TITLE: Law & Order - "Burn Card"
NETWORK: NBC
AIR DATE: April 23rd, 2008
STARRING: Sam Waterston, Jeremy Sisto, Jesse L. Martin, Linus Roache, Alana De La Garza, and Anthony Anderson
CREATED BY: Dick Wolf

TITLE: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - "Authority"
NETWORK: NBC
AIR DATE: April 29th, 2008
STARRING: Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Tamara Tunie, Dann Florek, Ice-T, B.D. Wong, Richard Belzer, and Robin Williams CREATED BY: Dick Wolf

It's a big week in the world of Law & Order, a franchise that has had several of them over the last few decades. The revolving door of casting on the original series hasn't really made headlines in a while, but this year the show seemed to get a pop cultural kick in the pants from the inclusion of Jeremy Sisto and Linus Roache just a few weeks ago. At this very site, we questioned if adding the talented pair could really revive a series that grew stale years ago and even suggested that some of these talented people might want to move on. And then a funny thing happened. It looks like we were wrong and this cat had a ninth life. We heard more and more people talking about Law & Order again and ratings actually started to rise. Sure, it's partially helped by the writer's strike and the trouble that a few shows have had finding their grooves since it ended, but that doesn't change the fact that Law & Order has become required viewing for a lot of viewers who had written it off a decade or more ago. In just a dozen or so episodes, the very talented Sisto has settled into his character comfortably and looks like he could play it for years. Just a few months in and he looks like he's always been there. But the revolving door continues and this week sees the departure of Jesse L. Martin, a man who has been a part of the cast since 1999 and for an amazing 199 episodes, according to IMDB. Can you blame him for moving aside after that much time? Luckily, it doesn't look like the surprising 2008 comeback of Law & Order will be stopped because Martin is being replaced by an equaling talented and underrated actor in Anthony Anderson. Meanwhile, an Academy Award-winning star stops by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit next week to celebrate the 200th episode of that very good series, the most consistent of the L&O shows over the last few years. NBC sent us both and we're ready to give you a sneak peek at the latest in the land of Law & Order.

Law & Order 18.14: "Burn Card"

The writers of Law & Order give Jesse L. Martin a nice send-off with this well-made episode, one that illuminates more about Detective Ed Green than we've learned in the nearly 200 episodes he starred in before now. It's not often that the cops themselves become the center of a show, but that's exactly what happens this week. NBC has asked kindly that the details of Green's departure not be given away and we would never ruin the surprise, but we can say one thing - this is one of the more unpredictable Law & Order episodes of the season. The show has a habit of pulling stories from the headlines and "Burn Card" opens by tricking the audience into thinking that it will be based on that horrible story of the NBA referee who was caught gambling on his own games, but then the script takes a 180. It involves Anthony Anderson, who was most recently seen in K-Ville, as an Internal Affairs agent, and a case that hits really close to home for everyone involved. S. Epatha Merkerson does typically great work, there's a fantastic supporting performance that we can't really even mention without giving something away, and Sisto shows how far he's come with this series after only a few episodes. And Anderson will be a fantastic addition to the Law & Order family. He stole scenes on The Shield and he's the last reason that K-Ville fell apart. He's a consistent and surprising actor and, honestly, with Sisto and Anderson as the leads, this fan who had written off Law & Order at LEAST a decade ago is interested again.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 9.17: "Authority"

What happens to a slightly warped mind that finds its life ruined by cops, doctors, and other figures of authority? He becomes Robin Williams in the 200th episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. If you prefer Williams in One Hour Photo or Insomnia to his comedy turns, you should definitely see SVU next week. Williams plays Merritt Rook, a man who has found a way to manipulate others to commit crimes by playing with their reliance on authority. The nightmare starts when a fast-food restaurant manager (30 Rock's Scott Adsit) gets a call from a man masquerading as a policeman who tells him to strip search one of his employees. Like a lot of people, the manager follows orders. It only gets crazier from there, as Rook uses all of our distrust and dislike for authority to his advantage. The first two acts of "Authority" are much stronger than the second two, as Williams goes WAY over the top (as he seems to do all the time lately) but there's something about the way SVU is made that still makes it an entertaining hour. The writing, acting, and even the editing seems tighter on SVU and not just in comparison to the other Law & Order shows but other cop shows in general. It's well-made TV. Despite (or maybe BECAUSE OF) the presence of Robin Williams, "Authority" doesn't stand out as one of the best, but the 200th episode of any series in today's cutthroat market is worth noting. Congratulations.