Law & Order (TV Series) Wager (1994) User Reviews

Stupid and obvious perjury

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 5 September 2017]

The father of a star baseball player is beaten to death. The deceased was known to have a gambling problem and was in real deep like six figures worth to bookie/chiropractor Ray Aranha. Of course that in and of itself will get his son Malik Yoba in trouble with the Commissioner of his sport.

At the trial some rather stupid and obvious perjury sends Michael Moriarty off in a whole new direction in terms of looking for a perpetrator. The deceased was not one of nature's noble creatures, he left his family when Yoba was young and reappeared in his rookie Major League season.

An interesting twist in this Law And Order episode.

A Rote Plot, but Some Nice Performances

[Better_TV · 8/10 · 2 May 2018]

This plot has been done dozens of times on other procedural shows, though I don't know how common it was at the time this originally aired in 1994! In any case, it's still a high-quality hour of L&O, with standout performances from Malik Yoba and Ray Aranha.

The former is a baseball superstar whose father is killed, seemingly as the result of business dealings with a sinister bookie played by Aranha. The latter is sadistic and devil-like, periodically flashing a creepy smile that's supposed to show magnanimity but instead just shows that he enjoys playing dumb with the cops.

Outside of the broader plot and the final twist, which you'll probably see coming, there are two great scenes featuring Detectives Logan and Briscoe alongside some excellent guest actors.

The first involves some languid camerawork and features Briscoe playing pool with O.L. Duke as an abusive husband who has some intel on Aranha. The second involves Ron Brice as a snitch Van Buren used to work who "carried bags for a couple'a bookies." He's smarmy yet charming and sends the detectives in the right direction.

The performances are what make this one.

Taking a gamble on murder

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 15 October 2020]

Anybody that loved the previous two Season 4 episodes when the season returned to form, after a to me a slight quality slump between "American Dream" and this (the only "great" episode for me between this period being "Censure"), and their intricate plots would understandably expect a lot from "Wager". Speaking as one of those people, in terms of loving those two episodes and expecting a lot, despite on paper the story for "Wager" not sounding out of the ordinary.

"Wager" to me is a well done episode of Season 4 and of 'Law and Order' overall on the whole with quite a lot of excellent things, namely the performances. At the same time "Wager" hasn't ever struck me as a great episode and is a couple of steps down from "Big Bang" and "Mayhem", the previous two episodes, which had more complexity in the story and writing. As far as the Season 4 episodes go it's one of the weaker ones, that it is that yet still manages to be well done says a lot about the high quality of the season.

Plot-wise, "Wager" is fairly unexceptional. There's not an awful lot that's surprising or original here (for instance the perjury is quite obvious and pretty silly) with a seen it all before vibe at times.

Did think too that it could have done with a consistently tighter pace and more tension. Compared to other episodes of Season 4, this felt slightly on the bland side.

However, the production values are slick as always and the music is haunting and doesn't overbear. The script is taut and thought-provoking, especially in the second half. The detective/investigative part of the plot though is every bit as intriguing with Briscoe delivering amusingly on the wisecracks, if on the ordinary side, and the whole Tercel part is very entertainingly done.

Even if there is not much special about the story enough of it maintains interest, especially when things become less obvious later. There is a twist that is well executed. The acting is very good, with sinister Ray Aranha stealing every second he's on screen.

In conclusion, well done. 7/10

Gambling Can Be Hazardous To Your Health.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 24 November 2010]

The father of a rising star in baseball is found bludgeoned to death. Brisco and Logan discover that he was managing his son's career and that he'd lost a lot of money gambling. The money had been borrowed from "Papa Doc", an affable chiropractor and usurer. The Doc's muscle man confesses to assault but not murder, and the Doc himself gets off.

The episode is interesting without being outstanding. We wind up feeling some sympathy towards the real murderer. But the story belongs to Papa Doc (Ray Aranha), the chiropractor. He doesn't have that much screen time but he's a magnet for attention whenever he appears.

Here, as elsewhere, the detectives are momentarily sympathetic towards the victims, when they're not off by themselves making wisecracks about the crime. The District Attorney's office, led by Ben Stone, enforces the law ruthlessly. We never get to learn much about the uniformed police officers who, in my experience as a kid, are far less tactful than even the cynical detectives.

That's Keith Hernandez!

[lor_ · 5 July 2023]

Yes, Mets legend Keith Hernandez has a real acting role in this episode, doing okay and even earning his photo to thumbnail identify the segment in IMDb.

Story is utterly routine and lacks any big-name guest stars (Hernandez doesn't count). Watching in back to back with the next week's episode I was surprised to see Black talent starring in both - a nice demonstration of hiring long overdue on these popular shows (Tony Todd playing an Al Sharpton character with great skill next time).

The plot twists here were also quite routine, with not much excitement about the final solution to this utterly routine case.

Three strikes

[safenoe · 6/10 · 13 November 2023]

Hot off his cameo in the Seinfeld episode, The Boyfriend in 1992, Keith Hernandez appears in Wager, a baseball gambling type episode that is bets and all.

I liked this episode for the snow scenes in New York City, and you can imagine how freezing it was for the cast and crew on the streets of New York City, baseball and all.

Anyway, here we explore the ethics of baseball gambling done by players themselves. Anyway, Wager is an okay and so-and-so episode of Law and Order that's worth watching for Keith Hernandez and also Steve Harris, whose career would explode a few years later as an attorney in The Practice.