Customer Reviews

Leverage: The First Season

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This series features a modern day Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men -- or in this case, men and women -- pulling off cons, capers, and heists that redress wrongs, return ill-gotten gains to their rightful owners, and also pad the pockets of our heroes.

Though it's tempting to focus on the excellent cast, who do a uniformly stellar job with the scripts, the greatest strength of this show is in the writing. The stories are focused as much on revelation and development of the characters and their histories and interactions as on the clever and intriguing plots. The characters are given depth and dimension -- not to mention humor -- and the viewer finds as much to care about in each of them as in how the caper of the week will play out.

An outstanding opening season for this new series. Not to be missed.

Love this show, too. I wasn't sure how it was supposed to work after the pilot but it really did. The stories are good, the dialogues witty, smart and to the point, the characters are intriguing and the mix of comedy, thriller & action is very well balanced.
Season 2 is being shot april-october so the first new episodes will air in summer, by the way.
The seasons are shorter than usual, somewhere between 12 and 16 episodes I believe, but the budget must be as big as for 22 episodes because each on feels like a small blockbuster. So for those of you who missed the show so far, get it ASAP!!!

Hog heaven, brother, is what I'm wallowing in. Loving con artist stories like I do, LEVERAGE: THE FIRST SEASON is like unwrapping a crazy awesome present. If you dig stuff like The Sting (Universal Legacy Series), Ocean's Eleven (Widescreen Edition), or even Paper Moon, then LEVERAGE falls right in your wheelhouse. It's slick and smart and funny, and the key characters, initially cut from that predictable mold, quickly grow on you. TNT rolled out thirteen episodes of television goodness, except that by the first episode I'd already gotten hooked. Okay, "The Miracle Job" isn't any great shakes, but the rest of the episodes are very good. In fact, the standouts are "The Nigerian Job," "The Mile High Job," "The Stork Job," "The Juror #6 Job," and the two parter season closers "The First David Job" & "The Second David Job."

I don't follow Timothy Hutton too much, but if a guy was ever meant to play a functioning alcoholic mastermind, it's Hutton. Nathan Ford (Hutton) is an ex-insurance investigator who parted ways with his insurance company when it refused to pay for his 8-year-old son's medical treatment. And Nathan's son died. So there's a grudge against corporate entities already set in place when Nathan is approached to lead a "specialized" team in a righteous heist. And that's how the not-quite-legal Leverage Consulting & Associates firm was born (providing "leverage" for the downtrodden).

Thing is, Nathan Ford, all divorced and still grieving for his dead son and bleary eyed from the cups, is still a straight shooter, even though he's now orchestrating heists and stiffing soulless mega-corporations and underhanded governmental agencies who've effed with the helpless common Joes. And, while Nathan hasn't exactly reformed his tiny gang of thieves, hackers, muscle, and flim-flammers (all of whom had, before this, preferred to work solo), he's got them having so much fun doing bad for good causes that it's almost the same thing. I don't know if this is coming out of left field or not, but there's also this A-TEAM vibe permeating the thing, with Timothy Hutton's character just falling short of lighting a stogie and declaring that "I love it when a plan comes together."

The show makes these characters interesting, and respective episodes do fill in some of the gaps in their backgrounds (although there's still a lot about their pasts that we're kept in the dark about). My favorite lawbreaker is Parker, the world's best thief and played with endless quirk, daredevil flair, and antisocial tendencies by Beth Riesgraf. Not to mention, she also provides a huge chunk of the funny. In "The Mile High Job" Parker's less than hostessy demeanor sets back stewardess/passenger relations for years. And in "The Juror #6 Job" I'll only mention that Parker attends jury duty (oh, and that she quiickly sniffs out a rat). Gina Bellman as grifter Sophie Devereaux also rocks it. I like that, when she's not hoodwinking her marks, Sophie sidelines as an actress, except that she's cringingly horrible at acting. But then put her in a scam, and she's flawless with her lines. She's simply hilarious in "The Stork Job," in which the Leverage crew takes over a Belgrade movie set (the movie is "Howl Force," about NATO troops being attacked by werewolves). Bellman and Riesgraf aren't your classic lookers, but there's no denying that Gina Bellman oozes sexy sophistication (and touts a range of convincing accents), and Beth Riesgraf smacks so much of crazy that I find her all kinds of attractive. (Huh. I may be a little disturbed myself.)

The stings usually involve lots of hi-tech stuff, and so it's gratifying to have an episode in which Parker is unexpectedly asked to steal an item and she, on the fly, bypasses an impressive security system using nothing but what's available at hand (bit of make-up, aluminum foil, etc.).

In thirteen episodes set to a jazzy cool musical score, the five-person team inflicts disguises, diversions, smooth con talk, double crosses, variations on classic scams and all around nasty trickeration on crooks big and small but all deserving. Part of the fun is when things don't go according to plan, and they end up having to improvise. The show indulges some in Fool-the-Audience and so part of the fun is also when the episode gets around to revealing what was really going on behind the scenes. And, to add even more flavoring, the show even introduces an element of romance here and there.

If there's a running sub-plot in this season, it's Nathan's worsening alcoholism. This finally forces the crew to do an "intervention," except that their notion of intervention isn't what you or I may come up with. This leads into the two-parter season finale, as the Leverage consulting firm tries to take down the insurance company which so messed up Nathan's life. And we also finally get to check out Nathan's hottie ex-wife. Also featured in the two-parter is recurring slimeball James Sterling, the chief investigator who'd taken over Nathan's position in that very same insurance company. In past episodes Sterling had gotten the better of Nathan. Methinks it's time for a getback.

Four discs in this set, with not too shabby special features: pretty informative producer/director/writer audio commentary on each episode (although one wishes that the cast had also been allowed to provide commentary); deleted scenes on selected episodes; "Leverage: Behind the Scenes" (12:40 minutes); "Anatomy of a Stunt Fight" - Christian Kane ("Eliot") breaks down a fight sequence from the episode "The First David Job"; "The Cameras of LEVERAGE" - um, basically a 2-minute showcase for the different types of cameras used in filming the show (kinda pointless, unless you're a tech freak); "LEVERAGE Gets Renewed" - a cool brief segment in which Dean Devlin gathers his cast & crew (necessitating some video conferencing) for the 2nd season renewal announcement; and Beth Riesgraf's very weird Crazy Actress Spoof.

The closing moments of the season finale attempts to throw some doubt as to whether these guys will stay together or go their separate ways. But no one was fooled. I mean, what beats getting payback for the little guy and being rewarded with an alternative revenue stream? The Leverage Consulting & Associates firm may be peopled with shifty characters, but they're shifty characters with pure hearts. More or less. Man, what a fun show!

The show is great and I love to see it again. But what makes me give only 3 stars are two things: 1st: No subtitles, neither standard nor for the hearing impaired.

2nd: The order of the episodes. They seem to be totally random and the original airedates printed on the inside of the cover don't match with what was actually aired.

This is the order on the DVDs:

Disc 1)
1.01 The Nigerian Job
1.02 The Homecoming Job
1.07 The Wedding Job
Disc 2)
1.09 The Snow Job
1.08 The Mile High Job
1.04 The Miracle Job
Disc 3)
1.03 The Two-Horse Job
1.05 The Bank Shot Job
1.06 The Stork Job
1.11 The Juror #6 Job
Disc 4)
1.10 The 12-Step Job
1.12 The First David Job
1.13 The Second David Job

And while this is a procedural show and not a serial show, there's simply no reason to deviate from the production and airing in such a chaotic way.

With so many reality shows on TV, medical dramas and procedurals, I was happy to run across this wonderful show. The cast is superb and acting is sublime. The writers made sure the characters have their own past histories and flaws to work through and all of them appeared to grow in the first season (except Nate who seems to be getting worse.) There is no gratuitous sex or violence in this show and the writers keep things moving with witty dialogue and action. Frankly, I have yet to guess how they are going to resolve each caper each week. My favorite episode is the pilot - The Nigerian Job. If you have not seen the series, download the pilot. I promise you will be hooked. The Nigerian Job

Steal from the rich and give back to those who deserve it, giving those who have no chance some leverage.

"LEVERAGE" is the hit TV drama series on TNT executive produced by Dean Devlin ("Godzilla", "Independence Day" and "Universal Soldier"), Chris Downey ("The King of Queens") and John Rogers ("Cosby") and also to see involvement by Jonathan Frakes ("Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Roswell") as a director and Amy Berg ("The 4400') as a writer/producer.

"LEVERAGE" stars Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton ("The Good Shepherd", "Ordinary People" and "The Last Mimzy"), Christian Kane ("Angel", "Close to Home"), Aldis Hodge ("Red Sands", "Friday Night Lights"), Gina Bellman ("Coupling", "Jekyll" and "Permanent Vacation"), Beth Riesgraf ("Struck") and Mark Sheppard ("Battlestar Galactica" and "Dollhouse").

The series also features quite a bit of talent which include Mark A. Sheppard ("Battlestar Galactica) as James Sterling, Nate's former business partner and now rival. Kari Matchett ("24', "Heartland" and "Invasion") as Nate's ex-wife Maggie, "Star Trek" talents Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Armin Shimerman. And appearances by Lauren Holly, D.B. Sweeney, Sara Rue, Jeremy Roenick and many more.

The series would become a major hit for TNT as it became the #1 program on Tuesday nights with solid ratings for the drama series.

"LEVERAGE" features the following episodes on four discs:

Disc 1:

* EPISODE 1 - The Nigerian Job - The first episode that shows us how the group came together for the first time.
* EPISODE 2 - The Homecoming Job - A military reserve who was filming private military contractors are ambushed by them. The Reservist who was filming the contractors hires Leverage to get them to pay for his rehabilitation bills.
* EPISODE 3 - The Wedding Job - An innocent man died for a mafia boss and the wife of the man wants the money promised to them and hires Leverage for their help.

Disc 2:

* EPISODE 4 - The Snow Job - A National Guardsman hires Leverage to find justice on the construction firm that foreclosed on his home.
* EPISODE 5 - The Mile High Job - A young girl has died due to what may be because of toxic fertilizer. But because the corporation behind the fertilizer is covering things up, Leverage is brought in to give the girl's family some leverage.
* EPISODE 6 - The Miracle Job - Nate's friend and former priest has his church about to be razed by a real estate developer, can Leverage help this church in need?

DISC 3:

* EPISODE 7 - The Two-Horse Job - A Wall Street broker burns down his stable of under performing racehorses in order to get money, meanwhile the trainer suspects foul play and hires Leverage.
* EPISODE 8 - The Bank Shot Job - While investigating a corrupt judge, Nate and Sophie get caught up and become hostages in a bank robbery.
* EPISODE 9 - The Stork Job - The Leverage group go after a Serbian adoption agency that are scamming desperate American couples looking to adopt war orphans.
* EPISODE 10 - The Juror #6 Job - Parker attends jury duty and notices something strange at the trial.

DISC 4:

* EPISODE 11: The 12-Step Job - The team investigate an investment broker who has swindled a charity.
* EPISODE 12: The First David Job - Nate targets the CEO of his former Insurance company and try to steal his prized Michelangelo Maquette.
* EPISODE 13: The Second David Job - After the events of the last job, the team has been fractured. Will Nate be able to bring everyone together?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

Overall, "LEVERAGE" looks very good for a television drama. Featured in Widescreen, a lot of scenes are done in the indoors and outdoors and you get many colorful scenes. Like most drama series on DVD, it's when you get into low light situations and you do see artifacting. But overall, for a drama series on DVD, "LEVERAGE" is stylishly cool in terms of visual appeal.

As for audio, the series is presented in Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and definitely utilizes the front channels for its explosions and rear surrounds take advantage of action sequences. I discovered use of LFE as well and overall, for a drama series on DVD, "LEVERAGE" sounds great. Dialog is easy to understand and more than enough action sequences on each episode.

Personally, I really hope that Paramount considers a Blu-ray release of "LEVERAGE". There are some really awesome visuals in this series and I can imagine how detailed and excellent this series would benefit from a High Definition transfer. In fact, I hope Paramount considers it because this series is slick and I can imagine how awesome it would be on HD. Overall, for a DVD release, audio and picture quality is slightly better than many series on DVD and the fact that there is three episodes instead of the typical four per DVD is a plus on the video end.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"LEVERAGE" features many special features as each disc has audio commentary for every episode which is magnificent. The fourth disc is where the majority of the special features are located. Included on the fourth disc are:

* Leverage: Behind the Scenes - (12:40) Dean Devlin shows us behind-the-scenes of the making of "LEVERAGE". Interviews with the talents and crew about their characters and the series.
* Anatomy of a Stunt Fight - (3:23) How a stunt scene is rehearsed which includes a fight scene with Christian Kane's character Eliot and Christian discussing his fight scene and preparing for it.
* The Cameras of Leverage - (2:14) A featurette primarily on the many cameras used for the filming "LEVERAGE". I don't think I have ever seen a featurette focused on the cameras but film fans, especially those interested in the technical parts of filming will definitely enjoy this feature.
* Leverage gets renewed - (2:52) Every talent and crew member gathers for a meeting with Dean Devlin and those who are not present are featured via webcam and placed between each seat of the actors. Very fun featurette as everyone awaits the big news from TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies Executive Vice President Michael Wright.
* Beth Riesgraf's Crazy Actress Spoof - (5:02) Beth Riesgraf vs. the Writers of Leverage. An interesting spoof starring Beth Riesgraf (who plays Parker) who is a diva actress not so happy that her character has to deliver a zombie baby and taking out her anger at employees. Very humorous and enjoyable!
* Deleted Scenes - The series features two deleted scenes from "The 12-Step Job" (3:30) and "The Second David Job" (:31).

JUDGMENT CALL:

From the first episode, I was sold. I absolutely enjoyed "LEVERAGE" and forget about "Ocean's 11', this drama series features very cool characters, well-written, great locations for filming, witty, smart, stylish and overall, just cool!

I was very impressed with the first season and each talent really brings their A game to the series. Timothy Hutton plays a convincing role as the mastermind of the group; Gina Bellman brings that sexiness that she had in BBC's "Coupling" to the series but added depth as a true-to-art con artist; It's great to see Christian Kane again kicking butt since his years on "Angel" and also to see the two talents Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge definitely shine in this series. The characters are well, cast, well-planned, well integrated into the series and I really enjoyed the amount of character development we see in each episode. Despite being thieves, they are all likeable in their own way.

It's one thing to have the typical series special features but "LEVERAGE" really goes all out with commentary for each episode and also, the special features that are on this DVD are probably a first (a featurette about the series getting renewed and a featurette on the cameras used on the series) and were quite enjoyable. Again, I really wish Paramount considers a Blu-ray release of this series. With its slick production and overall action sequences, I would love to watch it on High Definition.

I was pretty surprised to see the amount of technology used in the series but how slick the production is. All characters are used effectively and each episode was just fun, smart and just enjoyable. I was very impressed.

Overall, this DVD release and the complete series is magnificent and is highly recommended!

I'm a great fan of this show. I started watching because of Christian Kane (plays the hitter Eliot Spencer) but I fell in love with the whole team and the smart stories immediately. So I waited impatiently for the DVD. But I'm a little bit disappointed.

I'm not a nativ speaker that's why I have sometimes problems to get every word and every joke (I understand most of it) and I was looking forward to see the show with subtitles, but there are none.
And I could only find deleted scenes of two episodes, thought there would be more. And also no bloopers. But there are some other specials.

So, it's still a lot of fun to watch the show now in DVD quality, but I only give four stars because of the missing subtitles.

I don't know why people are not raving about "Leverage" in the same breath they use on "Weeds" or "The Wire," "Mad Men," or other great cable TV series. "Leverage" has a terrific (if incredible) premise, a wonderful cast, and among the best writing on TV. It combines the fun of the classic Robert Wagner series "It Takes a Thief" with the witty dialog of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" to create a perfectly entertaining and engaging confection. This is television of the first rank, and this DVD set makes for extremely addictive viewing.

I love this show and when I got it in the mail I couldn't wait to see it again.
The sound is superb and the picture is great. The extras is okay.

I have given this a five star rating because I really love the show and the box works just great. But I miss scenes in several episodes. I thought maybe those scenes were in the "deleted scenes" section, but it wasn't.

The first scene I really reacted on that is missing is in the Homecoming Job, when Hardison shows his new toy, the TV sets. The fun sports part was gone, I really miss that one.
So scenes has been deleted and other scenes has been added.

Having said that, the show is still great, and well worth spending some money on.

This show is so much fun to watch . Thieves going after those who have hurt others . Man do we need them in real life . Timothy Hutton is wonderful . This is has 2nd series after Nero Wolfe and he has found a great new series . Can't wait til it comes out on dvd and when is season 2 ? Can't wait for both !