Bruce Cutler Movies

On the surface, the daily, syndicated Jury Duty looked like just another of the many courtroom shows glutting the market in the fall of 2007: An economical "hall of justice" set, a famous judge--actually Bruce Cutler, the former "mob lawyer" who'd once defended John Gotti--and real litigants with genuine small-claims cases. However, Jury Duty by and large forsook the "reality" trappings common to most legal shows in favor of pure entertainment. Each case was reviewed by a jury of show-biz celebrities who were dutifully videotaped (and just as dutifully reacted with dubious "surprise") as their subpoenaes were issued to them--which, claimed the producers, was to make certain that those chosen wouldn't be able to wriggle out of their civic responsibilities. Once the celebs were assembled in court, they were allowed to ask questions of the judge and litigants, the better to render fair verdicts that were actually binding (though of course, no one was ever sentenced to hard prison time!) And if the questions had less to do with legalities and more to do with engendering laughter from the studio audience. . .well, that was all part of the game. Among the luminaries who comprised the juries on Jury Duty were Debbie Reynolds, Ed Begley Jr., Kevin Sorbo, Dick Van Patten, Tiffany, Kevin Sorbo, Bernie Kopell, Paula Poundstone, and a handful of secondary players from contemporary popular prime-time shows. The series made its national bow the week of September 17, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi