Imagine a black diamond - beautiful but dark, very very dark
The second season of L&O SVU reached to the sky - well, the third did even better. It went to the orbit and started to beep. It is not an exaggeration. This is one of the toughest, most accurate and best interpreted cop series and its third season it purely unbelievable. If you are not yet familiar with the concept of Special Victims here is the definition of the competence of this elite squad:

Any child under 13 years of age who is the victim of any sex crime or attempted sex crime.
Any child under 11 years of age who is the victim of abuse by a parent or person legally responsible for the care of the child.
Any victim of rape (all degrees) or attempted rape (all degrees)
Any victim of Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees) or Attempted Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees)
Victims of Aggravated Sexual Abuse (all degrees)
Victims of Sexual Abuse 1st Degree

As you can see, this is a very tough show. Many cases are totally heartbreaking, so be warned - this is not for all audiences. You must be tough to enjoy it.

There are no changes compared with the season two and all the actors perform at the top of their abilities. Here is the cast:

Dann Florek veteran of Law and Order main franchise) is captain Cragen, head of the squad, an extremely competent and very tough cop and also life scarred veteran (divorced, living lonely, ex-alcoholic). A great caracter.
Mariska Hargitay (daughter of Jayne Mansfield) is detective Olivia Benson. She is also a very tough and smart cop (definitely more attractive that her boss however) and her life was really not a rose garden either. There is a really ugly and dark secret in her past, which explains partly why she lives alone. No spoilers - you desserve to discover it by yourself.
Christopher Meloni is detective Elliot Stabler. Ex Marine, married with three children, loving his job, physically very powerful, the best shooter in the unit, he is a very experienced and capable cop - but he is also the only one in the squad who in the past had disciplinary problems and for that reason he is being watched carefully by his superiors. He is the one who suffers the most emotionally from the cases he works with.
Richard Belzer is detective John Munch. This character is a real piece of art! Richard Belzer played John Munch first in the extraordinary "Homicide. Life on streets" for nine seasons, before moving - with the same character - to L&O SVU!! The reason behind this unique move is that detective John Munch build a following of worshippers, to such a point that he even appeared in an episode of X-Files ("The unusual suspects") - and if you watch this season of SVU you will instantly understand why and you will probably join the pack!
Ice-T is detective Odafin Tutuola (this is a Nigerian name). He is a veteran transferred from Narkotics, a tough, cynical, very smart and well spoken cop. He usually works with Munch and those two are a show in the show! Every scene with the two of them is a delight.
Stephanie March (possibly one of the most gorgeous women in American TV) is Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot. She is a very cold (and in the same time totally hot), archi ambitious, quite mean, ultra smart, playing dirty and full of venom woman. In one word - she is irresistible.

All episodes are very good - not even one moment of weakness here. Some are simply perfect, no way to say it differently. "Repression", which opens the season, is based on real events - it is possibly the most surprising and shocking in this season. "Stolen" and "Sacrifice" are totally heartbreaking - be warned! "Care" made me cry - and I am not really a young girl! "Ridicule" touches a topic you will not expect - it stars Diane Neal, who later will come back to SVU with a totally different role. In "Monogamy" you can watch John Ritter as a guest star - this episode is a total shocker and presents possibly the most disgusting crime in the whole season. In "Guilt" ADA Cabot will have to fight not only for a conviction, but for her career - and there will be lot of scars left for everybody.... "Justice" is a surprisingly tough criminal mystery, a real whodunnit - I couldn't find who is the culprit until the final two minutes. "Greed" features Henry Winkler as guest star and he gives a GREAT performance. "Competence", about a girl with Down syndrom is the most touching story in the season, one of the very few episodes in which at least some hope remains.... Finally "Silence" tackles the issue of accusations against a priest in a surprising way, with many twists and the solution which is quite unexpected.

This dark jewel is a must if you like cop shows - but be warned. It is very tough stuff.

Hide Reviews