E Y E W A N N A B E

"The Well-Worn Couch" - Reviews by Dan Brottman

Hi folks, Dan here. Here is the first of what I hope will be many reviews here on EYEWANNABE.com, but first I’d like to give you an idea of what I’m going to be doing in these reviews. I’ll be sitting in the depression I’ve created in my couch (as distinguished from the one in my mind), where I’ll be reviewing TV shows, episode by episode. I’ll be sticking to mostly just plot and character issues, unless a specific shot or other technical detail really jumps out at me. These reviews will likely contain some geeky observations, occasional ranting, and plenty of irritating self-righteousness, because that is how I roll.

Initially I am going to try to stick to less popular/well known shows since things like "Lost" and "House" have probably been done to death (Also - I don’t watch either of those shows). There will be no set posting schedule initially, but I hopefully we will formalize one eventually.

First up is TNT’s "Leverage." Enjoy.

The Well-Worn Couch presents:

"Leverage"

Airdate: December 7, 2008

Timothy Hutton, Christian Kane, Gina Bellman, Beth Riesgraf, Aldis Hodge

Created by: John Rogers, Chris Downey

Written by: John Rogers, Chris Downey

Directed by: Dean Devlin

Produced by: Phillip M. Goldfarb

TNT had employed Dean Devlin (Stargate, Independence Day) to produce a franchise of made-for-TV movies called "The Librarian." After filming the second of three such films, TNT wanted Devlin to produce a television series for them. He told them that "[he’d] always wanted to do a show about high tech thieves who become modern day Robin Hoods."  With that concept in mind and a script written by creators John Rogers (The Core, Transformers) and Chris Downey ("The King of Queens"), "Leverage" was born, and as of this date is getting ready to begin a third season. (EDIT: Make that the second half of the second season)

Synopsis:

Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People) is a former insurance investigator recruited to watch over a team of thieves hired by Victor Dubenich (Saul Rubinek) to steal back designs for an airplane, which were stolen from Dubenich’s company by a rival. Unwilling to trust the thieves he’s already hired to work together and to give him back his plans, Dubenich brings on Ford, an honest man, to keep them in line. Nate is familiar with each of the thieves, having chased them all at one time or another as an investigator.

Nate’s crew includes Parker (Beth Riesgraf, Alvin and the Chipmunks), a cat-burglar who may be more than a little insane; Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane, "Angel"), the martial artist and "retrieval specialist"; and Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge, "Friday Night Lights"), the uber-geek computer hacker.

Ultimately, Dubenich sells Nate on stealing the plans because it would hurt IYS, his former employer, who insures the plans and would stand to lose a fortune if they had to pay out the claim should the plans be stolen back. We learn along the way that Nate is no longer with IYS because they let Nate’s son die by refusing to pay for a surgery they deemed to be experimental.

The group steals the plans, but find themselves betrayed by their employer, Dubenich, who tries to have them killed rather than paying them. Rather than disappearing, as might be prudent given the investigation into their burglary, they decide to go for revenge.

Since Dubenich would know their faces, they recruit Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman, Coupling, Jekyll), a grifter who is an awful actress except when running a con. Sophie poses as a liaison for Nigerian government officials looking to do shady business with Dubenich’s company.

After conning Dubenich and making an obscene amount of money, the group realizes they can make a lot more money working together, and with Nate to lead them, take down bad guys along the way.

The end of the episode sets up the premise for the rest of the series, where they’ll be taking on jobs for the little guy against the wealthy and powerful.

 Thoughts:

Since this is the first episode I also wanted to talk about the main cast, with the benefit of having seen both seasons of the show in full. What drew me to this show in the first place was the presence of Christian Kane and Gina Bellman. I’m a big fan of "Angel" and Kane’s work on that show was excellent. For my money, "Coupling" is the single best sitcom ever made. (Thank you, Ryan, for introducing me to it). Both actors perform well in "Leverage," (as does Oscar winner Timothy Hutton) but the actor who steals the show is Aldis Hodge as Hardison. Though I am a HUGE fan of "Friday Night Lights," I did not recognize him as the same actor who portrayed the arrogant and super-talented quarterback Ray "Voodoo" Tatum. This was due in part to the fact that the two characters are almost polar opposites, and Hodge played each believably. Hodge has to wear a lot of hats on "Leverage." Over the course of the series, he manages to keep most of the technobabble accessible, provides the most consistent comic relief (with Riesgraf a close second), and has to shoulder at least as much of the expository burden as Timothy Hutton.

"The Nigerian Job" is effective in that it establishes the basics of who these characters are and what each of them can do. Each of these characters is supposed to be among the very best at what they do, so it presents a challenge for the series to come up with believable obstacles for them down the road. The premise for bringing and keeping them together is somewhat thin, and compared to later episodes, the pacing is slow here. Unlike most of the rest of the series, they begin by helping a corporate fat-cat go after other corporate fat-cats, and it isn’t until the very end of the episode that the theme of helping the "little guy" is established.

As a whole, "Leverage" isn’t going to win any awards for original concepts. It was created and executed as a modern-day Robin Hood story. In the present economic climate, a gang of thieves taking it to the economic giants on behalf of the little people is something most folks can get on board with. It’s an entertaining show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you’re looking for long-term character development and intricate plots spanning several seasons and requiring flow-charts… "Leverage" isn’t what you’re looking for. Almost every episode is entirely self-contained and accessible for a new viewer.