Leverage

Leverage is just a flat out fun show. Is is realistic? Of course not. But it's an entertaining show where every episode is smartly written and acted with lots of twists and surprises. Each episode is about this group of former criminals who come up with a con to steal from the rich and help out the needy. It has a very Oceans Eleven feel to it. As you can see by reading through the reviews it's a show where most people who saw it had fun watching it. Obviously people liked it because they brought it back for a reboot with the original cast almost a decade after it went off the air (except Noah Wyle replaces Timothy Hutton bc of Huttons legal problems)!

"Leverage" is an entertaining, fun show. The cast is stellar, the writing snappy, and the characters are likable. It's nice to see a show that doesn't focus too heavily on the "dark side" of everything and can exist without a message.

That's not to say that there aren't poignant moments. (Nate in "The Snow Job" and Parker in "The Stork Job" are particularly memorable.) But they aren't in the majority. Although not every episode is brilliant, none have failed yet to make me laugh at least once.

The show follows a group of thieves who take on corporate villains who have too much power for their victims to defend themselves under normal means. Timely? Oh, yeah.

Timothy Hutton is the much-advertised Oscar-winning face of the team's leader, ex-insurance investigator Nathan Ford. At first, I was incredibly underwhelmed by Hutton's performance. After a few episodes, however, I started to think that maybe he was deliberately underacting (while the others are overacting) to contrast Nate's "honest man" to the thieves who make up the rest of the cast.

Gina Bellman plays a sympathetic Sophie Deveraux. Sophie is the team's "grifter" who moonlights as an actress. How well does that go? As Nate puts it, "she can act... when it's an act." Although she's hilarious, Bellman isn't the funniest of the cast by any means. Christian Kane, the badass Texan you might remember from "Angel," is even tougher, funnier, and angrier as the team's strangely likable fighter Eliot Spencer. Beth Riesgraf contrasts his deadpan humor perfectly as Parker, the crazy but lovable money-obsessed thief. And Aldis Hodge is hilarious, playing the cool geek of their techie, Alec Hardison.

The group has their conflicts, and in the first season, it looks like their biggest problem might be staying together. But the quirkiness and bickering creates a team of misfits that will have you rooting for them from the beginning.

"Leverage" is a good, escapist show where everything is sexy and exciting and the good guys always win. I can see this show becoming a cult hit, or I can see it failing after only a few seasons. Either way, if nothing else, it's fun!

/refers to all Seasons in a sequence/

Although I have my hesitations regarding how realistic those events and characters are (well, organising such scams and cons in a country of multiple and high-level security organisations), the idea behind is good and the process well explained - whether during a con or later, using flashbacks. When at first, Timothy Hutton seemed to excel his counterparts, then as the episodes progressed, one could see more virtues in others as they appeared more often on screen than Hutton. True, there were moments when some recurring or supporting cast provided stronger and/or funnier elements (e.g. Skerritt, Stormare), but holistically, it made the Series more interesting and intense.

I can´t say that the seasons became weaker or so, but as modern technology enables to watch as much episodes as and when you wish, you seem to "become exhausted" as the main characters become part of your family and daily routines. Luckily, the creators knew when and how to stop - and the very final episode is interesting and resourceful.

I don't remember watching all the TV program of Leverage, but what i did manage to watch i loved.

I since collected all the series on DVD and i can still watch them over and over again, which to me is very rare and a joy and is never boring.

I loved the characters, their interactions and their development and i think the show could have lasted much longer.

I was a bit disappointed that there would be no more leverage, i think that in some ways it may have went under the radar for a lot of people, i know for a fact that some times i missed it on TV and not because i wasn't interested, but sometimes i did not realise it was back on etc.

I hope that leverage could return, whether with TV series or movie idea and i hope that the team will come together again. But in the mean time i will continue to watch the series over and over and i just found out about leverage books today.

I wish all the actors and crew of Leverage well and thank you its been a joy to watch.

After catching the first few episodes of TNT's new series "Leverage" I can honestly say that I'm hooked on the adventures of Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton) and company.

The series involves Mr. Ford, formerly an insurance investigator, and his crew of felonious recruits: Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), a very technologically savvy cyber-criminal. Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), the muscle man with sincere martial arts training and speed that would make Jet Li envious. Parker (Beth Riesgraf), an expert cat burglar and thief. And Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman), a charismatic con-artist with aspirations to the acting world.

I believe Nathan Ford says it best, "I am an honest man leading a team of criminals." And I find that premise to be truly entertaining with Timothy Hutton at the helm.

Each episode Nathan Ford and his team are hired by individuals looking for their own brand of justice. Ford and company provide the means to an end, focusing on gathering a form of leverage to force the villains to pay their due.

All in all, it's a series I would recommend for those who like a bit of comedy with their justice. Or at least comedy with their criminal activity.