On the box

Now in its 16th season, ‘Law and Order SVU’ is just as engaging as it was back when they had the guy from Oz in it.

Indeed, not too much has changed over the years, bar the odd cast change and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Law and Order model of the hard-nosed cops catching the criminals and the legal-eagle-types putting them away, all in an hour-long escapade, has become legendary and similarly changed the procedural crime drama.

Law and Order SVU has survived many copycats and even rival spin-offs. In fact, Law and Order SVU has spun off and outlived the original Law and Order program. This offshoot deals with the special victims involved in crimes, usually of a sexual nature.

It’s the cases that really take the spotlight in SVU. The episodic format of the program revolves around each unique week’s case and this has led to most of the entertainment world being featured as a guest star at one point or other as a “victim” or “perp”.

One of the things that I personally find to be most compelling about the show, is the now much-parodied formula of the detectives’ personal lives only really being referred to off-hand. The personal drama that so many other crime dramas tap into really isn’t explored all too much in SVU. It’s all business at SVU, with small details revealed about the detectives becoming rare and tasty morsels of information.

There are a number of standout performances on this show, but it must be said that without Mariska Hargitay’s performance as Olivia Benson (a character so popular that Taylor Swift named her cat after her) there wouldn’t be a show. Raul Esperanza is dry and hilarious as the DA and the rapper-turned actor Ice T may not be the greatest actor in the world, but he’s definitely entertaining.

This season’s premiere sees Hargitay’s Benson at the centre of an investigation into a murdered young woman (continuing last season’s plotline). Benson and her team will investigate, there’ll be a new face on the team and Ice T will be at his best.

Law and Order SVU is a show that continues to be compelling, even in its 16th year. You’ve most likely caught an episode before, but if you’ve since fallen off the bandwagon, this is the perfect time to get back on.

Law and Order SVU can be found on Channel Ten on Wednesdays at 9.30pm. Repeats can be found at midnight on Mondays on One.