From NBC Universal Media Village

MULTI AWARD WINNING ACTOR COMEDIAN ROBIN WILLIAMS MAKES A RARE TELEVISION GUEST STAR APPEARANCE ON NBC’s 'LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT,' TUESDAY, APRIL 29. (10:00 PM ET/PT)
Published: March 18, 2008

NEW YORK – March 18, 2008 – Multi-award winning actor comedian Robin Williams makes a rare dramatic appearance on NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU” as an engineer whose life has gone terribly wrong with dramatic repercussions. The episode, “Authority,” will air Tuesday, April 29 at 10:00 PM ET/PT.

When a law-abiding engineer’s life takes a tragic turn, he becomes an ardent believer in the necessity of challenging authority. His purpose in life turns to making people aware that there are risks posed by leading unquestioning lives.

Executive Producer Neal Baer said, “We are thrilled that one of the most talented and versatile actors around will be starring in this powerful and complex special 200th episode. We can’t imagine anyone else doing this role.”

Robin Williams is one of the most successful performers in show business with dozens
of movie credits Oscar win for “Good Will Hunting”; Oscar nominated “Dead Poets Society”; Oscar nominated “Good Morning Vietnam” ; Emmy win for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program: “Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin”; Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series: “Homicide: Life on the Street”; Outstanding Individual Performance and Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program: “Robin Williams: Live on Broadway” and a nomination for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the beloved “Mork & Mindy.” Williams has also received five American Comedy Awards, six Golden Globes and six Golden Globes nominations among other nominations and awards.

Sweeeet. This sounds like the role he did in One Hour Photo..ish.

I wonder what it was like on the set with him. Robin Williams is just so random and energetic. I wonder if the cast and crew were able to keep up with him. Did anyone see the Comic Relief he did about two years back for the victims of Hurricane Katrina? He was awesome with Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg.

I wonder Munch has some scenes with him. Belz and Williams go waaaaaaaaay back. They both started at the same club, Catch a Rising Star in the 70s I think. And he also worked Belz on Homicide too. Williams played a man who's wife got shot in a robbery while their family was touring Baltimore.

I can't wait to see this episode. It will be interesting to see how well Williams portray an engineer since most of his roles are mostly comedic in nature.

I haven't seen Robin Wililams in a long time mind you but he looked really really old in the preview last night. Still none the less I am completely looking forward to seeing him on the show. He hardly ever does guest appearances and to see him on my favorite show my mind is blown away...

did i just see this? did this episode just air? this was by far the WORST episode of TELEVISION ever, not just SVU. I'm seriously in disbelief that someone cashed a paycheck for writing this episode. Wow.

Why? What was so bad about it?

I really liked this episode! It was slightly weird but I loved Robin Williams character. Although my best part of the episode was Munch playing with the pillow in the park.

Robin Williams is an amazing actor, how he can go from total insanity to being the scariest guy in the room is Emmy material in itself.

Completely! I like how they left it open at the end so they can bring him back later on. But Olivia knew that he was good at deceiving people and she went with him anyway, although I guess it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Williams was great. When they were in the court, he made Casey look like a fool. But you know, it would be just great to see his character partner up with Nicole Wallace against Goren (wishful thinking, that's all).

Hi,

Did anyone besides me notice that one of the screens showing where and when the next scene takes place said, "Grand Central Station," when it should have said, "Grand Central Terminal." ????

-Leo

Did anyone else notice the little blooper Diane Neal had in the courtroom scene where she was doing her closing arguments, she has to re-start a set of lines and they forgot to cut it. Cute.

This episode was just "meh" there was no real connection for me in it.

I know that they wanted to perhaps setup a comeback for the character but, what does being handcuffed have to do with dooming him if the Robin Williams character does go into the water at the end? As far as I know I could swim while handcuffed. Hmm?

Whlie not the worst episode ever, there are enough plot holes to drive a mack truck through:

1) Why didn't Olivia wait for Elliot to catch up with her before she made a move on Merrick?

2) Why didn't Elliot call for back up when he went to where he thought Merrick might have Olivia?

3) How could they be so stupid as to allow Merrick to make a move for what was in effect a concealed weapon?

4) Since Merrick used an explosive to get away, he in effect used a deadly weapon to make his escape. The explosion could have hurt them. They would have been justified in shooting a fleeing felon.

5) They really didn't do much of a job searching the general area--yet Olivia said...."oh he went into the water....he's dead". Not good police work there.

So what's worse then seeing the promos featuring Robin annoying and talentless as all hell Williams and that idiot from the dialy show as this weeks guest "stars" on SVU? Being a long enough term fan to actually sit through the whole hour of mindless, predictable, drivel. If the actors weren't so freaking overpaid, I'd almost feel sorry for them having to put on serious expressions to go with the canned pseudo emotional soundtrack and see through scrawlings of the the team of trained monkeys you employ. Jeers Jeers Jeers. The last four in a row almost did it but tonight was the kicker. I won't be back. Sad to lose what was once a great show to the tripe vomited out by the gallons from the ever deteriorating, mindless industry that actually has the audacity to call itself entertainment. Boo. You should be ashamed.

Ahh, yes that was such an.....interesting episode.
It was going pretty good until they got into the
station. It kind of felt unorganized and rushed after
that point, and the ending was just painful to watch.
Gah! Well, at least it does leave it open for Robin Williams
to possibly come back on, and I do enjoy his character despite this
episode. Also, Did anyone notice the look on Elliot's face when he first
sees Robin Williams? When they first open his apartment door? It seemed
as though he just couldn't hold back that smile. haha. Well, hmm, yes...and
that is my two cents for the night. haha.
-Laycie

I didn't like this episode. It started out promising with the reference to that weird real-life incident at the fast-food chain, but the rest was a letdown. It was tragic what happened to Robin Williams' character in the past, but I didn't find any redeeming qualities about him even though I felt like I was expected to.

He's paranoid that he's being controlled, so to counter it, he controls other people with prank phone calls and highly organized demonstrations. He condemns the evil corporations who trick children into liking their food. I sympathized with him about the cops not believing him and the doctor (accidentally) killing his wife. But what does forcing Stabler to electrocute Benson have to do with deceptive authority?

If Benson and Stabler learned something from this episode, I sure didn't.

I thought it was a great episode, and proves Robin Williams has something left in the acting tank after all the junk he has done recently. His character was very well written, as was Elliot's. The end wasn't concrete; he could come back...

This was a strange episode. Robin did a great job playing his character..I love how he screwed with Casey and Elliot's head's, kinda funny.. his character was creepy, but well played. It wasn't SVU's best episode, but it was pretty good.

Next week looks great

God and peace
Vanessa

I think Robin Williams is such an amazing actor! He did his role great... as for the show It didn't really get me out of my seat. I was a little anxious at the end when Oliv was in the chair, but thats about it. Over all its was okay, but I've seen better.

I enjoyed watching the show. My husband and I had quite a few laughs over Merrit Rook (Robin's character) and the goofy things he did. We had a good laugh at Munch swinging a pillow and actually looking happy (considering he's normally a grumpy old fart by nature).

But the end of the episode, with Liv connected by wires to the thing, and the lighting... why didn't Elliot remember that Rook had told him the place was soundproof? If the room was soundproof, how could Elliot have heard Liv scream? Why didn't he notice that the screams were almost the same anyway, just longer in length?

I didn't like the ending though. Rook running into the trees and just disappearing? Lame. Sure it's open ended, and it leaves the possibility that Rook would reappear, but still. Lame.


PS: Does anyone happen to know who played the nurse? I missed the credits, but she reminds me of Didi Conn (aka Frenchy from Grease)??

I admit the very last part seemed a little rushed, but all in all, I was satisfied with this episode. The E/O shipper in me was excited about Elliot's reaction towards Liv being "electrocuted". I loved his face when he was asked why he wouldn't push the button and he seemed to make up the answer "Too many people have already been hurt."
Of course, I was yelling at the tv: NO! It's because you love Olivia, you moron!
But hey, that's just me.
I hadn't seen Robin Williams in anything for a while, so it was good to see him in this.
For me, this was a pretty good episode.

I watched this episode very carefully and I wanted to see if anyone else caught this...
I am a BIG fan of This American Life on NPR and have a huge crush on Ira Glass. If anyone knows what he looks like could you please tell me this...
Right before the pillow fight there is a man with a loud speaker that starts yelling something, that SAME man is also in Grand Central and yells "Stop being sheep" then blows a whistle. I SWEAR it is Ira Glass, but I checked on IMDB to confirm and it had nothing.

Could someone PLEASE tell me that I am right?

I didn't like the episode either... I've seen better.

The guy is Mo Rocca; used to be on the Daily Show With Jon Stweart.

You know I have to say, I was very disappointed with this episode. I was stoked for weeks about Robin Williams guest starring in the 200th episode but it was such a let down in the end. Especially since the show had been so good since it's return. Hopefully next week will be better.

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
AUTHORITY
09-09-2008 10:01PM

ENGINEER MERRITT ROOK (GUEST STAR ROBIN WILLIAMS) PLAYS DANGEROUS MIND GAMES WITH HIS FOLLOWERS PUTTING DETECTIVE OLIVIA BENSON'S (MARISKA HARGITAY) LIFE AT RISK IN SVU'S 200TH. EPISODE
When restaurant manager Dwight Lomax (guest star Scott Adsit “30 Rock”) is caught molesting a female employee, he claims that he was following orders from a “Detective Milgram” over the phone. As detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) delve into the case, they discover “Detective Milgram” was a hoax by engineer, Merritt Rook (guest star Robin Williams). Rook later turns his trial into a media circus by using the courtroom as a soapbox. Rook’s courtroom antics set him free, and with a group of followers, detective Benson and Stabler fall prey to another one of Rook’s psychological schemes leaving the SVU department vulnerable. Also starring: Adam Beach, Dann Florek, Ice-T, Diane Neal, Tamara Tunie, Richard Belzer, and BD Wong.

i caught this episode as a repeat on tuesday (during the summer I watch reruns) and I have to disagree-I think robin williams did a good job-also the message of this episode wasn't lost on me either-about believing something because someone tells you to. I do feel sorry for Robin's charecter though-losing his wife and baby because a doctor told him they couldn't be saved.

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
AUTHORITY
11-08-2008 10:00PM

ENGINEER MERRITT ROOK (GUEST STAR ROBIN WILLIAMS) PLAYS DANGEROUS MIND GAMES WITH HIS FOLLOWERS PUTTING DETECTIVE OLIVIA BENSON'S (MARISKA HARGITAY) LIFE AT RISK IN SVU'S 200TH. EPISODE
When restaurant manager Dwight Lomax (guest star Scott Adsit “30 Rock”) is caught molesting a female employee, he claims that he was following orders from a “Detective Milgram” over the phone. As detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) delve into the case, they discover “Detective Milgram” was a hoax by engineer, Merritt Rook (guest star Robin Williams). Rook later turns his trial into a media circus by using the courtroom as a soapbox. Rook’s courtroom antics set him free, and with a group of followers, detective Benson and Stabler fall prey to another one of Rook’s psychological schemes leaving the SVU department vulnerable. Also starring: Adam Beach, Dann Florek, Ice-T, Diane Neal, Tamara Tunie, Richard Belzer, and BD Wong.

Show Cast: Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Ice T, Diane Neal, Tamara Tunie, Chris Meloni, Mariska Hargitay