Everything that was once old is now new, it seems. Melodrama like Falcon Crest and Dallas has been replicated with Desperate Housewives and Nip/Tuck, amongst others. And the old smarmy heist genre, ala Mission: Impossible, has been duplicated in spirit by TNT’s heist drama Leverage.
Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton) is the mastermind of a group of thieves committed to good deeds. Taking on the rich and powerful, they provide a service meant to give “leverage” to those who’ve been taken advantage of by those who think they’re above it all. With his hitter Eliot (Christian Kane), grifter Sophie (Gina Bellman), thief Parker (Beth Riesgraf) and hacker Hardison (Aldis Hodge), Ford’s team is reminiscent of Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
When we last left them at the end of the first season, the team had disbanded to scatter to the winds. Reuniting to settle a score for a banker in the hospital due to injury, the team finds itself back together and pulling off intricate heists in the name of revenge and justice. And after a first season that felt struggling to grasp onto something long term, the second has corrected a lot of those mistakes with an attempt at more long term planning.
It’s evident in the season’s story arc for Nate. Rightfully put to the front of the series, Timothy Hutton is an Oscar winner for a reason. He has terrific acting chops but has been one of those who’s been hurt by winning an Oscar early in his career, managing to put together a resume with good experience but nothing significantly high profile to land him onto the A-list. Nate has a drinking problem as established in the first season and how he handles his attempt at sobriety in the second season, and how it affects his reasoning and his team, makes for compelling television. It’s a long term story arc that provides plenty of character development and Hutton takes what could be a clichéd story arc and gives it depth. It’s impressive to see an actor of Hutton’s stature take the role and bring out something few actors can. It doesn’t hurt that he has a group of actors that work well together.
The cast’s chemistry is still there and terrific. Part of the show’s charm is that they work together so well, especially in their ability to play off one another with one liners, this is the reason for the show’s renewal for a third season despite not having too much of a different format or general storyline from the first season. Leverage may be two seasons of virtually the same show, with some of the same plot devices and Deus Ex Machina style machinations, but the chemistry is what keeps it fresh.
Leverage may seem stale from a story standpoint, as it doesn’t change its formula for the most part, but it’s the ancillary aspects of the show that keep it interesting and engaging.
Presented in a widescreen format with a Dolby Digital presentation, the show has a great transfer. This is a show with lots of great scenery and sound and it comes through wonderfully.
The Creators of Leverage Q&A follows show creators Dean Devlin, John Rogers and Chris Downey as they discuss the origins of the show and other things during a Q&A session before a special screening of the premiere of the second season. Coming off a seemingly flippant remark from Devlin to the President of TNT during the Upfront Sales of the upcoming television season amidst Devlin’s creation of the Librarian series starring Noah Wylie, the trio went to TNT pitching a heist series in the vein of The Rockford Files and Mission: Impossible. They also discuss in quite some detail about the making of the film and compare it to making it for TNT as opposed to a major network in that they were told to just make the best show possible as opposed to settling for some specific criteria meant to appeal to a diverse audience. The creators are real loose and share a lot of details with a warm crowd to tell it to.
Rogers also gives a brief Set Tour of Nate’s apartment.
Behind the Boom Featurette focuses on the biggest explosion of the season in the finale, created with real special effects using miniatures as opposed to CGI.
The Hand Job is a feature with Aldis Hodge where he tries to pull off cons of his own and fails miserably.
Andy Lang Music Featurette focuses on the show’s sound mixer Lang’s song “Not Sure Yet,” which was used in the season premiere for this season.
A Gag Reel and Commentary Tracks on most episodes are included as well.
With a number of weak extras, much like the first season’s release, Leverage is a nice throwback to an older genre that works because of its style as opposed to its substance.
Paramount presents Leverage (The 2nd Season). Created by John Rogers and Chris Downey. Starring Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf, Aldis Hodge and Jeri Ryan. Running time: 646 minutes. Not Rated. Released on DVD: May 25, 2010. Available at Amazon.
