Yesterday’s announcement concerning pay increases for Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni and the two-year extension the show was given got me thinking about my recent relationship with Law and Order: SVU.

Jenn and I have definitely been fans since the very beginning. The show started airing a month or so after we got married and we’ve been quite loyal. Maybe it’s the combination of Chris Meloni’s intensity (not his resemblance to Elias Koteas) and Hargitay’s no-nonsense, feminine power – and the resulting sexual tension – that kept us coming back.

Sure, it wasn’t the original franchise, but we liked that. A little more serialized, more character driven and less “ripped from the headlines” than vanilla L&O.

We got a little over-exposed to the series once it moved into syndication and our minds turned to Lost and Grey’s Anatomy. Over the last year, we just haven’t watched many first-run episodes, preferring the older, more familiar.

Maybe it was their handling of Hargitay’s pregnancy or the addition of the goofy-accented and hot-headed Danni Beck (Connie Nielsen), but the series got very inconsistent. Just this week we’ve watched 4 episodes from earlier this season and they all lacked the punch of previous seasons.

Plus, Stabler is the unhinged one, not his partner. That’s how it should work. The accent, the angst and the approach were all wrong with Danni. Why not just write Benson’s pregnancy into the series?

I’m glad Mariska and Chris got big raises, though. They (along with Ice T and Richard Belzer) really make the show tick. Without them I don’t think I’d be watching any Law & Order show.

I’m just a big fan of Mariska’s. Loved her on ER as Dr. Greene’s love interest. Love her on SVU. Love her husband‘s razor ads. Think she looks like someone else.

Anyhow, congrats to Mariska and Chris and SVU. You all deserve it and I hope the show only gets better now that everyone is back.