I love a good heist. I’d even go so far as to say I’m a heist junkie. So maybe I’m not the best person to preview the new TNT series Leverage, which premieres Sunday, December 7, starring Timothy Hutton, Christian Kane (Angel‘s Lindsey) and some other top-notch actors that are under-worked and underrated. You might say I’d love it no matter what … but you’d be wrong.
OK, I did love the first two episodes that I saw, but that’s not the point. I really am going to give you an honest first look at this show … the good and the bad. For a show so well done, though, it’s going to be mostly good.
What stands out the most? The cast, the atmosphere (ambiance, mood, what have you), the humor and cleverness, and the unique and interesting basis for the show: bad guys who become independently wealthy and work together to help people while still getting a charge out of the danger of the jobs. Win-win.
Strangely enough, I am not usually a fan of pilot episodes of many shows. It usually takes a show several episodes to hit its stride. Leverage‘s pilot, “The Nigerian Job,” hit it out of the park. It was so tight I felt like I was watching a feature film. They did some very smart things to get viewers hooked:
The cast has great chemistry off the bat, which says a lot of these actors. Sometimes it takes a while for the actors to fall into a groove with their characters and their interactions, but these guys look like they’ve been playing these roles with each other for years.
Did you love the spot-on missions from Alias, when they were stealing intel and working with Marshall, and cutting it just under the wire? They’d nearly get captured, but would prevail every time. And the disguises? Fun. Well, I think the heist / mission scenes on Leverage are even more clever than Alias.
Part of the charm of Leverage is that these high profile baddies are assembled and continue working together slightly against their will, yet when they decide they really like doing some good for people, “provide leverage” and work for an “alternate revenue stream.” Are those going to be the new “it” catch phrases?
The setup of the pilot was perfect, the formula held through the second episode, and the show is consistently funny and fast-paced. It’s just such a well-rounded show that I can’t help but gush.
One last kudos: there were so many opportunities for blatant product placement and they remained tastefully generic, almost obviously so. A commentary on some of the not-so-tasteful product placement seen on TV today, perhaps?
I highly suggest giving Leverage a try. I know I’ll be watching regularly and writing about it here on CliqueClack TV. What do you think — are you psyched for this show?
I checked this show out with Deb and I liked the pilot a lot. I thought the second episode lost some steam, but that’s typical.
Definitely a very Ocean’s 11 feel to it. Even the music is very similar. I’m afraid the premise is going to get old fast, though. I only hope they take risks and shake things up a bit to keep us interested.
I loved the pilot far more than I expected. Everything you said about the show I totally agree with, Debra. This is the show I’m most looking forward to.
I have to disagree with Keith and his fear that the premise is going to get old fast. This show reminded me a lot of “Hustle”, a British show about a group of grifters who pull “long cons” and manage to get away with it in spite of some incredibly close calls. They have the thief, the tech guy, the hot girl, etc. much like “Leverage”. That show only got more entertaining as the episodes progressed, so I have every confidence that “Leverage” can, and will, do the same.
I LOVE Leverage. It is one of the most recorded shows on my house’s DVR. I have seen pretty much every episode, and I have to say that this show is my number two. I really enjoy Parker. She keeps it fresh with her random assaults, sarcasm, and kleptomania. Elliot is my second favorite character, and Hardison is a close third. I love how he acted gay in a recent episode to get into the rehab facility. Genius (: