Friday, August 27, 2010

LEVERAGE #307 "The Gone Fishin' Job" Answer Post

I have to admit, I didn't have a ton to do with this one. I was directing #305 -- or rather, watching very talented humans point cameras at other very talented humans and occasionally asking them to move on to the next shot -- while Downey and the room broke the episode. They did a great job, and all I did was come back and bat a little clean-up in the fifth act, wielding some old Boy Scout knowledge and a bit of geography. Oh, and the molasses thing. Don't ask why I know that.

The episode was born from two ideas. First Rebecca Kirsch, or "Filthy Assistant" as she's fondly known in my more drunken Spider Jerusalem moments, had come in with a bunch of pitches. She'd gone through a couple that didn't quite land -- pretty standard ratio, to tell you the truth, we've had twenty-year veterans pitch a half dozen ideas that aren't quite right -- and was just wrapping up, almost on her way out, when she said: "I have this one thing. The IRS decided to use private debt collectors for a while, who acted like, well ... private debt collectors. When they stopped the program because of abuses, there's no evidence the government got the lists of taxpayers back. So there are bad guys out there who still have the lists of people who owe the government money and --"

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU START WITH THAT ONE!?" I bellowed.

At least a few of the research beats Kirsch found are here:


So we had a villain. The problem was, some bad guys crimes automatically imply the con setting. Guy burns horses to death, we do a horse scam. Guy sells stolen cars, we wind up doing racecars and boosts. How do you scam a guy who just runs an evil collection service?

At this point, you go to the big board of "stuff we've been talking about for a couple years." There are a few cards up on the board that are beginning to yellow with age. "Rashomon Job" has been up there for close to two years, as has "University Job" (whatever the hell that may be), "Fake a space launch", "steal bull semen", and "The Defiant Ones" ...

Oooh, wait.

Readers, say you're breaking a plot where you want Hardison and Eliot running through the woods handcuffed. They're being chased by ... by cops? Well, we already did our prison break episode. Corrupt cops? Okay, put a pin in that. Who else is in the woods? Soldiers for a corrupt government. Good, but we're, ah, holding off on that one for a certain season finale ... and then we have your rural American options -- which led us to militias. Militias are in the woods.

Once we hit that, the thematic link between taxes and people who have a, let's say, antagonistic relationship with taxes became too good to resist. Then at the same time, the Hutaree story broke:

In June 2009, authorities allege, Stone and his youngest son David Stone Jr. began teaching other Hutaree how to make and use the explosives. They were to have been used against law enforcement officials as they drove in the funeral procession for the first officer they intended to kill as bait.

The first alleged target was not named. Among their plans for the first murder, according to court documents, was to kill the officer at a traffic stop, kill the officer and his or her family at home or make a phony 911 call to lure the officer into a trap

Guys who were planning on using Iraqi insurgent techniques to kill American cops. Repeat -- kill American cops. These are bad people, I think we can all agree. Guys who we will not mind watching Eliot kick the snot out of. And I will admit, coming from a military family background, having close friends serve both when we were younger and also in the last thrillfest, I have a very low tolerance for people who play dress-up in camos and misunderstand the Constitution and Thomas Jefferson. Always with the "blood of patriots and tyrants", never with the letter to the Danbury Baptists. I was a pretty avid libertarian in my youth and still firmly believe that the government is best that governs least. (Side note: I preferred Emerson's Self-Reliance to Thoreau's Walden. Make of that what you will.) So I'm a bit more sympathetic to the cause than most. But, c'mon -- kill American cops. These assholes are fair game.

This led us to a not uncommon challenge in the early days of breaking a split story. One half almost writes itself, the other requires serious work to keep the pace and threat levels up. The room did a great job of intersecting the plots (and learning how to go about stealing a train). The money laundering scam through a fitness club was an idea Downey had been saving up for a while. (Sometime we'll go over the basics of money laundering. They're fascinating) But the threat level on the B storyline was tough. Then we got the big win: Clancy Brown as our villain. You can cast Clancy Brown as a piano teacher, and he will be a fucking terrifying piano teacher. Clancy not only did voices in Jackie Chan Adventures for me back in the day, he played a crucial role in my first one-hour pilot, Red Skies, which aired as a backdoor pilot on USA back before they were really doing one-hours, in 2003 or so. He did the Kurgan laugh for us one day. I may have wet myself, from glee or terror I'm not sure.

The shoot was grueling; it rained pretty much every moment the boys were out in the woods. That said, it's a hell of a pretty episode, and our last minute director John Harrison did an amazing job with practically no prep. Fun Parker stuff, big danger and action, good buddy emo from the boys, and we blow shit up. Not much more you can ask for in an episode of Leverage, I'd say.

So let's go to the phones:

@Anonymous: Did Hardison just kill a guy?

Nope. But he messed him up.

@Nicole: I did wonder why it was no one noticed they weren't having to hear Eliot and Hardison in their ears - especially since you've stated Hardison keeps his earpiece in all the time. Since they're *usually* not out of range, are there a lot of off-screen jobs that would have shown them not living with chatter in their ear? And... was that an XKCD reference? "Science, it works bitches"??? XD

The earbuds are linked through their cells (established in "The Mile High Job", I think) so when they're out of cellphone range, they're out of luck. Also, they don't always have them in when doing scutwork. And yes, that's totally an XKCD shoutout.

@Anonymous: What were we suppose to assume was Parker's motivation to hanging up with the one guy and deleting his, and what appeared to be several other, files? What happened in her past or was it just her feeling sorry for these people? Cause we don't usually see Parker doing that kind of thing - except w/ children.

Chalk it up to Parker's growing conscience.

@Codger: Great episode, but I'll admit I would have loved it more if Taggart and McSweeten had shown up at the end leading the FBI crew.

Unfortunately, shooting in Oregon means we can only afford to fly the boys up so often. You will see one of them again very soon, however ...

@Christina Lollobrigida: Now, I've been on set. I know that the exterior to McRory's isn't a physical location. I actually had to go back, pause and compare to my set-photos to see if I could figure it out myself. So - how'd you work that amazing lighting trick/building thing for the exteriors toward the end? I'm guessing that you just moved a portion of the exterior set to an actual location? If not, how'd you pull it off?

The sign moves, so we put it up on the real building we use a couple different times of the day to get different looks. That shot was in the bank, waiting to be used.

@Jim Kiley: I'm pretty sure that my favorite moment in tonight's episode was the sheer joy and satisfaction in the voice of the rail transit authority woman as she got multiple confirmations of rocks on the tracks. By god, this was an issue and she was going to get it resolved. It implied an enormous amount about her! Great acting / direction on such a tiny little point!

Seriously, the Portland actors have been consistently knocking it out of the park. That's a big part of the reason the cons work, because good actors ground the scenes. Case in point -- the guy who winds up as Sophie's con partner in the finale is devastatingly good. Like, "congratulations, enjoy your offers for the fall season shows" good.

Jen_Ann_W: Can you tell us the location that was used for the militia camp? Ya'll picked a beautiful area - I'm guessing closer to the coast, Tillamook or Clatsop? Makes me want to go camping. :-)

I know the crew map is kicking around in my inbox somewhere. But hopefully Kirsch will hop in on the Comments to this post and clarify before I have to go digging.

@LawMonkey: Okay. I get that Hardison set them up the bomb with the matches. And I get that he got the matches from when the mook dropped them. But how/when did Hardison set them up the bomb?

@SueN: My only question (so far) has already been asked – when did Hardison set that bomb?

Before their distraction/assault. They were trying to draw in the border patrols and make sure everybody was in the center of camp for the boom. There's a gap in the story timeline there, and we probably should have shown that in flashback. But that was one of those things we just assumed would be self-evident, as it's logically the only time he could have set up the bomb. Our bad.

@whimseyrhodes: How much of the chatter on twitter do you pay attention to in regards to episode tweaks, ideas and so forth? Does the cast actually read any of our posts?

We tend to view the Twitter chatter, Livejournal and forums stuff as your conversation and creativity using what we make, like, ah, we're the starter stock on your entertainment soup. We do our thing, you guys do yours, and we appreciate you dig the show. I think that works best. The cast blows through here at the blog intermittently, but we've got them working 14 hours a day, so they're pretty stacked. They do read all their Twitter posts, though.

@Stacy: Really loved Eliot and Hardison being chained together. No real question, but I was hoping you could narrate on the genesis of the idea of Eliot/Hardision being chained up and forced to work together like this. Did it grow out of the original bill collector/militia bad guy story, or was it a separate idea floating around that just worked for this episode?

I think I covered that up top.

@RevTrask: Wait...at the bank, did Eliot introduce himself and Hardison as Agts Brody and "Quint"? It was hard to make out the second name. I may not have heard him correctly but a "Jaws" reference would have fit: after all, when their fishing expedition went so horribly awry, they were "gonna need a bigger boat". *g*

Got it in one.

@markz: This episode finally won me over near the end - the precise spot was when Clancy Brown started fiddling with his car remote - but up to then, I was concerned that the level of reality that used to be in the best episodes of the first two seasons has been lost, this year, to some extent. By this time, the team's been through so much that I can't really picture that Parker WOULDN'T be aware that someone could be monitoring her call phone. I think that no matter how much fun the bickering is between Eliot and Hardison, by this time in their history they'd be acting more professionally on a job.

There seems to be some confusion on that -- Parker meant to tip the bad guys with the phone call, unless I'm totally misremembering. As far as Eliot and Hardison? That is Hardison in a way, way more stressful situation than he's used to. But, also, that's the dynamic.

@tgvcomic: Y'know, I'm a little surprised that Hardiphone 3.0 doesn't have Caller ID spoofing built in to each and every member of the team's smartphones. I mean, I even knew a person that actually had that in their Blackberry, and I know I've heard you say Apollo has done that to you a couple of times.

He does. Chalk it up to Hardison not exactly being in charge of the comms with his usual process.

@Calla: Why was it Hardison who stops them from getting on the train, when it was Eliot who'd sussed out the bomb earlier on and knew the militia would be using it very soon. It seems like Eliot should have been the one to make them go back rather than having Hardison need to convince him. It came off a bit like Eliot cared more about getting himself to safety than he did about saving civilians from a bomb - and, given what we know about him, coupled with his speech about how real soldiers act - that seems contrary to his character.

A lot of the other Commenters got this right: Eliot's priority was to get Hardison out of their, whether he'd admit it or not. Hardison's decision to go back probably did more to cement their friendship than anything else in the last two years. Although, again, neither would admit it.

@Marquis: (various logic problems that are kind of YMMV but ending with ...) Or the sheer idiocy of the client. How on earth did these guys manage to get that many people to fall for something like that? A guy shows up at your house in the middle of the night flashes a badge you wouldn't be able to tell is authentic because you never see them, demands a credit card or he's going to get your house locked up. Sorry, even if you think the guy is for real you have to know there's something fishy in the way he's pulling money from you. How do you not call someone or call his bluff. (It's so easy to fix too. You have someone in a sheriff's outfit waiting outside for him to point to. At least that might scare people into not thinking that this is a scam.)

Ah, the victim. Got a lot of flack on the victim. Who the hell would fall for a scam like that?

Most of you.

Here's the thing that may be biasing the writers. We spend a LOT of time researching con men. And they pull off some pretty amazing stuff on a regular basis.

Like so many rural communities in the country’s middle, this tiny town had wrestled for years with the woes of methamphetamine. Then, several months ago, a federal agent showed up.

Mayor Otis Schulte of Gerald said Bill A. Jakob went to great lengths to make police officers think he was a federal agent.

Busts began. Houses were ransacked. People, in handcuffs on their front lawns, named names. To some, like Mayor Otis Schulte, who considers the county around Gerald, population 1,171, “a meth capital of the United States,” the drug scourge seemed to be fading at last.

Those whose homes were searched, though, grumbled about a peculiar change in what they understood, from television mainly, to be the law.

They said the agent, a man some had come to know as “Sergeant Bill,” boasted that he did not need search warrants to enter their homes because he worked for the federal government.

But after a reporter for the local weekly newspaper made a few calls about that claim, Gerald’s anti-drug campaign abruptly unraveled after less than five months. Sergeant Bill, it turned out, was no federal agent, but Bill A. Jakob, an unemployed former trucking company owner, a former security guard, a former wedding-performing minister, a former small-town cop from 23 miles down the road.

Now, are all those people idiots? No. But Americans have a very specific relationship to authority and trust. If some guy shows up at your house, knowing things only the government should know, and you're already intimidated and threatened, like that single mom ...

Let me illustrate. A while ago, I was sitting in my TV room, which has a clear view of my next-door neighbor's front lawn. I look out, and see two rough-looking guys about my age standing in their yard, peering in the front window.

They see me looking at them as I reach for my phone -- at which point they badge me.

I open my front door and the two LAPD detectives explain that a fugitive gave my neighbor's address as one of his. They show me the mugshot. I explain that my elderly Asian neighbors are not harboring meth-heads. They thank me and depart.

Or ... they were thinking "Man, we would like to home-invade this joint, but nobody's here. Oh wait, there's some dude at that house." I open my door, they force their way in, kick my ass, and rob me blind.

I literally spend 14 hours a day thinking about crime and con men. But my grandfather was a cop, I know cops, and I opened the door to those badges out of instinct.

So, your mileage may vary -- but the number of people who would fall for that is innumerable. We always struggle with orange box and ledger, and sometimes that extends to human behaviour, not just story details. Although I understand shooting the scene at night may have muddied the waters, personally I think we're okay on this one.

@Oona: Sophie seemed to almost lose character at a couple tense moments, and she has seemed more emotionally affected during cons this season. Is this something that will be developed throughout the course of the season?

I think, like"Inside Job", scrambling to help teammates is affecting her more. In general, she's changed quite a bit since she abandoned her old persona, and a lot of the defenses that were inherent in that lifestyle.

@Odie: 1.) What happened in Juarez? 2.)How long do the people Eliot hits stay down? 3.) How did Hardison and Eliot climb the tree while handcuffed?

1.) Unpleasant, moist things. 2.) As long as he wants. 3.) Carefully and shirtless.

@Daisy Bookworm: Oh! Wait ... one question: Did you seriously just give us the two main ingredients in a very effective bomb? Shame, shame. And whose idea were the pinatas? Parker's reaction to Eliot ripping off the head of the donkey was just perfect.

Um, no. Well, yes. But nothing you can't find on the internet. The writers came up with the pinata. Although I think Kane relished that a bit much.

@Anonymous: I don't understand why everyone is going crazy over eliot's "Real soldier" line. It's jingoistic bravado and nothing more. You know who else were "real soldiers" by that definition? The Nazis, the USSR and the Viet Cong.

The Nazis were "willing to die to defend someone else's rights?" I do not remember that part of World War II. I must admit that.

@SueN: Brooke's dissatisfaction with the portrayal of the militia types reminded me of a question (instead of me hanging about and nosing into other people's posts while waiting for my caffeine buzz to die). As she said, it was a bit hinky for these guys to have captured Eliot (and Hardison) a second time. But the guys needed to get to the camp to blow up the bomb. So, was the second capture part of the plan, or was it evidence that even Eliot/Deep-Woods Batman is fallible?

The second capture was part of the plan. Thought that was clear once the bomb went off. If not, we missed that.

@Mega: Not that I'm complaining at having Eliot and Hardison cuffed to each other but... well... why didn't they just pick it?

That is not in their thief portfolio, sadly. As you can see in the pilot, where Hardison has to wait for Parker to hand him the keys before he can escape the handcuffs in the hospital.

@briddie: Eliot's complaint about just getting back from ten days in Juarez and now having another job makes me wonder - who's going to explode from the stress first? Or is this another way of showing drunk Nate is a mean bastard?

Mostly a way of showing that Eliot is indeed human, and can be worn down.

@JoJo Dancer: I worked at a state agency in the tax dept. And I have gone to homes and collected debts. I would never go to a person's house at night but anytime from 8am to 5pm. People would pay in check or cash. We didn't accept credit cards because we didn't have the functionality. But the only thing I would do is show my badge or a business card and people would give me a payment. I just wanted to post this to give people a point of reality for reference on the initial scene. I want to also say that states vary in their methods and the IRS is a totally different animal, so expect some differences.

So, that then. And we forgive you, JoJo.

@Tori Angell: When Hardison speaks of "serious regrets," was he referring to anything specific or was that line written for the lulz?

I would say going on this part of the mission with Eliot would be one of those regrets.

@CindyD: For those of you questioning the victim's action, I found it credible and I should know. I spent many years representing or counseling consumers in financial trouble and it is amazing what people will do under such stress and what some debt collectors will say to make them do it. Smart, no, but facing that kind of extreme stress, literally in terror at times, their brains are not functioning normally. Like a deer in headlights. I've had them call me at night hysterical, believing the ass that told them the sheriff was coming to arrest them right then (apparently to cart them off to the nonexistent debtors prison). Add to that it's the IRS, a single Mother, it involves her child and home, then without a lawyer present, many would have given him anything he required.

Okay, I know you people are being helpful, but now I'm just getting goddam depressed.

@Shazza TW: Questions: I've been reading Twitter posts from yourself and the cast/crew and you're all working hard on the S3 finale.... 1.) have you had word yet about a Season 4? I've just caught up on all things Leverage & would hate for there not to be any more. 2.) Also, how much of the characters personality traits are written and how much are the actors input/own personalities? In particular, I'd love to know how much of their own personalites Aldis and Beth put into Parker/Hardison. 3.) And speaking of which, please tell us there'll be more of these two before season 3 ends? The pretzel episode was the most adorable thing I've seen on TV in a long while, and I'm not a 'shipper' on any show. But I just love these two.4) Finally - will Season 3 end on a cliffhanger or will you tie up some loose ends in case, God forbid, the powers that be dont give you a fourth Season?

Welcome from the UK! 1.) We are picked up for Season 4. 2.) The actors very much inform the characters. Beth very much redefined Parker in her choices early in the year, even in the auditions. Aldis definitely brought more con-charm and physicality to Hardison than we originally anticipated. 3.) Wait until December. 4.) We don't do cliffhanger endings. Although changes in status, well ...

@Oona: I know that debt collectors can be vicious and I understand the psychology of being desparate in THAT situation but as I pointed out up - post, this is not THAT situation.

Her debt is with the IRS - NOT a private debt collector. This is a tax debt she had a payment plan on. Someone will have to refresh my recollection on whether she said she had other debt was being pursued by other debt collectors and therefore may have been under the weight of paranoia and fear from private debt collectors' intimidations?

But the government does not send people to your homes at night to take your credit cards. And if that was the only debt she was dealing with, then it was EXTREMELY gullible to let some skeevy dude into her house at night

Oooh, we definitely should have made that clearer. That was a private debt collector collecting on the behalf of the IRS. Which was a real policy, and exactly as bad an idea as it sounds.

@Tyler: My only question is, How awesome is Clancy Brown for real? 'Cause I bet he's really awesome.

He is super-awesome. And will work in any show I make, ever.

@la_ma: Sorry, because I LOVE you and I LOVE this show. BTW, great tweet reply to that nimrod that called you a socialist. But I digress. Marquis is so hard core right...on every point. Don't get me wrong, some things ALL shows do--like have the FBI travel at impossible warp speeds to locations. But we can presume that some enforcement agency already had an eye on this group. But the other stuff--a smart enough guy to run this scam and be untouchable considers giving all his money to a Jersey Shore style Curves gym owner within a matter of hours of meeting him? And this is after within minutes of meeting him he engages in that way TMI conversation. And the train thing especially. I mean if Hardison had hacked in and found the routes...but Nate? I totally just sat back and said, "Whatever. Man Hardison and Eliot are on it tonight. God I love this show." But my roommate, a Lev virgin until that night kept saying, "Umm...is it just me?" It was still a great ep and I guess my main question is, why did you add some parts while condensing the time span for others? And I really mean it--from a creative perspective, what was the drive? The train thing wasn't necessary was it? After they came in to range and Eliot communicated where they were... and yet Sophie usually spends some time building a relationship, why did it have to be THAT day? Don't crazy militia people keep more stuff at home than the office, but Parker, Nate, and Sophie all seem to need to be in the same place for some reason? Again, I finished this ep with a smile on my face and felt the need to tweet back at that nimrod myself. But the pace felt...well, how come?

The show comes together as the show comes together, with roughly two normal TV plots crammed into one, shot in 7 days and requiring the actors to be in the same sets for some scenes for scheduling. The parts we show are the parts we found interesting or necessary, and the parts we compress are the ones it makes sense (to us) to compress. That's the fun -- and frankly, the responsibility -- of filling blank pages on a relentless schedule. Sometimes you'll agree, sometimes you'll disagree; sometimes the fun train is invisible, sometimes it bigfoots on your lawn (while being invisible to others). I think it's a fine ep, and while some of you will put it at the tops of your lists, some will nod and move on to others. That is cool. Some of the fan favorite lists are frankly boggling to me, and I make the goddam show.

@Gina: Are we going to eventually see that any of the jobs the team has worked so far have actually been bringing them a step closer to Moreau? Oh, and I don't suppose there will ever be a chance for those of us on the east coast to get our hands on the Leverage t-shirts at Comic Con? Pretty please?

1.) Due to structure and actor scheduling, most of the Moreau plotline resolves in the back third of the season. But there are some clues to which cases you've already seen link to Moreau. 2.) Afraid they were one-timers, sorry. But there is plenty of t-shirty goodness at the Leverage store.

@Kim Henry: So, not about 307- more about comic con. It seems you're going to damage Eliot's warmer and fuzzier exterior. Can you promise us that we won't go screaming into the night? And how long will we have to wait?

December. And he will probably find a way to redeem himself.

@Leviathan: Oregon doesn't quite look like central Massachusetts, but I give you props for using real central MA towns for the train theft sequence, and double down on the props for the accurate MassDOT logo. I live in the area, and seeing the electronic map zooming in past Lunenburg to focus on Fitchburg was a lovely nod at reality, and now doubt thrilled my neighbors as much as it did me.

That was all based on some lovely research done by Kirsch, and is perilously close to how one goes about stealing a train.

@Kim H: This is actually a question from my husband. He is wondering if there is a reason why the team doesn't use guns. Clearly, the don't want to kill people and Eliot has an as of yet to be explained adversity for them, but they face off so often against people who get the drop on them that it's becoming almost silly that they don't get shot. For example, in this show, if any of those guys had their fingers on the trigger of their rifles when the bomb blew, it's highly likely they would have shot as they got blown forward. Would Eliot or Hardison been shot as a result? Maybe or maybe not. The same holds true for The Boost Job. Does TNT have a political bent against guns? Because if Eliot is ex-military and is as good as he is, he would certainly KNOW how to use a gun and probably how to use one without killing people if necessary. (italics mine -- JR) And clearly both Nate and Sophie have a history of carrying when necessary. After your questions about racism and rape last season, please know that neither of us mean any disrespect. We LOVE the show.

No disrespect taken. But it's a mix. First off, it's a family show. It's a show you can watch with your kids, or your parents. And so we don't use guns because --

-- when guns come out, people die. This attitude very much comes out from traditional American crime literature, and also from talking to our professional criminal friends. Guns are messy, when they show up things escalate, you take a longer, harder fall when doing a crime with a gun -- professional criminals are pathologically averse to carrying weapons.

But I'd like to focus particularly on your statement: Because if Eliot is ex-military and is as good as he is, he would certainly KNOW how to use a gun and probably how to use one without killing people if necessary.

No. You do not point a gun at anything or anyone you are not willing to kill. I don't know if you've ever handled or been trained to handle a weapon, but I had that drilled into my head at an early age. A gun has two settings -- holstered and murderous. "Wounded" is an accidental condition. Eliot in particular is aware of this, and one of the many reasons he does not use a gun is because he is trying to, well, not kill people anymore. Hardison is magnificently awful with weaponry. Although Parker is probably a fine shot, she's trying to play nice by the new rules, and only brought a weapon to the meet in the pilot because she wanted to get paid.

@Beth Pettit: your casting department deserves raises for the guest stars they get for this show. Almost every episode there is an actor/actress that have done one-ofs or short guest runs on other shows and knocked it out of the park and made me want to see them more and they ALL turn up on Leverage at some point. From Mark Sheppard to Gaincarlo Esposito to Kari Matchett to Richard Kind to Richard fucking Chamberlain (WHAT!)I'm always just as excited to see the guest stars on an episode as I am the main cast. Now if you can get Garret Dillahunt (Terminator: SCC, Burn Notice, Lie to Me, White Collar, Damages) then I think you'll have hit just about every amazing actor that I know that deserves more screen time. Side from them, you've introduced me to more actors I've fallen in love with. Also, does your costuming lady have a blog or something? If not, you should suggest it. They do an amazing job helping the characters come to life (especially Parkers Bjork costume) and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is interested in hearing what goes on behind the scenes in her domain.

I'll pass on your love to our fine casting friends, and I will hit Nadine Haders up to blog. I think she probably lacks the requisite spare time and narcissism I possess to do so, but I'll take a shot.

@Kate: Two questions really, first being part of an observation. 1.) It seemed to me like Parker was a little bit... different, in this ep, not un-Parker-y, but there was something going on. And then a theory that fits scarily well popped up from our group of watchers. Was she channeling Hardison? Since he was gone or just to experiment with acting like him? Because that's what me and my friends suspected. 2.) And secondly, I would like to know if it's a card in the writing room for the Leverage cast to steal a Convention of some kind. Because making any of them dress up for a cover(Thank you for the duck dress in The Studio Job) would be soooo much fun. And we can't get enough of Hardison geeking out.

1.) If that theory makes you happy, go with it. I like it. 2.) We've been trying to break the Convention Con for a while. Maybe next season.

On that lovely bit of praise for some very unappreciated people on the show, we'll wrap up. Very very soon, "The Boost Job", as I burn off more of my hiatus talking baout the show I'm on hiatus from.

As always, stay safe, and thanks for watching.

120 comments:

Ral said...

Yay! Thanks, as always, for taking your time to give us your insights and answer our questions!

3.) How did Hardison and Eliot climb the tree while handcuffed?

3.) Carefully and shirtless.

I knew it! *g*

SueN. said...

@Rogers, A gun has two settings -- holstered and murderous. "Wounded" is an accidental condition.

Thank you for this! If there is one TV-born idea I would really, really like to see die, it's the old "shooting to wound" trope, and its really annoying child, "shooting the gun out of someone's hand" (unless you are going to show the mangled remains of what's left of that hand, instead of a few singed fingers). It's a serious peeve of mine.

I remember on a Western I used to watch, one of the main characters, a gunfighter, mused that, "maybe I could've just shot to wound him" (ostensibly to show how he'd "mellowed"), and I almost threw the remote through the TV screen. I supposedly badass gunfighter, thinking he could've just shot to wound his opponent, in a gunfight …

So thank you for not adding to the madness.

(This is why hubby hates it when I watch "The Lone Ranger" with him. I spoil way too much of his fun with pesky facts. And really inappropriate commentary. *g*)

SueN. said...

OTOH, you're a bastard for not showing us the shirtless tree-climbing. Just sayin'.

Havenward said...

I'd just like to thank you for not falling into the pit trap of listening too much to your fan base. I've seen other shows' writing fall by the wayside by pandering or nodding to the fans too much. I prefer your professionalism, creativity, and research going into the show, as beautiful as fanworks can be sometimes. Also for your stance on guns, in part for being realistic, and in part because some people never actually think about something like that.

As a complete aside, I'm all for whatever "The University Job" ends up being. It's funny how institutions built around training and education go about screwing people over, often the people that need the most help... But I might just be bitter. :coughs politely: Personal satisfaction aside, I can also see a lot of brilliant opportunities for cover personalities. Fun train indeed!

Kathleen said...

I agree with SueN. on both counts. My Daddy always taught me that you don't pull out your pistol unless you intend to shoot it and you don't shoot it unless you intend to kill!

Also, you are a bastard who doesn't give us nearly enough shirtless Eliot. But we love you dearly.

Thank you for giving us so much of your time.

Kes said...

I have to add my measure to the "you're a bastard for not showing more shirtless Eliot" bandwagon.

Thank you so very much for the whole attitude on guns. And that Eliot is good enough with them that he can maintain his cool when one is right in his face (e.g. "The Miracle Job").

Anonymous said...

First off, it's a family show. It's a show you can watch with your kids, or your parents.

Eliot beating the crap out of people in each episode is family-friendly? They may not die but they do end up on the ground, how could kids know they're not dead? If we compare Leverage to crime shows and the dead bodies they show, I say at least we don't see the person hurting and screaming out of pain like in Leverage. I totally agree with you about the use of guns, though.

Anonymous said...

@Rogers, A gun has two settings -- holstered and murderous. "Wounded" is an accidental condition.

You mean The A-Team wasn't accurate?!?

Stephen Cannell has some 'splanin to do.

Dawn/StL-MO said...

John –
Found it odd that when answering about the team members’ gun abilities you avoided mentioning how effortlessly Sophie assembled the gun in Scheherazade & what her background is with guns. Moreau clue???

FYI: When Nadine Haders got so much praise in these blogs for costumes in Studio Job, Boost, etc. I started tweeting them to her (some broken into 2-3 tweets). Knew she was working on finale’s massive number of costumes & wanted to give her some encouragement from the fans. But, a blog would be nice if possible.

And most importantly, about Hardison & Eliot climbing the tree carefully & shirtless…guess that footage will be on the Season 3 DVD – RIGHT?

Dawn/StL-MO

Anonymous said...

@Rogers, A gun has two settings -- holstered and murderous. "Wounded" is an accidental condition.

Like SueN said, thanks for that too. It hits a personal note b/c I actually lost a friend in a shooting. Crime shows tend to downplay just how dangerous a gun is, you guys try not to. Thanks for that.

Oh, and as you've already heard, you are indeed a bastard for withholding the sexy overload of not only shirtless Eliot, but shirtless Hardison too.

Rob Pugh said...

"...probably how to use one without killing people if necessary."

Your response to this = Made of Win. As former military, there's no such thing as "shooting to wound." There's aiming for center mass and putting people down by killing them. Harsh, but true.

And Eliot wouldn't use guns due to the tragic murder of his parents in Crime Alley. So there's that.

Rusty said...

I'm sure the count for this will reach astronomical proportions, but I have to add my agreement that not showing the shirtless tree climbing is just cruel and unusual punishment....

Isaac said...

Thinking about Convention Cons... I heard was a thing recently where someone put together a FIREFLY convention, charged hundreds of dollars for admission, then even more for a chance to eat at a banquet with Nathan Fillion, and then ran off with the money. The upside is that apparently Fillion got word of this, and made a point of showing up at the con hotel and spending the weekend with the fleeced attendees.

But yeah, there are cons that charge rather high prices out there. I've worked Anime Central (a chicago con), and we once had a con across the street the same weekend devoted to ANGEL, with Boreanaz attending as GOH. They were charging close to ten times what we were for their weekend pass.

Another random thought on this subject -- what if "HOWL FORCE", the movie that they stole for The Stork Job, became a cult Sci-Fi hit in the Leverage-verse? Stranger yet, what if Sophie's bit part got kept for the final cut, was considered a scene-stealer, and she was somehow contacted (maybe Hardison hears about it on the fan grapevine) by a con to attend as a Guest of Honor? Sophie would leap at the chance to meet an "adoring public", I bet.

Terry T said...

NO shirtless Eliot/Hardison? How could they? How. Could. They.?!

carol said...

Regarding the "Convention Job" for some time in the future, if it doesn't take place at a Doctor Who convention, I will be very disappointed. Hardison could dress as a Cyberman. Nate as Four. Eliot in a UNIT uniform. It'd be epic.

Maybe Gina could convince Stephen Moffat to show up for a cameo, even.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to add my applause to the rationale about no guns. Guns are easy. Solving a problem without a gun takes brains. Leave the guns to Burn Notice.

I'd also like to add my vote to @Beth Pettit's wish for Garret Dillahunt. You've got the top two on my wish list in as yet unaired episodes (and well done for getting the tall one to do episodic TV again!)

While we're wishing for actors, the new top of my wish list is Max Martini. That Darth Vader voice alone makes him scary as hell. Nestor Serrano as any good international baddie would be outstanding as well.

T said...

@Isaac:
There have been several large conventions that ripped people off. Slanted Fedora, who used to run Star Trek conventions, wound up bankrupt and a lot of people were out of money for shows that didn't happen. Booster Entertainment crashed and burned on Flanvention II, the Firefly convention you mentioned, and left everyone high and dry but the Firefly Browncoat fangroup rallied and saved the day with that and turned something awful into something amazing. There was another Firefly convention in MN that appears to have been nothing but window dressing for a ripoff, because the actors who were supposed to be the GoH had never heard of it much less been signed.

FWIW: I would love to see a "Con"-vention job on the show. It would be nice to vicariously see the jerks who ruin conventions get a job run on them.

awa64 said...

@rogers That is not in their thief portfolio, sadly. As you can see in the pilot, where Hardison has to wait for Parker to hand him the keys before he can escape the handcuffs in the hospital.

I'm kinda surprised that Hardison in particular doesn't know how to pick locks. Learning to pick locks is a bit of a hacker rite-of-passage. There's several books about it available for free online (many from MIT). They run speed-lockpicking competitions at Defcon. Heck, Kevin Mitnick's business card is a punch-out lockpick kit.

Lockpicking is a logical predecessor to hacking--it's all about exploiting small weaknesses in security systems to bypass a credentials check. I can imagine Hardison not being particularly *good* at it due to lack of practice, or that he wouldn't be able to do it one-handed or without tools, but I can't imagine him not having picked the lock on the liquor cabinet at his nana's house a few times.

Denita said...

@Isaac

There was no film in the camera when Sophie was acting out her scene.

Becky said...

@Jen_Ann_W: Can you tell us the location that was used for the militia camp? Ya'll picked a beautiful area - I'm guessing closer to the coast, Tillamook or Clatsop? Makes me want to go camping. :-)

I know the crew map is kicking around in my inbox somewhere. But hopefully Kirsch will hop in on the Comments to this post and clarify before I have to go digging.


First off, John, thanks for the awesome post, to say the least.

In response to your question, @Jen_Ann_W, we shot the militia scenes at beautiful YMCA Camp Collins in Gresham, along the Sandy River. The staff at the camp were incredibly friendly, supportive and enthusiastic, and it was a pleasure to work with all of them. The difficulties of shooting in the near-ceaseless rain were entirely worth it for the opportunity to show off the range of Oregon's natural beauty, and our incredible and indefatigable crew really shot the hell out of it. (And walking on the dirt trails to and from set brought back a lot of my own memories of summer camp!)

Lady Niko said...

Thanks for this - I have to say that yes, I know of the Gerald case. It happened less than 50 miles from me and I live in the town where Mr. Jakob was a former (reserve) police officer.

If you want another small town politically juicy tale, look up the Brian Nieves assault case that's making its way into the STL Post Dispatch and The Missourian. There's more fuel for a future plot device there. :-p (Which I am laughing at Nieves for still lambasting his former opponent on his radio show... Dude, you won the primary, now shut up about the dude who lost and move forward... :-p)

Anonymous said...

Thank you again for taking the time to answer questions. The show continues to be awesome and fun and educational and one of the high points of my week. May you have as many seasons as you want to come.

LawMonkey said...

@Rogers: ...and is perilously close to how one goes about stealing a train.

People... people still steal trains? Seriously?

Umm... can we have the gang steal a train for real? Please please please please please!?! It's the western fan in me, I think, but you just don't see enough good train robberies. Even Red Dead Redemption, which should've been lousy with them, just had one, and it was a bit rubbish. So it'd be great to see the team do one. :)

LawMonkey said...

Oh! And thank you ever so much for responding to my question this week and last; you rock. This sort of dedication to the fans is part of what makes me love Leverage so. Anyway, I'll have to have another watch and fit that in.

(You realize it's only Leverage and Mad Men that I keep on my DVR after watching them right now?)

AliKatKaniac said...

I didn't post any questions to this ep but I did want to say that I LOVED it. I really liked the fact that the whole team worked to rescue Eliot and Hardison then when they had an out, their consciences stopped them, putting them in more danger to save other people. Yes, the Leverage team does this a lot but this time, they dropped the con at hand to take on militia types and 'whip some hillbilly ass'.

I especially loved that you showed the brave, tough guy side of Hardison while still recognizing his fear. 'Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.' We see Parker and Eliot going into dangerous situations frequently w/out thought to their personal safety. Good to see Hardison do it too. That's one badass hacker!

Although, the whole freakout when Eliot was rubbing plants on him cracked me up. Aldis killed that scene! 'Gangrene! Gangrene!'

One question if you ever come back and answer questions after the fact, more of a joke question, but how many times did you have to film Aldis and Christian running uphill while cuffed without falling down? LOL Impressive considering their different heights.

(and no, I'm not biased at all about Aldis/Hardison, why do you ask? LOL)

Rusty said...

@AliKatKaniac - oooh, that is an excellent question.

I would think there would be any number of hilarious outtakes of the two of them trying to navigate while handcuffed.

Febrifuge said...

When the convention episode gets made, you do realize it needs to be called "The Con Job," right? That, or "The Nerdi-Gras Job."

And surely there will be room for a Jaime Reyes/ Blue Beetle III shout-out. It's only right you give props to the creators of that awesome character and book. Ahem.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for doing these post games for us. It makes the show that much more enjoyable. Every time I check your blog and see you've posted one, a squeel of fan-girlish glee escapes (much to the annoyance of those around me).

And as I'm applying to grad school this year, I'm greatly looking forward to when you're finally able to break "The University Job." There are soooo many options for that one, I'm excited to see how it turns out ... that is, of course, IF it turns out.

I'd also like to jump on the wagon of thanks for the excellent casting and costuming departments. They are under-appreciated on the whole, but well loved by the fans for their awesomeness.

Tom Galloway said...

What @awa64 wrote about MIT, hackers, and lockpicking. And another reason why Hardison (and Parker) should be hanging out at the 'Tute in their off hours.

(Btw, did you hear about the Tardis replica with attached "The Doctor 1 - Harvard 0" banner that appeared on top of a main MIT building last week. Curiously, Neil Gaiman was polishing his Who script in the area at the time).

Anonymous said...

Very cool that you shot this ep at Camp Collins! I spent the best summer ever as a camp counselor there during college. Great spot with big trees, river and trails. Glad the YMCA folks were so accommodating.

Anonymous said...

Convention crime:

Years ago, I was involved in a fandom that campaigned and won the opportunity to put on a fairly sizable convention for a long-running sci-fi show. As the event loomed closer, the rank and file were dismayed to learn that the Planning Committee had by-passed us completely and we were relegated to grunt work, with little or no input. In the midst of the festivities, the Planning Committee was dismayed to discover that one of their number had peremptorily seized control, subsequently lost control, and committed fraud and embezzlement. It was a fiasco and our group's name was forever sullied.

On the upside, being cut out meant that we were safe when the indictments were issued, lol. Con crime happens. But is a fan convention "big" enough to be the focus of an episode of "Leverage"? It makes more sense for them to simply "steal" a convention, (the way they steal baseball teams, pop concerts, etc), as a peripheral part of a bigger con.

PS- How'd they get the shirts off while handcuffed? Maybe we should *see* that demonstrated by CK and AH on the Season 3 dvd...

Kris said...

Since everyone is shamelessly asking for shirtless Eliot and Hardison footage, I shall put forth my own shameless request:

More Eliot riding horses. I'm not sure how it would work out, since you've already done a horse ep, but you're creative! It must be possible!

(Personally, I want you guys to come up with a script that requires him to ride in an English, but I fully admit that's just because I want to see if anyone could get Kane into breeches and tall boots.)

(Have I mentioned all the wonderful wonderful ways in which people defraud each other over truly ridiculous amounts of money in some equestrian sports? The Hunter/Jumper scene in particular seems to be full of people with way more money to spend on something that might die from an upset stomach standing in a stall than actually makes sense.)

(Don't get me wrong, anyone, I love horses and ride myself; but the idea of spending more on a horse than I would on a HOUSE makes me twitchy.)

ChelseaNH said...

There have been several large conventions that ripped people off.
Also small ones. Apparently Toddlers and Tiaras had a pageant director abscond with the money. Now there's a racket ripe for takedown...

As long as we're lobbying for guest stars, I suggest Oded Fehr.

The earbuds are linked through their cells ... so when they're out of cellphone range, they're out of luck.
Script supervisor error: In the scene just before Hardison says cell phones don't work, a bank teller picked up a cell phone to tip off Whitman about the IRS snooping around.

But that was one of those things we just assumed would be self-evident, as it's logically the only time he could have set up the bomb. Our bad.
Sneaking into the middle of an armed camp and planting a device has a sufficiently high DC that we weren't expecting you to just take 10.

Parker meant to tip the bad guys with the phone call, unless I'm totally misremembering.
Well, it certainly looked like they were scrambling to get out ahead of the bad guys, so I suspect you're misremembering. If you don't want to cue up a replay, there's a recap here:
http://chelseanh.blogspot.com/2010/07/gone-fishin-job.html

Kim Henry said...

"You don't point a gun unless you're going to kill"- You're absolutely right, and that's my bad. I have trained with weapons since I was a child and the "holstered or murderous" settings are right on. I've watched too many bad movies of late. My apologies, and thank you for answering all of our questions week in and week out- must be exhausting.

awa64 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SueN. said...

@Kris, re: Eliot and horses …

I've been lobbying (read: begging shamelessly) for a rodeo ep for two seasons now.

I have embraced my shallowness.

SueN. said...

@ChelseaNH, Script supervisor error: In the scene just before Hardison says cell phones don't work, a bank teller picked up a cell phone to tip off Whitman about the IRS snooping around.

Yes, but bank teller dude was calling from an in-town location to an in-town location, presumably within range of a cell tower. Eliot and Hardison were out in the woods, surrounded by trees, which will kill cell reception.

My li'l corner of Texas is covered in forests and hills (contrary to TV and movie depictions *g*), and, believe me, the difference between getting and not getting a call can depend on the depth of the dip in the road.

Anonymous said...

Just watched the movie "Sneakers" from 1992 and I was struck a few times during the movie with the notion that it's a very primitive form of Leverage. ... You know, except all the thieves are hackers and they don't know how to bypass a keypad lock. Very primitive.

They even had the grandfather of Hardison's comms in there, too.

Stacy said...

Once again, thanks to John and the Filthy Assistant for the post-game. They're almost as much fun as the episodes themselves and are greatly appreciated.

Yes, I'm definitely on bard with more Aldis/Kane skin, however, WHAT ABOUT TIM?! The best we've gotten out of Tim is in a thin t-shirt in rehab. C'mon, at least a brief flash while changing into a con costume. Do I have to start a twitter campaign?

Now excuse me, I have to go pull out my DVDs and re-watch the 12-Step Job.

Stacy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dave said...

If you're looking for a College Con well..... you've always last week's GAO Report as a starting point to work with.

Anonymous said...

"...I heard was a thing recently where someone put together a FIREFLY convention, charged hundreds of dollars for admission, then even more for a chance to eat at a banquet with Nathan Fillion, and then ran off with the money. The upside is that apparently Fillion got word of this, and made a point of showing up at the con hotel and spending the weekend with the fleeced attendees."

Wait, couldn't you use that for the convention show, but in the
Leverage-verse version, have the team steal the convention BACK from the absconding thief and also have Nathan Fillion show up at the end to help save the day?

js3 said...

I think if Nathan Fillion guested on Leverage, the resulting fangirl explosion would classify as genocide.

Anonymous said...

@jamesmith3: I think if Nathan Fillion guested on Leverage, the resulting fangirl explosion would classify as genocide.

Oh, yeah.
Definitely!

USRaider said...

As a former Marine, you were spot on as far as the usage of guns. One of the things that always bothers me in many shows is the almost inane usage of them, firing indiscriminantly and using them "to scare someone." When you pull a weapon, the ONLY reason to do it is to kill. It especially irks me to see a military scene where the "soldiers" fire all over the place...in the Marines, the theory is "one shot, one kill," not the BS of spraying an entire area and hoping to hit something.

I am also surprised you caught flak for Eliot's stance on true military people. That is the axiom that military people fight for, the defense of people's rights, whether they agree with them or not, and the willingness to die for those rights. It points out the idiocy of some militia groups who are founded to "defend our (meaning THEIR narrow view of) rights."

Kris said...

@SueN. A rodeo ep would also work for me.

(But how much fun would it be to imagine someone getting Kane - and possibly also Aldis or Tim - to dress up like this: http://www.foxyhorseandhound.com/images/921-2.jpg - note that it has to be the GUYS; Beth and Gina are always wearing close-fitting stuff anyway, so breeches wouldn't be much different.)

And, for the record, my original comment should say "an English style" not "an English" - I have no idea where the word 'style' went between typing it and posting the comment.

ChelseaNH said...

@SueN: Yes, but bank teller dude was calling from an in-town location to an in-town location, presumably within range of a cell tower. Eliot and Hardison were out in the woods, surrounded by trees, which will kill cell reception.

If cell phones worked in the bank, then the comms would work in the bank, so Eliot and Hardison would be able to tell Nate that they had done their part of the job.

Instead, in the bank parking lot, Hardison exposits that cell phones and comms don't work this far out in the boonies, so they'll have to call Nate from a landline. Eliot suggests calling from the bait shop.

Now, if you would like to posit that cell phones work better inside the bank building than out in the parking lot, feel free, but I should warn you my skepticism level is running high.

Jen_Ann_W said...

@Becky, thanks so much for getting back with the location. I'm moving from Ohio back to the Pacific NW this week actually, and am always looking for more places to add to my camping & hiking list!

awa64 said...

@ChelseaNH Now, if you would like to posit that cell phones work better inside the bank building than out in the parking lot, feel free, but I should warn you my skepticism level is running high.

AT&T 3G MicroCell. Miniature cell phone tower designed to be placed inside homes and small businesses (like, say, BANKS) that are outside of cell phone range. They send incoming and outgoing traffic via a land-line broadband connection. They have about a 70 foot range in any direction--but any walls they have to pass through, especially thick, reinforced walls (like those of a BANK) is going to reduce that drastically.

ChelseaNH said...

@awa64: You've overcome my skepticism level. Congratulations.

But as I said before, if cell phones worked in the BANK, the comms would have worked in the BANK and the boys wouldn't have needed to find a landline to contact Nate. So we're back where we started.

Kris said...

@ChelseaNH After spending a little over a week in small town Ohio where the cell coverage seemed to vary from 'strong' to 'nonexistent' based on I-have-no-idea-what (seriously, phase of the moon? How many birds were in the sky? If some farmer had his tractor moved over 3 feet?) I do agree that it was a little sloppy to have them be all 'the phones don't work' when they were clearly in a relatively built up area where the phones did, apparently, work not far away, just as a writing point, but realistically - I can believe it.

The number of people wandering around doing the 'cell phone signal search' dance all week was highly amusing, however.

(By sloppy writing, I just mean that it's one of those things that, while it may be technically realistic and possible, is difficult to sell to an audience. Though I imagine it probably ultimately came down to the location they had to work with - possibly the original script envisioned something where it'd be a little more believable that they were having communication issues.)

Michael said...

But as I said before, if cell phones worked in the BANK, the comms would have worked in the BANK and the boys wouldn't have needed to find a landline to contact Nate. So we're back where we started.

How do you know the bank teller actually used a cellphone? Might have been a DECT phone (i.e. internal system of the bank). Modern DECT phones look more or less just like other mobile phones (we have them here at University).

ChelseaNH said...

You're right, I don't know that the teller used a cell phone. I don't know that the writers didn't expect us to smack ourselves on the forehead and realize, "Of course! He's using a DECT phone!" I don't know why a rural bank would bother to install DECT phones. If you do, feel free to share. Otherwise, I'm going with Occam's Razor and assuming it's a cell phone.

Robin said...

"Clancy Brown ... did the Kurgan laugh for us one day. I may have wet myself, from glee or terror I'm not sure."

This made my not-so-inner geek girl squeal with delight. XD

"We've been trying to break the Convention Con for a while."

Wouldn't that be 'The Con Job'? I mean, you'd have to be mad to call it anything else.

@Isaac: "...Convention Cons... FIREFLY convention..."

The story of that's pretty epic, and proves how awesome the cast, crew, and fans of Firefly really are. Just Google "Browncoat Backup Bash" for more stories and pictures than you can handle.

@Kris: "Personally, I want you guys to come up with a script that requires him to ride in an English..." and follow-up correction

Oh, I'm sure Eliot's "ridden" an English, ifyaknowwhatImean. Ahem. Okay, I'll be going now.

Thanks again to Rogers and Kirsh!

Litcritter said...

I'm just going to assume the bank had set up a femtocell for employees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell

Unknown said...

@ChelseaNH

orrrrrrr checking the script notes, the director called an audible on the day and had the actor use a cell phone rather than the landline we assumed they'd use, back in LA. New director to the show, and to be fair, it's not script supervisor's fault (BTW, it's NEVER our script supervisor's fault) as we know internally how the comms work, but the writer on set isn't always standing in the right place at the right time to point this stuff out. Just one of those physical production hiccups.

Or, alternatively, Hardison is on AT&T while the teller is on Verizon.

Also noted in the script -- the victim scene was intended to be shot during the day, and we simply ran out of daylight. Again, welcome to physical production.

ChelseaNH said...

Just one of those physical production hiccups.

That seemed likely (which is why I was looking at the script supervisor rather than the writers). It's just that, when you're using the means of communication to generate drama, you invite the viewers to pay attention to the means of communication.

On the plus side, I know more about wireless technology that I used to...

Anonymous said...

@ChelseaNH

Firstly, I agree with you, sloppy and a stretch. Badly worded and badly thought out.

However, I used to live out in the boonies like that. And I have to say, even if that's not what the writers were going for, and not what they wanted, I can tell you, point blank, cell strength varies by one foot square areas. I used to get tracfone signal inside my living room and no-where else in the house, but the more sophisticated Sprint phones would only get signal out by the road. My tracfone wouldn't work out by the post office but it would inside it, I was never around my Step-dad in the post office to tell you whether or not Sprint worked. Also, it seemed older cell phones got better signal than newer ones. You'd walk in and out of dead zones walking down the street no matter what system you were on. It's the way the mountains and the trees and even rivers work against the signal. And the clouds, god, cell signal on a cloudy day? pretty much not. (Now, I know it was perfectly sunny in the show, I'm just expounding on the idea.)

But, oh yeah, I agree, it wasn't at all thought out. Someone should have at least found that in editing, just for our sanity if nothing else.

Anonymous said...

@Rogers
"Also noted in the script -- the victim scene was intended to be shot during the day, and we simply ran out of daylight. Again, welcome to physical production."

Ok, I had been wondering about that one myself, even going so far as to think, ok, maybe it just gets dark there very early and I didn't pay any attention to what time of year it was. Afterall, I know here in PA, it can get dark as early as 6pm, but I couldn't, in my wildest dreams, ever have stretched it to work hours unless it was Alaska.

So, your answer just makes me laugh and go, "poor poor crew" Long hours and time constraints to whatever area you're filming. It must be difficult to decide which is more important to be in whatever light you need.

Anonymous said...

I, too, was thinking "different carriers/different coverage"

Then there's that whole "quiet zone" thing around the Greenbank Radio Telescope Observatory in West Virginia. They don't even let you use digital cameras for fear of screwing up their science experiments. There are probably other areas in the country like that...Hardison needs to visit one of 'em.

scooter5203249 said...

And to echo the others, thank *you*, John. Your blog makes a great show even greater.

PS Tease. So little time, so many Saint books. I'll never make it :(

Saint-Petersburg Hotels said...

This is my Good luck that I found your post which is according to my search and topic, I think you are a great blogger, thanks for helping me outta my problem.Big thanks for the useful info i found on Comentari de categoria nova.

Obat Raja Singa Ampuh said...

Hi... I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

Obat Sipilis Ampuh
Obat Kencing Nanah Ampuh
Obat Gonore Ampuh
Obat Kutil Kelamin
Obat Wasir Ampuh
Obat Kondiloma Akuminata
Obat Klamidia Ampuh
Obat Herpes Genital
Pengobatan Bisul Kutil Kelamin
Obat Jengger Ayam Paling Ampuh
Obat Kutil Kemaluan

obat kutil Kelamin No 1 said...

Salam Kenal Aja Gan

salep kutil kelamin said...

ciri-ciri kutil kelamin dan obatnya, obat kutil kelamin yang ada di apotik, Obat kutil kelamin pria dan wanita, obat kutil kelamin yang super herbal manjur, obat untuk kutil kelamin perah dan herbal

Unknown said...

obat raja singa
obat raja singa herbal
pengobatan raja singa
cara mengobati raja singa
cara mengobati penyakit sipilis
obat sipilis manjur
obat sipilis bagus
harga obat sipilis
pengobatan sipilis
obat kencing nanah | cara mengobati kencing nanah
obat sipilis dan kencing nanah
cara mengobati sipilis dan kencing nanah
pengobatan sipilis atau kencing nanah
obat kencing nanah dan sipilis
obat kencing nanah atau sipilis
gejala sipilis atau kencing nanah
cara mengobati sipilis pada wanita

Unknown said...

thank you brother and i like share website

Pengobatan Kutil Kelamin
Obat Kutil Kelamin
Obat Kutil Kelamin Pada Pria
Obat Kutil Kelamin Untuk Ibu Hamil
Obat Kutil Kelamin Tanpa Operasi
Obat Kutil Kelamin Untuk Wanita
Obat Kutil Kelamin jengger Ayam
Obat Kutil Kelamin Pada Anak
Pengobatan Kutil Kelamin Pada Pria
Pengobatan Kutil Kelamin Pada Wanita
Cara Mengobati Kutil Pada Kelamin Wanita
Cara Menyembuhkan Kutil Kelamin Secara Alami
Obat Sipilis
Obat Sipilis De Nature Indonesia

Anonymous said...

Penyakit ini umumnya muncul karena penderita mengejan terlalu keras pada saat buang air besar. Dengan mengejan terlalu keras, maka pembuluh darah di sekitar anus dapat melebar dan pecah menimbulkan infeksi dan pembengkakan yang berakhir pada masalah wasir atau ambeien tersebut.

Unknown said...

Penderita Penyakit kondiloma atau Kutil Kelamin yang telah terinveksi disarankan untuk segera melakukan pengobatan secepat mungkin sebelum Virus HPV penyebab kutil kelamin makin banyak berkembang biak di dalam sel darah makin lama dibiarkan akan memperparah kondisi organ vital karena kutil kelamin akan terus membesar sehingga terlihat seperti jengger ayam untuk penderita yang baru tertular kurang dari satu bulan biasanya akan lebih cepat ditanggulangi obat kutil kelamin Paling ampuh dari De Nature dan terbaik ada hanya di http://obatkutildikemaluan.blogdetik.com/ untuk mendapatkan informasi yang lebih jelas mengenai pengobatan kutil pada kelamin silahkan kontak langsung di nomer 0852 808 77 999 atau 0859 7373 5656 Bagaimana mengobati Ambeien itu sendiri. pengobatan yang terbaik untuk Ambeien adalah dari luar dan dalam sehingga Ambeien benar benar tuntas dan tidak akan kambuh lagi. obat Ambeien terbaik "Ambeclear dari De Nature" AlamiAdalah obat Ambeien herbal yang memang terbaik untuk mengobati Ambeien, dan sudah terdaftar di badan obat dan makanan (BPOM) dengan nomer registrasi POM TR: 133 374 041. terbuat dari bahan alami antara lain terdiri Daung Ungu, Mahkota Dewa dan Kunyit Putih.

Unknown said...

Penderita Penyakit kondiloma atau Kutil Kelamin yang telah terinveksi disarankan untuk segera melakukan pengobatan secepat mungkin sebelum Virus HPV penyebab kutil kelamin makin banyak berkembang biak di dalam sel darah makin lama dibiarkan akan memperparah kondisi organ vital karena kutil kelamin akan terus membesar sehingga terlihat seperti jengger ayam untuk penderita yang baru tertular kurang dari satu bulan biasanya akan lebih cepat ditanggulangi obat kutil kelamin Paling ampuh dari De Nature dan terbaik ada hanya di http://obatkutildikemaluan.blogdetik.com/ untuk mendapatkan informasi yang lebih jelas mengenai pengobatan kutil pada kelamin silahkan kontak langsung di nomer 0852 808 77 999 atau 0859 7373 5656 Bagaimana mengobati Ambeien itu sendiri. pengobatan yang terbaik untuk Ambeien adalah dari luar dan dalam sehingga Ambeien benar benar tuntas dan tidak akan kambuh lagi. obat Ambeien terbaik "Ambeclear dari De Nature" AlamiAdalah obat Ambeien herbal yang memang terbaik untuk mengobati Ambeien, dan sudah terdaftar di badan obat dan makanan (BPOM) dengan nomer registrasi POM TR: 133 374 041. terbuat dari bahan alami antara lain terdiri Daung Ungu, Mahkota Dewa dan Kunyit Putih.

Unknown said...

cara mengobati kutil kelamin pada wanita tanpa harus menggunakan operasi cukup dengan menggunakan obat khusus kutil kelamin paling manjur dari klinik de nature manjurserta sangat aman untuk ibu hamil

Unknown said...

Apabila anda sedang mencari pengobatan kutil kelamin untuk pria maupun wanita segera kunjungi kami http://obatkutilkelaminwanita.blogdetik.com cara mengobati kutil kelamin pada wanita tanpa harus menggunakan operasi cukup dengan menggunakan obat khusus kutil kelamin paling manjur dari klinik de nature manjurserta sangat aman untuk ibu hamil

Unknown said...

Penyakit kencing nanah bisa disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor seperti seks bebas, penularan, virus hpv, lingkungan, gaya hidup dan lainnya, Maka dari itu kita harus waspada dengan penyakit kencing nanah ini, karena penyakit kencing nanah sangatlah berbahaya, Namun untuk anda yang menderita penyakit kencing nanah, maka anda tidak perlu khawatir,

Unknown said...

Penyakit kencing nanah bisa disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor seperti seks bebas, penularan, virus hpv, lingkungan, gaya hidup dan lainnya, Maka dari itu kita harus waspada dengan penyakit kencing nanah ini, karena penyakit kencing nanah sangatlah berbahaya, Namun untuk anda yang menderita penyakit kencing nanah, maka anda tidak perlu khawatir,

Unknown said...

Berhati-hatilah anda yang suka berganti-ganti pasangan seks, karena sangat besar sekali kemungkinannya untuk terkena penyakit kencing nanah atau gonore maupun yang lainnya.



Unknown said...

Bagi anda yang sedang mencari obat herbal buat kencing nanah atau gonore, kami sarankan untuk memilih obat herba dari De Nature dengan nama Gang jie dan Gho Siah sebagai pengobatan alternatif tradisional alami untuk kencing nanah atau gonore.

Unknown said...

Berhati-hatilah anda yang suka berganti-ganti pasangan seks, karena sangat besar sekali kemungkinannya untuk terkena penyakit kencing nanah atau gonore maupun yang lainnya.



Unknown said...

Bagi anda yang sedang mencari obat herbal buat kencing nanah atau gonore, kami sarankan untuk memilih obat herba dari De Nature dengan nama Gang jie dan Gho Siah sebagai pengobatan alternatif tradisional alami untuk kencing nanah atau gonore.

Unknown said...

Berapa Harga untuk Obat Wasir Ambeien alami daun ungu AmbeclearAmbeien adalah gangguan atau penyakit yang terjadi pada saluran pencernaan manusia

Unknown said...

Berapa Harga untuk Obat Wasir Ambeien alami daun ungu AmbeclearAmbeien adalah gangguan atau penyakit yang terjadi pada saluran pencernaan manusia

Unknown said...

Bukan hanya pengobatan medis saja tapi ada juga pengobatan rumah alami yang dapat digunakan untuk menyingkirkan penyakit kutil kelamin ini. Intinya, karena kutil ini muncul di daerah yang sensitif, maka anda harus mencari pengobatan yang terbaik pada kulit Anda dan jika diperlukan juga dibantu dengan tenaga medis yang professional. Sebab dokter akan menjadi sumber informasi yang baik untuk mengobati penyakit ini.

obar herbal manjur alami said...

MANTAB * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *******

obar herbal manjur alami said...

MANTAB * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *******

Unknown said...

Cara yang sering di lakukan untuk menghilangkan kutil kelamin adalah dengan cara pembedahah atau operasi, cara ini tentu memerlukan dana yang tidak sedikit. metode Pilihan pembedahan yang dapat Anda lakukan

Unknown said...

Cara yang sering di lakukan untuk menghilangkan kutil kelamin adalah dengan cara pembedahah atau operasi, cara ini tentu memerlukan dana yang tidak sedikit. metode Pilihan pembedahan yang dapat Anda lakukan

Unknown said...

Kenali penyebab penyakit kencing bernanah sehingga cara mengobati
penyakit kencing nanah dan infeksi saluran kencing nanah dapat dilakukan
dengan benar.

Unknown said...

Kenali penyebab penyakit kencing bernanah sehingga cara mengobati
penyakit kencing nanah dan infeksi saluran kencing nanah dapat dilakukan
dengan benar.

kLINIK oBAT mANJUR said...

Bismillaahirrohmaanirrokhiim ???????????????????????????????????

Anonymous said...

obat kondiloma herbal yang aman tanpa efek samping
obat wasir
obat kutil kelamin
obat kutil di kemaluan
obat kutil di kemaluan
APA ITU KUTIL KELAMIN DAN CARA MENGOBATINYA
obat kutil di kemaluan
obat kutil di kemaluan
obat kutil di kemaluan
obat kutil di kemaluan
obat kutil di kemaluan

Unknown said...

Bukan hanya pengobatan medis saja tapi ada juga pengobatan rumah alami yang dapat digunakan untuk menyingkirkan penyakit kencing bernanah ini. Maka anda harus mencari pengobatan yang terbaik pada penyakit Anda dan jika diperlukan juga dibantu dengan tenaga medis yang professional.

Unknown said...

Bukan hanya pengobatan medis saja tapi ada juga pengobatan rumah alami yang dapat digunakan untuk menyingkirkan penyakit kencing bernanah ini. Maka anda harus mencari pengobatan yang terbaik pada penyakit Anda dan jika diperlukan juga dibantu dengan tenaga medis yang professional.

Unknown said...

Kadang disertai
dengan sakit saat kencing, perih, organ intim terasa panas menyiksa,
gatal,..

Unknown said...

Kadang disertai
dengan sakit saat kencing, perih, organ intim terasa panas menyiksa,
gatal,..

kLINIK oBAT mANJUR said...

Bismillahhirrohmaanirrokhim.... *********************************

Unknown said...

obat gonore atau kemaluan keluar cairan nanah obat cairan nanah keluar dari alat kelamin obat alat kelamin keluar nanah obat kemaluan keluar nanah obat wasir herbal obat kutil kelamin ampuh cara mengobati sipilis penyakit kencing nanah cara mengobati ujung kemaluan keluar nanah cara mengobati ujung kemaluan keluar nanah cara mengobati ujung kemaluan keluar nanah cara mengobati ujung kemaluan keluar nanah kemaluan yang keluar nanah kemaluan keluar nanah tapi tidak sakit obat wasir luar stadium obat herbal wasir stadium kenapa kemaluan lelaki keluar nanah obat ambeien tradisional paling ampuh obat ambeien tanpa operasi obat wasir ampuh di apotik obat wasir ibu hamil obat ampuh wasir berdarah obat untuk kemaluan lelaki yang keluar nanah obat penyakit gonore atau kemaluan keluar nanah

Unknown said...

Sekitar Vagina Tumbuh Daging, Berbahayakah? Kutil Pada Kepala Penis mirip bunga kol atau jengger ayam, Merupakan Penyakit Yang diakibatkan Oleh Virus.Kutil kelamin, atau disebut juga condyloma acuminata, adalah kutil atau daging berwarna kulit atau keabuan yang tumbuh di sekitar alat kelamin dan

Unknown said...

Sekitar Vagina Tumbuh Daging, Berbahayakah? Kutil Pada Kepala Penis mirip bunga kol atau jengger ayam, Merupakan Penyakit Yang diakibatkan Oleh Virus.Kutil kelamin, atau disebut juga condyloma acuminata, adalah kutil atau daging berwarna kulit atau keabuan yang tumbuh di sekitar alat kelamin dan

Unknown said...

penyakit yang ditularkan melalui hubungan seks : vaginal, oral dan anal. Juga dapat menular melalui persentuhan kulit dengan daerah yang terinfeksi.

Unknown said...

penyakit yang ditularkan melalui hubungan seks : vaginal, oral dan anal. Juga dapat menular melalui persentuhan kulit dengan daerah yang terinfeksi.

Unknown said...

Obat Ambeien Resep Dokter Ambeclear dari De Nature Ampuh Tuntaskan Ambeien Sampai Tuntas

Unknown said...

Obat Ambeien Resep Dokter Ambeclear dari De Nature Ampuh Tuntaskan Ambeien Sampai Tuntas

Unknown said...

Ambeien bisa mengeluarkan darah(seperti invander salim yang terkena ambeien dan mengeluarkan darah)

Unknown said...

Sebelum kita membahas tentang pengobatan ambeien, dalam kesempatan ini
saya ingin menjelaskan sekilas tentang ambeien, agar kita semua bisa
memahami benar apa itu penyakit ambeien

Unknown said...

obat wasir, Adalah  Obat alami berkhasiat dalam bentuk kapsul yang berasal dari tanaman herbal seperti daun ungu, mahkota dewa dan kunyit putih, diberikan pada penderita jika penyakit masih dalam tingkatan stadium ringan

kLINIK oBAT mANJUR said...

Bismillahhirrohmaanirrokhim.... ************************************

Unknown said...

MANTAB???????????????????????????????

Unknown said...

MANTAB???????????????????????????????

Unknown said...

manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur manjur

obar herbal manjur alami said...

alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami alami

Anonymous said...

Wasir atau dikenal juga dengan ambeien merupakan salah satu jenis penyakit

Anonymous said...

Wasir atau dikenal juga dengan ambeien merupakan salah satu jenis penyakit

Anonymous said...

Wasir atau dikenal juga dengan ambeien merupakan salah satu jenis penyakit

Anonymous said...

yang sangat mengganggu. Ambeien atau wasir ini muncul..

Anonymous said...

yang sangat mengganggu. Ambeien atau wasir ini muncul..

Anonymous said...

yang sangat mengganggu. Ambeien atau wasir ini muncul..

Anonymous said...

yang sangat mengganggu. Ambeien atau wasir ini muncul..

Unknown said...

شركة رش مبيدات بالدمام

شركة مكافحة حشرات بالدمام

شركة مكافحة الصراصير ببقيق

شركة مكافحة الصراصير بعنك

شركة مكافحة الصراصير بالجبيل

شركة مكافحة الصراصير بالقطيف

شركة مكافحة الصراصير بالظهران

شركة مكافحة الصراصير براس تنورة

شركة مكافحة الصراصير بسيهات

شركة مكافحة الصراصير بالخبر

شركة مكافحة الصراصير بالدمام

섯다 said...

I handle such info a lot. I used to be seeking this certain info for a long time.

한국야동 said...

From some point on, I am preparing to build my site while browsing various sites.

카지노사이트존 said...

Your article has answered the question I was wondering about!