© (C) 2009 TNT/Electric Entertainment Lauren Holly and Brent Spiner in LEVERAGE - Season 1 - "The Juror #6 Job"
Television:
TV Review: LEVERAGE - SEASON ONE - 'The Juror #6 Job'
A mini-STAR TREK reunion is only one enjoyable aspect of this very funny episode
http://www.ifmagazine.com/review.asp?article=3053
Grade: A
Stars: Timothy Hutton, Aldis Hodge, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf, Gina Bellman
Writer(s): Rebecca Kirsch
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Release Date: Feb. 10, 2009
By EMERSON PARKER, Contributing Writer
Published 2/11/2009
"The Juror #6 Job" really showed how LEVERAGE is indeed the new A-TEAM crossed with OCEAN'S 11.
Up until this point, the LEVERAGE team has gotten involved with righting the wrongs of corporate greed, Wall Street bullies and other evil doers through people contacting them and asking for their help. This was the first time that they took a job based on chance when one of Parker's (Beth Riesgraf) aliases gets called into jury duty.
"The Juror #6 Job" worked on a number of different levels. First, the beauty of Parker and having her be out of character yet again as the vegan, homely, girl next door Alice whose job was to win the hearts of the jury in order to make them easier to convince come the decision time. She does such a good job, she becomes the jury foreman after rigging the other jury foreman as a thief (obviously it's the other way around). Riesgraf was probably the best she's been all season in this episode as the fish out of water that learns to be nice and actually is genuinely excited when she makes a friend as Alice. She's also the one that sniffs out that something about the trial is actually a bit fishy and not just an ordinary civil service trial as Nate (Timothy Hutton) claims it to be.
Secondly, we get joy our of Aldis Hodge as Hardison, attorney at law. From his hundreds of slides about nothing, to his motions to include in the trial anything from the defendant's entire high school class to the defense attorney's brutal vacation photos, it was a thing of hilarity throughout. And at the end, he actually pulls it together delivers a modicum of doubt into the jury's mind and a closing statement that comes off as caring as it is amateur, but effective.
Third, Lauren Holly as the evil corporate executive doing anything to win. She was equally effective with her buying of the pseudo-fake company, a raging rhymes with witch when things didn't go her way and a high-tech team managing an all-stakes gambit to win this trial. Given she was left to stew in her own juices at the end of the episode and knowing who she was up against in terms of the LEVERAGE crew, might we see her again in season two? That would be an excellent follow-up as a vengeful corporate type trying to reclaim her losses by going after team LEVERAGE.
Fourth, the mini-STAR TREK reunion. Yes, Jonathan Frakes directed the episode but it was nice to see both Brent Spiner and Armin Shimerman (DEEP SPACE NINE's Quark) once again (even if one was behind the camera).
Finally, the funny. The episode from top to bottom was just fun and funny. Plenty of good humor, lots of great interaction with Eliot (Christian Kane) and Parker and Eliot and Haridson. Even Nate had a few good one liners. Obviously, that's par for the course on this show, but this episode had even more of it which was quite enjoyable.
Overall, with two episodes left to go LEVERAGE will find it hard topping this fun and funny episode.
