Ace of Spades HQ

January 06, 2012

Watchin' Leverage
— Ace

I started watching this like three months ago. I can't say it's good, exactly, but most of the time it's watchable, which is good for TV.

Watching "The Gold Job" right now. Good episode. And Sasha Barese is pretty cute.

If you don't know what it is, it's a lighthearted, semi-comic version of Mission: Impossible, except they don't work for the government, they're self-motivated, self-employed do-gooder thieves and grifters. They were once criminals, and now they're criminals... for justice.

Anyone else watch this, or is it just me? And don't say "Burn Notice." I know everyone watches Burn Notice. I just saw the ratings a couple of weeks ago. Apparently it's much more popular than Psych.

Posted by: Ace at 07:51 PM | Comments (131)
Post contains 120 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Leverage is good. It's like the old Mission: Impossible TV show, with more humor and better looking women.

Posted by: stuiec at January 06, 2012 07:53 PM (bkaOU)

2 Been watching Leverage since it started. If you get a chance to get the DVDs, start at the beginning and see how the characters evolve. Age of the Geek, baby!

Posted by: aj4coco at January 06, 2012 07:55 PM (yR5aF)

3 Here's a bit of trivia: Mission: Impossible was just created because the series creators had read a big book on all the classic con-games, and said "We have to do a series about these cons." James Bond was big, so they made it a spy thing. But the things they were doing were criminal cons. So, Leverage is really Mission: impossible, but minus the spy angle, with con-artists doing the cons from that big book.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 07:56 PM (nj1bB)

4 >>>If you get a chance to get the DVDs, start at the beginning and see how the characters evolve. Age of the Geek, baby I just watch whatever TNT puts on. I did see the first one last week, the Nigerian Job.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 07:57 PM (nj1bB)

5 I was just thinking that the series would have been great if Nathan Fillion had been cast in the lead. Timothy Hutton's a little bland.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 07:58 PM (nj1bB)

6 I get the feeling that this show has some OWS undertones to it. They like to go after "rich fat cats" and such. Is it?

Posted by: EC at January 06, 2012 07:58 PM (R15UB)

7 >>>get the feeling that this show has some OWS undertones to it. They like to go after "rich fat cats" and such. Is it? I knew someone would say that. The answer is "sort of." But I dont' know what to make of that complaint, since almost all the classic westerns featured rich land-swindlers and rich bankers and rich oil men and so on. Rich people have 1, resources, and 2, money to steal. (That's the angle of this show: Many of the thieves are not wholly reformed and are partly in this just to steal shit, but from the right people.) But yes, they're usually up against someone rich. I don't know how you guys watch action movies and stuff while writing off the most classic villain type in existence as a liberal thing!

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:01 PM (nj1bB)

8 They film Leverage in "The Pearl" part of Portland OR. My son has a loft there... so we get to see them filming when we visit. Kind of funny to see Dubai be in the middle of Portland. We've watched Leverage from the beginning- now the local landmarks make it even more fun to watch.

Posted by: Nansen at January 06, 2012 08:03 PM (lzW2S)

9 psych's da bomb, yo. Portlandia is nice too

Posted by: joeindc44 at January 06, 2012 08:03 PM (S9InG)

10 I wouldn't say it's got an OWS vibe. apart from the obvious -- the villain in every episode is a dick who abuses people with less power than him, and he's got money -- there's not much overt political stuff. Well... okay, it turns out the reason the Mastermind guy joined this group is that the insurance company he used to work for (as a theft-recovery agent) denied paying for his kid's necessary experimental surgery... okay, yeah, that was in there once. Makes no sense (he couldn't pay for it himself? he had money), but okay. but seriously, it's about as political as the Dukes of Hazzard. Sure, Boss Hogg is the capitalist landowner, but you're not exactly picking up political messages from the simple good guys and bad guys plot.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:04 PM (nj1bB)

11 >>>Kind of funny to see Dubai be in the middle of Portland. yeah they didn't fake that too well. Dubai looked astonshingly like portland.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:05 PM (nj1bB)

12 Where the hell do you find time ?

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at January 06, 2012 08:05 PM (npr0X)

13 to watch a tv show? Oh I can manage a few spare hours a week to watch a tv show.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:06 PM (nj1bB)

14 The Leverage team gives a powerless person leverage to get even with some powerful person who's wronged him or her. Powerful often goes along with rich, but not always. For example, there was the con they ran to get a dictator to lose an election he thought he had rigged.

Sometimes they steal back stolen property; sometimes they force a criminal to incriminate himself. Either way, the powerless person gets justice.

Posted by: stuiec at January 06, 2012 08:06 PM (bkaOU)

15 Im watching There's something about Mary, the hair gel scene..

Posted by: Alaskagal at January 06, 2012 08:07 PM (f3v7G)

16 "How do you find the time?." asks the guy typing a comment on a blog.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:07 PM (nj1bB)

17 Johnathan Frakes, yes that (number) one, directed many of the episodes this season, as well as three episodes of Burn Notice. @EC...yes, there is a bit of OWS sentiment here, but to be fair do the thought experiment and come up with a plot that fits the show template and doesn't involve a bad guy who is s a genuine 1%er. I can do it, but it wouldn't be good TV even by these standards.

Posted by: CAPT Ron at January 06, 2012 08:10 PM (BPBZQ)

18 great movie. the farrelly brothers never repeated.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:10 PM (nj1bB)

19 Nathan Fillion can't do Leverage (which I love btw) because he's doing "Castle" which I also think is Awesome. Also...big fan of Burn Notice, White Collar, Criminal Minds and Sons of Anarchy (nothing to do with the others) bit by bit television seems to be becoming a little bit watchable again. (btw all of these shows do try to slip in a little lefty-propo but I long ago got my lefty-propo inoculations, so my immune system just chases the lefty-propo-bit down a dark alley in my subconscious and beats the living shit out of it.)

Posted by: SineWave at January 06, 2012 08:11 PM (p+FqR)

20 It's a remake of the Equalizer except with more staff. Good escapism TV.

Posted by: BT at January 06, 2012 08:11 PM (q/WNz)

21 every once in a while they take on common thugs and gangsters (or fake psychics or some other people without vast wealth) but mostly, yeah, it's going to be a rich guy or a corporation. Still in some of them, for example, they're *saving* the company from, say, an embezzler within it or something. Look, it's just bad guys and good guys.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:11 PM (nj1bB)

22 "How do you find the time?." asks the guy typing a comment on a blog. Fair enough . Between typing comments on a blog , trying to get my head around options trading and keeping an eye on my kids ( only on the week-ends ) , tv tends to take last place .

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at January 06, 2012 08:11 PM (npr0X)

23 I was just thinking that the series would have been great if Nathan Fillion had been cast in the lead. Timothy Hutton's a little bland.

I'd rather have Fillion in Castle than Leverage.

Posted by: Retread at January 06, 2012 08:12 PM (joSBv)

24 ^ on top of work , of course .

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at January 06, 2012 08:12 PM (npr0X)

Leverage sucks! It is one liberal sucker punch followed by another liberal sucker punch. After three episodes I stopped watching it.

Every Leverage villain is a corporate CEO. I've known lots of CEOs and all of them were honest, hard wording, caring people. When Leverage shows some union thugs threatening the family of a CEO, or maybe some Earth First terrorists torching factories, or some OWS zombies harassing a small business let me know and I'll watch but I'll keep my hands high and ready for that punch.

What can one expect for a drama filmed in Portland "cesspool of the West" Oregon? Well OK, Grimm is pretty good.

Posted by: Dennis at January 06, 2012 08:12 PM (sb8LP)

26 well I'm watching it now, for example, while I'm typing on a blog.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:13 PM (nj1bB)

27 Well, I just wondered about it. I think I actually read something about this show, maybe it was on BigHollywood, and it seemed to describe this show as a OWS edge to it.

Maybe I'll give it a try, though Justified is coming back on in 2 weeks. Raylan and Boyd are going to kick some fucking ass together!

Posted by: EC at January 06, 2012 08:13 PM (R15UB)

28 I used to a blog, until one day...

Posted by: Burn Notice at January 06, 2012 08:14 PM (wQ1iq)

29 Did anyone catch American Horror Story? That was some twisted stuff

Posted by: Alaskagal at January 06, 2012 08:14 PM (f3v7G)

30 One character on a show is a super-kick-ass ex-soldier who -- I like this part -- initially comes off as a dumb thug but you gradually realize he's pretty smart. He's just quiet, and does the Columbo thing of letting you assume you're smarter than he is. He's good, the insane female thief is awesome, the black guy who is doing a Will Smith impression is actually good.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:15 PM (nj1bB)

31 I'm watching my kid while I type this as well . Heh , I think we're all too busy .

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at January 06, 2012 08:15 PM (npr0X)

32 You might like the British show "Hustle," which has the pretty much the same premise: a group of con artists who pull complex scams to go after the amoral or cheaters. When I saw the commercials, I thought "Leverage" was a remake. The show is still on, going into its eighth (and likely final) series.

Posted by: Synnerman at January 06, 2012 08:16 PM (0Bdlg)

33 yeah I dont' have kids, so that accounts for a lot of extra time on my end.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:16 PM (nj1bB)

34 I've heard of Hustle, maybe I'll check it out if it's somewhere I can see it.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:17 PM (nj1bB)

35 Speaking of Portland... Portlandia is awesome.

Posted by: stuiec at January 06, 2012 08:18 PM (bkaOU)

36 I've liked Timothy Hutton since he offended liberal sensibilities by appearing in that Groupon Tibet ad.

Posted by: Benson at January 06, 2012 08:19 PM (qzcNU)

37 I saw it. Liked some of the episodes. Kind of lost steam.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:19 PM (nj1bB)

38 I'm watching I Am Legend, at least the end of it.

Posted by: Dr Spank at January 06, 2012 08:21 PM (Sh42X)

39 I watched the entire Rome series over the holiday. It was pretty good. HBO so it was a bit too raunchy for my taste. But otherwise good.

Posted by: Benson at January 06, 2012 08:23 PM (qzcNU)

40 ace, why are you awake and hanging out with us, I mean, these drunken reprobates

Posted by: twiceblessedmom at January 06, 2012 08:23 PM (CGuMF)

41 I'm not a reprobate .

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at January 06, 2012 08:24 PM (npr0X)

42 "One character on a show is a super-kick-ass ex-soldier who -- I like this part -- initially comes off as a dumb thug but you gradually realize he's pretty smart. He's just quiet, and does the Columbo thing of letting you assume you're smarter than he is"

The actor, Christian Kane, is a country singer from Texas/Oklahoma who does his own stunts and is generally almost as badass as the guy he plays.

The show does have some episodes that lean liberal, but it also has conservative leaning episodes too. It had Iran as the bad guy in one episode, and Venezuela as the bad guy in a recent episode, which is pretty freaking shocking in Hollywood.

Posted by: Justin at January 06, 2012 08:27 PM (yoAYX)

43 is this one of those "it's virtuous to steal from rich people" shows?

no thanks

Posted by: Jose at January 06, 2012 08:27 PM (srIqv)

44 >>>> is this one of those "it's virtuous to steal from rich people" shows? Who else would you steal from? Ever try stealing from the poor? It's a lot of effort for not much reward.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:32 PM (nj1bB)

45 Just got hooked on FX's Archer. Painfully, painfully funny. And some pretty solid action scenes, too--for animation.

Posted by: Steve the Pirate at January 06, 2012 08:33 PM (B0893)

46 >>>The actor, Christian Kane, is a country singer from Texas/Oklahoma who does his own stunts and is generally almost as badass as the guy he plays. really? he looks really stiff in the fight scenes.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:33 PM (nj1bB)

47 archer's awesome.

Posted by: ace at January 06, 2012 08:33 PM (nj1bB)

48 Who else would you steal redistribute from? Ever try stealing redistributing from the poor?

Posted by: Carolyn at January 06, 2012 08:35 PM (CQId4)

49 Agreed. The Much Better Half got me Season 1 for Christmas, and even she enjoys it.

Posted by: Steve the Pirate at January 06, 2012 08:35 PM (B0893)

50 Ace: That reminds me of the Dennis Moore bit from Monty Python. "Blimey this wealth redistribution thing is harder than I thought"

Posted by: SineWave at January 06, 2012 08:35 PM (p+FqR)

51 I watch.. it's pretty decent, definitely not psych, but worth watching. better than most of whats on these days..

Posted by: thirtyandseven at January 06, 2012 08:37 PM (cHP11)

52 Leverage is a lefty little bit of nothing, but it's hard not to like the characters.
Cable has got that all over the movies. The important bits a little at a time. I don't think justified , et al, would make the same impression in a one shot deal.

Posted by: redclay at January 06, 2012 08:38 PM (TclA7)

53 Rich people steal from poor people all the time! That's how they get rich!

Posted by: proggie style at January 06, 2012 08:39 PM (DjPuM)

54 I have watched it since the beginning, it is far more polished and complete then Burn Notice (which I also watch). Love all the characters in their own right. Not a big Timothy Hutton fan, but I remember his Dad in Ellery Queen in the mid 70's when I was allowed to stay up an watch it.

Posted by: LifeTrek at January 06, 2012 08:40 PM (BLjub)

55 "really? he looks really stiff in the fight scenes."

Yeah, he doesn't have a set stunt double for the show and does all of the fight scenes himself.

Posted by: Justin at January 06, 2012 08:40 PM (yoAYX)

56 My girlfriend started me on this show, and we watch all the new episodes together now. The only thing I could say negatively is about the tough guy, Spencer. He always does this "tough guy whisper" that gets ridiculous after a while. The show can be formulaic and predictable, but it's fun and charming.

Posted by: Hal at January 06, 2012 08:45 PM (o6IXR)

57 DANGER ZONNNNNNNE!!!

Posted by: Archer at January 06, 2012 08:45 PM (gVqQ3)

58 I watch it sometimes, mostly for Parker.

Posted by: spice at January 06, 2012 08:46 PM (8PqRA)

Just finished watching Rome , season 1 & 2 myself. Over the last two weeks. It was good. I haven't watched HBO since the 80's but as as soon as I saw the first gracious bare breast, and then ass, I recognized the old soft porn of old.

Too much cock, drawings of cock, bare-assed men, men's junk etc. Good grief; but I watched the whole series and give it a solid B... just like Barky.

Posted by: Yip at January 06, 2012 08:47 PM (Mrdk1)

60 Yes to "Burn Notice", "Castle", "Covert Affairs", "Suits" and "White Collar". "Leverage" is being DVR'd, and I'll watch it after exhausting my current backlog of "Chuck" and "Grimm" (I love "Chuck", but I've been rationing out the episodes, since this is the final season). The "every bad guy is a CEO" shtick will be tiresome if it persists, though.

Posted by: Calvin Dodge at January 06, 2012 08:47 PM (XKG/f)

61 I've seen a couple of episodes. Good, lighthearted stuff. It's not exactly art, but it's enjoyable.

Posted by: Robert at January 06, 2012 08:48 PM (F79HU)

62 I watch it as well. It kind of reminds me of that old show "The Equalizer" which I quite liked. It's actually the kind of stuff the networks used to have on before they turned to crappy reality shows.

/long live the scripted show!

Posted by: Shibumi at January 06, 2012 08:49 PM (z63Tr)

63 Does this look as bad as it looks?

Posted by: Archer at January 06, 2012 08:51 PM (B0893)

64 Thank you for this thread. After doing without for a couple of decades, I discovered TV on the intertubes about a year ago, and I was worried about running out of things to try. I think I will get some good ideas here tonight.

Posted by: The inexplicable Dr. Julius Strangepork at January 06, 2012 08:52 PM (NSveK)

I love Psych and Burn Notice. Psych hasn't been *quite* as funny this season, but I hold out hope for them because usually they ROCK and make me laugh hysterically.

I love Burn Notice because I get a very pro-military vibe from them. And Jefferey Donovan is hot

Posted by: Aslan's Girl at January 06, 2012 08:54 PM (KL49F)

66 (wince)

It's got Wesley Crusher in it.

Posted by: Al at January 06, 2012 08:59 PM (NDhQN)

Leverage is good fun. Sometimes, yeah, it's sleazy CEOs. Other times it's sleazy little guys trying to steal from honest CEOs. Other times it's the mob or drug cartels getting theirs. A few times it's been rival grifters and such. Hell, once they saved an entire shopping mall from wicked Santa Clauses. Seriously, the whole point isn't "booooo corporations BAD" or anything like that.

The cast does a good job, Parker is quite adorable as well as being a fun character. Relax and enjoy.

Posted by: nightfly at January 06, 2012 09:01 PM (PhumN)

<i>66(wince) It's got Wesley Crusher in it.</i>

Yeah, but he's a bad guy, so... winning!

(Also, Wil Wheaton seems to be a decent enough guy, lefty though he may be. Not really his fault that Wesley Crusher was a waste of time.)

Posted by: nightfly at January 06, 2012 09:03 PM (PhumN)

69 Love Leverage, but the head writer links Kos, Atrios, HuffPo, etc, etc on his blog about the show. So you are not imagining OWS sympathies under the surface. Most of the time they keep it as a plausible "they're stealing from the rich because that's where the money is", although there was one episode with a fairly blatant Palin analogue as one of the bad guys, and a few others with horrific gun-totin' militias being all racist and stuff.

Posted by: Ian S. at January 06, 2012 09:08 PM (Lpdzt)

70 Watched the first season and a half, or so. Just couldn't take the left wing tropes anymore. The bad guys are always the Hollywood standards, and the good guys are always the typical victims.

Posted by: somebody else, not me at January 06, 2012 09:13 PM (7EV/g)

71 Yeah, the show and Parker are a lot of fun. I hope they bust some lefties someday...I can dream, can't I?

Posted by: PJ at January 06, 2012 09:16 PM (DQHjw)

72 The eeeeevil militia episode was pretty damn left wing. But at least they balanced it out with Elliot giving an extremely pro US military speech.

Posted by: Justin at January 06, 2012 09:18 PM (yoAYX)

73 Burn Notice is good except when they try and explain any of the big, over-arching mysteries. And then it sucks. But having that big mystery overhanging things adds important tension and motivation to whats going on. So when the big reveal comes and it's just kind of lame and stupid and visibly low-budget, it deflates the whole series. It's hard to pull off.

Posted by: Clubber Lang at January 06, 2012 09:46 PM (QcFbt)

74 Leverage is popular, here at The Boogie. It's a comic book, but it's lighthearted, and they write it for us Morons (for example, they always go back to show you how they did stuff). You can be half-hammered and arguing with a friend over the phone while it's on, and you won't miss anything.

Other Moron-specific features:

Occasionally stuff blows up, and the long-haired grumpy dude kicks everybody's ass.

The tech geek is like all movie geeks: he can hack faster than type; he has full access to all major databases all the time; he understands finance; he has phones and earpiece-radio that always get full signal underground and in the middle of large office buildings. It's unpossible!

And there's hot chicks.

And money.

And the number one reason it's a Moron-tailored show: The leader drinks like he's commenting on the ONT.

Posted by: K~Bob at January 06, 2012 09:48 PM (RiFfs)

75 Outside of NCIS, it's my favorite show.

Posted by: The Q at January 06, 2012 10:05 PM (LnQhT)

76 54 Not a big Timothy Hutton fan, but I remember his Dad in Ellery Queen in the mid 70's when I was allowed to stay up an watch it.

There's an episode based on the old murder mystery plots like Clue where each character dresses up as a famous detective.

Hutton dresses up as the Ellery Queen in honor of his dad.

Posted by: The Q at January 06, 2012 10:20 PM (LnQhT)

77 Speaking of other shows besides Leverage (I liked Burn notice, but stopped watching it when they pulled that "show five episondes, then go into rerun mode for six weeks" crap), we like to watch "Bones."

It's also got a total comic book aspect to the technology (especially all the computer stuff), but the story arcs have been closer to "pro patriotism" and "pro family" than they are to the usual lefty causes.

Plus we always seem to be watching it at dinner, and the show always opens with total vomit-inducing scenes.

Posted by: K~Bob at January 06, 2012 10:27 PM (RiFfs)

78 Well, for me, nothing beat The Unit. Man, I loved that show and still watch the DVD's regularly. Once that ended, I switched over to Burn Notice. Don't have the passion for it like I did for The Unit, but I am hooked. I still cringe, though, when the main character matter of factly says how torture is unreliable because people will say anything to get the pain to stop. He says that quite often, actually. And, it's kind of a contradiction because there have been times when he or a member of his team will rough someone up for information.

Leverage? Oh, yeah, I'm starting to watch that, too. I don't get the OWS vibe. People have always loved to hate the rich in TV and film. It's a common theme, just like Ace said.

Posted by: sydney jane at January 06, 2012 10:36 PM (D1A3M)

79 I tried watching it but could not get into it. This good doer thieves meme has been done to death. I know you dislike the lead actor, but I highly recommend The Tudors. The acting is excellent, plenty of sex, and the writing is great.

Posted by: mike at January 06, 2012 10:46 PM (IU2Za)

80 Liked Leverage more than I thought I would - not a big Tim Hutton fan but the female thief is fun to watch. I'm looking forward to Justified ("It's Oliphantastic!") and season 2 of Strikeback. And Archer is a hoot. The last few episodes of this season's The League were some of their best and funniest, and, amazingly enough, the new Beavis & Butthead episodes are brilliantly, subversively funny. Is Suits still on? Also looking forward to White Collar and Californication.

Posted by: mazzman at January 07, 2012 01:00 AM (CBUI7)

81 We watch this also. I would equate it with my after school shows of my youth. It does not take itself too seriously and is able to sneak in a real life theme like ETOH abuse in an authentic way. I used to enjoy the muscle guy until he became too much of a hyperbole. Silly to have one guy overpower ten. It's like how a 5'2" girl beats up everyone on set but the other 5'2" girl. But that said I give it a 6 out of 10-and still find myself watching it now and then. Just like the shows of my youth.

Posted by: BrianInWisconsin at January 07, 2012 01:18 AM (GMzH2)

82 #42

And he has an evil hand.

Evil hand!

Posted by: epobirs at January 07, 2012 01:24 AM (kcfmt)

83 For the most part, I've enjoyed Leverage, but there are a few episodes now that I can't stand due to the lefty politics

Posted by: Katja at January 07, 2012 02:02 AM (OsTGF)

84 The only show I really like without any lefty b.s. is Big Bang.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 03:09 AM (IU2Za)

85 Burn Notice...love it but mainly for two reasons --- Gabrielle Anwar.

Posted by: billygoat at January 07, 2012 03:28 AM (E2rmw)

86 Leverage? I watched the first episode or two and found it only meh. Downton Abbey, on the other hand, is the best show on TV. The new season starts Sunday.

Posted by: President Chet Roosevelt at January 07, 2012 03:32 AM (W/083)

87 Leverage pretty good. We watch it. I am older so I like the Paki chick.

Posted by: Blaster at January 07, 2012 03:41 AM (Fw2Gg)

88 And Downton Abbey shows a decided conservative bent. All the common liberal tropes are punctured. The rich earl and his wife are good, caring people. A do gooder nurse character has a success and a failure. The young, pro voting daughter gets in over her head in politics. Two minor homosexual characters are the two most self serving characters shown. Military (retired) shown in the most honorable light.

Posted by: President Chet Roosevelt at January 07, 2012 03:51 AM (W/083)

I began watching "Leverage" when it first came out. Like you, I was also pleasantly surprised by the first few episodes. But don't worry, the show will quickly take a leftist turn and reprise the usual leftist tropes: conservatives = bad, business men = bad, = minister = bad, white men = bad (though white men are stars of the show), white men = racist, etc, etc. Republicans want to kill your children, old people, you, etc,....

So I stopped watching. And in a few more episodes, you will too.

Posted by: Jack at January 07, 2012 04:00 AM (zKFOT)

90 The tech geek is like all movie geeks

With one difference: there's an episode where he mentions "torrenting the latest Dr. Who". That immediately makes him more real than any movie geek I've ever seen. (I'm wondering if the studio and/or network had a conniption about that).

Posted by: Ian S. at January 07, 2012 05:04 AM (Lpdzt)

Posted by: Ring at January 07, 2012 05:13 AM (DZvt1)

92 Been watching it since the start, its been getting a bit Schmaltzy, (ever notice how the poor innocent victims always call him Mr. Ford like we need to be reminded how virtuous these people are).

Love Eliot though

Posted by: Ring at January 07, 2012 05:15 AM (DZvt1)

93 Bruce Campbell and Jeffrey Donovan go to Iraq. Link in my name.

Posted by: Mama AJ at January 07, 2012 05:20 AM (XdlcF)

94 I tend to buy dvds of tv shows, rather than watch during the run because I hate being on their schedules, and I haven't bothered getting or learning how to dvr. I think I have two seasons of Leverage, got about 5 or so eps into season 1, then lost interest. But yeah, I generally grab Burn Notice seasons immediately after they're first released on dvd, then burn (see what I did there?) through a season in less than a week.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 07, 2012 05:47 AM (Gc/Qi)

95 Downtown Abbey is awful including its editing where the music stops abrubtly. However, it is filmed beautifully (love the big tree) and for the ladies the costumes are very well done.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 06:02 AM (IU2Za)

96 Season 3 of Downton Abbey should be fun. It will be the time of all the general strikes. You know the middle daughter will be driving a bus and running down socialists. Since she is such a horny gal (they all are), she'll have discovered birth control and will be boinking everything in pants. Bransen the butler will have to decide to be an Irish terrorist or an MP. Fun times ahead.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 06:12 AM (IU2Za)

97 Leverage is good, Elliot and Parker make the show, but I have to say we like Burn Notice, White Collar and Covert Affairs more. Just started watching Revenge too. Starting to feet hooked to that one as well

Posted by: Texas Fluke at January 07, 2012 06:17 AM (1CQuM)

98 Levarage, White Collar, Covert Affairs - all seem rehashed to me. I just checked out Revenge. I might take a look at that. Initially, I avoided it because it sounded sort of soap operai-sh. However, I noticed it has Henry Czerny who played Norfolk in The Tudors. Wd never recognize him bc they made him look so much older.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 06:25 AM (IU2Za)

99 I've watched a few episodes from the last couple of years. I hate to be the type who reads Lefty symbolism into every TV show, but Leverage has a very clear anti-corporation, little guy vs. Big Rich Person vibe. I noticed this vibe early on and it turned me off.

On other hand, I'm addicted to CNBC's "American Greed" show, and that's also very anti-corporation, anti-capitalism (people who make money do bad things). The point shouldn't be that greed, America, capitalism, and corruption are mutually exclusive. It should be that morally bankrupt people can do evil things, but in the grand scheme you'd rather have a society with a few bad apples rather than a country run by a bureaucracy of dirty, rotten apples.

Posted by: sunny black at January 07, 2012 06:34 AM (0dyYY)

100

Leverage is okay. Not great, but okay.

Psych has morphed into 'Suck'.

Burn Notice is getting a bit tired out. Having said that, when the granddaughters are over for TV night we all look for Fiona to be smiling. 'Cause when Fiona is smiling something's going to go BOOM! *grin*

A Person of Interest has become our newest program to watch. It's kind of a techie update of an old TV show - The Equalizer.

Posted by: chuck in st paul at January 07, 2012 06:39 AM (EhYdw)

101 Having subtle leftist themes is one thing but when out of the blue they just insert some b.s., e.g., Party Down had a character just blurt out "Palin is an idiot." There was no reason for it but that they had to say it. I have to find out what episode that was because I just learned Fred Savage directed a number of them. If he did this, old Fred is on my shit list.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 06:41 AM (IU2Za)

102 Do they show Doc Martin in the US? That's a pretty good show just for the scenery.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 06:49 AM (IU2Za)

103 I was very excited about the show, and then I watched the first episode. It was a bunch of left-wing drivel.

Never watched it again.

Rich guys are evil, blah, blah, blah...

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at January 07, 2012 06:50 AM (piMMO)

104 Fun show, but occasionally stop watching for a while when I get pissed at the lefty preaching (showing tea party like organization of right wing militia terrorists - Season 3 Episode 7).

Posted by: True_Grits at January 07, 2012 06:57 AM (S5shW)

105 My favorite show is Cheese Slices. The guy flies around the world investigating cheese making. He's in beautiful places - mountains, grottos, meadows, etc. Everybody makes it differently and he throws in a local recipe at the end. Mozzarella is extremely sexy. I recommend it.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 07:18 AM (IU2Za)

106 Person of Interest is teh awesome.

Next season is Burn Notice's last. Probably a good choice - I love the show, but I don't see it being able to drag the premise out much longer than one more season. I thought the second half of the fifth season was weak, mostly because I don't find it even remotely plausible that a known former IRA bomber is not #1 on every three-letter agency's suspect list for blowing up the British Embassy regardless of anything Anson does about it. But it finished strong.

Posted by: Mrs. Peel at January 07, 2012 07:45 AM (W9M1H)

107 I have been watching it since it started. It is easy enough to ignore the lefty drivel and just enjoy the excellent dramedy this cast is able to pull off.

It does a good job of keeping you hanging on till the very end to see what sly-ass thing you never saw coming , pulled off and make you go "well, duh!"

Posted by: exsanguine at January 07, 2012 07:45 AM (FaS2h)

108 We watch it - I only fall asleep half of the time, but my husband, who has lower standards, stays awake for all of it.

Posted by: Janetoo at January 07, 2012 08:04 AM (R+fMx)

109

Weird coincidence, I just started watching it too and I am now watching past seasons on Amazon instant video. I like it, I think what makes it likable are the interactions between characters.

I don't watch Burn Notice, guess I'm an anomoly, but I love Psych, one of my favorite shows right now.

Posted by: ParanoidStillAGirlInSeattle at January 07, 2012 08:25 AM (RZ8pf)

110 I'm so tired of the leftist sucker punches. I watched the first show and turned it off when all the bad insurance company bull came up. Never went back.

Posted by: What would Hitch do? at January 07, 2012 08:41 AM (zFMCq)

111 One thing to point out is that the Leverage folks do not steal stuff for themselves; they do the things they do to help people who've been done out of their own money.

The insurance story line was that Ford's son needed surgery that was incredibly expensive, and by the time the insurance co that Ford worked for said "no", it was too late to save his son.

There was an episode where all the characters were at a costume party, dressed as famous detectives. Ford comes in with a tweed sports coat and a hat, says he's "Ellery Queen, best detective ever." Nice little homage to Hutton's dad, who played Ellery Queen on TV.

Posted by: aj4coco at January 07, 2012 09:15 AM (yR5aF)

112 I started watching leverage. I'm early in the 1st season. I hope the liberal BS. If so it can be a fun watch. The 1st episode takes on the evil insurance company and the second takes on an evil Halliburton substitute. You should check out Hustle. It's a British show about kinda do-gooder grifters. I like it because while they are the good guys they definitely aren't angels. And they still love to steal shit. Or check out Human Target. It's kinda like Burn Notice if you take away the more "realistic" aspects and replace it with good ol' action movie ridiculousness. Sadly neither is on Netflix right now. If you want to watch the best cop show ever with the best character ever (Gene Hunt) get your hands on THE BRITISH Life on Mars. "Â“Take that seatbelt off! You're a police officer, not a bloody vicar.Â” -Gene Hunt

Posted by: Ryan at January 07, 2012 09:37 AM (V922g)

113 If you like Philip Glenister, check out State of Play, the mini-series -- not the movie. It's very good and he's very good in it.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 09:53 AM (IU2Za)

114 Some episodes are worse than others. The less bad ones are generally fun, and the cast is likeable.

But the one show I'm really looking forward to is the return of Justified on the 17th. I'm currently re-watching season 2, and I'm enjoying it every bit as much as the first time.

Posted by: Jim Nelson at January 07, 2012 10:12 AM (5W3q2)

115 Mags has been nominated for an Emmy. I hope she wins.

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 10:24 AM (IU2Za)

116 Love leverage, want to do Parker more every week, but really waiting for Justified. One more week!

Posted by: teransolo at January 07, 2012 10:41 AM (cofnS)

117 >>>With one difference: there's an episode where he mentions "torrenting the latest Dr. Who". That immediately makes him more real than any movie geek I've ever seen. (I'm wondering if the studio and/or network had a conniption about that). I noticed that too. They did immediately have Parker, of all people, declare that downloading shows is "wrong." But they played it kind of as a joke.

Posted by: ace at January 07, 2012 10:45 AM (nj1bB)

118

Ace -

I watch "Leverage" too. Nice easy escape from the BS news for an hour. No belly-laughs, but entertaining. Love the characters, especially Parker. She's a loose cannon, lol. Tried "Burn Notice" but nahhh.

Posted by: Drillanwr at January 07, 2012 12:05 PM (Wu/Q6)

119 Leverage is the poor man's Ocean's 11. Its good clean fun. Its no Psych or Burn Notice, but then few shows are. White Collar is also good, and I like Covert Affairs, but it's real easy for that show to go off the rails. Nikita is good, but they're getting a bit corny. Unlike Burn Notice, the Nikita writers are afraid to off the big villain.
Yeah, Person of Interest is pretty cool. Jesus kicks ass all over NY.
BlueBloods is an excellent alternative to Law & Order. Dirtbag drug dealers actually are criminals in that one.
Then there's House Hunters International (much better than the original) and Holmes Inspection.

Is CSI Sunglasses of Justice still on?

Posted by: Iblis at January 07, 2012 12:25 PM (MQa8z)

120

119 Is CSI Sunglasses of Justice still on? - Posted by: Iblis

If you are talking about CSI: Miami, not sure about first runs on CBS (I believe it's still on Sunday nights??). But AMC picked up the previous seasons' rerun package and began running it a week ago. Check local listing.

Posted by: Drillanwr at January 07, 2012 12:39 PM (Wu/Q6)

121

When the show first aired, I enjoyed it for all the reasons given above. I was even getting to enjoy Parker as a cute female version of the A-Team's Murdoch.

But before too long it just started to become a lefty sermon. Rich = powerful, melevolent, and evil. The end justifies the means.

Timothy Hutton? Yeah, the guy who (appropriately) played the traitor (motivated by leftist ideology, IIRC) in The Falcon and the Snowman.

It reminds me of Eureka, which is superficially a celebration of the gee-whiz technological wonders produced by the DoD, and of the geeks behind it. But that show has become a soap-opera of politcally-correctness.

Posted by: Optimizer at January 07, 2012 12:44 PM (As94z)

122 "Timothy Hutton? Yeah, the guy who (appropriately) played the traitor (motivated by leftist ideology, IIRC) in The Falcon and the Snowman." Yeah, that shithead was released from prison in 2002. He was initially arrested in 1977 and escaped prison in 1980. He then hid out with white nationalists, robbed banks, and banked 13 year olds. He was arrested again in 1981. They should have sentenced him to life. The other guy did 22 years in prison. So, the guy who escaped and robbed banks only did an extra 3 years. What a deal!

Posted by: mike at January 07, 2012 01:28 PM (IU2Za)

123 Leverage is a good show but doesn't hold a candle to 'Justified'

Posted by: mj loehrer at January 07, 2012 01:48 PM (mbLRC)

124 Hutton also did a brilliant Archie Goodwin in that Canadian adaptation of Nero Wolfe that ran on A&E a few years ago.

Posted by: CAPT Ron at January 07, 2012 01:58 PM (BPBZQ)

125 "How do you find the time?." asks the guy typing a comment on a blog. Posted by: ace at January 07, 2012 12:07 AM
Okay. Stop hitting Ace's blog and start watching more TV.

Posted by: andycanuck at January 07, 2012 03:10 PM (sHY5w)

126 Bransen the butler will have to decide to be an Irish terrorist or an MP. Fun times ahead.
No reason you can't be both, Jimmy.

Posted by: zombie bobby sands at January 07, 2012 03:20 PM (sHY5w)

127 Do they show Doc Martin in the US?
Buffalo's PBS network does, Mike, but I don't know if it's national or not. (I'll have to check the Seattle PBS station to see.) I like that one alot too.

Posted by: andycanuck at January 07, 2012 03:24 PM (sHY5w)

128 My pet peeve about these types of shows (Burn Notice included) is that they never seem to care about making money. They work for people who obviously cannot afford to hire a whole team of people for multiple days to do highly skilled dangerous work. It would make me feel better if they would occasionally show the team making a big haul and keeping the money instead of turning it over to the meek deserving client.

Posted by: Rick Lee at January 07, 2012 06:04 PM (2/U4E)

129 Doc Martin is on Netflix,

Posted by: Ring at January 07, 2012 09:15 PM (DZvt1)

130 I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thanks , I will try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your web site?

Posted by: Tom Rob Smith Agent 6 ePub at January 08, 2012 07:08 PM (uc0Qp)

131 Cummins, Fleetguard, Perkins, Caterpillar, Daewoo, Deutz,
Volvo, Lovol, Isuzu,MTU, and domestic famous
engine providers including Shangchai, Weifang,
Jichai, Yuchai etc

Posted by: kadin at January 09, 2012 08:46 PM (QKpSY)

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