Search - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - The Fifth Year on DVD

David L. from NEWARK, NJ
Reviewed on 9/22/2010...

I love Law and Order in all of its variations, and SVU has some extremely intense drama. This season is outstanding.

Very Well Done

Adam Raper | Liberty, IN | 09/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At the beginning I was questioning Universal's strategy to release season 5 before seasons 2,3,and 4. They said it was to help promote season 6. Plus I didn't really watch any episodes from season 5, the only one that I did watch fully was "Painless" on USA network. I must say I was very pleased with what I bought. I had never seen the episode "Loss" until I bought the DVD set. That episode is probably the best SVU I have EVER seen. After that episode I was sad to see Stephanie March go. However to be honest with you, I think her character got replaced with another one just as good. A lot of reviews that I've read say more bad things than good things about Diane Neal and her character. I will admit in her first few episodes her character didn't make some good decisions and had a lack of self-confidence. However towards the middle of the season and at the end I think that Diane Neal played her character very well.

The only thing that I don't like about this DVD set is the double sided discs, but that disadvantage is completely overlooked by everything else.

Here are my top five favorite shows on this DVD set:

1. Loss

2. Mean

3. Escape

4. Tragedy

5. Ritual"

Insanely Addicting!

Dj Pawz | Ontario Canada | 09/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a definite box set to have if you like the show. Like many, I am also wondering why they chose to release the fifth year ahead of the others. Don't get me wrong, the last season was amazing, but those who have really only followed the show starting in the 2003-2004 season and bought the first season box set are missing all the stuff that had happened, but again amazing box set! The only downfall to this is that rather then the 6 or 7 disc set, they have reduced it down to four double sided discs and the way that they are packaged you're bound to put fingerprints or scratches on the discs. The extra features on the fourth disc are really good as well. I am waiting for the other box sets to make their way out onto shelves. Superb show!"

My favorite show

Erica Anderson | Minneapolis, MN | 07/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of the few crime dramas I watch ("Cold Case", the original "CSI", "Without a Trace", and "Law & Order: SVU"), "Law & Order:SVU" is by far my personal favorite show. I watch this show religiously on both NBC and USA network. Out of the five seasons, I strongly believe that season five is the strongest season in the series because the storywriting has been so compelling. That is just my personal opinion. I was originally unhappy when Stephanie March left the series after the first 3 or 4 episodes in season five and was wary of Diane Neal as the new assistant D.A. Thank heavens I was proven wrong. Diane Neal has proved to be a worthy assistant D.A to me. Casey Novak is just as defiant and strong-willed as Alexandra Cabot was, especially when she butt heads with Detectives Stabler and Benson like in her first episode "Serendipity". Kinda funny how Diane made her first appearance on the show a couple of seasons back as a co-defendant, and now she is back as the new A.D.A. Sure the plot twists can be confusing but that makes watching this show so enjoyable to be. A lot of my favorite episodes comes from season five. One of my personal favorite episodes is "Ritual" where a young African boy is found murdered. His death appeared to be a ritual death but appearances can be deceiving. Ice-T really shines in this particular episode as 'Fin'. His involvement in the case really shines through and is definitely one of Ice-T's best performances. I really think Ice-T compliments Richard Belzer's snarky, conspiracy loving character. The dynamics between the detectives are certainly worth writing home about. Another really strong episode was the last episode with Stephanie March as Alexandra Cabot in "Loss" which involves a murdered undercover agent. I was moved by the ending and how Stephanie left the show. Although I predicted how her character would be written off, I still thought it was well written. I especially like the partnership of Detectives Stabler and Benson. Although I wonder why seasons 2, 3, and 4 weren't released prior to season 5, I still think that releasing season 5 was a great idea. It is my personal favorite season of the show, can't wait for season 4 now (which comes in second behind season 5)."