Tuesday, December 30, 2008

LEVERAGE: The Bank Shot Job Open Thread

Questions, comments, etc. Thread away. A link here to Gina's blog about the episode, so this isn't a totally content-free post.

71 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:44 PM

    Well, that was really fun. A particularly nice fight scene, I agree. I enjoyed seeing Ron Butterfield from _The West Wing_ as an entirely different character (the judge), which brought up a question. Why is _TWW_ not being repeated anywhere? Is it just that it has too much of a continuous story arc, unlike L&O and CSI? Or is there another inside-baseball reason?

    I think Parker is getting too adorable, and we need more reminders that while indeed adorable, she is also dangerously insane...

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  2. @DaveMB, BRAVO reruns TWW here in the states.

    This one was my favorite episode to date, with great scene chewing from Michael O'Neill. I especially appreciated that the team operated well when its head was cut off and managed to figure out a plan on the fly without Nate's help.

    More of my thoughts in my (short) review here.

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  3. Yes, very fun! As fun as the first two aired episodes.

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  4. Ah, this series just keeps getting better, Rogers. It's clever, but the real attraction is the exact right amount of humor - i.e. it's fun. There aren't enough fun shows on TV.

    This week's best line:

    What smells like crank and screams like a girl?

    Damn, I'm still laughing. I just played it back on DVR and it's even funnier the second time - the scream is perfect and utterly hysterical.

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  5. Anonymous10:35 PM

    OK, not a flame but a serious question. Why does Burn Notice get to keep shooting in Miami yet Leverage has to move away from Chicago to LA? I may be in AZ these days but I'm still a firm believer in/member of the Chicago production scene and I know that this show would be that much better in a place other than LA. I want to see a regional cinema. Stories from and set in Cleveland, Portland, Chicago, Kansas City. LIfe doesn't just happen in LA, a place stories and characters go to die in the sameness. Damnit, give me a livable wage in Phoenix and a writer that can live on the same and I'll give you programming about not just the characters, but the place they live in. And too many of us live in places not at all like LA not to have our stories told, our visuals sold. To not to at least try to have that represented, no?

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  6. Okay, this was my favorite episode yet, for all of the reasons mentioned by other posters PLUS the robbing-the-bank-while-it-is-being-robbed gag. Good stuff.

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  7. Whoops. Hit post too quickly. One question: How plausible do you guys want the cons to be? Because my only real problem with this episode is the miraculous image editing. As someone who uses Photoshop professionally, I have to say that I want to switch to using Hardison's software package almost as much as I want Dave McKean's hypothetical "Oh, you know what I mean" button.

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  8. Anonymous5:43 AM

    Weird Tangential thing:

    Every time i hear that bass theme, it remind me of "Don't Sweat the Technique" I keep half expecting it to segue into that.

    Oh. And i don't think Parker is insane. I just think her moral compass is skewed and people who don't know her misunderstand her.
    This is not to say that she's bereft of morals it's just that they come out at odd times.

    I think she's yanking Hardison's chain about downloading Dr. Who, because he can certainly just watch sci-fi as long as he's willing to be a season behind, which is of course, pure nerd torture.

    And she's weirdly protective of Santa.

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  9. Anonymous5:45 AM

    Oh. And how long before we discover that Hardison knows this weird chick named "Aleph"?

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  10. Anonymous6:28 AM

    Great episode. The dialog and the characterization were top notch... highlights were Hardison's cool manipulation of the local Barney Fifes, and Elliot's fight scene, which qualifies as his baddest-ass moment of the season so far.

    I like Cute Parker a lot, but I'm sure we'll be seeing Dangerous Parker again before too long... maybe next week?

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  11. @kinesys, I don't imagine it'll be too long. After all, those phones they use look like nextgen GF phones.

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  12. i think that the mix of cute parker and dangerously insane parker is something worth going for.

    i stayed too long with the crazy girlfriend for exactly those reasons.

    it's a delicate mix, but a vibrant one.

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  13. Best episode so far.

    And I gotta say I'm not into dudes with long hair but I'd pound Christian Kane like a wrecking ball on a pizza box.

    And I'm falling a bit in love with Aldis Hodge too. I'm an NC native living in LA and his accent makes me happy because it's the real thing. He feels like the real thing in a world where it is very easy to make your one black character any one of several stereotypes.

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  14. @Emily, I've got a man-crush on Aldis Hodge, so I totally get what you're saying.

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  15. I don't know who I love more, Hardison for his geektasticness (chupacabra? "you're adorable") or Eliot for his badassedness ("stay in the car!"). I'll have to keep rewatching the ep til I decide, I guess. *g*

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  16. Thanks for another great year of posts Mr. Rogers...all the best for 2009!

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  17. I just finished down...er, acquiring this ep...

    [watches]

    "Hearts" to Ms. Berg. I particularly liked the Elmore Leonard ref...as well as the aforementioned "scream".

    But "Hall & Oates"?

    ;D

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  18. Anonymous2:37 PM

    What can I say? I'm a maneater.

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  19. I just wanted a line about "if they would just put up online what they are already showing offline for free" from Hardison.

    Age of the Geek, baby, Age of the Geek.

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  20. That was an awesome, awesome episode.

    Like the pilot, it really gained from having a really interesting villain (the judge).

    I've already watched it a couple times now. Very, very good job.

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  21. Let me also say that my favorite series episodes are often when the side / temporary characters are really, really well done.

    Not only the judge but the father/husband bank robber was also really interesting to watch. (Son did a great job too, but the father had a lot of more levels of complexity.)

    Of course, you only have so much time. But that balancing character, rather than being carboard, brings it all to life, makes you give a damn.

    Such as, well, this most recent episode of Dr. Who, the Christmas Special, and namely, the 'other' Doctor. He's fantastic. Downloading is wrong.

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  22. Oh dear god. Amy Berg nearly killed me.

    The Bank Shot Job blog pimpage.

    Alas, my final Leverage post. The blog dies after one more post tonight.

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  23. One of the things I like most about how Christian Kane's fight scenes are handled is how they remind me of the way Deathstroke the Terminator was shown, back in the day, in that he is not linear, but multi-directional and adaptive.

    It is a lot more flowing than abrupt, which is probably what makes his character so good at fighting multiple foes, with the tempo that he lays down, hitting one foe the right amount, then the next, moving back to the main focus, and so on.

    But, like you, I'm a sucker for a well-done fight scene, as it is, very much, like a good song or dance when they are done right.

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  24. Loved it, for all of the reasons mentioned here. I'm falling in love with the characters, and when that happens, I'll pretty much follow you anywhere.

    Curious to know what that little glance-smirk between Eliot and Sophie was about, when Eliot says to Nate, "You'd think it was the first time you'd been shot." Hee.

    Ah, Leverage. So many hot men, so little time.

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  25. Anonymous10:04 AM

    Vickita, Sophie and Nate shot each other the first time they met, you see the scene in the pilot episode, "The Nigerian Job".

    Loved, loved this episode, I think the suits were dead right to move it up the order. A strong showing for all the characters and some great moments. Ron Butterfield is always a delight to watch too.

    Line of the series so far - "What smells like crank and screams like a girl?" :)

    I do have one question about the final scenes in the bank though. If Hardison is talking to the Judge, Eliot and Parker are exchanging clothes with the Clarks, Sophie is helping Nate who's been shot....then who, exactly, removed the pizza box of money and put the briefcase back under the desk?

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  26. *dives into shallow end of the pool* Let's see--it's 107 degrees and we still can't see a *shirtless* Eliot fight? Or even a tight, sweaty t-shirt? Throw the girls a bone, wouldja?

    Seriously, this ep was just FUN. This is why I enjoy tv--I get enough "serious" in my daily existence. I want to sit and enjoy, period.

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  27. Anonymous9:55 PM

    @ R.A.: I had not noticed the phone thing. I'm still trying to manage to purchase a phone that I can put the GF ringtone on. How nerdy is that?

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  28. Anonymous8:07 AM

    I was in the States for two weeks over Christmas, so I got to see this one and the Miracle Job. I actually found the Miracle Job kind of dull, but this one sure picked up! (And my mother-in-law liked it too - she said it reminded her of the A-Team.)

    I guess that's all I'll get to see for a while, though... Boo.

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  29. Dumpshock does not the Direction Leverge is heading in.

    http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?s=714609dc1364d22457b92dec3f26aca4&showtopic=24864

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  30. Now that my blog is dead and I actually have free time to *think*, WTF is up with Amy Berg asking for those blog pics?!

    All those people were on frikkin *TV*!!

    What does a *blog* matter?!

    I think she's been hanging around with Nathan too long.

    I think I was Leveraged!

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  31. Anonymous11:27 PM

    Interesting. Men don't usually complain this much when I use them. :)

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  32. Question from a British viewer - is Sophie's character being called Janet in that episode a reference to Gina's character Jane in Coupling? If not, will we get a subtle Coupling shoutout at any point? :D

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  33. >>>Interesting. Men don't usually complain this much when I use them. :)

    You did not use me in THAT way! Ha!

    Good thing my blog is dead. I just know the NEXT request like that would be signed Parker!

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  34. Good episode. Just one problem: who authorized the cell phone dial tone mistake the first time the son talks to the kidnappers? I expected more from you, Rogers.

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  35. I've lurked at this blog for awhile and wanted to thank you for the hours of enjoyment I've had simply reading it.

    Additionally, I wanted to say that I'm loving Leverage. I haven't been this enthralled with an entire cast of characters since the first season of Buffy.

    I also have a question. Which episode does Sam Anderson (Holland Manners from Angel) appear in? A few of us on Whedonesque have been wondering.

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  36. I tend to agree with Richard on the computer ability here, its a bit too much I think - if i can channel Dick Cheney for a moment, there are unbelievable situations which are believable, and there are unbelievable situations which are not believable and the 'I do in 30 second what Lucasarts would do in 3 weeks) was closer to unbelievable unbelievable.
    Of course at the moment the attitude for most viewers is probably 'who cares' since the seats on the Fun Train are comfy and the service is excellent - but eventually people will start wondering where the train is heading :)

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