Season One - Episode One

"Payback"
Score: 8 out of 10.
Airdate: 20 September 1999
Written by Dick Wolf
Directed by Jean de Segonzac

Plot Synopsis: Benson and Stabler are called in to investigate the murder and emasculation of a cab driver. As the case unfolds, Benson has trouble feeling sympathy for the victim after it is revealed he was a rapist and war criminal. Her reticence about the case leaves her partner and her captain unsure about Benson's future in the Special Victims Unit.

Review: Arguably the most popular spinoff in the L&O canon, Special Victims Unit launches with masterful execution. While remaining true to the long-standing L&O format, new elements are brought in making the program a success in its own right.

As usual in the franchise, we are introduced to the characters with their personality traits painted in fairly broad strokes, a shorthand way of drawing viewers to the characters without wasting precious airtime on lengthy exposition. In less capable hands, this might not work. However the performances by the regulars are so perfectly subtle and underplayed, that we get a good working knowledge of who these people are without premature burnout. We want to know more.

Olivia's (Hargitay) history as a child of rape is touched upon, but wisely not explored in too much wordy detail. The L&O franchise has always placed great faith in the actors to convey history through their performance. While Olivia and her mother's words seem to convey a certain peace with the past, their body language betrays an uneasy feeling of something having been swept under the rug.

While the storyline in this episode is not one that immediately jumps out as a pivotal moment of the series, it does its job well. It serves as a framework for us to get to know these people, how they work, how they think, how they operate as a team. Dick Wolf wisely knows that it's not just a gripping storyline that keeps viewers coming back for more. It's the intrigue created by the characters that keep us tuning in week after week.

The patented "twist in the last reel" doesn't hurt either.

A beautifully underplayed and engaging debut. The reappearance of Dann Florek and the cameo by Angie Harmon anchor the episode in the L&O universe, while still letting the new characters take center stage. Solid television.

RECURRING CHARACTERS: Isabel Gillies (Kathy Stabler), Leslie Hendrix (Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers), Chris Orbach (Detective Ken Briscoe)

L&O CONNECTIONS: Angie Harmon guest stars as ADA Abbie Carmichael. Ned Eisenberg appears as Defense Attorney Jerry Kleinert, which he also played in "Exiled: A Law and Order Movie." Eisenberg became a recurring character later on in SVU, as Defense Attorney Roger Kressler. He is also credited as "Klein" in the SVU epsiode "Closure, Part 2" in Season 2. He appeared as James Granick (another Defense Attorney) in several episodes of L&O, and two different characters on Criminal Intent. Leslie Hendrix also played Dr. Elizabeth Rogers in L&O, L&O: Criminal Intent and L&O: Trial By Jury.

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