Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Unofficial Companion

by Susan Green, Randee Dawn, Dick Wolf (Foreword)

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Unofficial Companion is a comprehensive guide covering the first 10 seasons and includes a synopsis and an objective analysis for each episode, as well as commentaries or recollections from the people involved in crafting the one-hour tale. It goes after the heart of SVU through interviews with actors, writers, producers, casting agents, location scouts and others. The authors peek behind the scenes of the bicoastal operation, observing the progress of an entire episode shot in New York City and a script fine-tuned in Los Angeles. The book provides fascinating insight, delighting SVU devotees who love on-screen and backstage trivia. In addition, creator Dick Wolf offers readers a gripping foreword to the book.

Genres: Nonfiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Lee Goldberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of SVU (as I am) or are simply fascinated by television (as I am, too), you will love this book. It delves into every aspect of the production of the show, offers detailed information on the writers, cast and crew, as well as the obligatory (and surprisingly entertaining and informative) episode guide. I wish they'd tried a little harder to get the scoop on why some actors were fired instead of glossing over it (which is why I held back one "star"), but some compromises probably had to be made to get the level of cooperation the authors enjoyed from the writers, cast and crew, all of whom are interviewed and length. It's refreshing to read a book about a TV show that doesn't lapse into mindless, fannish drool, but is a thoughtful, intelligent and comprehensive overview. Not only is the book informative and interesting, it's also surprisingly up-to-date...the episode guide covers every season except the one that just started last week. I hope they will update the book as the series goes on.

[Randee Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it's my book. So of course, five stars! This was a fun, if rigorous book to write along with my co-author, Susan Green, and we had pretty much total access to the set and the actors. Dick Wolf was invaluable with assistance in so many areas. The show remains one of the most timely and insightful series on primetime today, and from what I hear has really made a difference in a lot of peoples' lives. I'm glad we were able to be even a small part of that.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this show.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers Seasons 1-10. Each episode is briefly covered without giving away the endings. I enjoyed especially reading about the authors of the teleplays and the research they did on their episodes.

[Kristin Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

SVU is one of my favorite shows and I learned a lot about the "behind the scenes" stuff (casting, shooting, etc). Definitely a must read for fans.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

...I *HAD* to!! The first portion of the book gave some great insight to the origin of the show.