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September 1999−May 2000
Regular Cast:
Christopher Meloni (Det. Elliot Stabler), Mariska Hargitay (Det. Olivia Benson), Richard Belzer (Det. John Munch), Michelle Hurd (Det. Monique Jefferies), Dean Winters (Det. Brian Cassidy), Dann Florek (Capt. Donald Cragen), Leslie Hendrix (M.E. Elizabeth Rodgers)
Christopher Meloni (Det. Elliot Stabler), Mariska Hargitay (Det. Olivia Benson), Richard Belzer (Det. John Munch), Michelle Hurd (Det. Monique Jefferies), Dean Winters (Det. Brian Cassidy), Dann Florek (Capt. Donald Cragen), Leslie Hendrix (M.E. Elizabeth Rodgers)
Season one cast, from l.-r.: Dean Winters (Det. Brian Cassidy), Dann Florek (Capt. Donald Cragen), Mariska Hargitay (Det. Olivia Benson), Christopher Meloni (Det. Elliot Stabler), Michelle Hurd (Det. Monique Jefferies), Richard Belzer (Det. John Munch)
Recurring Cast:
Isabel Gillies (Kathy Stabler), Chris Orbach (Ken Briscoe), Erin Broderick (Maureen Stabler), Jeffrey Scaperrotta (Dickie Stabler), Patricia Cook (Elizabeth Stabler), Holiday Segal (Kathleen Stabler), Welly Yang (Tech/Medical Examiner’s Assistant), Reiko Aylesworth (Assistant District Attorney Erica Alden), Angie Harmon (ADA Abbie Carmichael), Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe), Peter Francis James (Judge Kevin Beck)
Isabel Gillies (Kathy Stabler), Chris Orbach (Ken Briscoe), Erin Broderick (Maureen Stabler), Jeffrey Scaperrotta (Dickie Stabler), Patricia Cook (Elizabeth Stabler), Holiday Segal (Kathleen Stabler), Welly Yang (Tech/Medical Examiner’s Assistant), Reiko Aylesworth (Assistant District Attorney Erica Alden), Angie Harmon (ADA Abbie Carmichael), Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe), Peter Francis James (Judge Kevin Beck)
SEASON ONE OVERVIEW:
As with any new show, a first season can be a whirlwind of adjustment, as cast members find their characters’ voices and writers settle on a tone.
SVU
premiered with a further handicap: It wasn’t a spin-off, but it was a continuation of Dick Wolf’s Law & Order brand, which meant the carry-over audience from that show (about to begin its eleventh season when
SVU
debuted) would come with expectations. Translation: No personal lives, and a crime for which solving didn’t end with an arrest, or even a confession. So while the show included the familiar
L&O
door walk-through group shot in its opening credits—featuring from left to right Capt. Don Cragen, Det. Olivia Benson, Det. Elliot Stabler and Det. John Munch—
SVU
was left to re-convince its audience that it was possible, and satisfying, to forgo those two key elements. But the transition didn’t wholly take, and as the season went on, scripts spent more and more time in and around the courthouse, with ADAs popping up as recurring characters. Fortunately, the cast clicked almost immediately: Mariska Hargitay’s Benson and Christopher Meloni’s Stabler had an instant chemistry, while the other detectives—most especially Richard Belzer’s Munch, imported from another NBC show,
Homicide: Life on the Street
—went underused, but provided a solid underpinning of support. There were some early great episodes, and at least one throwaway, but overall there was no question: This was the start of something big.
As with any new show, a first season can be a whirlwind of adjustment, as cast members find their characters’ voices and writers settle on a tone.
SVU
premiered with a further handicap: It wasn’t a spin-off, but it was a continuation of Dick Wolf’s Law & Order brand, which meant the carry-over audience from that show (about to begin its eleventh season when
SVU
debuted) would come with expectations. Translation: No personal lives, and a crime for which solving didn’t end with an arrest, or even a confession. So while the show included the familiar
L&O
door walk-through group shot in its opening credits—featuring from left to right Capt. Don Cragen, Det. Olivia Benson, Det. Elliot Stabler and Det. John Munch—
SVU
was left to re-convince its audience that it was possible, and satisfying, to forgo those two key elements. But the transition didn’t wholly take, and as the season went on, scripts spent more and more time in and around the courthouse, with ADAs popping up as recurring characters. Fortunately, the cast clicked almost immediately: Mariska Hargitay’s Benson and Christopher Meloni’s Stabler had an instant chemistry, while the other detectives—most especially Richard Belzer’s Munch, imported from another NBC show,
Homicide: Life on the Street
—went underused, but provided a solid underpinning of support. There were some early great episodes, and at least one throwaway, but overall there was no question: This was the start of something big.
Ratings Recap for Season:
8.1 rating / 14 share / 11,169,000 viewers
EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS8.1 rating / 14 share / 11,169,000 viewers
Episode 1: Payback
Original air date: September 20, 1999
Teleplay by Dick Wolf, directed by Jean de Segonzac
Additional Cast:
Mili Avital (Marta Stevens), Elizabeth Ashley (Serena Benson), Judy Del Giudice (Judge Elizabeth Masullo), Ned Eisenberg (Kloster’s Lawyer), Gordana Rashovich (Anya Rugova), Tina Benko (Mrs. Panacek), Ronald Guttman (Gallery Owner), P.J. Brown (Bremmer), Ramsey Faragallah (Taxi Driver), Mark Nelson (Robert Stevens), Jeremy Bergman (Nicholas Stevens), Matt Skollar (Victor Spicer), Mark Zimmerman (Mr. Dupree), Irma St. Paule (Aunt Jashari), Sevanne Martin (Ileana Jashari), Bill Driscoll (Mr. Kloster), Vivian Nesbitt (Farley)
Mili Avital (Marta Stevens), Elizabeth Ashley (Serena Benson), Judy Del Giudice (Judge Elizabeth Masullo), Ned Eisenberg (Kloster’s Lawyer), Gordana Rashovich (Anya Rugova), Tina Benko (Mrs. Panacek), Ronald Guttman (Gallery Owner), P.J. Brown (Bremmer), Ramsey Faragallah (Taxi Driver), Mark Nelson (Robert Stevens), Jeremy Bergman (Nicholas Stevens), Matt Skollar (Victor Spicer), Mark Zimmerman (Mr. Dupree), Irma St. Paule (Aunt Jashari), Sevanne Martin (Ileana Jashari), Bill Driscoll (Mr. Kloster), Vivian Nesbitt (Farley)
Reviewing the Case:
Detectives investigate the stabbing of taxi driver Victor Spicer, which kicks off the series using the template, tone, and dark sense of humor of the original
Law & Order
. Spicer is the pseudonym for a man who headed up a Yugoslavian ethnic cleansing unit, so detectives locate some of his local victims. But when Benson sides with one of them, she lands in hot water with Cragen.
Detectives investigate the stabbing of taxi driver Victor Spicer, which kicks off the series using the template, tone, and dark sense of humor of the original
Law & Order
. Spicer is the pseudonym for a man who headed up a Yugoslavian ethnic cleansing unit, so detectives locate some of his local victims. But when Benson sides with one of them, she lands in hot water with Cragen.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
The story goes first to Stabler’s home, where he is married with four children; then to lunch with Benson and her mom Serena. Benson is the product of her mother’s rape.
The story goes first to Stabler’s home, where he is married with four children; then to lunch with Benson and her mom Serena. Benson is the product of her mother’s rape.
Relevant Testimony:
“I was sad about losing Munch (when NBC’s
Homicide
was canceled in 1999), that was an amazing experience. It was a minor miracle that everything worked out, in terms of so many entities (who had a stake in Munch) agreeing on something, and that’s a testament not to me personally but the character and the affection for the character everyone had and still has.”—Richard Belzer
Episode 2: A Single Life“I was sad about losing Munch (when NBC’s
Homicide
was canceled in 1999), that was an amazing experience. It was a minor miracle that everything worked out, in terms of so many entities (who had a stake in Munch) agreeing on something, and that’s a testament not to me personally but the character and the affection for the character everyone had and still has.”—Richard Belzer
Original air date: September 27, 1999
Teleplay by Miriam Kazdin, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
Additional Cast:
Michael Nouri (Dallas Warner), Dennis Boutsikaris (Dr. Mark Daniels), Laila Robins (Ellen Sidarsky Travis), Paul Hecht (Robert Sidarsky), Walt MacPherson (Det. Mourad), Leslie Lyles (Dr. Chatman), Liam Craig (Hawkins), Douglas D. McInnis (Trent Peterson), Virginia Louise Smith (Page), Clyde Baldo (Little Suit), Matthew Arkin (Mr. Daniels), Michael Gaston (Woody)
Michael Nouri (Dallas Warner), Dennis Boutsikaris (Dr. Mark Daniels), Laila Robins (Ellen Sidarsky Travis), Paul Hecht (Robert Sidarsky), Walt MacPherson (Det. Mourad), Leslie Lyles (Dr. Chatman), Liam Craig (Hawkins), Douglas D. McInnis (Trent Peterson), Virginia Louise Smith (Page), Clyde Baldo (Little Suit), Matthew Arkin (Mr. Daniels), Michael Gaston (Woody)
Reviewing the Case:
Benson and Stabler investigate the death of Susan Sidarsky, a writer who plunged from her apartment. The cinematography is notable here for its quiet poetry, as the detectives stare wordless at the body in the moment before opening credits begin. Sidarsky was molested as a child, and Benson talks her sister Ellen into confronting their father in the hopes of learning who’s behind Susan’s death. But the late writer leaves behind an epilogue that surprises everyone.
Benson and Stabler investigate the death of Susan Sidarsky, a writer who plunged from her apartment. The cinematography is notable here for its quiet poetry, as the detectives stare wordless at the body in the moment before opening credits begin. Sidarsky was molested as a child, and Benson talks her sister Ellen into confronting their father in the hopes of learning who’s behind Susan’s death. But the late writer leaves behind an epilogue that surprises everyone.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Benson resides in Manhattan; Stabler in Queens with wife Kathy, children Maureen, Kathleen, Elizabeth, and Dickie. Stabler’s previous partner, “Alphonse,” retired to Florida, so Benson is new to him. On the stand, Cassidy proves uncomfortable with—and ignorant of—graphic sexual terms. Cragen’s flight attendant wife, Marge, died in a crash that parallels the 1996 ValuJet downing in the Everglades.
Episode 3: . . . Or Just Look Like OneBenson resides in Manhattan; Stabler in Queens with wife Kathy, children Maureen, Kathleen, Elizabeth, and Dickie. Stabler’s previous partner, “Alphonse,” retired to Florida, so Benson is new to him. On the stand, Cassidy proves uncomfortable with—and ignorant of—graphic sexual terms. Cragen’s flight attendant wife, Marge, died in a crash that parallels the 1996 ValuJet downing in the Everglades.
Original air date: October 4, 1999
Teleplay by Michael R. Perry, directed by Rick Rosenthal
Additional Cast:
Jesse L. Martin (Det. Eddie Green), Bebe Neuwirth (Nina Laszlo), Carolyn McCormick (Dr. Elizabeth Olivet), Catherine Dent (Deborah Latrell), Ritchie Coster (Carlo Parisi), Rica Martens (Mrs. Johnson), Gary Klar (Lt. Joey Poole), Saidah Arrika Ekulona (Dr. Lakhmajara), Elizabeth Van Dyke (Attorney Harris), Ray Virta (Schecter), Lawrence Woshner (Dr. Sullivan), Peter Marx (Tom Burgess), Laura Poe (Sue Burgess), Todd Stashwick (Ricky Blaine), Damian Young (Hampton Trill)
Jesse L. Martin (Det. Eddie Green), Bebe Neuwirth (Nina Laszlo), Carolyn McCormick (Dr. Elizabeth Olivet), Catherine Dent (Deborah Latrell), Ritchie Coster (Carlo Parisi), Rica Martens (Mrs. Johnson), Gary Klar (Lt. Joey Poole), Saidah Arrika Ekulona (Dr. Lakhmajara), Elizabeth Van Dyke (Attorney Harris), Ray Virta (Schecter), Lawrence Woshner (Dr. Sullivan), Peter Marx (Tom Burgess), Laura Poe (Sue Burgess), Todd Stashwick (Ricky Blaine), Damian Young (Hampton Trill)
Reviewing the Case:
A model named Jasmine is raped and dumped in a parking lot. While investigating photographer Carlo Parisi, who had kicked the girl off the set for being too heavy, Benson recognizes his disfigured partner, who once testified in a stalk-and-attack case.
SVU
detectives run into
L&O
cops Lennie Briscoe and Eddie Green investigating a related crime, and share information. What emerges is how a blackmail threat from Jasmine turned into a beating . . . from an unexpected source. But just as the confession arrives, the story takes a tragic turn.
A model named Jasmine is raped and dumped in a parking lot. While investigating photographer Carlo Parisi, who had kicked the girl off the set for being too heavy, Benson recognizes his disfigured partner, who once testified in a stalk-and-attack case.
SVU
detectives run into
L&O
cops Lennie Briscoe and Eddie Green investigating a related crime, and share information. What emerges is how a blackmail threat from Jasmine turned into a beating . . . from an unexpected source. But just as the confession arrives, the story takes a tragic turn.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Stabler takes a belated concern in his eldest daughter’s weight obsession, and talks to Dr. Elizabeth Olivet (from
L&O
).
Stabler takes a belated concern in his eldest daughter’s weight obsession, and talks to Dr. Elizabeth Olivet (from
L&O
).
Relevant Testimony:
“I was happy to be working in New York City, I knew what my part was and I was happy to be part of the show. So I didn’t moan about it, but after a certain time I started to get frustrated when other people would be brought on and they had things to do.”—Michelle Hurd
Episode 4: Hysteria“I was happy to be working in New York City, I knew what my part was and I was happy to be part of the show. So I didn’t moan about it, but after a certain time I started to get frustrated when other people would be brought on and they had things to do.”—Michelle Hurd
Original air date: October 11, 1999
Teleplay by Dawn DeNoon and Lisa Marie Petersen, directed by Richard Dobbs
Additional Cast:
Garrett M. Brown (Peter Ridley), Joe Lisi (Sal D’Angelo), Frederick B. Owens (John Henderson), Brad Beyer (Dennis Caulfield), Lisa Summerour (Carol Henderson), Delphi Harrington (Evelyn Caulfield), Gloria Sauvé (Jacelyn Myers), Page Johnson (Harry Rosen), Redman Maxfield (Charles Caulfield), Susan Willis (Mrs. Overton), Dan Snook (Bill Griswold), Selenis Leyva (Lorinda Guterrez), Sondra James (Agnes Rosen), David Newer (Defense Attorney), Judy Del Giudice (Judge), Tom Gerard (Fredo Valenti), Jillian Bowen (Rose)
Garrett M. Brown (Peter Ridley), Joe Lisi (Sal D’Angelo), Frederick B. Owens (John Henderson), Brad Beyer (Dennis Caulfield), Lisa Summerour (Carol Henderson), Delphi Harrington (Evelyn Caulfield), Gloria Sauvé (Jacelyn Myers), Page Johnson (Harry Rosen), Redman Maxfield (Charles Caulfield), Susan Willis (Mrs. Overton), Dan Snook (Bill Griswold), Selenis Leyva (Lorinda Guterrez), Sondra James (Agnes Rosen), David Newer (Defense Attorney), Judy Del Giudice (Judge), Tom Gerard (Fredo Valenti), Jillian Bowen (Rose)
Reviewing the Case:
The detectives take over a smothering death of apparent prostitute Tracy Henderson when the vice cop who caught the case, Sal D’Angelo, calls it a “NHI” (no humans involved) case. But other deaths fit the M.O., and attention points first to Henderson’s boyfriend and then back to D’Angelo. But Briscoe (who used to work in his precinct) tells Cragen that it’s D’Angelo’s partner, Ridley, who’s the psycho. Ridley comes clean to some crimes while denying Henderson’s killing—and to solve that crime, detectives must search their souls—and some soles.
The detectives take over a smothering death of apparent prostitute Tracy Henderson when the vice cop who caught the case, Sal D’Angelo, calls it a “NHI” (no humans involved) case. But other deaths fit the M.O., and attention points first to Henderson’s boyfriend and then back to D’Angelo. But Briscoe (who used to work in his precinct) tells Cragen that it’s D’Angelo’s partner, Ridley, who’s the psycho. Ridley comes clean to some crimes while denying Henderson’s killing—and to solve that crime, detectives must search their souls—and some soles.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
The early episodes show a significant lack of cast integration and screen time: Jefferies and Cassidy have virtually nothing to do. Stabler’s middle daughter tells him she’s still a virgin, which tweaks him out.
Episode 5: WanderlustThe early episodes show a significant lack of cast integration and screen time: Jefferies and Cassidy have virtually nothing to do. Stabler’s middle daughter tells him she’s still a virgin, which tweaks him out.
Original air date: October 18, 1999
Teleplay by Wendy West, directed by David Jones
Additional Cast:
Lynn Collins (Virginia Hayes), Patricia Richardson (Annabel Hayes), John Dossett (Tom/Scott Dayton), Henry Strozier (John Freeman), Lisa Tharps (Prosecuting Attorney), William Westenberg (Ed Sostek), Marisa Redanty (Dr. Ramsdale), Anne Hubbard (Allison LoGreco), Kamal Marayati (Patel), Michael David Mantell (Jimmy Delmonico), Bruce Barney (Richard Schiller)
Lynn Collins (Virginia Hayes), Patricia Richardson (Annabel Hayes), John Dossett (Tom/Scott Dayton), Henry Strozier (John Freeman), Lisa Tharps (Prosecuting Attorney), William Westenberg (Ed Sostek), Marisa Redanty (Dr. Ramsdale), Anne Hubbard (Allison LoGreco), Kamal Marayati (Patel), Michael David Mantell (Jimmy Delmonico), Bruce Barney (Richard Schiller)
Reviewing the Case:
Dead travel writer Richard Schiller is discovered by his landlord, Annabel Hayes; Stabler removes a woman’s panties from his mouth. “Looks like he choked on his own words,” says the detective, taking a page from Briscoe’s joke book. Hayes’ boyfriend turns out to be a convicted child molester, so detectives turn to her teen daughter Virginia, who had gone ballistic about “Schilly’s” death. After a false molestation accusation and suicide attempt, however, Virginia has a new tale to tell.
Dead travel writer Richard Schiller is discovered by his landlord, Annabel Hayes; Stabler removes a woman’s panties from his mouth. “Looks like he choked on his own words,” says the detective, taking a page from Briscoe’s joke book. Hayes’ boyfriend turns out to be a convicted child molester, so detectives turn to her teen daughter Virginia, who had gone ballistic about “Schilly’s” death. After a false molestation accusation and suicide attempt, however, Virginia has a new tale to tell.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Lovelorn Munch flirts with Schiller’s ex-wife while interrogating her at the same time. Stabler again sees parallels between the teen Virginia and his teen Maureen going to the prom.
Episode 6: Sophomore JinxLovelorn Munch flirts with Schiller’s ex-wife while interrogating her at the same time. Stabler again sees parallels between the teen Virginia and his teen Maureen going to the prom.
Original air date: October 25, 1999
Teleplay by John Chambers, directed by Clark Johnson
Additional Cast:
Frank Deal (ADA), Novella Nelson (Mrs. Mosley), Kohl Sudduth (Riley Cougar), Al Sharpton (Himself), Lothaire Bluteau (James Henry Rousseau), Sean Squire (Chuck Mosley), Tom O’Rourke (Anthony Schlasser), Claire Lautier (Shelley Brown), George Martin (Father McCourt), John Elsen (Weatherbee), Bill Mitchell (Judge), Rose Stockton (Mrs. Gallagher), Barbara Caruso (Dr. Sara Goodnall), Carla Bianchi (Mrs. Dunbar), Michael Hobbs (Mr. Gallagher), Teri Lamm (Becky Underwood)
Frank Deal (ADA), Novella Nelson (Mrs. Mosley), Kohl Sudduth (Riley Cougar), Al Sharpton (Himself), Lothaire Bluteau (James Henry Rousseau), Sean Squire (Chuck Mosley), Tom O’Rourke (Anthony Schlasser), Claire Lautier (Shelley Brown), George Martin (Father McCourt), John Elsen (Weatherbee), Bill Mitchell (Judge), Rose Stockton (Mrs. Gallagher), Barbara Caruso (Dr. Sara Goodnall), Carla Bianchi (Mrs. Dunbar), Michael Hobbs (Mr. Gallagher), Teri Lamm (Becky Underwood)
Reviewing the Case:
This fast-moving collection of clues and class warfare is classic
L&O
but here gets an original
SVU
twist. A college student turns up dead after leaving a party with the basketball team, and two jocks are tested for DNA. When they don’t match samples found inside the victim, detectives talk to the late student’s professors, one of whom seems overly attentive. By episode’s end, there may not even have been a murder . . . but there’s still a comeuppance to be had.
This fast-moving collection of clues and class warfare is classic
L&O
but here gets an original
SVU
twist. A college student turns up dead after leaving a party with the basketball team, and two jocks are tested for DNA. When they don’t match samples found inside the victim, detectives talk to the late student’s professors, one of whom seems overly attentive. By episode’s end, there may not even have been a murder . . . but there’s still a comeuppance to be had.
Noteworthy Discoveries:
Cragen’s alma mater was St. Raymond’s, where the victim is found. In 1964 Cragen broke his leg when a fellow named Anthony Schlasser drunkenly crashed into his car. Schlasser is now in the mayor’s office, and Cragen still has a beef with him. Stabler went to Queens College.
Episode 7: UncivilizedCragen’s alma mater was St. Raymond’s, where the victim is found. In 1964 Cragen broke his leg when a fellow named Anthony Schlasser drunkenly crashed into his car. Schlasser is now in the mayor’s office, and Cragen still has a beef with him. Stabler went to Queens College.
Original air date: November 15, 1999
BOOK: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Unofficial Companion
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