One of the better detective shows ever on television. The show is about a group of detectives who work in the Special Victims Unit and investigate sex related crimes. The SVU detectives are all dedicated and have their own stories and inner battles. Running for over 20 years is testament to the shows strength. It was far better during the first 10 - 12 years, as would be expected. The show has lost some steam, its edginess and changed direction somewhat over last several seasons. For the first 10 - 12 years of this show it was generally well balanced in its views. It focused closely on the detectives work and catching the criminal. For years now the detective work usually plays second fiddle to the show being self-righteous and making a political statement. But it is still worth watching now if you like detectives shows, just try to watch some episodes from the first 10 - 12 years.
The stories are usually well constructed and interesting. The theme most times is - a crime is committed, the detectives investigate and the case goes to court. The viewer gets taken through most steps of the crime, investigation and court case. The actual detective work portrayed is far from flawless, and often not the way real life detectives could or would work a case. There are often twists and turns in the story, some you see coming some you don't. The production, sets and acting is very good.
The best years of this show are the ones with the well balanced team of Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson. Stabler who is a force to be reckoned with but a bit of a loose cannon at times. With Benson as the deep thinker and more compassionate one. They were the stars of the show and a good team. They upheld the law and investigated the cases in a gritty and tough environment. There has always been a strong support cast and often a good guest star. The show has a cast members leaving and being replaced, which keeps the team dynamics fresh and interesting. With the absence of Detective Elliot Stabler during the latter years, the character of Detective Olivia Benson on-screen presence has grown noticeably. Its a shame as some of the other characters are well played and quite interesting, they should get more camera time without Olivia Bensons constant presence. Once a leading detective now Olivia Benson is the Captain of the unit, she is unlike the old captain who gave a few orders and some age old wisdom. Olivia Benson is very hands on and usually takes centre stage in virtually all of the stories with her brand of police work and leftist views on life. Mariska Hargitay became an executive producer of the show, which might explain the growth of the Olivia Benson character. The show has become more and more woke/left which affects the balance of the story telling. During the last several years of the show, its not too hard to guess who committed the crime, as more times than not, it is a nasty white guy, middle to upper class, 25 - 55 years old who is the perpetrator.
