- Network: NBC
- Series Premiere Date: Sep 20, 1999
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Critic Reviews
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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When the hour is over, one is left with the distinct impression that the story could have been told just as well, if not better, on the original "Law & Order." And one is reminded yet again that network TV seems to be recycling old ideas just when it desperately needs new ones. [20 Sept 1999, p.E1]
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At times, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit flashes the same no-nonsense style of its sire: spare writing, quick pacing, ripped-from-the-headlines plot. But for much of the time, tonight's premiere is enervating, plodding and dull, which seems kind of odd when you're dealing with crimes of passion. [20 Sept 1999, p.E-3]
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There are lots of problems with the Special Victims premiere, chief among them being the focus on Olivia Benson, the female detective played by Mariska Hargitay. In a misguided rush to establish the character's background story and motivation as a cop, the episode's key moment is a revelation about an intimate detail of her life. It comes way before we have enough reason to care about her. [20 Sept 1999, p.7C]
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Meloni is smirky, Hargitay whiny, and transferred-from-"Homicide" detective John Munch (Richard Belzer) seems out of place. But Wolf has proved an expert at integrating cast changes on "L & O," and we have to believe he'll iron all this out. [20 Sept 1999, p.36]
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The most disappointing new show of the TV season...SVU helps you appreciate the "order" part of Law & Order. Though it will have the same crazy-quilt plot twists, this one's straight police work and seems a little drawn-out, not nearly as richly satisfying as a puzzler as its progenitor.
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It's subject matter that speaks to the train-wreck spectator in all of us, and designing a weekly show around it is a little uneasy-making. It's dangerously close to "reality" programming. That said, Special Victims Unit is an uneven hour that could improve with some aggressive fine tuning.
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Neither Meloni nor Hargitay is a great actor, and both are guilty of overacting here...The limited range of each is suggested by their over-reliance on one or two basics moves. Meloni purses his lips and bugs his eyes out to tell us he's intense and/or getting mad. Hargitay runs her hand through her hair to tell us she's stressed. She does the hair thing so many times tonight you fear she'll have pulled all her hair out by midseason. [20 Sept 1999, p.1E]
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The problem is that the new show makes the original look far better...There isn't enough special yet about this Special Victims Unit. [19 Sept 1999, p.F1]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 45 out of 52
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Mixed: 1 out of 52
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Negative: 6 out of 52
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Apr 24, 2014
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Mar 1, 2015
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Mar 1, 2022