_Leverage_ first impressions

Dec 24, 2008 21:17

John Rogers is my kind of screenwriter. He's smart and nerdy and funny. And he has a new show on TNT. A heist show. This pervy rogue fancier is all about the heist shows. Plus, I can watch Gina Bellman and Christian Kane all day.[1]

[This is a first impressions post, which means it's not very fleshed out. I'll have more substantive criticisms in a few months, I'm sure.]

So, _Leverage_: four thieves and an antithief gang up to battle the world's evils through applied sneakiness. This could go very well and very badly; the two episodes I've seen so far have impressed me favorably. The show takes risks with subject matter and density that probably scared the fuck out of the people working on it. I like that.

The things I like about this show so far: painstakingly well-researched grifts with clever twists, fearless approach to subject matter, competent use of technology, enjoyable character dynamics.

Things not to like so much: sometimes preachy tone, dialogue which is occasionally clunky (especially when it's being preachy)

I'd recommend investing an hour to see if you like the pilot. I'm glad I did. Unfortunately, the only legal venues so far are Amazon and iTunes. Here's hoping that TNT gets its head unstuck from its ass sometime soon.

D'A

[1]: Admittedly, they owe that in some part to the shows I know them from.
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