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 [[ASIN:B0009X766Y The Sting (Universal Legacy Series)]], [[ASIN:B000P0J0BK Ocean's Eleven (Widescreen Edition)]], or even [[ASIN:B00009RDGA 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 DVD's worked well. I am pleased.

When I got my parents addicted this show after watching the first episode, they asked how they didn't know this show had been around since '08. Good question. Now that they know of it, they love it. And so does my brother. Oh, yeah... SO DID I! If anyone were to ask me what the show's about, three words suffice- cons conning cons.
The main backstory of this show may upset parents who have lost an only child since the leader of this crackteam lost his only child to a hospital operation that wouldn't have worked. The leader knew a procedure that would work, yet his boss didn't go for it, despite the man's loyal work. So, to cope with his losses (child, wife, job, home, etc.), he becomes an alcoholic, and is offered his first job considering what he was when he had a job- an insurance investigator/stealing stolen artifacts. The job should be easy enough, with a gathered crack team of people that normally work alone (a brutal brawler, social actress, cat burglar, and computer hacker), they work together to steal something to bring it back to the owner, and get paid. Done deal. Oh, wait, things are never that simple. Teams gets back together again, and gets revenge. Idea- work together to bring down people who constantly gyp others who are trying to live decent lives and manipulate big-time cons with good social reputations to 'fess up their mess-up, and give people a reason to keep hoping for a better future. And what cons they go after.
Manipulating an already-manipulated court session; giving a disabled vet the $ he needs stolen from him for rehab to work again; finding a kidnapped orphan to bring him back (and what a shocking twist that one had halfway through); helping a church keep a reputation and reveal the Judas in the social area; and revert an already botched bank robbery. Oh, don't worry, there's others, and all of them have wit, sarcasm, little moments that make them all the better, and, at times, very evocatively emotional scenes. Towards the end are some very heavy twists dealing with a few characters that dropped my jaw more than once.
But it's the last con that did more than become icing on the cake. It was... how did the Klingons say it? Revenge is best served cold? Well, in Nathan Ford's case, the two part finale was a masterpiece all its own and rivaled the technique of so many heist movies that seem to try too hard. This had everything I love in a good drama. The enemies think they know how to outwit the thieves, only for a trip to get tripped and get tripped theirselves. So, I can see why they would leave the best far last. And I couldn't help but cheer with the cast in the special feature that reveals the show being renewed, or laugh with Beth in her own little spoof about her in-show character, or even laugh at the asininity of the deleted scenes. Now to get the 2nd season and continute the laughs and heartfelt emotion.

I think that whenever you love a television show, you should get the DVD as homage to a show that you loved but also because of the DVD extras. First, the weakness of this DVD set is that there doesn’t appear to be any cast member commentary which is a shame because there are occasions when watching the show that I wonder why a cast member made a particular choice or how much fun did a cast member (or couple of cast members) have in a scene. So I hate not having them there to explain their view point. With that said, I love hearing the producers, directors, and writers provide input on scenes and/or the process to get to a scene.

The contributors are a chatty group so make sure that you’ve watched the episode so many times that you know what’s going on without hearing. And they appear to have made a conscious decision to not “watch” the show rather to comment. So they aren’t watching the show with you they are talking about what went on behind the scenes. They talk about some of the infamous Hardison scenes and Aldis’s improvational skills which they really love and trust. They talk about Pardison and conscious decisions that were made to be physically stand next to one another to show their growing relationship. That talk about Kane humor and the humorous actions and expressions that he brings to Eliot that I had never really thought about. They discuss sibling relationships (Eliot, Parker, Hardison) the father/son dynamic between Nate and Hardison, and the “equals” relationship between Eliot and Sophie/Nate. These are things that you saw as a fan but it’s good to hear it discussed.

I’m only on season two but it is the conspiracy episode where the reporter has ruined a guy’s career so the team sets out to discredit the reporter. In the episode, Parker becomes curious about conspiracies and begins to ask Eliot about different conspiracies. Not sure who it was but someone mentioned that he sent a note to a big wig and asked, “How is Eliot responding to Parker.” The reply came back, “Like a big brother effing with his baby sister.” It’s something that we saw but it was nice to hear that response.

As indicated, I’m only on season 2 but I’m so pleased with my decision to purchase this. I purchased seasons 1 - 3 together because the 5 season bundle wasn’t offered. But I’m going to have to get season’s 4 and 5 soon because I am watching a season a weekend. It’s a shame that TNT cancelled this show because it really was a fun show to watch.

Whether you are a fan of Dean Devlin's film work or not, you have to admire his mastery as a producer/director/(occasional) actor on television, and his TNT production, "Leverage", is one of the most entertaining series of the past several years. With creator/writers John Rogers and Chris Downey, the Devlin-produced "Leverage: The First Season", while intended as a closed-arc, one-season miniseries, was simply too good to send off into oblivion, and much of the success is due to top-notch actors.

Timothy Hutton brings authority, vulnerability, and an edginess to leader 'Nathan Ford'. An alcoholic ex-insurance investigator who isn't nearly as noble as he pretends to be, the loss of his only son when his employers refuse to honor his benefits package has sent him on a doomed, drunken spiral, and he plans to take down as many abusers and villains as he can, while he can. He recruits the best of the thieves he has pursued over the years to aid him in his quest. Gina Bellman ('Sophie Devereaux') is a world-class grifter, a truly terrible stage actress who can only shine in her craft when she's pulling a sting. She and Ford have a strong attraction to one another, although he never cheated on his wife. Long-haired Christian Kane ('Eliot Spencer') calls himself a 'retrieval expert', a human weapon skilled at multiple martial arts, a multitude of tools, and a born warrior's 'vision' and 'Code'. Kane, a breakout star of "Angel", immediately attracted a large female fan base! Beth Riesgraf ('Parker') is a master thief, an orphan whose social graces are rather bizarre and comic, but is nearly unstoppable at breaking locks, safes, and security systems. 21-year-old Aldis Hodge ('Alec Hardison') is the breakout star of the series, a fast-talking, quick-witted computer geek who can hack into any system, ad-lib out of nearly any crisis, and keeps everyone on their toes!

With this crew of 'solo' criminals gradually bonding into a team, Ford takes on 'Fat Cats' to provide vengeance (and 'leverage') for victims too often ignored. The scams are clever and often VERY funny, and the cast is so likable that it may be impossible NOT to get 'hooked'!

The collection also offers lively commentaries for each episode, deleted scenes, and a variety of extras...far more than most of the series' collections in my DVD library.

I'm thrilled that Season 2 is coming out on DVD, next week, and that Season 3 will debut on TNT, next month..."Leverage" is a 'winner', and I think you'll love it!

This is one of the best shows to hit TV in a long time! The stories, the humor, the characters and everything else works together perfectly!

Nate, the mastermind, is grieving for his son by drinking too much as his anger grows toward the man who let his son die. Anything he can do to hurt his former employer is icing on the cake of his new profession as a modern day Robin Hood with a kooky gang of merry thieves he chased down while working as a stolen items retriever.

Sophie, the grifter, so obviously in love with Nate that it's sometimes painful to watch - I love the flashback when she shoots him and then calls him a wanker when he shoots back! She dreams of a career as an actress but is so bad at it that she gains sympathy from the others over it. It's so much fun to see the other identities she's played in the flashbacks and to get a peek at her storage shed - her really good retirement plan - full of boxes and crates of who knows what!

Parker, the thief, and the only one without a last name! She is my favorite character, what a hoot to watch her dive off of buildings, bridges, stairwells, out windows or whatever she needs to do - sometimes not even knowing if there's a net ready to catch her!

Hardison, the hacker, easily my second favorite character, is like the wide-eyed innocent of this gang. With all the highest tech toys and a few he designed himself, we call him 'tech support' and depend on him to rig elevator systems and even land a plane from thousands of miles away! Also not a bad painter and sculpter.

Eliot, the hitter, is the muscle and is very good at what he does ... and he cooks! He rides horses, plays chess and he plays poker but his main talent is that he hurts people. Also able to identify things by their very distinctive sound, fighting style, facial expression or whatever!

Then along comes Maggie, Nate's ex-wife, in the two part season finale. You want to dislike her because you love Sophie but you just can't. She's a natural at this, too! Well, once she finally is told that a cure for her son was available but cost too much and the insurance claim was denied. Now you double hate Nate's nemesis, Ian Blackpoole.

I totally love the series but the DVD really needs a 'play all' button!!

This was actually the last season I was able to buy. I first watched this series on Netflix. When it left Netflix, I was sad. I actually like the characters. I know some reviews talk about various issues, but I guess I am more flexible. I've seen Beth Riesgraf (aka Parker) in a few other TV shows such as Criminal Minds. I like her as an actress. Christian Kane (aka Elliot) is also good in The Librarians.

Sometimes there are continuity issues but I have seen that in other TV shows and movies. I do think that 5 seasons was just right for this series. I feel 5 or 6 seasons is good for most TV series. I do recommend people remember this is not supposed to be a reflection of reality like you find with Law and Order and what not. It is more on par with an exaggerated reality like Oceans 11 in my opinion. While it theoretically could happen, it is not as likely.

Note: Season 1 is the only disc that is out of play order compared to what was released on Netflix and apparently TV when it first aired. I thought that was a problem until I did some research. Apparently, the DVD is the order the director wanted them to be released. The network chose to air them in a different order. Once I got used to the order, it was fine. I just watched it so much my memory just expects a different order. Also, I was concerned that the season I received was not legitimate as the inner cover does not list the episode detail like seasons 2-5, but I have had no issues with playback, so I'm not worried.

Leverage is one of our favorite shows.
Disappointed that it’s not on prime.