Biography
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (also known as Law & Order: SVU or simply SVU) is an American drama TV series about the Special Victims Unit in a fictional version of the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. The show debuted on September 20, 1999 as a spin-off of the crime drama Law & Order and follows the same opening style of its parent. SVU is currently the highest-rated series of the Law & Order franchise, and is one of NBC's top rated shows. The franchise also includes two other series dramas: the original Law & Order, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Like its predecessor, many Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes are clear references to high-profile real-life cases (or famous fictional works), and are based on thinly veiled dramatizations of these actual events, though the particulars and outcome may end up to be quite different. As many episodes of all three Law and Order shows, the plots are "ripped from the headlines" not only taking on high-profile cases, but instituting many mainstream cultural references as fictitious entities, such as a faux Facebook or MySpace account.
The show is more character-driven than most police procedurals (such as the rest of the Law & Order franchise), with a less-than-complete focus on the main case, similar. For example, detectives Elliot Stabler (Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Hargitay) each signed up to work for the Special Victims Unit for different reasons: Stabler felt a moral responsibility to protect all people from the criminals that they had to deal with, especially because he had four children of his own, and later dealing with anger issues that drove away his wife and children. Benson was conceived when her mother was raped and had to put up with much of her subsequent alcoholism.
In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, more attention is paid to Benson and Stabler's relationship. This breaks form with the rest of the other Dick Wolf franchises. Benson and Stabler were seen struggling with their partnership. The emotional attachment between them became almost volatile at the end of the 2006 season, when Benson asked for a new partner. Concerning the Benson and Stabler relationship, Hargitay stated in an interview:
"It's very complicated. Sometimes it's very much like brother and sister, and I think the reason that they're so close is that they share a passion for their jobs and for the people. They have a mutual respect for one another. I think that the average lifespan of an SVU detective is four years because of the difficulty and stress involved. They've been doing it for longer than that, so they feel like they're in their own world almost. There's also sexual chemistry between them, it's so loaded and layered. People ask me if they'll ever get together — and people want that, and sometimes I think even Olivia wants that — but I don't think that will ever happen."
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