Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Unofficial Companion (2 page)

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Authors: Susan Green,Randee Dawn

 
At the time, the government was staunchly defending the V-chip. I was very outspoken against the V-chip, but not as a defender of violence. I was defending the right to free speech. So when I originally thought about calling the show
Law & Order: Sex Crimes
, Barry (Diller) disagreed with the title, and we changed it to
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
.
 
So I wrote the pilot for
SVU
in early 1999, creating two intense, multi-faceted and complicated characters, Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson. Stabler was a typical cop, a family man with four kids. Benson was the child of rape, so to her, working with special victims was a way to right the wrongs of her own life.
 
We read multiple actors for both lead roles, and we found our perfect match with Christopher Meloni (Detective Elliot Stabler) and Mariska Hargitay (Detective Olivia Benson). Ten years later, they have become one of the most popular and enduring partners on television. I also recruited two familiar characters to join the fold—Richard Belzer, whose Detective John Munch migrated from
Homicide: Life on the Street
, along with Dann Florek, who created the role of Captain Cragen as an original cast member on
Law & Order
.
 
Tackling the difficult subject matter of sex crimes was not easy. The darkness of the stories had to have some light, which the writers provided by helping me flesh out such likeable characters. The crimes committed were particularly heinous—they often involved children and other defenseless victims—and the stories were rich in social issues. Rape, incest, child molestation were regular themes.
 
By halfway through the second season, we had a new showrunner—Neal Baer, a Harvard educated M.D. and pediatrician who had been a writer/producer on
ER
. Neal’s background in pediatrics and his talents as a brilliant storyteller were a dynamic combination. So it’s no accident that he infuses the series with sensitivity and a burning desire to cure this world of its ills.
 
Over the years, we have added new and exciting characters, including the role of the ADA assigned to the special victims unit (three wonderful actresses—Stephanie March, Diane Neal, and the newest addition, a bright, young, and talented Michaela McManus). Ice-T, who I worked with previously on two series and a telefilm, plays the streetwise detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola. And supporting actors B.D. Wong (forensic psychologist George Huang) and Tamara Tunie (M.E. Melinda Warner) have expanded their roles over time, to give the show one of the most diverse ensemble casts on television. Given the sensitive nature of the show, all of these actors and characters bring their own voice to the stories, which tend to be more graphic and emotional than those on the other Law & Order branded series.
 
All of this has made the show very popular, with an incredibly loyal fan base. A string of remarkable guest actors have graced us with their presence, including Ellen Burstyn, James Brolin, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elle Fanning, Brian Dennehy, Kim Delaney, Abigail Breslin, Ming-Na, Hayden Panetierre, Matthew Modine, Martin Short, Jerry Lewis, Marlee Matlin, Joe Morton, Will Arnett, Khandi Alexander, Karen Allen, Natalie Cole, and Betty Buckley. Amanda Plummer, Leslie Caron, and Cynthia Nixon won Emmy awards for their work on the show; Robin Williams, Angela Lansbury, Marcia Gay Harden, Marlee Matlin, Barbara Barrie, Mare Winningham, Jane Alexander, and Tracy Pollan received nominations. We hope to continue the tradition of Emmy-nominated performances in years to come.
 
Mariska and Chris have both been nominated for Emmys, with Mariska winning the coveted award in 2006, along with the Golden Globe Award the same year. In the highly competitive world of network and cable television, just being nominated is an honor. Mariska has been nominated four years in a row and has won this honor, which is a testimony to her incredible talent, and the writing that has allowed her to shine.
 
I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge the extraordinary work of everyone behind the scenes. In addition to Neal, the phenomenal director/producer Ted Kotcheff, who is the New York-based showrunner, as well as Peter Jankowski, who as head of Wolf Films is also an executive producer on the series and is the crucial link between the Los Angeles-based writing team and New York-based production. Another longtime friend and colleague is the amazing Arthur Forney, who heads post production in Los Angeles and has also directed multiple episodes. It is the combined vision from all of these hardworking and talented individuals, and every single crew member, writer, and staff member past, present, and future who has been instrumental in our past success, and will hopefully drive us to greater heights in the future.
 
So I invite you to enter the world of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
—from an insider’s perspective, and I thank Susan Green and Randee Dawn for their devotion to this project and their unwavering commitment to accuracy and professionalism.
 
—Dick Wolf,
SVU
creator/executive producer
 
FOREWORD
 
“Art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment.”
—PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY, October 1963 speech
 
P
eople whose cars sport those bumper stickers that read “Kill Your Television Set” probably assume the electronic system for transmitting transient images has the power to mesmerize the masses. But TV can be more than just a diversion that renders couch potatoes apathetic.
 
If the medium is the message, as philosopher Marshall McLuhan pointed out a year after JFK’s salient observation about art, then perhaps the public perception of crime has been altered by any Law & Order series in ways that only history will determine. The Bible’s 1 Corinthians advises that “for now we see through a glass, darkly.” By the mid-twentieth century, that box with a picture tube in the living room was blessed with the power to illuminate.
 
For the authors of this book,
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
seemed like an appropriate mirror to help understand the spirit of the current millennium. In this time fraught with unprecedented concern about the human condition, we wanted to delve into the show because of both an intellectual curiosity and emotional attachment: How are these taut stories put together and why do they often leave us feeling so unsettled?
 
SVU
crew hat
 
But the goal of studying
SVU
in print proved to be elusive. Although the idea was immediately greeted with enthusiasm by creator/executive producer Dick Wolf in 2003, all plans had to be tabled when NBC began merging with Universal, a process that lasted into May of 2004. By the time our book proposal was reshaped to account for that interlude, interest from a few initially keen publishers had fizzled—and in at least one instance, the publishing house itself had fizzled.
 
When our agent Peter Rubie eventually contacted us about a query from BenBella Books, the project was on the back of the back burner. We regrouped and began to envision a fall 2007 visit to the
SVU
set, only to have our notion evaporate when the Writers Guild of America called a strike. Once that hurdle was overcome four months later, the series needed to recharge its batteries. So, in order to allow the production some breathing space, we penciled in late April 2008 for an eight-day stint on what would be the last episode scheduled to shoot in season nine.
 
Fate intervened again. With Diane Neal and Adam Beach reluctantly leaving the show, we were told that even well-meaning interlopers like us might exacerbate tensions on the set. OK, but
SVU
would next be taking a two-month hiatus, which meant a significant disruption of our timetable. Just as we were beginning to despair, Glenn Yeffeth—BenBella’s guiding light—kindly granted us an extension.
 
After watching more than 200 episodes (Randee took the odd-numbered seasons, Susan the even) throughout May and June, we finally made our way to Mecca:
SVU
’s North Bergen, New Jersey headquarters. Greeted with more warmth and conviviality than either of us had anticipated, at last it felt as if the arduous, uncertain five-year journey had been worth the effort. Perhaps, as the lyrics from “Choose Me” by Ringo Starr attest: “You’ve got to pay your dues if you want sing the blues.”
 
While Randee interviewed actors, Susan trailed after producers, directors, and a slew of crew. Other key
SVU
figures past and present were reached by telephone or email. By August 2008, we had begun writing, writing, writing.
 
SVU
has never been just another TV program for us. Since the early 1990s our lives have intertwined with the Law & Order franchise. In Susan’s case that resulted in the original
Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion
(with Kevin Courrier); for Randee, that meant a lot of freelance articles celebrating the shows and a little fan website called
apocrypha
—thanks to which she met Green and Courrier when their book was first published in 1998.
 
SVU
season ten hat
 
But so much time and effort could not have been invested in a series in which we had just a casual interest.
Law & Order
and, in its time,
SVU
have kept us on our toes for well over fifteen years, a testament to the unique quality of the shows or our own persistent inquisitiveness.
 
What you hold in your hands today is the result of those labors, those interests, those passions—behind the screen, on the screen, and at the keyboard.
 
—Susan Green and Randee Dawn / October 2008
 
CHAPTER ONE
THE RUDIMENTS
“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.”
—CHARLES DICKENS,
A Tale of Two Cities
(1859)
 
Nurturing the New
While no violence is palatable, rape and molestation seem to bedevil society in a more insidious way than do most other illegal acts.
In the past, these crimes often were not taken seriously by cops, courts, or church hierarchy. And, since experts have yet to come up with a foolproof cure for people compelled to commit sexual assaults, rehabilitation has largely eluded the prison system. But compulsive deviant behavior isn’t the only culprit. Sometimes it’s a question of choice, whether for revenge or other misbegotten motives.
Moreover, the justice system is frequently too overextended and ill-equipped to make the punishment fit the crime or enforce even the most reasonable punishments.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
was conceived as a responsible mechanism for addressing complex issues through the context of popular culture. The show is an entertainment that asks viewers to think about these problems, some of which may already have affected their towns or even their immediate families.

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