(Season 1, Episode 8 – “The Mile High Job”)
Is it possible that Leverage is getting funnier? There was always smart banter and chemistry, but tonight I really laughed out loud, often. It’s a good thing, too, because it was one of the weakest cons of the season. But I’m not complaining, because as far as entertainment goes, this week’s Leverage really delivered.
My little gripe with this week’s episode is that there really wasn’t a con, per se; a big, get the bad guy con. Sure, he was gotten in the end, and the mini-cons were great: Hardison as an employee of the big corporation and the rest of the team infiltrating the plane in their individual roles. But none of the fun reveals at the end with the cleverness of the jobs the team puts into play. Again, not a complaint, because this episode was satisfying with the laughs.
The socially awkward Parker posing as a flight attendant was the highlight of the episode for me. And talk about quotes:
Yep, not a comfort, Parker.
I love how they addressed the fact that Parker keeps appearing in a stealthy way in almost every episode:
“How’d she do that?” — Eliot, referring to Parker’s sudden appearance
“I don’t know. I don’t even ask anymore.” — Nate
OK, maybe I was wrong; perhaps Parker as a flight attendant wasn’t the highlight of the episode. Hardison, posing as an employee of the company that manufactured the toxic fertilizer may just win that title. He really proved himself as more than just the behind-the-scenes tech geek this episode: he snuck into the building as a maintenance man, called — and held! — a meeting to distract the CEO, got the employees to throw him a birthday party, and helped land the plane from the CEO’s computer. He’s nearly risen to Sophie status in the acting game.
Some funny situations arose from Hardison missing the first job, breaking into the corporation for the first time.
And the suitcase switch gets an honorable mention here, not because it was any more clever than any of the slight-of-hand stuff the team usually does, but because Eliot and Nate both knew that flight attendants kept an extra uniform in their bags. Nate, because he worked airport security. Eliot, because her slept with a flight attendant, of course. A funny juxtaposition of the two characters.
So, while there were no clever reveals, no bizarre flashbacks, and no big cons, “The Mile High Job” still delivered big entertainment value this week.
I love Parker. I’m just saying.
Did I miss something about Hardison oversleeping early in the episode? I felt like I’d missed something until the WOW conversation and I finally caught up.
*POST AUTHOR*
The team was angry with Hardison for bagging on the job, having to climb the stairs b/c he wasn’t there to rig the elevators, etc.
Then, when Hardison was undercover in the break room, bonding with the Asian woman over World of Warcraft, he let it slip that he was up all night playing it, and the team caught him.
Hardison did steal the show tonight, and had my favorite line, quoting John ‘Hannibal’ Smith, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Leverage is the A-Team for the new millennium.
I liked Eliots fight scene in the crapper. Parker had me laughing for awhile with those emergency instructions. I hope I never get a flight attendant like that if I ever do decide to fly anywhere.
I totally agree with you regarding this episode. The case was weak but that was made up for by Hardison’s and Parker’s roles in this episode (Hardison is my favorite character on the show). Before the premiere of Leverage, I was actually not expecting much out of this show. It was a good idea I gave the show a chance though since in my opinion it is becoming one of the best shows on television.
The security agent was played by Jeremy Roenick of the San Jose’s Shark.
Not bad actor for an hockey star.
This show had an incredible pilot, but the plots and cases since then haven’t been at the same level. That said, I do enjoy the show. I wasn’t sure how they would repeat the plot twists and reverse cons that made the pilot so much fun and they haven’t really been able to.
I thought the pilot was very Ocean’s 11-12-13 like. As stated above this is like a modern A-team show…and though different then expected…I do like it.
Hardison is my fav! He cracked me up last night!