A chiropractor accused of being a bookmaker is charged with killing the father of a professional baseball player over his son's gambling debts. However, Stone and Kincade soon suspect during... Read allA chiropractor accused of being a bookmaker is charged with killing the father of a professional baseball player over his son's gambling debts. However, Stone and Kincade soon suspect during the trial that the son is hiding something.A chiropractor accused of being a bookmaker is charged with killing the father of a professional baseball player over his son's gambling debts. However, Stone and Kincade soon suspect during the trial that the son is hiding something.
- Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
- (credit only)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on several different cases/incidents:
- The 1993 Michael Jordan gambling scandal.
- The 1993 James Raymond Jordan, Sr. murder case. On July 23, 1993, while returning from a funeral, eight days before his 57th birthday, Jordan--the father of basketball superstar Michael Jordan--pulled over on US Highway 74 just south of Lumberton, North Carolina, to take a nap. Daniel Andre Green and Larry Martin Demery spotted the car--a red Lexus SC400 with a North Carolina license plate that read "UNC0023"--a car that Michael had recently purchased for him. Green and Demery shot James Jordan to death while he slept in his car, then stole the vehicle. Nearly two weeks later, James Jordan's body was found on August 3 in a swamp in Bennettsville, South Carolina. Because the body was extremely decomposed, it was not positively identified until August 13 with the help of dental records. The media initially tried to link James' death to Michael Jordan's alleged gambling problems, but James Jordan had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. His killers were both sentenced to life in prison.
- The supporting antagonist is inspired by James "Slim" Boulder.
- Quotes
Ben Stone: Mr. Lang, I get the feeling that you did this for hire. Now, I can charge you with murder, and if you don't start talking you're the one who's going to be serving a life sentence.
Joey 'Dogs' Lang: Well, if I'm going for one, I might as well go for the deuce.
Ben Stone: Is that a threat, sir?
Joey 'Dogs' Lang: I could be over this table and crack your head before that clown could do anything about it. See, I'm not going down for something I *didn't* do.
Ben Stone: Sir, you just threatened a man who could charge you with murder. And right now, I don't give a damn about your innocence. So what good did that do you?
"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
- TheLittleSongbird
- Oct 14, 2020