It’s about kids being abducted and molested—even killed. It’s about murdered prostitutes, men found dead in compromised situations, rape victims who have to testify in front of a grand jury… It’s about the most heinous felonies, as the introduction always warns.

And yet, it’s the only show I have set up on my DVR.

The other day while I was watching a new episode of Law and Order: SVU (and it was awesome, with a new cop on the scene, a wrongfully convicted man, and a compelling case), I had to pause during a commercial (there’s no way I’d pause while Hargitay, Meloni, Ice-T or Belzer is on the scene, of course) and ponder—why on earth do I love this show so much?

To be fair, I did get addicted during a time of my life when I had the time to watch television. My daughter was in the intensive care unit, born premature, and I had no way to see her at nighttime. I worked on school work, wrote… and watched Law and Order.

That said, it’s still stuck with me, four years later now. What gives? Why do I like to see the scum of the earth hurt people—and then get beat down, taken to court, locked up, or worse?

Oh, right. That must be why.

As much as I condemn torture and the abuse of human rights (I refuse to watch 24 on those very grounds), I have to admit I love it when Stabler and Benson get the bad guy. Remember the time Benson punched that guy who kidnapped a girl in the face and he howled? It was just so satisfying, after seeing what he’d done to that little girl (and buried her, leaving her for dead). Does it make me a hypocrite? Mmm… maybe. But I still love it.

I love it when Munch goes off on his conspiracy theories (Remember the time he played a crazy homeless man, and Stabler remarked that he was good at it—and Finn replied, “That’s the same stuff he says every day, only louder.”). I love Finn’s quips and how he and Munch bounce back and forth, always covering each other and always getting the job done. I love most of the ADAs—particularly Cabott—as well as Doc Warner, Dr. Wong, Captain Kragen…the whole gang. What other show has such a completely likeable cast?

What do you think? Do you think it’s a perversion to love Law and Order: SVU?