Law & Order: The Tenth Year (1999-2000)

Let me make it clear, straight up, that this is a review of the product, not of the show. As a huge Law & Order fan, I can say that the quality of these episodes is top-notch.

The product that NBC Universal/Universal Studios has put out though is another story.

I'm willing to ignore the lack of an episode list because I can just as easily get that online. Missing that doesn't really detract from the quality.

What I CANNOT and WILL NOT ignore is the absence of the crossover Law & Order SVU episode "Entitled - Part 1." The L&O Part 2 episode is present, but nowhere to be found is the important Part 1, DESPITE THE BACK COVER SAYING IT IS FEATURED!

When Season 9 came out, it took me a while to figure out where they had hidden the "Homicide" crossover episode. It was there, just very awkwardly placed. So before writing this review, I searched each of the five discs of Season 10 meticulously to see if I was missing something. I wasn't. It's nowhere to be found.

So why isn't it there? Copyright issues aren't a problem considering that it's the same production company. Season 1 of SVU is available on DVD, so DVD rights and issues shouldn't exist. I'm not as much of a fan of SVU, at least not enough to buy a season set just to get the one episode.

Am I sorry I bought the set? No. At Amazon's $24.99 price, it's still a steal for the quality of the episodes. But as far as I'm concerned, NBC Universal/Universal Studios owes me a disc with that SVU Episode on it.

I enjoyed each and every episode of this season. I missed Benjamin Bratt and thought he should have had a better send off in the 9th season. I loved the always direct and fearless Angie Harmon - it seems they toned down her character's behavior in this season. it did take a little getting used to in the 9th season but soon became a part of who her character was. Jack seemed to take more control in this season. As always my all-time favorite, Lenny Briscoe, is there to find any means necessary in nabbing the bad guys. Great scripts and talented actors kept this show alive, no matter how many people came and went. It would be nice to see more shows like this one instead of being overloaded with ridiculous and useless reality shows hitting the airwaves.

(Huge fan and glad I bought it - the 3 stars is only about the product, not the show.)

The big complaint in the Season 9 reviews was poor packaging/the lack of an episode list, which had me nearly downgrading it to 3 stars. OK, we all make mistakes, but there's no excuse for making the same mistake twice, so this time I have given only 3 stars. Surely Universal's well-paid marketing and sales people ought to check out the feedback on sites like this?

What adds insult to injury is that there is a paper insert with Season 10 - perfect for an episode list with summaries, which is what I thought it was at first - but it turns out just to be an ad for something or other.