about the series
Law & Order Special Victims Unit, usually shortened to Law & Order SVU or just SVU, is a spin-off of the famous crime drama, Law & Order, which was created by Dick Wolf. The original and SVU are not the only Law & Order'; Criminal Intent, Crime and Punishment and several other spin-offs also exist. Some were short-lived, and the original ended its 20-year run in spring of 2010. At this writing, only SVU is still on the air. Of all
the series' spin-offs, SVU was the first.SVU premiered in September of 1999 and is still in production. Since its premiere it has held most of the main cast, with minor changes here and there. The opening line of SVU reads as follows and summarizes the show's basic plot:
"In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories."One of those "dedicated detectives" just happens to be our site's star, Detective Elliot Stabler. Elliot is portrayed by Christopher Meloni and is one of the main characters, from the show's inception through season 12. The title of all the L&O series splits into two parts, dividing the characters on the show appropriately. The Law are the detectives, who investigate crimes and track down the culprits. So of course, Elliot is the Law aspect of SVU. The Order, then, are the attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
Typically, an episode of SVU opens with a crime being committed or having already been committed and thusly discovered by someone, who then calls the police. If they suspect that it's a sex crime, then SVU is called in. Elliot and his partner, Olivia Benson, show up on the scene to gather the initial details. This includes collecting evidence and talking to witnesses, if there are any. As an episode plays out, Elliot and Olivia, plus the other two detectives on the show, John Munch and Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Munch has had other partners, but Fin has been with him the longest), try to crack the case and bring the criminal(s) to justice. Sometimes the SVU wins, sometimes they don't. But they always do their best to ensure that justice is served, which makes them the "elite squad" that they are.