Leverage was an American TV show which aired from 2008 to 2012. The series was produced by executive producer and director Dean Devlin. Leverage was based on a five-person-team:
- The Brain – -former insurance investigator Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton)
- A thief Parker (Beth Riesgraf)
- A grifter Sophie Deveraux (Gina Bellman)
- A hacker Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge)
- A retrieval specialist Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane)
The team had decided to help people who cannot help themselves. Citizens who are not strong enough to fight corporate or governmental injustices. They say their team starts to work where the law stops.
Story plot:
Most episodes follow a set story structure: After meeting the client, the Leverage team researches the villains to find a weakness to exploit. Each con, either as originally planned or as complications develop, typically requires the specialized skills of all the members of the group. Towards the end of each episode, the villains seem to get the upper hand, only to be outwitted by the team. Because most of the narrative has seemed to follow the team’s point of view, the audience is momentarily uninformed as to exactly how they have succeeded in their con. A flashback then reveals how a seeming complication was either anticipated by the Leverage team, or used in a clever improvisation. These flashbacks, which are featured in most episodes, excepting 113, sometimes reveal only in retrospect that an earlier scene was actually a clue to the Leverage team’s plan. More often, the flashbacks reveal new information to which the viewer has not been privy. This formula is followed by every episode in seasons one, two, and three. With the exception of the final season, each season ends with a two-part finale which involves a two-part, multi-stage con designed to bring down a major adversary, such as an international crime financier in season three, with an ending that advances the team’s story into the new season. (Source: Wikipedia)
But why am I telling you all this? It’s actually very simple: I watched that TV shows for years. After it was canceled I bought all five seasons on DVD and watched them until I had learned them by heart.
As simple and dray Wikipedia has described the story plot of the episodes and seasons, the pattern the episodes and seasons followed, is quite correctly shown.
The actors gave their hearts to the show and they visibly relaxed around each other and enjoyed working together.
No matter how well the episodes followed that pattern, each one was different and I could not tell two who were the same. Each one was thrilling and exciting.
More and more I admired the writers behind the Leverage show!
Leverage was written by show creators John Rogers and Chris Downey along with a team of writers. The team changed with the seasons, but there were never less than three or more than five writers, along with the season’s script editor.
Let me introduce you to them:
Every single episode to me was an adventure. I saw the characters develop within the show. I saw the actors develop as well and grow as a group and as a team.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who loved the show. It had (and still has) fans all over the world.
We all admired Parker’s physical abilities, we all envied Sophie’s cleverness; also we all wished we had Hardison’s IT and technology knowledge, Nate’s masterful mind – I heard men hoped they had Eliot’s strength and strategic experience – and we girls were all a little bit in love with Eliot.
Let’s celebrate the group of writers who were able to create a TV show of such sophisticated finesse that they kept fans globally on their seats for 5 years.
Thank you, writer-team! Well done! It was great!
Thank you, actor team! You were amazing!
I admit I’m honored to find myself in such illustrious circles.
