"Leverage" (2008) TV series 2008-????

User Rating:

(awaiting 5 votes)

Creators:

Chris Downey
John Rogers

Seasons:

1 | 2

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A crew of high-tech crooks attempt to steal from wealthy criminals and corrupt businessmen.

Plot Keywords:

Con Artist | Thief | Team | Beautiful Woman | Interracial Relationship

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 15	9:00 PM	TNT	The Beantown Bailout Job	#2.1
Wed. July 15	11:00 PM	TNT	The Beantown Bailout Job	#2.1

Cast

Timothy Hutton	...	Nathan Ford (15 episodes, 2008-2009)
Christian Kane	...	Eliot Spencer (15 episodes, 2008-2009)
Aldis Hodge	...	Alec Hardison (15 episodes, 2008-2009)
Gina Bellman	...	Sophie Devereaux (15 episodes, 2008-2009)
Beth Riesgraf	...	Parker (15 episodes, 2008-2009)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Company:

Electric Entertainment

Trivia:

Christian Kane, who plays Eliot Spencer, played Lindsey McDonald in "Angel" (1999). Sam Anderson, who played his boss in Angel, plays Henry Retzing, one of their marks, in the episode "The Snow Job." Kane and Anderson say that they exchanged a wink on camera as a reference to this in one scene.

Quotes:

Alec Hardison: [just lost a bet to Eliot] How did you know?
Eliot Spencer: You have a tell.
Alec Hardison: I have a tell? In Rock-Paper-Scissors, I have a tell?

Generally positive, but the jury's still out

I could tell from the trailers that Leverage would be the kind of show I'd enjoy - good guys vs. bad guys without the ambiguity of the legal system to get in the way. It did indeed deliver on that promise. It was cleverly paced and scripted and populated with interesting, likable characters.

So why is the jury still out? The short answer is that I DVR'ed it and watched it more than once.

Although it's slick, the script had holes it just hoped you wouldn't notice. When compared to a show with really clever scripts (e.g. Burn Notice), I found too many "wait a minute" moments - places where your successful suspension of disbelief depends on the viewer's short attention span or lack of reasoning ability. I won't drop spoilers to name some of the more obvious ones - if anyone doesn't notice them, who am I to point them out?

There's a lot of talent in this series. I only hope that in the future they allow the scriptwriters a little more time to work out the kinks before shooting.