Season 1

Law & Order: Special Victims UnitSeason 1

1999
22 Episodes

Episodes

Payback
S01E01
6.5

Payback

Detectives Stabler and Benson investigate the murder and dismemberment of a taxi driver; the team discovers that he may have been a vicious Serbian war criminal living in the United States under a false identity.

20 Sept 199944m
A Single Life
S01E02
6.7

A Single Life

Benson and Stabler run into multiple dead ends while investigating the case of a woman who plummeted six stories to her death clad only in a slip.

27 Sept 199943m
...Or Just Look Like One
S01E03
7.8

...Or Just Look Like One

When a teen model is murdered and another is left for dead at a hospital emergency room, the team uncovers an insidious drug and sex conspiracy in the world of high fashion. Benson and Stabler enter into a modeling underworld of thoughtless parents, drug-dealing doctors and a trendy agency executive.

04 Oct 199943m
Hysteria
S01E04
7.9

Hysteria

When a young African-American woman is found dead, she is initially believed to be a prostitute and the latest in a long line of victims, but when looking into her home life Benson and Stabler realize 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 no one anticipated.

11 Oct 199943m
Wanderlust
S01E05
7.7

Wanderlust

When a world-traveling author is found dead in a room he rented from an alcoholic woman and her precocious 14-year-old daughter, the detectives are shocked to discover who the murderer is.

18 Oct 199944m
Sophomore Jinx
S01E06
6.5

Sophomore Jinx

A female student at an upper-class university is raped and murdered, and two of the college’s basketball stars are suspected. 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.

25 Oct 199943m
Uncivilized
S01E07
8.1

Uncivilized

When a young boy is found raped and murdered in a field, suspicion leads detectives to a recently paroled child molester who lives in the neighborhood.. 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.

15 Nov 199944m
Stalked
S01E08
7.9

Stalked

When an assistant district attorney is found raped and murdered in Central Park, the Special Victims Unit learn that she’d been stalked by a real estate agent whom she’d convicted of date rape. Benson lets her emotions get the best of her as she takes it upon herself to bring the suspected rapist 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.

22 Nov 199944m
Stocks & Bondage
S01E09
6.7

Stocks & Bondage

An investment analyst is found hanged in her bedroom, and the Special Victims Unit explores her sordid sexual past to uncover her murderer’s identity. The team uncovers the world of bondage and sado-masochism 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.

29 Nov 199944m
Closure
S01E10
7.9

Closure

When a woman is raped, she turns to the Special Victims Unit for help, but lack of evidence prevents them from apprehending the criminal. When the detectives revisit the case a few months later, they find the woman even less willing to talk about what happened, as she claims she has moved on. Things turn sticky when Benson and Cassidy spend the night together.

07 Jan 200044m
Bad Blood
S01E11
8.6

Bad Blood

A moral coalition leader’s gay son is found murdered on the roof of his apartment building. Initially, Benson and Stabler investigate his father, a Conservative well-known for his homophobic viewpoints, but once they start looking into the young man's living arrangements they realize the person they're looking for may be closer than they think. Munch tries to help Benson find the man who raped her mother, and could potentially be her father.

14 Jan 200044m
Russian Love Poem
S01E12
7.1

Russian Love Poem

When a multi-millionaire is found strangled in his home, Benson and Stabler turn their suspicion to his long list of lovers, which includes both men and women. Detectives discover he was involved with a group of beautiful Russian women that came to the U.S. to take advantage of wealthy Americans.

21 Jan 200044m
Disrobed
S01E13
6.6

Disrobed

A judge who fought for the rights of abused women is found shot in his car under sordid circumstances, and the detectives uncover a case of corruption that leads to the state parole board. The team soon turns their eye to a battered wife with a secret.

04 Feb 200044m
Limitations
S01E14
7.4

Limitations

At the request of a victim, the police commissioner comes to Cragen with a special request -- close the five-year-old case of a serial rapist before the statute of limitations expires. The detectives finally get a lead but the investigation is hindered by one of the victims.

11 Feb 200044m
Entitled (I)
S01E15
6.6

Entitled (I)

After a salesman is murdered, the detectives turn their attention to the youngest daughter of a well-known family with some deep connections. But as they join forces with the officers from the two-seven, they realize that their case is connected with a long-unsolved case that Briscoe once handled years ago with his former partner Mike Logan. The crossover continues in Law & Order S10E14 Entitled (II).

18 Feb 200044m
The Third Guy
S01E16
8.0

The Third Guy

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 are surprised to learn that the rape was committed after the robbery – by someone else.

25 Feb 200044m
Misleader
S01E17
6.9

Misleader

The pregnant daughter-in-law of a Christian College president is murdered in her hotel room, and the detectives discover that the man had been involved in some very unholy activities.

31 Mar 200044m
Chat Room
S01E18
8.1

Chat Room

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 investigation leads the Special Victims Unit to a network of pedophiles and child pornographers.

14 Apr 200043m
Contact
S01E19
8.2

Contact

After seven young women in a six month time span are raped by a flash and dash assailant on the city subways, the brass calls in a psychiatrist to help the team get into the head of the perp. When he is caught, he possesses the driver's license of a new victim who could put him away.

28 Apr 200042m
Remorse
S01E20
8.2

Remorse

A female television news reporter decides to go public with her story when she attacked and raped by two men, but the decision proves to be fatal.

05 May 200044m
Nocturne
S01E21
8.6

Nocturne

After a pharmacy turns over some disturbing photos of a young boy, a beloved neighborhood piano teacher is suspected of being a sexual predator who takes advantage of his innocent young students.

12 May 200043m
Slaves
S01E22
7.9

Slaves

A Romanian immigrant is being held as a psychological prisoner by her abusive employer and his wife, who is also traumatized by years of abuse and is willing to commit murder to protect her husband. A forensic psychologist analyzes the team, and presents disturbing findings to Cragen, suggesting that one of the detectives be removed from the team.

21 May 200044m