For the past thirty years, there’s been some form of Dick Wolf’s police procedural/legal drama on television. Beginning in 1990 with Law & Order and continuing with its most successful and enduring spin-off, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU), each series followed a format involving the investigation of a crime and subsequent prosecution of the defendant.
Law & Order focused primarily on homicides, while SVU delves mainly into sex crimes. Both often base their cases on real incidents, with minor changes made for plot purposes. They also both feature memorable casts of detectives and district attorneys that fans are faithful to and who, after so many years in syndication, feel like real people. Here are 5 reasons why the mainline show is the best (& 5 why SVU is the better series).
LAW & ORDER: JUSTICE ALWAYS WINS
Law & Order, like many police procedural series, focused on the detectives investigating various crimes by visiting crime scenes, interviewing witnesses, and gathering evidence, which they then turned over to the District Attorneys to determine guilt or innocence according to due process.
In almost every case, each episode followed a bifurcated format, where half of the running time was devoted to the investigation and the other half to the valiant courtroom scenes. There was always a conviction in favor of a happy ending, and many viewers appreciated the sense that justice had been served.
SVU: MEMORABLE CAST
SVU boasts a memorable cast of characters whose lives are revealed both inside and outside of the station, showing the rigorous balance of work and personal time among the criminal investigators, law enforcement, and prosecutors. This insider perspective helps viewers empathize with the responsibilities and challenges of their positions.
Each character is given complexity and depth, be it Detective Stabler and his brooding emotional turmoil or Detective Benson and her dogmatic compassion. Who doesn’t appreciate the shrewdness of Detectives Tutuola and Amaro, the sarcasm of Detective Munch, the determination of DA Casey Novack, or the wit of ADA Rafael Barba?
LAW & ORDER: COURTROOM ACTION
Judging by real-life courtroom proceedings, they can be dull and uneventful. Bogged down by regulatory processes and bureaucracy, they don’t unfold with the sort of dramatic tension that an episode of Law & Order promises.
Sam Waterston, who played District Attorney Jack McCoy from 1994 until the series end in 2010, always conveyed a sense of righteous determination in his trial appearances, demanding the truth no matter what. Jack McCoy remains the second longest-tenured character from Law & Order.
SVU: BENSON AND STABLER
When it came to two partners, there’s never been a pairing like Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson, total opposites who were perfectly complementary. Where he was impulsive and hot-headed, she was rational and methodical, and they found a way to compensate for each other’s failings.
Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay had instant chemistry beginning with the pilot episode, and for twelve seasons they had each others’ backs both on and off the force. When Stabler left and Benson continued to move up the ranks in her department, she always got new partners, but none of them captured the magic of that dynamic duo.
LAW & ORDER: REAL WORLD AUTHENTICITY
Much of what’s shown in typical police procedural series is greatly exaggerated to keep the drama and excitement going, but Law & Order has been praised for its adherence to authentic police reporting, investigation methodology, and courtroom proceedings.
The series laid out its cases in a matter-of-fact way that was easy to follow, usually only taking creative license when it came to the time frames of cases, as writers knew that in the real world it could take them over a year or longer to go to trial.
SVU: TITILLATING SUBJECT MATTER
Where Law & Order concerned itself with assaults, domestic violence, homicides, and kidnappings, SVU focuses on subject matter that goes beyond the purview of a typical police investigation and is considered more salacious: Sex crimes.
The squeamish might find it difficult to tune in, as the Special Victims Unit often has to handle rape cases, whose victims transform into survivors as they brace for court appearances. SVU often took the “ripped from the headlines” approach, with episodes inspired by incidents happening in real life.
LAW & ORDER: EVERYDAY HEROES
The cast of Law & Order, particularly Jerry Orbach as Lennie Briscoe and Chris Noth as Mike Logan, depicted their characters like everyday people, heroes in public service that came to work and did their jobs like everyone else without special treatment.
Fans of the original series often derided SVU for having a cast that was too glamorous or eccentric to be involved in criminal investigations. Its approach took away from the cast of Law & Order who were believable and genuine, who just wanted to make an honest living.
SVU: GUEST STARS
It has become a common trope that if a guest star appears on an episode of SVU, they’re probably the perp. It’s conceded that it would be a waste of good talent to make them anyone less consequential, but even knowing their purpose in the episode, fans can’t help getting excited over the illustrious names.
SVU has had some impressive guest stars over the years, including Robin Williams, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Amanda Seyfried, Alec Baldwin, Serena Williams, John Ritter, Elizabeth Banks, Hayden Panettiere, and many, many more.
LAW & ORDER: TOPICAL CONCERNS
Law & Order hit its stride from ‘93-2000 when Steven Hill and Sam Waterston were District Attorneys in the courtroom battling for truth, justice, and American transparency. The series had nerve and was even considered edgy in its approach to topical concerns.
Each episode, plots would begin as self-contained instances then grow as the case went on into large commentaries on society, politics, justice, and bureaucracy. The best episodes were intellectually stimulating as well as emotional, and ambitious when it came to tackling topics of the day.
SVU: OLIVIA BENSON
At Season 21, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit became the longest-running primetime drama in television history, and as a result, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) became the longest-running live-action character in a prime time series of all time (she beat out James Arness on Gunsmoke and Kelsey Grammar on Frasier).
Over the many decades, Benson has gone from being a Detective to holding the rank of Captain of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit of the NYPD’s 16th precinct. As a fierce supporter of the survivors of sexual abuse and assault, as well as a brave officer in the line of duty, she’s been an inspiration to fans everywhere.
