Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - The Second Year

It's about bloody time that this season came onto DVD! Why they released season 5 before the others is quite beyond me, but as long as the other seasons get released quickly, and allow me to complete my collection, I won't complain. One of the things that really gets me about this series isn't just the hard-hitting cases that this show tackles, but also the characters and the acting.

The season opened with Stabler's daughter witnessing a gory crime scene, and some great father/daughter scenes resulted from this episode, depicting Stabler as a caring family man, sometimes made too paranoid by his job. Another episode that I found touching was 'Legacy', where a case of Shaken Baby Syndrome hits really close to home for Munch, played by Richard Belzer, who was originally on the series "Homicide: Life on the Street." Personally, I wish that the series focused more on Munch than it currently does. We learned a good deal about him in "Homicide", but since then, character development on this amazingly unique character has ground to a virtual halt, except for learning that his father killed himself, and young Munch considered himself responsible (see Season 5).

Season 2 also introduced the characters of Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola, played by Ice-T, and Assistant District Attorney Alex Cabot, played by Stephanie March. Although not a series regular, Dr. George Huang also appeared several times in the second season, brilliantly acted by B.D. Wong. This DVD set is well worth owning!

At any rate, Law & Order SVU has been, and continues to be one of the best TV series on the air in this age of cheezy, trashy reality shows which are in no way realistic. Who wants to see a bunch of idiots dress up like Gilligan and go through with a set of ridiculous stunts? If this is where the entertainment world is headed, I'll buy the DVD sets instead and watch those. On the upside of that? No commercials! :-)

The Law & Order franchise is second only to the Simpsons to be the longest running television show. Through its success, the police drama has spawned three similar productions that crossover into different realms of the criminal world and guardians of the law. One of the descendants from the original series is Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, also known as SVU, which deals sensitive crimes of sexual nature. Each episode follows the complete circle of the crime. From the crime to the legal consequence portrayed through the eyes of the prosecutors. However, the focus of the series seems to rest on the investigators in the SVU and their investigative work, which reveals gruesome crimes such as rape and incest.

The opening of the second season brings an episode, Wrong is Right, that possess all the intrigues necessary to continue to fascinate the audience, as it did during its initial season. It simply continues where season one left off, as the repercussions of a psychological evaluation where two of the main characters shared their thoughts and actions. Detective Stabler's (Christopher Meloni) work begins to drastically affect his personal life, as his daughter witnesses a gruesome crime. Meanwhile, Detective Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Detective Munch (Richard Belzer) continue to work with dreadful crimes while Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) helps his squad whenever needed. During this initial and difficult episode of SVU, Detective Tutuola (Ice-T) arrives after having been transferred from the narcotics department.

The first episode helps set up the rest of the season, which ends with the season finale where a serial killer is on the loose. Every episode in between also contains grisly themes such as stalkers, child molesters, and prostitution among many other crimes that fall under the SVU jurisdiction. All episodes present some level of discomfort, as the audience gets to experience how the main characters reacted to the crimes and how they confront these crimes. The SVU is the most controversial of Law & Order's off-shoot, which with its dreadful themes attracts attention to why people commit such ghastly crimes. It also provides an interesting perspective on the human psyche, as it affects the characters in the series. Ultimately, the second season of SVU presents a very good experience that provides suspense and drama.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - The Second Year is a terrific television series that offers some light on a segment of the police profession that most people desire not to hear about. Nonetheless, NBC has been brave enough to create a TV series that discusses the dreadfulness of sex crimes in a clever and lawful manner. Those initiated to SVU should know that this show is definitely worth a viewing, as each episode will provide something new and ghastly. Yet, awareness could maybe help these crimes from surfacing and prevention could maybe be a little easier, as understanding for the victims is augmented through this excellent television show.

I love the show, and was very pleased to finally be able to see Season 2. Unfortunately, the second disc in the set was defective (same thing for the replacement Amazon sent me). Hopefully Universal will release a set with each disc in proper working order. (No dust or scratches on disc 2 - it just wouldn't play, no matter what DVD player it was in.)

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