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At first I was hesitant to start watching this show. I am a survivor of rape and sexual assault, so I was afraid that this would be triggering for me. However it has actually been the opposite. Watching SVU has helped me heal and find closure with my past. I love that they are always actively combatting rape culture, and reminding that every one is worth a damn.

As a huge fan and follower of this show for many, many years, I had rated it 10/10, and never missed an episode. But this new season ever since Kelli Giddish left the show, it seems the casting and writing has left the building as well.

I'm not saying that Giddish made or broke the show, but it seems with her leaving, the writers and casting directors left with her, because most of the new characters are just not believable, or offer up any reason to relate or sympathize with them, and the writing has become stale, ridiculous and mostly boring.

We see much less of the regulars like Tutuola, except for Benson, who seems to be on a power-trip all of the time all of a sudden, and Carisi, who seems lost since his love interest left her position. All the new cast seem to be entangled in too many nonsense personal dramas, and are just not convincing in their roles.

For the first time, I look more forward to seeing L&O-OC instead of L&O-SVU, as they've upped their writing and the show has become more suspenseful. Thus I've dropped my rating to a 8/10. Hopefully the writing improves with the upcoming episodes and the new characters as this season progresses.

Season 23 has been the worst season of the series. It was supposed to be one of the best in many with the return of Stabler. Sadly after watching for about 15 years and have seen every episode I'm no longer a fan. It's lost what it once had.

I love the SVU series. I'm watching every episode from the beginning. It helps me so much to think about something other than my cancer pain. So thank you for saving me from that!

When I am communicating with other people interested in crime series it is remarkable how many people seem to watch either CSI or CSI: Miami or both. Rarely (actually never) have I heard talk about this show, unless I brought it up myself and ended up discussing it with them. Of course I do not know the situation in America and other countries regarding this show, but I feel it is very underrated in the Netherlands. Of course this has a lot to do with it's programming spot. While CSI is usually on Saturday's at 8:30 or 9:30 p.m. and CSI: Miami on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m., SVU's spot has been Sunday's around 11p.m. for quite some time now. That's hardly what I call a prime time spot. Just to compare I looked up the share's of those 3 shows on the internet. CSI has a share of 26 in the US and 17,5 in the Netherlands. For CSI:Miami these numbers are 15,0 and 13,2 and for SVU they are 17,0 and 7,7. This doesn't mean much, but once bring the number of households into it, it gets a lot clearer. CSI has about 18,6 million viewers in the US while CSI:Miami and SVU have 10,5 and 11,9 viewers respectively. In the Netherlands these figures are 1,175 million; 910 thousand and 370 thousand. This means that SVU has less than one-third of the viewers CSI has and MUCH less than half the viewers CSI: Miami has. In America SVU has two-thirds of the viewers of CSI and about 10% more than CSI:Miami. In my opinion this has a lot to do with the extremely bad programming spot SVU has gained in the Netherlands and the fact that the program is not advertised as vigorously as the two CSI's, for I feel it cannot have anything to do with it's quality.

The thing that makes SVU stand out so much in opinion, is that the stories depicted are very realistic and heart felt. I personally appreciate it very much, that there are no cheap attempts to make you cry by extending dramatic scenes or underscoring them with sad music. Mostly the sad parts happen quite suddenly and are relatively short. Maybe that's just another 'trick' to get you to cry without being as obvious as many soap opera's. TO me though, it makes the stories appeal much more life-like and truly gut-wrenching and sad.

Also all of the characters are good. If you watch long enough, you can get bits and pieces of information on everyone of them, thus discovering what makes them tick. I must admit that the series has changes it's emphasis a bit in recent years. In the first year there were numerous episode's that featured theme's or events from the investigator's home environment (especially Stabler's). This trend has somewhat diminished over the years, yet you can still see each individual's background shining through into their work ethics. One thin I really had to get used to was Richard Belzer's (Det. John Munch) role getting smaller. It seems to me that in the first few years of the series he was present much more and he made much more cynical remarks, something I really enjoyed. But overall the series has not changed for the worse, for I feel it has actually improved. While a few years ago I'd given this series an 8 out of 10 I'm much more inclined now to rate it even higher. What I've come to appreciate these last 2 or three years, were the additions of Ice-T (Det. Fin Tutuola), B.D. Wong (Dr. George Huang) and Stephanie March (A.D.A. Alex Cabbot) to the team. Stephanie March's character provides the viewer not only with an insight to what the D.A's job is, but her involvement in the series also shows what difficult decisions need to be made at times when the victim becomes the pursued or when a suspect cannot legally be brought to justice. Huang's intense involvement lately is in my opinion the biggest and best evolution the series has undergone (up until now). Not only because there have been few if any series which placed the work of the forensic psychiatrist is in the spotlight, but also it is much more realistic than for instance the media's depiction of profilers in The Silence of the Lambs or the TV-series Profiler. Also I think it is good (in addition to being very interesting) to show the public that not every offender is purely bad, but there is often much more when you go beyond the surface. As for Ice-T's character, I think he really completes the mix in the show, as the tough street cop. Him and Belzer are an ideal couple, just like Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni).

The reasons, I personally feel SVU is the best crime series on the tube at the moment, are easily summarized. It has very much diversity, it offers insight into the psyche's of both victim's and perpetrators and it is realistic in every aspect.

9 out of 10

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is one of the best and most underrated shows on TV. It stars Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler, a tough-as-nails detective who makes his hatred of pedophiles and child molesters well known many times throughout the show. He has another side, a vicious side, that Criminal Intent's Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) lacks. I'm very pleased that he's been nominated for an Emmy. Mariska Hargitay won an Emmy for her performance as Olivia Benson, another fantastic detective. Benson has more edge than CI's Alex Eames (Kathrine Erbe), but is revered for her ability to communicate to troubled witnesses and gouge confessions out of suspects. Her life is put in danger at least twice a season, yet she continues to be strong. Next is the sarcastic detective Jon Munch, played by the excellent comedian Richard Belzer. Munch may seem annoying at times, but his ability to relate to witnesses is excellent, and he plays the "good cop, bad cop" role very well. The final detective is Finn Tutuola, played by former rapper Ice-T. Ice-T plays the character reasonably well, but I think we'd all like to see a meaner side of him. He was very good in the episodes entitled "Rage," and "Rooftop". They are led by Don Cragen, played by Dann Florek, and Cragen is as good a captain as any, as Florek reprises his role he held on "Law & Order" for a few years. Adam Beach recently joined the show, bringing something new to the table in youth and his almost 'surfer dude' approach to detective work. The ADA now is Casey Novak, played by Diane Neal, who could be better, but she gets the job done. She's been better of late, and the contrast between her and her predecessor is really helpful to the show. Her predecessor, Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) was great also. The team is also aided by an FBI psychiatrist, George Huang (BD Wong), who aids them in finding out the true horrors of a person, witness or suspect. His best performance was in the episode called "Coerced." The members of this unit investigate sexually based crimes (rape, rape-homicide) and child based crimes (school shootings, child abuse, child molestation). The show has had extraordinary guest stars, from evil (Johnny Messner, Reg Flowers, Asio Highsmith, Jeff Kober) to touching (Leland Orser, Jerry Lewis) to lost (Brittany Snow) to famous and legendary actors (Jerry Lewis, Dean Cain, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Henry Winkler, Robin Williams, Matthew Modine, Alfred Molina, Cynthia Nixon, John Ritter). This is a truly great show that not only shows the line of work in this graphic department, but shows the emotional stress a detective goes through. 10/10

I am not usually into law all that much but this show is an exception. Each actor does an excellent job portraying their character and the show keeps me on the edge of my seat in every episode I watch.

Also, they do a excellent job at making the least suspected character that many don't think did the crime, the one who actually did do the crime.

They also do a good job at making the storyline for each episode. Instead of keeping the same old ones in every episode, they mix the story lines between rape, poison, kidnap, beating, child abuse etc. You just never know what the show is about until you watch it and that is what makes it so great.

Overall, I give this excellent show a 10/10.

I've always thought that Special Victims Unit was qualitatively inferior to the original Law And Order. Not that the cast was bad and certain individual episodes were outstanding. But overall the concept of focusing on sex crimes led our detectives way far field into areas that certainly were not in their jurisdiction. In real life Benson, Staebler, Tutuola, and Munch should have handed off cases to other squads and investigative units and even other police agencies.

Still Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay made a most professional team and their biggest contribution to the show's staying power was demonstrating that two people could have a most professional relationship without becoming romantically involved. When Meloni started having marital issues they were not over Mariska.

It took awhile, but Richard Belzer who retired from the Baltimore PD and went right to work for the Sex Crime Unit at the NYPD finally came up with a chemically compatible partner in Ice-T. In fact all four of the detectives register with unique personalities and a take on life.

The producers of Law And Order owed Dann Florek big time for dropping him from the prime series so it was nice to see him back in charge of this squad. A nice connection to the original series.

This show's gets far more way out in its stories, but they are delivered with pride and professionalism as befits the cast. Only the most especially heinous of crimes are dealt with here.

This was an amazing show when it had a bigger ensemble cast. Now its less than a handful of regulars?!?!!! Just not as good as it used to be.

I used to love this show, but now it's all about Benson. She leads the charge, delivers all the crushing lines, saves the day, swans around as is SVU was her baby, and we get her flamin personal life thrown in to boot.

I am irritated now by her. Her twee soft voice when trying to appear caring, her cocking her head to the left when trying to appear sympathetic.

Mariska can't act. She has for some reason risen up through the ranks of this once brilliant show and now in her leading lady role, as well as producer and director has turned it into a one trick, three legged donkey.

I used to LOVE this show. Like many, I was sad when Stabler left and kept hoping he'd return but, hey, at least we still had Munch, Cragen and Fin. The show should've ended when Munch and Cragen left. Since then, it seems the sole purpose of this show is to surpass the record set by the FAR SUPERIOR original "Law & Order" which NEVER should've ended (or, at least been given the proper send-off it deserved). The last several years of SVU have been completely unwatchable. Not because of the so-called "leftist propoganda" some viewers have accused but because the writing, acting, and overall feel and tone of the show has descended to the immeasurably low quality formerly found only in embarrassingly inferior "Law & Order" wannabe franchises (CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, et al).

This show doesn't deserve to have the record for longevity when the quality has been sorely lacking for at least the last 1/3 of its run. Just END it already!

I watched SVU a lot before but now it's just soap all the way. Just sad to watch really.

I have never one been that big of a fan of the original Law & Order. I would watch it for time to time and it was an alright show but never really had anything jump out at me to make it one of my can't miss shows. Then this show came on. I watched this show when it premiered back in 1999 and was impressed from the get go. Sure it followed the basic premise of it's original cousin but was much more loose on it's format and execution. Some episodes hardly ever involve the court room at all where the original week in week out follows a distinct pattern. First half hour is the law then the next is the order. This show although does sometimes follow the same pattern like i mentioned it is much more loose in how it executes it. Mariska Hartigay is excellent as her portrayal of Det. Olivia Benson. The whole cast as a whole is magnificent. Now I know a lot of people will disagree with me that this show is in no way better than the original but for me it is. It has given me something that the original never did.

I still do not like the character of Olivia Benson being in charge of SVU as she is not good at it at all as she strictly is all for the females every time as far as victims go but then she doesn't trust or get totally along with Rollins maybe she sees her as a threat or something because Rollins sees & hears both sides males & females. They need to bring in somebody else to be in charge of SVU & bust Benson back down to just being a detective. The last & latest episode I'm on the fence or almost over the fence because the "victim" liked the guy when she first seen him telling her cousin he is hot & then the whole bathroom scene & other witnesses from the party said she was all over him even as they went outside. I do not think it warrants rape. Also in this episode Benson makes it sound like before we have sex every time we have to ask permission & wait for a firm definitive yes or no whether it's our wife or girlfriend or whomever & that way off point & wrong. Rape is or should be when somebody says no or is fighting you off while at the same time the perp doesn't care what the female is saying & forces it on her anyway.

Must watch tv till season 22 , then tick in the box woke nonsense took over , every episode now has a race angle or some left wing soap box preaching in it , let's drop the PC nonsense and get back to how it was !

This used to be my favorite show. But recently the show has gone down hill. All the mrs Stabler. I think I will stick to law and order. Great show. No soapy crap.

Some people prefer the original. Some people (a limited group, I must say) prefer CI (though it gets the worst reviews of the three). Some people just seem to hate Mariska, for whatever reason.

But I love this show more than anything, and Mariska, I think, is probably the high point of the show. After all, what would the show be without Olivia Benson?

The cases suck you in through their sheer momentum - rape, child abuse - things most people find sickening, which is why it's so amazing that this show even exists. And the plots are excellent at that.

And then you have the characters. L & O is famous for not giving you much depth into their characters - SVU is easily the one with the most character development. You've got John Munch, who's gone through numerous wives, is in love with the ideal of love even though he's never found it, used to work Baltimore homicide, and is a complete smart ass in love with conspiracies. Elliot Stabler is a former marine with 4 kids and a 20-year marriage to his high school sweetheart. Fin - well, Fin's the most private of the four main detectives, which works for him.

And then you have Olivia. The only female member of the squad, her history is part of what drew me to the show. Her mother was raped by her father, and Serena Benson had Olivia through that horrible crime. A drunk, she wasn't the best of mothers, but you can tell that Liv still loved her. But it's a past that still haunts her.

All of the actors and actresses do a fantastic job at conveying the emotions of these people. I'm still bemoaning the loss of Stephanie March as Alex Cabot, and really hope that I'll stop hating Casey (Diane Neal) Novak for replacing her sometime soon.

But lord knows, I will keep watching this show for as long as I can.

I look forward to seeing the new and the old shows of the Special Victims Unit. I truly enjoy them. I do not like Criminal Intent because the main detective seems to know everything and leaves nothing to the imagination. Special Victims Unit is good from beginning to end with everyone participating. There is no "Mr. Know-it-all" like there is in Criminal Intent. The cases in the Special Victims Unit seems so real and I love the fact that they officers are always searching and digging. They appear to be tough and sometimes intense, yet they show their human side. They care about the victims. I love all of the actors in Special Victims Unit. It's a great series and if I had the time, I would watch it all day long. I rarely miss and episode. I like the original Law and Order, but my favorite is The Special Victims Unit. I do not like Criminal Intent. There is no team work there and one man knows everything!

I used to love this show, and still enjoy most of the earlier episodes. I've become tired of the political themes though. I watch to see a crime show, not have agendas shoved down my throat. I'm not even conservative and I find it annoying. After seeing the previews for next week's episode, I probably won't watch it. If all the episodes this season are like this, I'll likely just stop watching altogether.

The soul of this show. He was not in most of the episodes in the incredibly long run of the program. But when he was, Belzer often was written as the most interesting character. His sense of morality and what is Right balanced the show. Munch loved his coworkers and had a marvelous sense of justice even with the (sensible) conspiracy thoughts. He Always cared about the children in the best ways - Munch knew who mattered in any situation in a program that consistently entertains & tells relevant stories.

Rarely was he featured. Some of the greatest episodes happened when he was.

I wish that he was still alive to receive the additional praise his work deserves.

Ever since about series 22 it has been the Benson and Rollins show. Most of the scenes are with these two characters now. Are they the only two who care, they both have children but never see them due to their obsession with work. The rest of the cast dont get a look in. My favourite cop was John Munch, but he sadly left. Liv has certainly perfected that constipated look. Carisi is a very angry shouty man. Its becoming a bit unbelievable.

Some of the stories are still watching but now series 23 they are in the minority. I hope somebody up there is watching because i think the sainthoods are in the post for Benson and Rollins.