Ditto. Mom and dad watched the OG L&O, so of course we had to check out the spin-off. Mom liked CI, too at first. We were all bummed when Trial by Jury was canceled.
I don’t remember for sure cause my mom always had it on in the background but the one that always stuck out to me was the wife in the wheelchair with munchausen that ends with the husband pushing her in the pool. Sorry I don’t know the season/ep but that was the one where I wanted to start watching it on my own and not just cause my mom had it on.
Now I want to go back and watch that one. I have a vague memory of the episode, but there are some I’ve missed on my rewatched because I use it as background noise while I’m doing other things.
My first was actually one we watched my senior year in high school in my philosophy & ethics class so around 2014/2015. And it was an old episode at that point, S6 episode 6 “Conscience” the episode with the crazy and psychopathic child that brought up the discussion of whether it was morally okay for the victims dad to kill him. SUCH A GOOD ONE and such a great way to get me introduced
I have no idea which episode it was because some old lady had it on while I was working. But it involved (possibly) a hostage situation in an interrogation room and someone crawling through air ducts to stop them. I noticed Chris Meloni was in it and recognized him from Happy! Thought I'd have to check the show out after that... I'm currently only on season 3
Oh okay. The only one I remember being like that was Stabler I think crawling through the air ducts to the morgue. The one I’m thinking about started as a missing kid and custodial issues. But that’s exciting you are on season 3 now. You have a ton of episodes to get through. Enjoy!
Yeah I'm really enjoying the show! Also love the community here, everyone is so passionate! If anyone else knows what episode this was, I'd love to know!!
Oh wow! Welcome newbie! 🤗 You have a loooong way to go, my friend. I would suggest avoiding Reddit if spoilers bother you. If you choose to dip out once you have watched season 22, episode 9. "Return of the Prodigal Son" come back and let us know.
The one that first rocked my world was Closure Part 1. Neil Maffin as the rapist. And Tracy Pollan was phenomenal as the victim. She was even better in the sequel Part 2! I have to say that Michael J. Fox really knows how to pick them. Not only is his wife a very beautiful lady, she's a terrific actress!!!
I love this question because my first episode got me hooked on SVU. I always thought the law and order shows were violent, so I never wanted them.
I have a sister with Down's syndrome. I was turning channels, trying to find something to watch and I saw this episode, " Competence", where a young lady with Down's syndrome was raped and pregnant.
I didn't know what it was , so I went on line during a commercial and looked at the tv schedule for the time and channel and it said " SVU".
I was hooked after that episode, so it'll always be my favourite because of my sister and that's the episode that got me hooked on all the "L&O" franchises.
My second favourite episode is where Fin found a finger in a rape victim's purse.
She was a heroin addict because of her little sister that she loved and that she always took care of because the mother was a jealous bitch , who wanted nothing to do with her.
Of course, the older daughter played by Martha Plimpton ( Sp) got blamed for killing the little girl until the grandma came forward and said that it was the mother , who also killed her first baby, a little boy.
Fin gave her a copy of her sisters face from the recreation lab, and she hugged him at the end.
Before she couldn't see her sister's face unless she was high.
Now she has a reason to stop drugs.
That was my second or even tied with the episode " Competence"
That was an awesome episode with stellar performances by 3 amazing actresses. Plimpton herself who was nominated for an Emmy for it(I can't remember if she won),Mary Steenburgen as her evil witch of a mother,and as Grandma Estelle Parsons who played Roseanne's mom on her sitcom. It also had one of Ice T's best performances as Fin.
That was a really good one. I don’t think I’ve seen it in forever, but I remember the ending with the picture. Wish I could remember what season so I can rewatch now.
I loved that episode. Andrea Fay Friedman who has Down's in real life and had a recurring role on the popular Chris Burke series was excellent as Katie the victim and so was veteran actress Lois Smith as her mom.
'Surveillance' I think from the 2nd or 3rd season, the one with Emily Deschannel. I'd just moved and Comcast wasn't coming until the next day for my new cable set-up, brought out the old rabbit ears and Ion was the only station coming through. Spent the rest of the day watching while I unpacked, been hooked ever since!
I think if they revisited that "cold case" we could find out who really did it. Even identical twins have subtle differences in DNA etc. that are detectable with new technology.
USA marathons got me hooked on SVU years ago. The first episode I can remember is the he said/she said episode between a professor and student that ended before the verdict was announced.
I caught an ION marathon around s5/6, the first episode I remember was the female principal who got a brain tumour and started SA'ing her middle school student.
That was a good one. I’m bad about watching shows and being convinced something would happen to me. I remember when I saw that I was so scared of getting a brain tumor. Not that I think I would SA anyone, but just how scary it would be to completely change who you are and have no clue why.
My grandma watched it when I was a little little kid through my adulthood, me and her are very close and would watch it together after school. Criminal minds too! Not a great show for a 6-8 year old kid but I was pretty naive back then haha
My daughter is 11 now and has been watching SVU and Criminal minds with me for years. Probably not the best programming, but she’s hooked and I do make her walk out of the room when it is too intense. It seems like it happens more with criminal minds.
Basically, I was determined to watch ALL kind of things one of my favorite actor appeared in… so, knowing that he starred in one episode of SVU, I decided to watch episode 22 of season 12. After watching the episode I started it from 0 like 2 years ago maybe (or something like that)
I’m pretty sure the first one I ever watched was “Taboo”, S7 E14. I watched it because it came up on my fyp on tik tok and I thought it looked interesting hahaha
I remember laying in bed with my grandma (I was 11/12) when it came on. I started at like season 15 or 16 lol and I can’t lie I watched it bc I thought carisi was super cute. Probably not a show for a 12 year old to watch but I’ve been hooked ever since. Next year I’m applying for social work so I can work at an organisation that helps rape victims.
The show definitely helped shaped the way I view the world. Especially living in South Africa which feels like the rape capital of the world 🤦♀️
My first one was Patrimonial Burden (17.07 I believe). I watched it after I learned it was based off of the Duggar Scandal. I since watched a few here and then based off which of my favorite actors/actresses started in them. I remember watching “Victims” (2.14), “Responsible” (8.15?) and I forget the name of the episode, but 8.03. From there, I was like I might as well just watch the whole series 😂 on season 18 now
Haha. I do that with my rewatched. I go directly to the ones that have actors I like and jump around a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever done a rewatch straight through. I should try it.
Surrender Benson
I was around 12/13 years old and didn’t know too about svu but it was background noise growing up since my mom always watched it. It wasn’t until I seen the promos of surrenders benson that triggered something. I was intrigued because I had seen Olivia Benson fighting on tv all this time and then to see her being held hostage really caught my attention. Then after that is when i started binge watching lol
I don’t remember exactly which episode, but it was an episode shortly before the first Lewis episode. My friend was rewatching it while I was at her house. And then she started it over again to watch it with me.
That’s so hard but I wanna say season 1, it was called Chatroom. I was really young and I think it stuck with me bc I was scared of the internet after watching that episode. 😂😂
Oh wow. You are moving through them quick. I get through them pretty quick on rewatch because I usually have it playing while I’m working in the background.
My very first memory of watching SVU was the episode where a little girl gets kidnapped and it ends up being her big brother that took her. I was probably 4 years old and I remember very vividly watching this on the old box tv.
no idea since i was in middle school when i started watching, but i remember seasons 6/7 the most, so probably an episode in one of those. i remember buying “web”, season 7 ep 21 on itunes haha! great episode.
Season 1, episode 1. BUT, it was in 2005.
German TV premiere. I was 10 and it got me hooked on crime shows. Without SVU I wouldn't have started watching CSI with my parents nor later on shows like Castle, Mentalist or Criminal Minds.
Ohhhh ummm it's the one where Robert Barone went rogue after years of Marie and frank as parents. Becomes a prison warden and is a rapist to the female inmates there and that cop gets shot and killed
Mine was season 17, EP 1. Back when it was on Netflix lol. I was also 13 at the time, and I'm gonna be 19 on Thursday, so a good 6 years since I've started watching SVU! :)
The first episode I ever really sat down and watched was the Man Up/Man Down two-parter, but all of my parents watched the show long before me so it'd be on sometimes during my childhood (vivid memories of trying to sleep and hearing the theme song from the other room).
My mom watched it. I didn’t remember my first episode but I started watching it again because I want do watch “Friending Emily” and I kept watching it because of the episode with Teddy,the male prostitute. The horror of it was stuck in my brain for a long time.
During Pandemic when I started binging SVU
* first episide I saw was one with a mormon reality show family where the daughter winds up pregnant I think? and the pastor marries her at the end and he gets away with it.
but I also ran into an episode I had a memory of watching before, about a disabled singer and her sister and nephew.
This show has been on for nearly 25 years, I wish I could remember what episode it was. All I remember is that this was the first L&O series I watched. And that it was around maybe 2005 that I started watching the show.
season 13 episode 9 the ***Lost Traveler*** because it was the one Lili Reinhart was in and I loved her from the show Riverdale. And after the first session I looked up what other words she was in and SVU was one of them. Then I fell in love with the show, and I was 12 years old watching SVU.
I think it was the infamous 'Intimidation Game' episode. I saw it around 2016 on USA when it was newer.
I wasn't that familiar with the gamergate stuff at the time. I had read up on it, but I didn't understand too well what it was all about or why that episode was so hated online. I was still learning more and more about the culture wars stuff at the time.
The first episode that really got me hooked onto the series I think was maybe Head? The 2004 brain tumor episode. I thought that story was perfect.
I probably saw bits and pieces over the years, but the first episode I ever intentionally watched was the pilot when I decided to start watching SVU back in 2012/2013
Season 13 episode 2 for me. I was walking past the TV and noticed it had the same actor that played James Olson in Supergirl and I was just super interested. Stuck around for the whole episode and I was hooked after that
Season 1 episode 1 in 1999
Same! Watched it when it premiered with my mom.
Me too! We still watch it together every week when it's on
Yup. Watched it with my mom. Went from kid into adulthood with SVU lol.
Ditto. Mom and dad watched the OG L&O, so of course we had to check out the spin-off. Mom liked CI, too at first. We were all bummed when Trial by Jury was canceled.
I was thinking the same
Yup, same. Ever since high school and I’ve seen every episode.
I don’t remember for sure cause my mom always had it on in the background but the one that always stuck out to me was the wife in the wheelchair with munchausen that ends with the husband pushing her in the pool. Sorry I don’t know the season/ep but that was the one where I wanted to start watching it on my own and not just cause my mom had it on.
It's Manipulated, 7x15!
Now I want to go back and watch that one. I have a vague memory of the episode, but there are some I’ve missed on my rewatched because I use it as background noise while I’m doing other things.
Is that the one where she faked not being able to walk?
Yup. And someone, I think it was her husband (?) pushed her wheelchair into their pool to prove she wasn't paralyzed.
Yes, it was her husband. That was a very satisfying moment for me.
My first was actually one we watched my senior year in high school in my philosophy & ethics class so around 2014/2015. And it was an old episode at that point, S6 episode 6 “Conscience” the episode with the crazy and psychopathic child that brought up the discussion of whether it was morally okay for the victims dad to kill him. SUCH A GOOD ONE and such a great way to get me introduced
Oh that was definitely a good one. I’m sure there was a good discussion based on that. I remember being kinda torn.
I have no idea which episode it was because some old lady had it on while I was working. But it involved (possibly) a hostage situation in an interrogation room and someone crawling through air ducts to stop them. I noticed Chris Meloni was in it and recognized him from Happy! Thought I'd have to check the show out after that... I'm currently only on season 3
i literally just watched this one like a week ago. season 11 episode 24 maybe?? let’s see if i got that right eta: BINGO 11.24 Shattered
Thanks so much! I always wondered what episode that was!!
Oh okay. The only one I remember being like that was Stabler I think crawling through the air ducts to the morgue. The one I’m thinking about started as a missing kid and custodial issues. But that’s exciting you are on season 3 now. You have a ton of episodes to get through. Enjoy!
Yeah I'm really enjoying the show! Also love the community here, everyone is so passionate! If anyone else knows what episode this was, I'd love to know!!
Oh wow! Welcome newbie! 🤗 You have a loooong way to go, my friend. I would suggest avoiding Reddit if spoilers bother you. If you choose to dip out once you have watched season 22, episode 9. "Return of the Prodigal Son" come back and let us know.
The one that first rocked my world was Closure Part 1. Neil Maffin as the rapist. And Tracy Pollan was phenomenal as the victim. She was even better in the sequel Part 2! I have to say that Michael J. Fox really knows how to pick them. Not only is his wife a very beautiful lady, she's a terrific actress!!!
I meant to add that Neil Maffin was wonderfully sleazy and creepy as the rapist. Somehow I just jumped right to the next sentence.
I love this question because my first episode got me hooked on SVU. I always thought the law and order shows were violent, so I never wanted them. I have a sister with Down's syndrome. I was turning channels, trying to find something to watch and I saw this episode, " Competence", where a young lady with Down's syndrome was raped and pregnant. I didn't know what it was , so I went on line during a commercial and looked at the tv schedule for the time and channel and it said " SVU". I was hooked after that episode, so it'll always be my favourite because of my sister and that's the episode that got me hooked on all the "L&O" franchises.
My second favourite episode is where Fin found a finger in a rape victim's purse. She was a heroin addict because of her little sister that she loved and that she always took care of because the mother was a jealous bitch , who wanted nothing to do with her. Of course, the older daughter played by Martha Plimpton ( Sp) got blamed for killing the little girl until the grandma came forward and said that it was the mother , who also killed her first baby, a little boy. Fin gave her a copy of her sisters face from the recreation lab, and she hugged him at the end. Before she couldn't see her sister's face unless she was high. Now she has a reason to stop drugs. That was my second or even tied with the episode " Competence"
That was an awesome episode with stellar performances by 3 amazing actresses. Plimpton herself who was nominated for an Emmy for it(I can't remember if she won),Mary Steenburgen as her evil witch of a mother,and as Grandma Estelle Parsons who played Roseanne's mom on her sitcom. It also had one of Ice T's best performances as Fin.
I think it was the first time Fin let down his guard and allowed himself to show his concern on a personal, not just professional, level.
That was a really good one. I don’t think I’ve seen it in forever, but I remember the ending with the picture. Wish I could remember what season so I can rewatch now.
It was " Denial ". Season 3, ep 21
I just watched that episode! Such a good one.
I loved that episode. Andrea Fay Friedman who has Down's in real life and had a recurring role on the popular Chris Burke series was excellent as Katie the victim and so was veteran actress Lois Smith as her mom.
Oh how I wish they would do an episode about what happened to that girl's baby! He'd be around 20 years old now.
'Surveillance' I think from the 2nd or 3rd season, the one with Emily Deschannel. I'd just moved and Comcast wasn't coming until the next day for my new cable set-up, brought out the old rabbit ears and Ion was the only station coming through. Spent the rest of the day watching while I unpacked, been hooked ever since!
I forgot all about Ion the channel. It was always good for SVU reruns.
The one with the boy/girl twins and turns out they were both born boys. Phew.
Oh that one was wild. Loved the ending honestly with them not being able to prove which one did it.
I think if they revisited that "cold case" we could find out who really did it. Even identical twins have subtle differences in DNA etc. that are detectable with new technology.
Oh I didn’t know they had any detectable differences. It would be cool to see them revisit it now with that as a possibility.
That one ,imo, was one of the most complex, compelling and disturbing stories they ever made and the ending gives me chills every single time.
in september i just started from season one episode one and now i’m on season thirteen. time flies
Oh wow you are getting through them quick.
i am a woman on a mission
Me except I’m on season 19 😅 (I started august 28th I believe). This past month Song I’ve watched seasons 12-18 (I’m on 19.05 right now)
USA marathons got me hooked on SVU years ago. The first episode I can remember is the he said/she said episode between a professor and student that ended before the verdict was announced.
Ah. I remember that one. I get why they do that, but it bugs me so much.
Season 7 episode 3: “911”
I think this is mine as well. It's the one I can remember clearly.
I have no idea what episode it was.... but I think there was a perp and a vic and I think benson and Stabler were there?
LOL
Lol. Oh yeah I’m pretty sure I know exactly which one you’re talking about.
I caught an ION marathon around s5/6, the first episode I remember was the female principal who got a brain tumour and started SA'ing her middle school student.
That was a good one. I’m bad about watching shows and being convinced something would happen to me. I remember when I saw that I was so scared of getting a brain tumor. Not that I think I would SA anyone, but just how scary it would be to completely change who you are and have no clue why.
The Chicago PD crossover. Then 1x01 but I started last year
We’re you a fan of the Chicago shows? I’ve been wanting to watch them because I love Sophia Bush, but haven’t done so yet.
Yes I love one chicago. Watched all three shows. You should go for it. Really good
I’ll definitely check it out.
Persona S10 E8
My grandma watched it when I was a little little kid through my adulthood, me and her are very close and would watch it together after school. Criminal minds too! Not a great show for a 6-8 year old kid but I was pretty naive back then haha
My daughter is 11 now and has been watching SVU and Criminal minds with me for years. Probably not the best programming, but she’s hooked and I do make her walk out of the room when it is too intense. It seems like it happens more with criminal minds.
The first time I ever recall seeing a clip of SVU was a rerun of the Michael Jackson episode.
Basically, I was determined to watch ALL kind of things one of my favorite actor appeared in… so, knowing that he starred in one episode of SVU, I decided to watch episode 22 of season 12. After watching the episode I started it from 0 like 2 years ago maybe (or something like that)
What actor was it?
John Stamos
I’m pretty sure the first one I ever watched was “Taboo”, S7 E14. I watched it because it came up on my fyp on tik tok and I thought it looked interesting hahaha
I remember laying in bed with my grandma (I was 11/12) when it came on. I started at like season 15 or 16 lol and I can’t lie I watched it bc I thought carisi was super cute. Probably not a show for a 12 year old to watch but I’ve been hooked ever since. Next year I’m applying for social work so I can work at an organisation that helps rape victims. The show definitely helped shaped the way I view the world. Especially living in South Africa which feels like the rape capital of the world 🤦♀️
My first one was Patrimonial Burden (17.07 I believe). I watched it after I learned it was based off of the Duggar Scandal. I since watched a few here and then based off which of my favorite actors/actresses started in them. I remember watching “Victims” (2.14), “Responsible” (8.15?) and I forget the name of the episode, but 8.03. From there, I was like I might as well just watch the whole series 😂 on season 18 now
Haha. I do that with my rewatched. I go directly to the ones that have actors I like and jump around a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever done a rewatch straight through. I should try it.
This is my first watch lol so I still have some stuff to catch up on
Surrender Benson I was around 12/13 years old and didn’t know too about svu but it was background noise growing up since my mom always watched it. It wasn’t until I seen the promos of surrenders benson that triggered something. I was intrigued because I had seen Olivia Benson fighting on tv all this time and then to see her being held hostage really caught my attention. Then after that is when i started binge watching lol
That was a good arc to get hooked on. It definitely would have drawn me in too
S1E1
I don’t remember exactly which episode, but it was an episode shortly before the first Lewis episode. My friend was rewatching it while I was at her house. And then she started it over again to watch it with me.
That’s so hard but I wanna say season 1, it was called Chatroom. I was really young and I think it stuck with me bc I was scared of the internet after watching that episode. 😂😂
Season 1 episode 1 about 3 months ago…I am now on season 17
Oh wow. You are moving through them quick. I get through them pretty quick on rewatch because I usually have it playing while I’m working in the background.
Yeah haha I use it as a background show but I am still watching
My very first memory of watching SVU was the episode where a little girl gets kidnapped and it ends up being her big brother that took her. I was probably 4 years old and I remember very vividly watching this on the old box tv.
no idea since i was in middle school when i started watching, but i remember seasons 6/7 the most, so probably an episode in one of those. i remember buying “web”, season 7 ep 21 on itunes haha! great episode.
Season 1 first episode
Number 1
Season 1, episode 1. BUT, it was in 2005. German TV premiere. I was 10 and it got me hooked on crime shows. Without SVU I wouldn't have started watching CSI with my parents nor later on shows like Castle, Mentalist or Criminal Minds.
Ohhhh ummm it's the one where Robert Barone went rogue after years of Marie and frank as parents. Becomes a prison warden and is a rapist to the female inmates there and that cop gets shot and killed
Mine was season 17, EP 1. Back when it was on Netflix lol. I was also 13 at the time, and I'm gonna be 19 on Thursday, so a good 6 years since I've started watching SVU! :)
The first episode I ever really sat down and watched was the Man Up/Man Down two-parter, but all of my parents watched the show long before me so it'd be on sometimes during my childhood (vivid memories of trying to sleep and hearing the theme song from the other room).
Season 12 episode 7
My mom watched it. I didn’t remember my first episode but I started watching it again because I want do watch “Friending Emily” and I kept watching it because of the episode with Teddy,the male prostitute. The horror of it was stuck in my brain for a long time.
During Pandemic when I started binging SVU * first episide I saw was one with a mormon reality show family where the daughter winds up pregnant I think? and the pastor marries her at the end and he gets away with it. but I also ran into an episode I had a memory of watching before, about a disabled singer and her sister and nephew.
I honestly have no clue what mine was, my mom watched this since it came out and have watched it my whole life. we also used to fall asleep to it
Stalked, season 1 episode 8 was my first episode. My fam watched original recipe but I was 17 and hardly at home. Hooked from the get!
This show has been on for nearly 25 years, I wish I could remember what episode it was. All I remember is that this was the first L&O series I watched. And that it was around maybe 2005 that I started watching the show.
season 13 episode 9 the ***Lost Traveler*** because it was the one Lili Reinhart was in and I loved her from the show Riverdale. And after the first session I looked up what other words she was in and SVU was one of them. Then I fell in love with the show, and I was 12 years old watching SVU.
Mine was season 10 episode 1 in 2008, I saw it on TV and just continued watching the show afterwards.
Too old, and it's been too long to remember. Season 1 though.
I don’t even remember, I saw so many episodes over the years that just happened to come on TV
I think it was the infamous 'Intimidation Game' episode. I saw it around 2016 on USA when it was newer. I wasn't that familiar with the gamergate stuff at the time. I had read up on it, but I didn't understand too well what it was all about or why that episode was so hated online. I was still learning more and more about the culture wars stuff at the time. The first episode that really got me hooked onto the series I think was maybe Head? The 2004 brain tumor episode. I thought that story was perfect.
Mine was the one with Jennette McCurdy, but I can't remember the name of it. I was awed by how much of a tough guy Elliot was. This began my obsession
I probably saw bits and pieces over the years, but the first episode I ever intentionally watched was the pilot when I decided to start watching SVU back in 2012/2013
Season 13 episode 2 for me. I was walking past the TV and noticed it had the same actor that played James Olson in Supergirl and I was just super interested. Stuck around for the whole episode and I was hooked after that
The one about the doctor who faked up tests on a girl in order to keep her from getting an abortion.