Season 1 Episode Guide

This article contains a list of episodes for season 1 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Payback (9/20/99)

After cab driver Victor Spic
er is found stabbed and his genitals cut off, Benson and Stabler investigate his murder only to learn that Spicer is an inmate at Rikers Island and the dead man left behind a wife and child. Further investigation reveals that the dead man was a Serbian soldier who had been indicted on charges of ethnic cleansing. Benson has trouble separating herself from the case after realizing that the victim was a rapist, because she herself was a child of rape, and Stabler tries to keep her from crossing the line in her attempts to protect suspects she feels were justified in their actions. Guest star: Mili Avital.

A Single Life (9/27/99)

When the body of Gretchen Quinn is found wearing only a red slip after having gone through an upper-story window, Benson and Stabler soon find out that 'Gretchen Quinn' has never existed. While trying to piece together her life, the detectives are led to Gretchen's psychiatrist and a well-known television newscaster, both of whom were sleeping with her. They finally trace Gretchen back to a young woman who changed her name and identity after graduating high school to get away from her sexually abusive father. Cragen finds it easy to identify with the young woman, as he has ghosts of his own from which he must escape.

… Or Just Look like One (10/4/99)

After teen model Jazmin Burgess is dumped, beaten, and raped in front of Roosevelt hospital, Benson and Stabler investigate to find out why a sixteen-year-old girl was out alone after midnight. High levels of drugs in Jazmin's system led them to take a look at not only the modeling agency with which Jazmine was signed, but also the photographer who was supervising her last shoot and had booted her out because she was 'too heavy'. Stabler's disgust with the whole issue is aggravated by his and Kathy's worry that their daughter Maureen, who has been refusing to eat lately and may be anorexic. Guest stars: Bebe Neuwirth, Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin.

Hysteria (10/11/99)

When a young woman is found dead, she is initially believed to be a prostitute and the latest in a serial murders case. However, after looking into her home life, Benson and Stabler realise that she does not fit the pattern, and may not be connected to the other deaths after all, but the other deaths have a connection that no one had anticipated.

Wanderlust (10/18/99)

After a travel writer is found tied up with a woman's undergarments choking off his air supply, Benson and Stabler initially suspect his landlord's boyfriend, but suspicion soon turns to the landlord and her daughter. Both seem far too interested in what their tenant is doing with his time. After learning the daughter had a sexual relationship with the tenant, things take an even stranger turn. Guest star: Patricia Richardson.

Sophomore Jinx (10/25/99)

After a female student is murdered at a local college, Benson and Stabler turn their attention to the school's basketball team. However, the college blocks their investigation at every turn because they are not willing to risk the negative publicity that the investigation could bring to the school and the upcoming championship.

Uncivilized (11/15/99)

When a young boy is found murdered, suspicion leads Benson and Stabler to a recently paroled child molester. Although they both hate what the man has done in the past, it is soon obvious to the detectives that the teenagers who initially steered them in the man's direction are hiding secrets of their own.

Stalked (11/22/99)

When the body of an assistant district attorney is found raped and beaten in Central Park, Benson lets her emotions get the best of her as she takes it upon herself to bring the suspected rapist, a local realtor, to justice. Stabler tries to get the man's business partner to help him, but Benson may be the one who ends up needing help.

Stocks & Bondage (11/29/99)

The death of a local businesswoman throws the detectives into the world of S&M, where they first investigate the woman's colleagues but are soon on the trail of a host of individuals involved in the world of whips and chains.

Closure (1/7/00)

Benson does her best to help a rape victim who is able to describe her attack in perfect detail, yet unable to properly identify her attacker when push comes to shove. When the detectives revisit the case a few months later, they find the woman even less willing to talk about what happened. Things become complicated when Benson and Cassidy spend the night together. Guest stars: Tracy Pollan, Angie Harmon.

Bad Blood (1/14/00)

The death of a young gay man initially leads Benson and Stabler to investigate his father, a conservative activist well-known for his homophobia, but once they start looking into the young man's living arrangements they realise the person they're looking for may be closer than they think. Munch tries to help Benson find the man who raped her mother.

Russian Love Poem (1/21/00)

When multi-millionaire Andrew Harlin is found murdered in his home, Benson and Stabler turn their suspicion to Harlin's long list of lovers, which includes both men and women. Evidence at the crime scene leads detectives to a pair of Russian escorts, but before they can get the truth from them, one turns up dead, and the boyfriend of the other confesses to murder.

Disrobed (2/4/00)

After a judge is found murdered in his car, the detectives begin looking into his background and learn that he often delivered special verdicts for women in return for sexual favors and was also behind the funding of a local governor's bid for re-election. The team soon turns their eye to a battered wife with a secret. Cassidy opts to leave the stressful environment of SVU.

Limitations (2/11/00)

At the request of a victim, the police commissioner comes to Cragen with a special request — close the case of the man who raped three women nearly five years ago before the statute of limitations expires. The detectives finally get a lead when they realise one of the victims knows the rapist, but she's not willing to talk. She is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). In the end, it turns out that she refused to name her rapist because he was crippled. The depiction of the practices of the RSoF is accurate.

Entitled (2/18/00)

After a salesman is murdered, the detectives turn their attention to Stephanie Mulroney, the youngest daughter of a well-known family with some deep connections. But as they join forces with the officers from the 27th Precinct, they realise that their case is connected with a long-unsolved case that Lennie Briscoe handled years ago with his former partner, Mike Logan. Guest stars: Jerry Orbach, Sam Waterston, Angie Harmon, Steven Hill.

The Third Guy (2/25/00)

An elderly woman is found tied up and sexually assaulted in her apartment, and suspicion is initially on the young men that had broken into her home and robbed her, but once the detectives catch the young men, they learn that there was someone else in the apartment. It looks like the boys were in the wrong place at the wrong time requiring the detectives to turn their attention to another source.

Misleader (3/31/00)

After the pregnant daughter-in-law of a prominent religious figure is found murdered in her hotel room, the detectives turn their eyes on her well-connected family only to discover that her infidelity, and the probable father of her child, was probably what led to her death.

Chat Room (4/14/00)

When a teenage girl comes into the squad room to tell the detectives that she was raped by a man she met on the internet, the detectives set up a special sting operation but end up stepping on some highly-placed toes as Munch plays the kid to net the big fish.

Contact (4/28/00)

After seven young women in a six month time span are raped by a flash and dash assailant on the city subways, the team calls in a special forensics investigator. Jeffries decides to keep a very close eye on the man they believe is guilty of the crimes, which leads them to a new witness who could put him away.

Remorse (5/5/00)

Television reporter Sarah Logan talks about her recent rape on the air, and Benson and Stabler apprehend a young man they think is responsible, as Munch finds himself forming a bond with the reporter. Guest star: Jennifer Esposito.

Nocturne (5/12/00)

After a photo developer turns over some homemade child pornography, Benson and Stabler arrest a piano teacher for child molestation. While going through his personal effects, they find a series of videos that document the life of a young boy named Evan. Believing he can make or break their case, the team hunts Evan down only to realise that he is scarred far more deeply than they realised. Guest star: Wilson Jermaine Heredia.

Slaves (5/21/00)

After a shopkeeper brings a note for help to the squad, the detectives begin trying to locate a young Romanian woman named Ilena, only to find her aunt, who hasn't seen the girl in months. The squad eventually finds her at the home of the Morrows, a successful yuppie couple. A forensic psychologist analyses the team, and presents disturbing findings to Cragen, suggesting that one of the detectives be removed from the team. Guest star: Andrew McCarthy.

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