‘Leverage,’ Season One is the Crazy Fun Show!

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For years, Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton) helps people reclaim their prized possessions, but when he becomes the one in need of assistance, there is none to be found. leverage season one

Work hits close to home when while his young eight-year-old son dies. He suffers through medical procedures, and when an experimental treatment finally comes along, the insurance company refused payment. As a former insurance investigator, Nate knows the system, and he cannot forgive the corporate company who says “no.” When he’s approached to steal top-secret specs by a man who claims they are rightfully his, Nate is suspicious. But an opportunity to hurt the insurance company who took his son makes it an interesting offer.

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Turns out, to make this work, he must lead a team of thieves. Some of whom Nate is familiar with from his work. There is the tech genius Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge); weapons and hand-to-hand combat expert Eliot (Christian Kane); and then, there is Parker (Beth Riesgraf). Parker is all heart but also a little bit insane. With the team in place, the plans are turned, and all that’s left is the pay-off… right? Wrong. Instead, the four realize they were played. Now it’s time to con their boss.

Since their mark knows them, they first recruit a fifth teammate. Enter grifter Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman), an art thief Nate used to chase. Now all that’s left is the perfect set-up. It comes off without a hitch and when the one-time job gives each of them a sense of pleasure, they all come to agree that unconventional methods to help the good guys is more rewarding – they provide leverage.

Leverage, Season One (2007) TV Show Review

‘Leverage,’ Season One is the Crazy Fun Show! A review of TNT's Leverage, season one with Timothy Hutton. #Leverage #TVShow #GoodTime #WhattoWatch Share on X

The pilot of this show is… silly, and not real smart. It just doesn’t really fascinate me, but there’s a certain amount of fun involved. There’s a slapstick way of introducing the players not unlike Ocean’s Eleven to some extent, but is also a kind of pet peeve of mine. All of this quickly vanishes in the second episode with “The Homecoming Job,” which is pretty dynamic. Said episode is a tribute to American soldiers and comes off without being too political (although it is to a degree), and with it sets a pattern for individual episodes. As a pattern, the show tackles addiction and emotional life issues as a background story to each job. And, then there are the characters.

Eliot is a guy who knows the mastery of self-defense! As we get to “know” Eliot, he seems the one least likely to have much of a backstory, but this ends up being wrong. Sophie is the one we know little of when Nate first suggests bringing her into the fold. However she’s a hopeless romantic who has to charm the baddies Leverage cons out of millions. It’s her relationship with Nate where she stumbles, sometimes falters. Nate is the boss man and the brains, the thinker. He looks at things logically over emotionally. The demons of his past are a really sore subject, and it’s often Sophie who gets through to him.

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Parker is just hilarious. I’m not even sure how to describe her. She bluntly lays out what’s on her mind with no chit-chat or going soft. In this way, we perhaps can all learn a little something about honesty, which likely stems from her sadly tragic past. Finally, there’s Alec, the computer genius! Alec or as he is more fondly known, “Hardison” is the funny-guy of the group. He’s also the guy constantly reminding Nate to listen to the people around him, to not be so quick to dismiss the rest of the team when they have an idea or find a person in need of help – especially when it comes to Parker.

And through all their faults, everyone is equally likable. I think the show knows it’s funny and plays up that allotment during the forty some minutes because it can. If we can recognize that, and simply sit back and relax, I think this is an awesome show. It isn’t always as intellectual or as complicated as some of its fellow competitors, but its good clean fun. And with me, that is worth a lot. Bring on the popcorn!

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CONTENT: there is some scattered swearing, maybe a few innuendos. A few tense situations unfold; some weapons are fired, but nothing terrible. Leverage, season one is TV-14, -PG (depending on the episode).