"Law and Order: SVU" has been on television since 1999, producing twenty seasons for the last nineteen (almost twenty) years. It's one of the most popular crimes shows ever aired, focusing on the "Special Victims Unit," a team of detectives that focus on solving sex crimes. Down below is just a few of the show's best and most well-written episodes to date. You should go and watch them...like now.
1. Season 3, Episode 7 "Sacrifice"
A man is found outside a gay bar, shot and sexually assaulted. The SVU later finds out the victim and his wife (guest star Elizabeth Banks) actually work in the porn industry in order to pay the medical bills for their daughter, who has cystic fibrosis.
2. Season 3, Episode 23 "Silence"
After a transgender female is found murdered in a church, the SVU quickly finds the man responsible: a young priest. This young man accuses his mentor, another priest, of sexually molesting him and several other boys in the church over the years, as well as revealing that the parents of the victims were paid to keep quiet.
3. Season 4, Episode 9 "Juvenile"
A woman with terminal cancer is found dead in her apartment. The victim was known for growing marijuana and one of her clients is initially suspected of the crime. However, things take a huge turn when the perpetrators are actually two middle school-aged boys.
4. Season 4, Episode 17 "Privilege"
A young maid appears to have committed suicide by jumping off the top of a penthouse. But after a closer look at the bruising on her body, the SVU suspects the penthouse occupants know more about the incident than they had let on.
5. Season 5, Episode 10 "Shaken"
A missing toddler is found with massive brain damage. At first, the detectives believe she was beaten by a pedophile, but later find out the poor child suffered shaken baby syndrome. The main suspects include the mother, the nannies, and the mother's boyfriend, who all claimed the child was a "handful."
6. Season 5, Episode 15 "Families"
A pregnant teenager is found dead. After interrogating the victim's boyfriend, the SVU learns about the bad blood between the boyfriend's family and the victim's family. After digger deeper, the detectives end up revealing a deep secret between the feuding families.
7. Season 5, Episode 16 "Home"
A little boy is found eating out of a garbage can. The SVU return him to his home, only to find out the boy and his older brother are extremely sheltered by their mother. Things take a turn for the worst when the boy is found dead and his brother confesses to the murder.
8. Season 5, Episode 17 "Mean"
A high school student is found brutally murdered, and it turns out her three best friends are responsible. All three sides of the story collide, so it's not clear what exactly happened that night.
9. Season 5, Episode 19 "Sick"
A twelve-year-old boy is caught making murderous threats online, claiming he was just "joking around." After talking to the child, the SVU realizes that he was molested, and his parents are the ones allowing it to happen.
10. Season 6, Episode 6 "Conscience"
A little boy disappears from a birthday party and is found murdered shortly after. The detectives are quick to point fingers at a local sex offender but are stunned to realize the kill was committed by a 13-year-old boy.
11. Season 6, Episode 12 "Identity"
A gangbanger is pushed off a roof after engaging in sexual activity. The SVU arrests a 14-year-old boy, but he insists it wasn't him. His twin sister ends up confessing to the murder, which confuses the detectives because the DNA at the crime scene came from a male.
12. Season 6, Episode 18 "Pure"
A teenage girl is abducted by a rapist, and a psychic (guest star Martin Short) claims he has information regarding what happened to her. The SVU refuses to listen to him, but after dropping hints, it's revealed the psychic was actually involved.
13. Season 7, Episode 3 "911"
A young Honduran girl calls 911 and claims to be locked in a room. Benson works hard to find her, but the rest of the unit is convinced it's all just a sick joke since the phone's signal keeps bouncing around. Olivia refuses to listen and keeps trying to rescue her before it's too late.
14. Season 7, Episode 6 "Raw"
A little African American boy and two Jewish children are shot during recess. The SVU know right away it was a hate crime. They trace the gun used in the attack and are led to a gun shop. The owners are revealed to be part of a Neo-Nazi group.
15. Season 7, Episode 11 "Alien"
A young boy is dropped off in front of a hospital with a huge stab wound in his back. The perpetrator turns out to be a fellow student who is constantly tormented at their Catholic school for having two mothers.
16. Season 7, Episode 19 "Fault"
Two children are abducted while the rest of their family is killed. Stabler and Benson pursue the offender but are challenged when they end up putting their personal relationship ahead of their jobs, which ultimately causes one the children to be murdered.
17. Season 9, Episode 13 "Unorthodox"
A young Jewish boy is sexually assaulted. The men of the Hasidic Jewish community the victim's father belongs to is initially suspected. However, the rapist turns out to be a fourteen-year-old boy.
18. Season 10, Episode 2 "Confession"
An ashamed teenaged male steps forward, confessing he has sexual feelings for his much younger brother. He also admits he has been looking at a website filled with child pornography in order to cope with his urges, and things end up ugly when Stabler's daughter is one of the children on the website.
19. Season 12, Episode 22 "Bang"
John Stamos guest stars as a reproductive abuser who pokes holes in his condoms in order to impregnate women, as he loves fathering children. He claims to have fathered at least forty children.
20. Season 12, Episode 23 "Delinquent"
A teenage boy is found naked in a woman's bed and is brought in by the SVU. The child is revealed to have a history of stalking and raping older women due to his female babysitter molesting him as a child.
21. Season 13, Episode 9 "Lost Traveller"
When a young Romani boy disappears, the Romani community is thought to be behind it due to them having problems with the boy's parents. However, the suspect pool shrinks and the mentally challenged neighbor across the street might know a thing or two.
22. Season 14, Episode 19 "Born Psychopath"
A school reports suspicious injuries on a little girl, and the SVU questions the parents. The mother reveals her ten-year-old son has violent tendencies, but they never got him professional help out of fear of their son being "labeled."
23. Season 15, Episode 1 "Surrender Benson"
Benson is kidnapped by an extremely dangerous serial rapist and murderer. Olivia fights for her life, and the rest of the squad follow her trail before anything horrible can happen to her.
24. Season 15, Episode 19 "Beast's Obsession"
The same man who abducted Benson escapes from prison and resumes his spree. Benson is advised to lay low, but when a little girl is kidnapped, Olivia will find out how much she is willing to sacrifice to keep the child safe.
25. Season 17, Episode 2 "Transgender Bridge"
A transgender teen is rushed to the hospital after being pushed off a bridge by a group of bullies. The victim forgives the boys who hurt her, but an aggressive attorney insists the perpetrators receive severe punishment.
26. Season 18, Episode 11 "Great Expectations"
A young hockey player is sexually assaulted in the locker room. The victim's best friend is the attacker, but there's more to the story after notice the harsh behavior of the attacker's father.
27. Season 18, Episode 19 "Conversion"
A girl is raped while on a trip with her church group. The rapist is one of her male friends, who claims he was performing "curative intercourse," which is supposed to cure people of homosexual urges. The SVU has trouble incarcerating the perp due to his first amendment rights.
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