A Thinker in Space

Preamble

This section will introduce the new Season-by-Season series I am starting. If you would like to skip to the actual review, skip down to the Spoiler-Free Review section!

I know you’re probably wondering why I am starting yet another series on this blog. I discussed this series model in my introduction article to Books for Readers Young and Old, another series that I started not that long ago, and on my About Me page. On this blog, the role of a series is to give a place where all of the articles of a specific type can be gathered together, and can be found in the Series dropdown bar at the top of the site and on the Series page.

I started this blog back in 2012, without a true focus. I talk about my journey through this blog more in this anniversary post from June 26^th, 2024, but the long and short of it is that I used this as an aimless space to post whatever I wanted to share. On April 26^th, I optimistically posted an article called Consistency at Last?, and continued by reviewing the Avatar the Last Airbender Comics and starting my Top 160 Movies series. It was after I started that first true “series” that the I began to see the potential of this model.

What is the purpose? To create clean categories of articles that I post. Doing this allows me to easily organize my content for you – splitting it up into pages. By clicking on the bar at the top of the page, you can head to my Deep Dives page, my Deep Cuts page, and any other series I have worked on. I am starting multiple now because having the categories open means that I have places to secure longevity for all of the articles that I write. Will every article fit in a series? We shall see! I will try and link series to the things I am writing, though occasionally I might write something that doesn’t fit in a box. This article introduces a new type of series – Season-by-Season.

The Series

What is Season-by-Season? I think it is obvious by the name – in this series, I am going to review shows season-by-season. We often have multiple active shows in our household, and we just finished seasons of two separate shows. After the most recent one, it occurred to me that it would be fun to dive into the show and write a comprehensive review. However, instead of reviewing the show as a whole, I would tackle each season, and write about it after its conclusion. As you can tell by the title and featured image, the show I am starting with will be Leverage. I expect that I will be publishing articles for multiple different shows at once (I will be writing another of these soon for a Season 1 of a different show), and that it will take me some time to get through each one. I can’t guarantee when a review of Leverage Season 2 will be published, but I can say that it will come, and when I do publish it, I will make it easy to find in this series.

Spoiler-Free Review

This review and the following season reviews will be on Leverage, not Leverage Redemption, the sequel show. I currently have no plans to review this content, though nothing is out of the question!

Leverage is an underrated masterpiece directed by Dean Devlin. The show ran from 2008 until its cancellation in 2012, and I had the joy to watch this show live from Season 3 onward. It was a lot of fun to watch week-to-week, and it continues to hold up on subsequent rewatches (I will not lie, I have watched this show quite a few times).

The show’s concept is simple but super engaging. You have four criminals: Elliot Spencer – the Hitter, Alec Hardison – the Hacker, Sophie Devereaux – the Grifter, and Parker – the Thief, and one honest man: Nate Ford – ex-insurance agent turned criminal mastermind. The team of five uses their unscrupulous methods to take down the rich and powerful and give their ill-gotten gains back to the people who have been wronged and have no way to fight the wealthy men and women who hurt them.

The premise works incredibly well, and the show’s five seasons have no real misses. There are episodes that are better than others, but after multiple rewatches I can confidently say that this show has no bad episodes. Every main character has a satisfying arc, and the story itself is full of twists and turns. If you’re looking for a fun and fast-paced show featuring clever con artistry and Robin Hood mentality, this is the perfect show for you.

Spoiler-Filled Review

Season 1 of Leverage starts strong with The Nigerian Job, and has 13 fantastic episodes total. Each season has an overarching plotline that loosely ties into each episode. This one is about Nate’s past, and the things that drove him out of a job and into a bottle. This culminates in a satisfying season finale that is full of twists and turns and ends the show well (if there was no Season 2 – this would be a great show on its own).

When I review a show like this, I will be grabbing my favorite episodes in the season, and explaining why they are highlights.

Episode 1.4 – The Miracle Job

The Miracle Job is the first highlight for me – this episode centers around Nate’s old church, which is about to be forced to close its doors by a man who wants to turn the land into a new development for profit. Their goal is to save the church, and they do so by faking a miracle. The reason this episode is a standout is because of their treatment of Christianity. The directors treat the Catholic church the characters are saving with reverence, and are very respectful to the faith of the priest in charge of the church. We receive a few more details about Nate’s past in this episode, and faith is not treated lightly.

Episode 1.5 – The Bank Shot Job

This is one of the best episodes of the show, and it’s only episode 5 (though I have a feeling I might be saying that quite a bit). I am a big fan of shows that have a pattern-style narrative breaking their pattern to show that sometimes things don’t always go as planed. The Bank Shot Job is a great example of this – the con is almost over at the beginning of the episode – they are at the end of a normal show. Then, the bank where they are doing the final transaction is robbed by two people who have never robbed a bank before and don’t seem to know what they are doing. This episode has a ton of great scenes, and a very creative story where they both take down their first mark and nab the perps responsible for kidnapping the mom of the robbers. It is both fun and satisfying.

Episode 1.7 – The Wedding Job

This is one of my personal favorites – the team infiltrates a wedding of a mob boss’s daughter, and shenanigans ensue. This episode is fun from beginning to end, with tons of memorable scenes and excellent dialogue.

Episode 1.8 – The Mile-High Job

I debated whether or not to put this one on the list, but I just couldn’t resist. There are a ton of episodes I’m talking about here, and this one almost didn’t make the cut, but Hardison’s subplot kept it on the list because it is one of my favorite B-stories in the show. The episode itself is excellent – the crew is stuck on a plane that is going to be sabotaged so that the company can “liquidate” their assets (aka murder the people who know what the company is doing). It is tense and high-pressure, held back only by the insane ending that doesn’t quite work, as a plane lands on a very thin strip of highway (that is shown with a bunch of cars that just… disappear? I guess?). Otherwise, this is an excellent episode.

Episode 1.10 – The 12-Step Job

Spoiler alert – the rest of the episodes in the season are on this list. This is a very Nate-centric episode – he comes face-to-face with one of his biggest problems: his alcoholism. This episode features Hurley, their mark, who is just a great character, and is the first episode where they actually redeem their mark. Again, there are a ton of great scenes in this one.

Episode 1.11 – The Juror #6 Job

At the end of this, when I finish all 5 seasons, I will be doing a top 10 episode article. I think this will be on it. It’s just such a great episode – Parker has to try and be a normal person for a while because she’s a bit unhinged. She goes to jury duty, gets put on a trial, and notices something fishy. This episode is another meta-breaker, and features Brent Spiner as the mark (Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation), who puts in a fantastic performance. There is also a surprise appearance by Armin Shimerman, who I did not recognize but my wife (who has not watched Star Trek besides being present in the room while I was watching it) recognized him as Quark from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Jonathan Frakes (famously Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation) directed this episode, so it wouldn’t surprise me if that influenced the two casting choices!

Episode 1.12-1.13 – The First and Second David Jobs

I lumped these two together because they are a clean part one/part two. They are both excellent episodes, and focus on taking down Nate’s biggest enemy – his former boss, who denied the insurance claim that could have saved his son’s life. Nate’s wife Maggie shows up, and, of course, his nemesis Sterling plays a role as well. Both of them are excellent characters, and Blackwell (the mark) is a well-written villain. The season finales of Leverage are strong, and this one is no exception.

Final Thoughts

Leverage Season One is outstanding. It is so good that I am constantly surprised by it. I will often, upon rewatching, say “wait, this happens now? I thought this was a later episode!” Most shows need a season or two to get their running shoes on, but not Leverage. From episode 1, you’ve got a tight show, and it lasts for its full five season run. I can’t wait to dive into Season 2 – we’re having a ton of fun watching it! Stay tuned for more Leverage, and for reviews like this on other shows down the line!

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