These are their stories.

Anybody recognize the title of this post? Would you recognize it with the all-too-familiar "dun dun" immediately following?


That's right, it's the end of the introduction to "Law & Order" and its numerous spinoffs, including my personal favorite, the Special Victims Unit. Season 13 started last week, but I just got the chance to watch the newest episode today. Here are my thoughts. (Warning: Might contain spoilers, but I'll try not to ruin the episode for y'all.)

As a devoted fan (I have seen every single episode since 1999), I was nervous to watch the new season without Christopher Meloni (a.k.a. Elliot Stabler, a.k.a. a hot-but-loses-his-temper-too-easily sex crimes detective). I like how they embedded his story and reason for not returning throughout the episode, however, instead of just announcing he was gone at some point during the show. Of course, the average watcher might not even know Stabler wasn't returning to this season, and in that case, they definitely need the storyline to explain why. I do wish they could have at least included him a final goodbye scene or something. I'll miss him.

The new detective, Amanda Rollins (played by Kelli Giddish), doesn't seem too bad. I loved her go-get-'em attitude when she handed off her box to a passerby so she could get in the elevator with Cragen. But from my preliminary research on Season 13, I've learned Olivia Benson/Mariska Hargitay will be moving to a smaller role to allow the producers to wean her character out of the series. Wahh. So I was a little too judgemental of Rollins during the episode. She tried too hard, had a forced accent and could have seriously screwed over the case. But I'll keep an open mind. After Benson leaves, I'll need someone new to cheer for.

Things I loved about this episode: It was classic SVU. Money, power, credibility issues, twists in stories and a surprise witness at the end. And they brought back A.D.A. Alex Cabot to fight the bad guys; I absolutely love her character. So let's just say that though I miss Stabler's tantrums and volatile personality, I'll definitely be tuning in next week for episode 2. Who knows, maybe I'll even get to watch it on television for once instead of streaming on my computer!

Source: tv.com via Coldilox on Pinterest

Goodbye, Elliot. It was a good 12 years!