emotions get the best of her as she takes it upon herself to bring the suspected rapist, a local realtor (Bruce Kirkpatrick), to justice. Stabler tries to get the man's business partner to help in the investigation, but Benson may be the one who ends up needing help. | |||||||
9 | 9 | "Stocks & Bondage" | Constantine Makris | Michael R. Perry | November 29, 1999 | E0914 | 10.90 [22] |
When a financial analyst and devotee of BDSM is found strangled to death in a leather harness in her bedroom, Benson and Stabler at first suspect either suicide or accidental death from autoerotic asphyxiation. However, the discovery of a large quantity of hidden diamonds leads the detectives into a shadowy world of money laundering and securities fraud. | |||||||
10 | 10 | "Closure: Part 1" | Stephen Wertimer | Wendy West | January 7, 2000 | E0915 | 13.66 [23] |
Benson does her best to help a rape victim (Tracy Pollan), who is able to describe her attack, but not the attacker (Neil Maffin) in perfect detail. When the detectives revisit the case a few months later, they find the woman even less willing to talk about what happened, as she claims she has moved on. Things turn uncomfortable within the squad when Benson and Cassidy, who spent a night together, argue over whether the relationship should be continued.
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11 | 11 | "Bad Blood" | Michael Fields | Dawn DeNoon & Lisa Marie Petersen | January 14, 2000 | E0916 | 13.11 [24] |
The death of a young gay man initially leads Benson and Stabler to investigate his homophobic father, but once they start looking into the young man's living arrangements, they realize the person they're looking for may be closer than they think. Munch tries to help Benson find the man who raped her mother.
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12 | 12 | "Russian Love Poem" | Rick Rosenthal | Eva Nagorski | January 21, 2000 | E0913 | 14.33 [25] |
When Andrew Harlin, a bisexual multi-millionaire, is found murdered in his home, Benson and Stabler turn their suspicion to Harlin's long list of lovers. Evidence at the crime scene leads detectives to a pair of Russian escorts, but before they can get the truth from them, one turns up dead, and the boyfriend (Olek Krupa) of the other confesses to murder. | |||||||
13 | 13 | "Disrobed" | David Platt | Janet Tamaro | February 4, 2000 | E0910 | 15.14 [26] |
After a judge is found murdered in his car, the detectives begin looking into his background and learn that he often delivered special verdicts for women in return for sexual favors. The team soon turns its eye to a battered wife (Kathryn Meisle) with a secret. Detective Cassidy transfers to Narcotics feeling unable to cope with the SVU cases, leaving Munch without a partner. | |||||||
14 | 14 | "Limitations" | Constantine Makris | Michael R. Perry | February 11, 2000 | E0919 | 12.24 [27] |
At the request of a victim, the police commissioner comes to Cragen with a special request: close the case of the man who raped three women (Jenny Bacon, Judith Hawkins and Seana Kofoed) nearly five years ago before the statute of limitations expires. The detectives finally get a lead when they realize one of the victims knows the rapist, but she is not willing to talk. Following Cassidy's departure, Munch is partnered with Jeffries. | |||||||
15 | 15 | "Entitled" | Ed Sherin | Story by : Dick Wolf, René Balcer, & Robert Palm Teleplay by : Robert Palm & Wendy West | February 18, 2000 | E0918 | 17.13 [28] |
After a salesman is murdered, the detectives turn their attention to Stephanie Mulroney (Noelle Beck), the youngest daughter of a well-known family with some deep connections. But as they join forces with the officers from the 27th Precinct, they realize that their case is connected with a long-unsolved case that Briscoe once handled years ago with his former partner, Detective Mike Logan.
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16 | 16 | "The Third Guy" | Jud Taylor | Dawn DeNoon & Lisa Marie Petersen | February 25, 2000 | E0920 | 13.68 [29] |
An elderly woman is found tied up and sexually assaulted in her apartment and suspicion is initially on the young men that had broken into her home and robbed her. Once the detectives catch the young men, they learn that there was someone else in the apartment. The offered plea bargain initially doesn't go over well, but they finally reach a deal which leaves the detectives with a new case - whether or not the person who sexually assaulted the woman (Denis O'Hare) was mentally handicapped. | |||||||
17 | 17 | "Misleader" | Richard Dobbs | Story by : Nick Harding & Nick Kendrick Teleplay by : Nick Kendrick | March 31, 2000 | E0912 | 12.45 [30] |
After the pregnant daughter-in-law of a prominent Christian right leader (Robert Foxworth) is found murdered in her hotel room, the detectives investigate a rash of hotel burglaries, only to discover that her adultery (and the probable father of her child) was what led to her death. | |||||||
18 | 18 | "Chat Room" | Richard Dobbs | Roger Garrett | April 14, 2000 | E0923 | 12.67 [31] |
When a teenage girl (Paz de la Huerta) comes into the squad room to tell the detectives that she was raped by a man she met on the Internet, the detectives set up a special sting operation. They end up stepping on some highly-placed toes as Munch plays the kid to net the big fish. | |||||||
19 | 19 | "Contact" | Michael Zinberg | Robert Palm & Wendy West | April 28, 2000 | E0921 | 12.84 [32] |
After seven young women in a six-month time span are raped by a flash-and-dash assailant (Sal Viscuso) on the city subways, the brass calls in a psychiatrist to help the team get into the head of the perpetrator. When he is caught, all seven victims identify him in a police lineup, but the IDs are suppressed. However, the detectives find that he possesses the driver's license of a new victim who could put him away. | |||||||
20 | 20 | "Remorse" | Alexander Cassini | Michael R. Perry | May 5, 2000 | E0924 | 11.94 [33] |
Television reporter Sarah Logan (Jennifer Esposito) refuses to let her recent rape get her down, and talks about her experiences on the air, leading to the arrest of a young man that the team feels is responsible. Over the course of the investigation, Munch and Jeffries become unusually affected by the case, albeit in different ways. | |||||||
21 | 21 | "Nocturne" | Jean de Segonzac | Wendy West | May 12, 2000 | E0922 | 13.70 [34] |
After a pharmacy turns over some disturbing photos of a young boy, Benson and Stabler arrest a piano teacher (Kent Broadhurst) for child molestation. After the boy claims to have seen other pictures of young boys at the teacher's house, the detectives get a warrant and discover a series of videos that document the life of a young boy named Evan (Wilson Jermaine Heredia). Believing he can make or break their case, the team searches for him, only to realize that his testimony may not help at all because Evan is scarred far more deeply than they realized. | |||||||
22 | 22 | "Slaves" | Ted Kotcheff | Lisa Marie Petersen & Dawn DeNoon | May 19, 2000 | E0926 | 12.16 [35] |
After a shopkeeper brings a note for help to the squad, the detectives begin trying to locate a young Romanian woman named Ilena (Layla Alexander), who has not been seen in months. The squad eventually find her working as a nanny at the home of the Morrows (Andrew McCarthy and Susan Floyd), a successful yuppie couple who harbor a terrible secret. A forensic psychologist analyzes the team, and presents disturbing findings to Cragen, suggesting that one of the detectives be removed from the team immediately.
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On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 84% with an average score of 7.5 out of 10 based on 43 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, “Special Victims Unit often blurs the line between socially conscious and exploitative, but Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni's terse chemistry adds a dimension of personality to the absorbing Law & Order formula. [36] Metacritic gave the season a score a weighted average based on the impression of 22 critical reviews—of 68 signifying generally favorable reviews. [37] The pilot episode was generally well received, and Caryn James of The New York Times said that "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: headline-generated stories resolved in self-contained episodes; a no-nonsense tone; a cast large enough to vary the focus." [38]
Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly said that season one was "refreshingly dark-hearted alternative" and that it was "top-heavy with lightweight dramedies". [39] Joyce Millman of Salon.com said the season was "melodramatic and manipulative, splattered with awkward attempts at comedy", then she criticized the season progression, proclaiming "simultaneously soggy and crisp not an appealing combination however you slice it". [40]
The first season's ratings were consistently medium, ranking #33 in its time-slot and leading its closest competition by 12.8 million viewers per episode, making it one of NBC's top-rated shows of the year. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a rating of 75% based on critic reviews, praising the performances and the series's bold approach to sensitive topics.[ citation needed ]
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - The First Year was released as a widescreen 2-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on October 21, 2003. It was distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - The First Year | |||||
Set Details | Special Features | ||||
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Release Dates | |||||
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
October 21, 2003 | February 28, 2005 | January 19, 2005 |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Dick Wolf for NBC. The first spin-off of Law & Order, it stars Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson, now the commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit after originally having been Stabler's partner in a fictionalized version of the New York City Police Department, and Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit follows the detectives of the Special Victims Unit as they investigate and prosecute sexually based crimes. Some of the episodes are loosely based on real crimes that have received media attention.
Mariska Magdolna Hargitay is an American actress, producer, and philanthropist. Hargitay has played Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, which is the longest-running character in the longest-running American primetime drama. Since 2013, she is among the highest-paid actresses on television. Her accolades include two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, and in 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is also known for her philanthropic work and activism.
John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on the American crime drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street on NBC. A regular through the entire run of the series from 1993 to 1999, Munch is a cynical detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide unit, and a firm believer in conspiracy theories. He is originally partnered with Detective Stanley Bolander. Munch is based on Jay Landsman, a central figure in David Simon's 1991 true crime book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.
Olivia "Liv" Margaret Benson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. Benson holds the rank and pay-grade of Captain and is the Commanding Officer of the Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department, which operates out of the 16th Precinct. She investigates sexual offenses such as rape and child sexual abuse.
The eighth season of the legal drama Law & Order aired on NBC from September 24, 1997, to May 20, 1998, and consisted of 24 episodes.
The ninth season of Law & Order premiered in the United States on NBC on September 23, 1998, and ended with a two-part episode on May 26, 1999. It was released on DVD on December 6, 2011. This was the last season of Law & Order to air alone. Its first spinoff, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, debuted the following fall.
The tenth season of Law & Order premiered on NBC, September 22, 1999 alongside Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and ended May 24, 2000. Executive Producers René Balcer and Ed Sherin both left the show at the end of the season. This is the final season to feature Steven Hill as Adam Schiff, who was the last original cast member.
The following is a list of Law & Order episodes from the series twelfth season, which originally aired from September 26, 2001 to May 22, 2002. This season is the last season to feature Dianne Wiest as DA Nora Lewin and the first to feature Elisabeth Röhm as ADA Serena Southerlyn.
The fourteenth season of Law & Order premiered on September 24, 2003 and concluded on May 19, 2004 on NBC which remained unchanged. The season consists of 24 episodes. This is the final season to feature Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe. The character was transferred to the spin-off Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Orbach appeared in only two episodes of the show, dying of prostate cancer on December 28, 2004. In May 2004, it was announced that Dennis Farina would be replacing Jerry Orbach as Detective Joe Fontana. Having moved over to the third Law & Order spin-off, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Orbach only filmed two episodes of the series before his death in December 2004 Season 14 was released on DVD, September 14, 2004 & the slimline reissue set was released on February 25, 2014.
Richard Jay Belzer was an American actor, comedian, and author. He was best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/sergeant and investigator John Munch, whom he portrayed for 23 years in the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and several guest appearances on other series.
Detective Brian Cassidy is a fictional character played by Dean Winters in the American crime drama television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC. A recurring cast member during the first season, Cassidy is a young and inexperienced detective with the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit, and the original partner of John Munch.
The eighth season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 19, 2006 and ended May 22, 2007 on NBC. The series remained in its 10pm/9c Tuesday timeslot. With the introduction of a new partner for Detective Stabler, early episodes of season 8 took on a significantly different focus when compared to those of previous seasons.
The third season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered Friday, September 28, 2001 and ended Friday, May 17, 2002 on NBC. It occupied the Friday 10pm/9c timeslot once again.
The fifth season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 23, 2003, and ended May 18, 2004, on NBC. Law & Order: SVU moved away from its Friday night slot to Tuesday nights at 10pm/9c. Casey Novak, the unit's longest-serving ADA, was introduced in the fifth episode when Diane Neal joined the cast to fill the absence left by Stephanie March.
The fourth season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 27, 2002 and ended May 16, 2003 on NBC. This was the last season of the series to air on Friday nights at 10pm/9c.
The ninth season of the police procedural/legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 25, 2007 and ended May 13, 2008 on NBC. It aired on Tuesday nights at 10pm/9c. Mariska Hargitay, having won a Golden Globe Award in 2005, received her second Golden Globe nomination for her work in the ninth season.
The second season of the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered October 20, 2000, and ended May 11, 2001, on NBC. The show remained in its time slot, Friday nights at 10pm/9c. As Neal Baer's first year producing the show, the second season was accompanied by drastic changes in tone. Additionally, the series began to increase its focus on trial scenes with the addition of an Assistant District Attorney for sex crimes to the cast.
The fifteenth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit made its debut with a two-hour premiere episode on September 25, 2013, at 9pm/8c - 11pm/10c (Eastern), on NBC. The season ended on May 21, 2014, after 24 episodes.
"Manhattan Vigil" is the fifth episode of the fourteenth season of the American police procedural Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the 300th overall. It first aired on October 24, 2012, on the NBC network in the United States. The episode's plot focuses on the kidnapping of a young boy from the subway in Morningside Heights. Captain Donald Cragen, Sergeant John Munch and Detective Olivia Benson realize the case echoes a similar kidnapping in the same neighborhood 13 years prior. As the SVU squad try to find the missing child, they also try to solve the earlier case and learn from their mistakes.