planktonrules

A soldier serving in Iraq was shot up badly by some private security folks working for Castleman Security. He's now in great need of rehabilitation and treatment...but like too many injured vets, it's slow in coming. The team decide to help him but scamming Castleman, but soon it appears that the attack on the soldier and his comrades was NOT accidental AND there is corruption...including massive bribes to the government. So, the plan is to relieve Castleman of their ill-gotten gains and expose a senator who is just too cozy with Castleman.

This episode is obviously intended as a critique of the infamous Blackwater Company, which has come under criticism for their actions in Iraq. But the show also manages to be very intelligently written AND play on the audience's feelings about injured vets and endless wars. Well made and well worth seeing.

Joseph Collins (Vic Murrow) is a real scum-bag. He's a scientist who's stolen some plutonium and now he's going to cash in by selling it...and who cares about the nuclear bombs they could make with them?! The IM Force's job is to get Collins to somehow get them to show them where the plutonium is hidden. To trick him, they convince him that a nuclear attack took place...many years ago...and it's now 2000!

The episode has a great premise, though convincing the guy he's suddenly awoken long after a holocaust is not at all new. The IM Force did similar things in at least two prior episodes. This is a strike against the episode...though it is enjoyable. In other words, if you haven't seen these other episodes, you'll likely like this one much more.

I love the old "Mission: Impossible" TV show. It was exquisitely written (especially through season five) and it was very successful. Later, Hollywood made the "Mission: Impossible" movies...which I disliked because they were too explosion and stunt-oriented. This first episode of "Leverage" is like combining the two...with big stunts BUT also with smarter writing, like the old TV show.

The show begins with a man approaching Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton). It seems Ford was a hotshot working for insurance companies...but when his own son became sick, his health insurance company refused to help and the boy died. Obviously Nathan is bitter about this, and a business exect, Victor (Saul Rubinek), knows this and convinces Nathan to run a scam to help him. But Nathan is an honest man...and the Victor convinces him that he was victimized by a corporation and if Nathan could assemble a team to steal back what was rightfully his, he'd be doing something right and noble. So, surprisingly, Nathan agrees and gets several ex-thieves to help him. They are quite successful...and realize too late that Victor is a complete liar! Now, the team realizes they weren't working for right...and they owe Victor a comeuppance. What's next? See the show.

This is a well-crafted episode with a massive dose of schadenfreude. Seeing Victor getting what he deserved is fun and the show is well written and worth seeing. I hope I like other episodes as much as this one.