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How many people does Stabler beat up in the first episode for not wearing a mask (while not wearing one himself)?

Looking forward to seeing Stabler again. I gave up on SVU a few years after he left, as the show just got too repetitive for me, and they kept getting rid of characters that I liked.

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Looking forward to this...I haven't seen Chris Meloni in a while but in this publicity shot it looks like his hair situation is finally looking more normal. For a while it looked like he was experimenting with hair plugs or some kind of hair replacement grafting that didn't look quite right...maybe it was just a bad wig?

SVU with Stabler were some of my favorite seasons but I have to wonder where they go with his character now. It really seemed like they ran his narrative into the ground before he left.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one hoping that he and Olivia would eventually wind up together but now that they each have separate shows the risk of that happening is probably zero now. Too bad, they always had great chemistry and just enough sexual tension between them without it actually being written into the show....

I was always pretty happy they were just friends and colleagues. Not every chemistry has to resolve in a sexual relationship, saying that I met my wife at work and there was great chemistry without it actually being written into our lives.

I agree. Maybe the great chemistry they had was more between Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay rather than Elliott and Olivia.

Plus, don't you think if the writers had gotten them together it would have ended badly anyway? I can't see Olivia ever being able to soothe the rage-a-holic Elliott without them leaving their jobs and Olivia is clearly never leaving hers.

I can't think of any shows where the two main leads ended up together without the show either taking a nosedive or ending (Sam and Diane in Cheers, Bruce and Cybil in Moonlighting, Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist in Remington Steele...sorry, Im a child of the 80s )

This premieres tonight on NBC. The season will be 13 episodes.

However, Part 1 will be on Law and Order: SVU before it. Meloni is guest starring.


Also, I read they had a COVID positive test on the Organized Crime set, so they're shut down 2 weeks.


For those who have lost track of what happened to Stabler. In the season 12 finale, Stabler shot and killed a young woman who went to the station to shoot the man who raped her Mom. Meloni was later in a contract dispute with NBC and decided to not return for season 13. They wrote out Stabler saying he retired. It's been 10 years since he last saw Liv. That should be an interesting reunion.

I'll give it a shot. Haven't watched a L&O show for years. Might have last been when the original went off the air or the UK one. Can't remember. I only watched a few seasons of SVU.

I thought it was fine. Didn't know this is going to be a serialized season, and not a case of the week.

Massive ratings for this one. Expect a renewal soon

I was also surprised by it being serialized, but not in a bad way. It's just not common in Dick Wolf's shows. Meloni is still great as Stabler, Dylan McDermott was a little over the top. It was kind of weird seeing so many people with masks, although it's the new normal on TV it's just strange.

I haven't seen it yet, I watch L&O shows on Hulu after they air. Gotta be honest, though I'm happy to see Stabler back I got bored with Mob stuff back in the 90's. I'm wondering if this will keep my interest.

The set up episode on SVU was really good bringing back Stabler. Very emotional how he and Olivia reunited.

If you don’t follow SVU, Stabler came back to New York for a party to honor his former partner Benson, who he hasn’t seen in 10 years. And his wife was injured in a car bombing and later died. That’s what is keeping him in NY now for the Organized Crime Unit as it seems it was a mob related hit.

Wow, I’m also surprised that it’s serialized. I was also surprised that McDermott appears to be the season villain as well. I guess the teacher is also bad as well since she’s the ex wife and knew the hit was made by him.

I at Stabler’s attempt to muffle his voice calling in the body. Obviously Olivia will be back as things are still lingering between them. She sees he’s hiding something.

A lot of moving parts in this one. The first serialized Law and Order. It’s going to make it tough for a casual viewer to follow this.

Stabler is still a dick.

Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders was also serialized, but obviously a limited series or anatholgy with only one season.

I guess Stabler is popular enough to keep the audience.

Yeah I don't really count that one since it only lasted one season and was based on actual events with real life characters.

SVU and the mothership when they have done ripped from the headlines has always taken liberties with the story.

Was cool to see Chaz playin an old Mobster. McDermott and his situation held my interest in that it made the whole organized crime thing less boring. Stabler was Stabler. His new boss seems cool. So im in for now.

Also...I'm glad they aren't totally ignoring Stabler's abusive hot head cop past. I know for folks its a cool thing that indulges their bad ass cop fantasies, but its always been disgusting.

I was a little underwhelmed by the first episode but series sometimes take a while to get going. Meloni is only 60 but he looks really old in this. I actually sort of miss the original L&O SVU can just be drepressing sometimes.

I'm not sold on the show yet but the video quality was fantastic.

Meloni taking the lead on this makes it an immediate sell for me. First episode was also damn good, as well as the SVU episode that preceded it. This one is going on a completely different direction, and I love it.

So do we like this version of the L&O theme music?

My wife joked that with the way Mike Post re-uses the same theme song, she fully expects the next L&O show’s theme song to be done via harmonica or kazoo. I dunno, I like them all.

We do, I listened to it twice more, when the episode finished.