Let’s look at SVU’s most memorable villains

Since there was no new SVU episode this week, it’s time for another look into the past with my top 10 “villains.”

10.  Bart Ganzel & Delia Wilson (“Rhodium Nights,” Season 13; “Above Suspicion,” Season 14)

This villainous pair of kingpin escort-service bosses puts Captain Cragen in jail, framing him for a girl’s murder. They poison countless women and wield their power over a lengthy chain of hit-men in New York. Also: I am not a fan of the fact that Benson reconnects with Cassidy in these episodes.

Ganzel, Wilson, Cassidy

  

SVU season 15 recap before season 16 premieres Wednesday

Well, folks, we’re down to just a few days before the premiere of Law and Order: SVU’s 16^th season! Before we dive in, let’s refresh our memories with a review of the Season 15 finale.

In the penultimate episode of the 15^th season, we meet Simon Wilkes, a crazy photographer who takes moderately inappropriate pictures of children and—here’s the creepy part—has a huge torture chamber that turns out to be unused. Nonetheless, this man has an entire room decked out with tubes, scissors, knives, drills and all-things-terrifying where he goes to imagine different forms of child abuse. Despite evidence of foul play beyond his ugly thoughts, Wilkes gets off scot-free.

Detective Stabler’s exit: a huge loss for SVU

Four seasons ago, SVU embarked on a new journey without the accompaniment of Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). After accidentally shooting a victim in the Season 12 finale “Smoked,” Stabler suddenly left the squad without further word, never to give a much-sought-after goodbye to Benson and SVU viewers everywhere. As the camera pans away from the chaotic squad room after Stabler’s fatal shot, audiences did not realize it was the last moment they would see the Benson-Stabler power team in action. In reality, Meloni disappointingly left the cast of SVU after co-starring in over 270 episodes because he could not agree on a new contract with producers.

(Video: A compilation of moments where Stabler thinks he will have to leave the squad, beginning with his final SVU appearance in “Smoked.”)

In honor of SVU’s 16th season in 16 days, let’s look back

Law and Order: SVU’s 16^th season premieres on NBC at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT) on Sept. 24! After last season’s exciting three-episode stint involving the ever-frightening William Lewis and the cryptic Season 15 finale, many questions hang in the air for avid SVU viewers. Will Benson finally mother a child? Will Munch return again as Amaro’s father figure? And most importantly, after 16 years, how are producers and writers still coming up with new scripts that leave audiences across the nation spellbound? Let’s take a look back at the genius of SVU with my top 10!