In The 'Gimme A K' Street post-game, you wrote, "...every con we do could in theory be used to pull apart the real-world equivalent of the mark...." and given that you know people like Apollo Robbins...
When can we expect you and your team of cohorts to start pulling off some of these cons in the real-world?
Just curious over Kane's wardrobe - does he have say over what he wears? Asking because the t-shirt he was wearing said "Wolf" in Japanese, and wolf is a recurring theme with him...?
Okay... I love Eliot with long hair but I'll admit Christian is hot with the short hair too.. Now if we can just get him clean shaven. :). The previews look great I can't wait to watch.
I hope TNT renews Leverage soon. I truly love this show.
I know this is old news, but just wathching The Scherezade Job. Amazing that you had the emotional grasp that everyone stopped during the last notes of the violin solo. Mesmerizing. Leverage is far more entertaining than Hustle by a longshot, as we have emotional investment in the characters.
@deanangst: Hey! It's poesie from LJ! *waves* (This is who I think it is, isn't it? :P Because otherwise, embarrassing!) Okay, just wanted to say hi. And agree with you on the short hair (OMG, can you say Lindsey McDonald?!!) and the shaving. Last week's ep? What, did Eliot forget his razor or something?
At the sight of Eliot's hair, I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of fangirls cried out and were suddenly silenced.
Also, I wonder how hard it was to keep from having him say "Fore!" after the beatdown with the golf club. (I know, you're supposed to say "Fore!" before, not after, but he was kind of busy before.)
At the sight of Eliot's hair, I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of fangirls cried out and were suddenly silenced.
Also, I wonder how hard it was to keep from having him say "Fore!" after the beatdown with the golf club. (I know, you're supposed to say "Fore!" before, not after, but he was kind of busy before.)
1)Was the "Casey Farm" name an intentional nod to Baldwin's most recent role, or just a nice coincidence? 2) Was the fact that Nate and Sophie didn't show up for so long a deliberate choice, or were Tim Hutton and Gina Bellman busy with other projects at the time? I mean, I'm certainly not complaining about some good Hacker/Hitter/Thief action, but it's interesting, especially after last week's Parker-heavy episode.
Rundown job...I'll let it slide because I love you and this show to pieces, but have NONE of you been on the DC metro? :) I suppose us Washingtonians should be used to it by now. TV and movies almost never come close to looking right. In any case, FANTASTIC episode!!! Loving Eliot's new hair, my fingers are aching to run through it... ;)
What kind of a wuss is Eliot? He gets a huge wraparound bandage for his shoulder shot? Nate only took a little square patch. ;)
The initial scenes seemed a bit rushed but some great individual scenes, particularly the two big Eliot-Hardison scenes.
Totally only goes to support my theory that the team is breaking up. I see some foreshadowing here, my friend. And I don't care how good on single individual episode is with Nate/Sophie and Parker/Hardison/Eliot. In the long term, they're still all better together.
I should probably clarify I was kidding about the look of the DC metro. I'm aware that you have a budget and are probably all too familiar with the love-hate relationship we have here with the metro system and their fares. :)
SENSATIONAL show! This is the mix of serious and funny that I LONG for from Leverage. SUPERB departure from the series format, but still incorporating a "mini-gloat" at the end.
Could you tell I liked the show a little?
Questions/comments:
1. I like Eliot's short hair - in fact it could be just a tad shorter - but was disappointed that it wasn't explained in the show. I was expecting such a monumental event to have relevance to the plot! What was the reason, anyway? 2. Was "Charles Scalzi" a tribute to John Scalzi, super SF author and subject of Wil Wheaton's audiobook readings? (Check out "Redshirts", everyone!) 3. Loved the love from Eliot of his team throughout, but was a bit surprised at his calling Hardison "The smartest guy I know." From a hacker standpoint, sure, but Nate is the brains. Would that have ever entered into Eliot's equation? Or is Eliot just not that impressed with Nate's smarts? 4. Was Monte Markham's subway disguise supposed to remind us of Nate? It did for me. 5. There was some MAD visual style in this ep, particularly at the safe opening in the beginning. On the other hand, not thrilled with the slo-mo, but I'll forgive it because of how good the rest of the direction was. Yay, Dean! What inspired the rather different and delightful style? 6. Wasn't Markham's final speech just a bit too melodramatic? 7. Eliot walks (or runs) into a bullet? TWICE? And his HIT is a cutaway? To quote from Harry Potter, you "have got to sort out [your] priorities!"
I doubt that #510 can match the greatness of #509, but I'm still looking forward to seeing it. BTW, thanks in advance for your looking into another LoDuca soundtrack; download would be perfectly acceptable to me, though physical CD is always preferable.
OH My God!! The Rundown Job-Best Episode Ever! My heart was racing the whole time. Very different kind of episode. Loved Christian's short hair! Just wondering the reason for it? A change of pace,or for a specific reason in the show?
You Leverage showrunners are big damn geniuses. First the serious, nail-biting, ticking-clock suspense episode and now the sexy, funny farce. Excellent balance, excellent pacing, excellent showcase of characters and actors, and EXCELLENT way to leave us wanting more!
A fun departure from the norm; enjoyed the "24" (or "MI-5") style. :)
Frame-Up Job
LOVED. IT.
0) Were all the comments about the "manservant" a shout-out to Manservant Neville? 1) The flashbacks with Nate and each of the suspects were beautiful. Was Nate being on two sides as the camera panned done by Tim running around the back of the camera? 2)Loved the Agent Tennant/Smith shoutout. Hardison's not the only Whovian on the team, then! 3) That shot of Nate standing on the water - very cool, and was it a reference to the Cars music video? The one Tim didn't direct?
Non-episode-related fun fact: Gerald Downey did a surprise cameo in a Cialis ad during the second episode...
I was right - #510 not as great as #509, but delightful in its own way. Art thefts, despite their frequent use on TV shows and movies, are not exactly my "Mettier", and I don't even try to figure out the killer / forger TOO closely, but I was actually pretty close on this one.
With these two shows, you may have actually created two "back-door" pilots for new series: one with Eliot, Hardison, and Parker; the other with Sophie and Nate. The teams work SO WELL. (I doubt that was your intention, but I can dream...)
And NOW I see - Eliot's shorn hair went to Sterling's beard!
Only one real question: Didn't you use Agents Tennant and Smith once before? (One of them should have been "Delaware"!)
One thing on #509 that I forgot to ask: Was there any intention to finger the congressman as a red herring? I really thought he might be involved in the plot, but that dropped off after the blow-up.
And now the waiting begins until the series resumes... sigh. Thanks for the great entertainment you and your entire crew provide. And thanks for answering all these questions we ask; it's truly something special to have such a connection to a TV show of this quality.
Sa-wish! I can not say I perfectly had the evil villains plot laid it, but by the time of the commercial break with Nate having a gun to his head I did sucessfully call Sophie being the subject of the art paintingsp in question thus how she knew it was a fake even without seeing it. Granted it helped a lot that I had written a story a few years back involving a thief and a famous painting that she was the muse of, so while I am not a great detective, I am a master of recognizing genre conventions!
I know there's going to be feedback about Eliot's hair but along with Vance's offer, it seems it might hint of things to come. Will we learn why Eliot chose to cut it?
Wolf in Japanese on a t-shirt? Souvenir of their recent trip?
I love how Eliot took control when they panicked. He's obviously officer material.
The behind the scenes with the Segway looked very cool in the final cut.
Questions 1. Castleman? As in the Homecoming Job? 2. SHould all these job offers in both episodes make me nervous? 3. Wow. The allusions. Casey Farm. Riley (character in Buffy/ actor in Summer Catch) I know I'm missing some. 4. Director's choice to slow down the fight scenes? Considering we lose track of Eliot's punches at normal speed, this was an interesting choice that really seemed to serve the story.
5. Hardison geeking out about the cool van was great. I wonder if he installed a backdoor to the system for future use.
6. Once again we get the ..."it's a very distinctive..." I listen for this almost as much as I listen for "seriously."
7. Parker driving. "Hold on." Lots of laughs in this.
I could go on but I think I'll stop. BRAVO!
Frame-Up Job was a lot of fun too. Sterling being flummoxed is so much fun. Offering Nate and Sophie a job was disturbing.
Now we wait for RENEWAL announcement where I sacrifice popcorn to the TV gods AND the winter episodes.
Thank you for starting my work week off with character goodness. You're building their relationships without sacrificing plot. Others should learn from this.
The Rundown Job Peeve: I realize ye olde through-and-through is a television staple, but people actually have bones in their shoulders. Just sayin'.
I just bought the Strikeback DVDs but haven't settled into watch yet (too many chores); does the timing work out that this could have been influenced a bit by that?
The Frame-Up Job Aaand the "competence porn" continues.
I think I like this one better. Lots of people do good action/thriller stuff, but clever and witty is rarer.
Loved watching Nate drive Sterling bonkers by doing nothing. A very deliberate nothing.
Sterling seemed a step behind, a little slow. But then he does tend to let Nate do all the heavy lifting when he's around.
The show we didn't see is the backdoor pilot for Sterling and his bevy of female agents. Sort of the new Charlie's Angels. (Or the new new Charlie's Angels. Or the new new new Charlie's Angels, if we count the movies.)
Tell me you're kidding. When they first steal the NSA van, Elliot says the sniper was a SEAL, but when they call up a picture from his file, he's not in a Navy uniform. You've got him in an ARMY uniform? Complete with infantry insignia and a CIB? Words fail me. You know we're detail oriented and yet screw that up? Seriously? There's a big difference between NAVY and ARMY!
I have to say that 509 was amazing. Loved 510 too but EPH stole the evening. I was surprised to see Christain actually cut his hair. Y'all have been talking about it for a long time. Don't worry about the Felicity fallout. He didn't go that short...and hair grows. LOL It's the man that makes the hair, not the hair that makes the man.
I do wish you were able to make the DC Metro a little more "real" with at least maps and logos, do you need permission or have to pay fees for it. I sure filming onsite here on the East Coast may not be in the budget but the maps can be found online. :( And Implied or not worrying about airborne hazards is nothing new to us who ride the Metro.
I have to say in 510 I kind of "saw" the false wall almost right away. Hardison did the same thing in The Homecoming Job with the back of the truck to hide the pallets of money. I wasn't surprised and I did yell "I knew it!" when Nate smashed the wall. Ironic there were false walls in both epis tonight. Hehehe...
Loved the banter and chemistry between Nate and Sophie. TO be honest, it is one of the first times I found their banter amusing, I mean really amusing. Annoying Sterling with it was part of the fun. Their chemistry even worked tonight. Good job.
Well keep it up! Can't wait until Nov. Can't believe we have to wait... When do we find out if we get a season 6??? I pray we do, don't know what I'd do w/out it. Hugs to everyone!!! Job well done.
I just want to say I'd watch both those shows on TNT :). The new 3 hander with Hardison, Parker and Eliot and the very Nick & Nora Charles show. Their side jabber was just to funny. I thought Sterling was going to blow a fuse. Thanks so much for some great TV.
Btw... loved the fact that Eliot had to accept help from Parker and Hardison. He's always protective of the "family" but showing the "love" for Hardison that was new. Loved it! Eliot is finding his way back from the dark side! In season 2 admitted he was just getting used to being part of a team and this season said if they had to be "normal" it would be most difficult.
AND is Sterling going soft on Nate and the team?? That's 2 or 3 times they've made him look good.
ARGH!!! TNT can't take this show away!! They HAVE to renew it. We are invested in it!! It would be like losing SG1 or Eureka!! They just HAVE to renew!
Sending an SOS via car alarm may be my new favorite last minute message method from any show, ever.
Called Sophie being the subject of the painting when she kept refusing to say why she was so interested in it and why she knew the fake wasn't it (the name and date helped) but it took an embarrassingly long time to realize that's why the son thought she looked familiar! Awesome. I love a mystery that manages to put the solution right out in the open but in such a way that it only becomes obvious the second time through.
Rundown Notes: I see Castleman is still in business. I'm guessing even with Castleman himself in jail, the company goes on. This is a very tense, very fine episode. I honestly wasn't sure they were all getting out alive. Vance talking about the terrorist teams being lean and tight is them getting inside the government's Ooda loop, yes? It's is true that Eliot, Hardison and Parker when off the leash really are terrifying. Hardison vision was pretty damned cool. Nadine puts together some really stylin' thiefwear for Parker. Good call back to the First David Job. The NSA having no file on Parker. Was she really that far off the grid? How did Nate, Sterling and Dubenich have info on her? The missing uranium and hydrogen bomb... do I want to know if that's ledger or black box? The Spanish Flu... that I know is real. It's a shame Hardison didn't get to keep the NSA's Super-Lucille. I hope he took the opportunity to some sort of virus that gives him a backdoor into their systems. It's really awesome what Hardison can do with a couple of smartphones. I'm guessing NFC will give him new toys to play with. How is it that Eliot faced down a room full of heavily armed pro hitters and never got shot once, but facing a crazy science guy he gets shot twice. I guess the difference between a warehouse and a train car is the thing.
Frame-Up Job: Sophie using "Collins" as her name... if Maggie knew... Ma mystère... no help with the name there. Just French for "My Mystery" Though I had to turn on on Closed Captioning to see the spelling, and thus see it was French. I had thought it may have been her surname, like "mamastaire" or something. Sophie sitting on Sterling's lap and ruffling his hair... it's unusual to see Sophie doing something like that with the intention of annoying someone. Love the Doctor Who shout out... especially with Mark as Smith. Also love Sterling's All-Girl Squad of Interpol agents. He could film his own version of the "Addicted to Love" video. Sterling's "interrogation" of Hart... classic. I find it hard to believe Sterling didn't already know Nate's new base of operations. I'm guessing that was more a "Now you know that I know." The painting, Ma mystère... I swear it looks very similar to a painting in Jane's apartment in Coupling. My memory may be faulty there.
509 was great!!!!lhardison finally got a real kiss, and elliott, parker, and hardison has great chemistry, 510, to be honest , was kind of boring!!bring season 6 on!!
Enjoyed both eps a lot but have to say frame up job was really nicely done. Nate, Sophie and sterling could totally have their own show solving art crimes...yes please! Or a redux of Hart to Hart with Tim and Gina even better :)
I wish you guys had a bigger budget to do really big sfx, dean devlin would totally have a giant spaceship reigning down fire on Capitol hill in that wide shot :)
No questions but a pat of the back for job well done!
Someone on TNT's board suggested that tonight's double feature was like '24' versus 'Nick and Nora.' Having never seen even one minute of '24,' I found myself thinking it was more like 'The Mod Squad' versus 'Nick and Nora.' Either way, works for me. And, I would totally watch a P/H/E spinoff.
@PurpleOps, I'm inclined to think that even Nate might say that Hardison is the smartest person he knows. However, comma, Nate possesses wisdom and 'big-picture' thinking that Hardison yet lacks. But, hell, in terms of raw IQ, Hardison might be the smartest character on television. I can totally see him having a Vizzini moment:
"Have you ever heard of Gregory House? Temperence Brennan? Abby Sciuto?" "Yes." "Morons."
First, questions directly for you! 1. Sterling never loses, but in this situation it looked like he actually /did/ lose! Is that significant or am I just missing something?
2. The Max runs something like 20 hours a day and the Zoo stop is right in the middle of things. Did you guys have to film in the middle of the night or did you actually get them to stop for you? How tough was it getting all of the crew and such down those two little elevators?
3. Do you plan on doing more of that "Hardison vision" stuff, or was that just to match the tone of this specific episode?
The rest of this post is responses to other folks.
------------------------- Rundown job...I'll let it slide because I love you and this show to pieces, but have NONE of you been on the DC metro? :) I suppose us Washingtonians should be used to it by now. TV and movies almost never come close to looking right. In any case, FANTASTIC episode!!! Loving Eliot's new hair, my fingers are aching to run through it... ;) ------------------------- To be fair, it was a perfect representation of the Portland Max line. *grin*
Which is funny, because our Max line is almost entirely above ground. The only part below ground is actually near the Zoo.
-------------------- I love how Eliot took control when they panicked. He's obviously officer material. -------------------- Me too. But in the RPG his secondary role is actually Mastermind.
Just for the curious, how's here the RPG assigns primary and secondary roles.
Whose idea it was to let Sterling wear a white tie? Was it symbolic? As in pointing out he is still on the whites side of the board or just a coincidence?
But, I'm leaning toward The Rundown Job as the better choice for the last ep of the summer. While The Frame-Up Job was a terrific RomCom, The Rundown Job was the Summer Blockbuster! So, who chose the airing order and why were they ordered that way?
My compliments to the hairdresser for both these episodes. I loved Sophie's up-do at the party; can't beat curly and elegant. Parker's longer, sleeker locks were lovely as well; her bangs are reminiscent of Rita Hayworth that's very sexy - though I worried she's trip either the lasers or the Claymore with all that un-contained hair going everywhere while she's doing her precise (and amazing) gymnastics.
I know it's already been asked, but you couldn't expect me to compliment the hairdressers without mentioning Eliot. I know the team does things off-screen (like the diamond job that was being wrapped up at the start of the episode), so anything could happen - a bandage across the bridge of his nose, a new scar, a haircut. I just wonder what came first - Kane wanting (or maybe needing for another job) to cut his hair, or someone at the show deciding that Eliot must have a haircut for story or production reasons. Or was it simply someone saying "Dean, you can't just tease them every hiatus about cutting Eliot's hair, but then not doing it; at some point, if you don't cut, it's just going to be crying wolf and fans will just stop reacting and they'll start resenting you for baiting them."
There were lots of couples moments in both eps - Nate and Sohie with the less-dire situation having time for clever, flirthy banter and many tender kisses. While Parker & Hardison got a few poignant looks, the "I don't need luck" non-kisses, then the final "OMG, we seriously might die this time" good-bye kiss followed up by the "I can't loose you" embrace that made Beth's cheekbones look fantastic.
But none for Eliot. Not only did he have no time, but he also had no real opportunity to chat up anyone. Are we to infer that Eliot is like Sampson and he loses his power (or desire) to attacked women with his shorter hair, OR that he has someone(s) he's been seeing sort of regularly waiting for him back in Portland?
I did like the parallel's between the episodes: the addition of an old colleague (Vance & Sterling), the presence of false walls, etc. Were all these parallels intentional or just coincidental?
Finally, I understand that Eliot joined the military, ended up working with Vance where things got "dirty" and Eliot acknowledging that when you try to defeat the bad guys by using the bad guy methods, it's easy to become the thing you're fighting against. So, did Eliot make a slow, gradual progression from military assassin to assassin-for-hire, or did he do something so bad in the military that paid assassin seemed like an easier gig? Path of least resistance sort of thing that, unfortunately, ended him up in the employ of Moreau? In the pilot, Eliot seemed to be the least complicated of the crew - he hit people, really well - but, as we're gotten to know him, I think he's become the most complex member of the crew, with far more history, job experience, and acquired knowledge and skill than all the others put together.
Anyway, that's for 2 great eps! I am now looking forward to November!
Oh and about "Second best detective I've ever known"
Nate knows that he ties with Sterling as they can't outsmart each other. He managed to send him over a goose chase because Sterling knows the same. So was that line was about bragging or in Leverageverse is there a better detective out there that can outsmart both Sterling and Nate?
Loved, loved The Mod Squad Saves DC show--great production values, could have easily been a 2 hour movie. Actually this made me feel a little better about the "new direction" theme--crime fighting for the NSA. @allyone probably has it right.
Also felt the Chucklove, with Casey AND the Casey Farm. Can General Beckman/Bonita Friedericy please, please be on Season 6? Please?
Really liked the change of direction to The Thomas Crown Affair. I'd watch this show, too. Only quibble was that Sterling seemed a little passive and very much living in the past--seems like he should be past that by now, they've been through too much and he's needed their help too often. And the son as art thief was telegraphed a little bit.
Driving me crazy is the location of the Gault mansion--I know I've been there, is it in Forest Hills? It's been many years since I've lived in Portland, so can't place it--but the Tri-Met logos were very recognizable :) Too expensive to coverup?? Not that light rail looks like the DC subway anyway. Looking forward to the Podcasts.
Anyway, I think The Rundown Job is my fav episode of the season--though I think each new episode is my fav :)
I loved The Frame-Up Job. Loved it. I'm not usually impressed with basic cable programming. Best episode yet. Congrats. Seriously. Felt like the old Gina Bellman again.
1. Why did Eliot cut his hair? 2. Aren't they get infected by the flu when those pigs and the old man died? (sorry I just ask out of the blue, honestly don't know how virus works lol. I just assume it flies up in the air...) 3. Is the name twice mentioned is Sophie's real name? You did say it'll be said out loud. 4. Why does Sterling always show up either on season finale or summer finale? Lol.
Anyway. Doesn't feel so finale as the big enemy like previous seasons isn't available. (yet?)
And I actually was about to complain why you separated them from 5 to 3 & 2. But I cancelled my complain! They got better portion and I LOVE the amount of Sophie in the episode. So like old times!!! Still in love hate relationship with Sterling though.
Wow. Wow. Wow. You broke my brain with awesomeness.
OK, tagging these:
#509 was epic. Loved the different directing style, it absolutely felt like an action movie. And E/P/H are terrifyingly cool when they run the show. You even fit in a brag! Questions: 1)There's some epic in-verse reason for Eliot cutting his hair, right? It got singed when he was fighting mooks in a burning building or something, a la the Butcher of Kiev. Or wrestling bad guys near the lip of an active volcano. 2) Not actually a question, just thanks for all the competence porn and team love between E/P/H. 3) Hardison was filing away ideas for Lucille, wasn't he? (After he was in the NSA van.) 4)Re: Hardison being the smartest guy they all know, and the Hardison vs Nate debate, I view Nate being the best at predicting people/manipulating them, as well as Xanatos Gambits, but I view that as much to do with his years of experience as his intelligence, whereas in terms of sheer IQ and general and technical knowledge, Hardison outclasses them all, but due to his age lacks Nate's ... lets call them street smarts. Would this generally be correct? 5)Do the kids often handle cons on their own, or is this another Secret Nate Training Plot? (I'm leaning towards the latter, but I really want to imagine E/P/H regularly having badass epic adventures on their days off, though maybe not on a 'terrorist attack' scale.) 6) I'm officially OK with the team splitting up, so long as the kids stay together. But what are the actual chances of getting a franchise of Mission Impossible style E/P/H movies? 7) How does Nate react when his hitter walks in with two bullet holes? 8) Was Eliot even a little bit scared? Or has he always known how dangerous and terrifyingly effective those three could be together?
OK, #510. Loved this too, a great balancing ep and totally Nick and Nora. Thank you for another tiny Sophie back story tidbit! 1) What's the story with Sterling and his harem of interpol agents? I always pictured him as too much of an workaholic to be ladies man (and also I secretly ship Maggie/Sterling.) 2) Is Sterling mellowing? Or has he at least given up on throwing Nate and his team in jail? He won in the sense that he got everything he wanted, but secret prison threats aside, he didn't seem to be angry with Nate anymore about Nate's poor life choices (or what he views as poor life choices, becoming a thief.) 3) Why IS Sophie so mysterious? I understand from a writing standpoint, no poncy Wolverine in a nightshirt scene, etc, etc, but I'm talking about Sophie's in-verse reasoning. Everybody knows Nate's past, Hardison is too young to have a past, Parker's has kinda been revealed, and even though Eliot's is vague, we know why he doesn't like to talk about it - it was either highly classified, or something he was ashamed of (or both). So why does Sophie insist on keeping all her cards so close to her chest? Not a complaint, mind, just curious :)
Bonus extra question: 1) Congrats on syndication. Does that help your chances of renewal, or is the world of TV renewals so mercurial that it doesn't mean much?
"couldn't let a perfectly good fake go to waste" seems like a lame excuse for him to set up the fake theft. Had he not framed Paolo, the son would have gotten away with the whole thing. Why make it a crime scene unnecessarily? Sophie would have known it was a fake but he couldn't have anticipated that. Seriously, why did he frame the guy? That's really bugging me and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Probably would have worked better if he'd had something personal against the "man servant" and let his emotions cause him to make that error. You usually say "whatever answer makes you want to watch more" and I guess that will be what I'm taking away from this. Unless you have a better answer.
Ok, I'm a Nate girl through and through so when I say how much the first episode blew the second out of the water, don't take that lightly. That was incredible. The whole 2 hours was incredible.
As I said on twitter, I feel like I need a valium and a cigarette after that. So much tension and craziness and then there was some sexiness too.
If TNT do not renew you guys, they are absolute fools.
*snort* My captcha has 69 in it. Yes, I am twelve tonight.
Just want to say, Rundown Job...BEST. EPISODE. EVER. Thank you a million times for that one! Questions: 1. Will Eliot's haircut be explained? I know the episode will be seen out of sync, so it would be nice to have an explanation as to why it was suddenly cut. 2. Eliot stepped up to the plate for this one and Hardison & Parker looked to him for the lead...is this a foreshadowing of things to come if (when) we get a season 6? 3. Who was the guy who called Eliot? Should we know him or is he someone to watch? 4. Will we see Vance again? I liked him! 5. In the Frame Up Job, the alias that Nate didn't know, was that Sophie's real name? 6. More Sterling please!! Thanks John :)
John man, fantastic set of episodes, well done to all concerned and what a great way to leave us fans wanting more.
First to The Frame Up Job, I loved all the competence porn from Nate's mental processes and deductions to Sophie impressing Sterling. And I love that the show didn't cheat as everything Nate deduced was available to the viewer with nothing plucked out of the air.
Q1 Was this episode approached in the same way as The 10 Lil'll Grifters, did you plan out the clues to ensure no cheating?
Q2 Sterling has leggy blonds in matching suits as his team, whats with that? Also please let it be that Sterling hires Maggie as the art expert for his crack Interpol art theft team.
Q3 When Nate is focused on a puzzle he makes extremely reckless decisions. First he just takes off on Sophie after she made it clear she planned to stay the night! I would think most guys in that situation would stay with the beautiful woman, then he goes to the scene of a murder knowing who the murderer is and that he is on the premises and proven to be dangerous, with no means of protection. Is this Nate's most fatal flaw, not been able to see the wood for the trees when he's obsessed? What was he going to do had Sophie not arrived?
Q4 Art has obliviously been a huge part of Sophie's life but how did she learn about it? Life experience, work research for grifting? Which came first the love of Art of the need to understand it to steal it? And what is more important to her acting or art? Also Nate mentioned that he used to drink strong drinks like the paint check mix in college, care to elaborate, where did he go? What did he study? Was it after seminary or do seminarians get shit faced too?
Now to The Rundown Job, again loved all the competence porn and the trust and interdependence between E/P/H. Just one question, what did Vance do to their records? How clean are they and is it only within USA jurisdiction?
I have to agree with @calla--the hair was amazing on Sophie and Parker. And with Eliot--I'm wondering if the shorter hair means a transition from thief back to military man.
Question: Why does TNT mess with the episode order? The Rundown Job definitely should have been the mid-season finale--it almost had the scope of a season finale (except no Nate or Sophie of course). No surprise it was directed by Dean :)
Strong summer finale for the show, although I much preferred the Frame Up Job, which was truer to the Leverage style and also a bit more distinctive than your average "millions in peril" format that's a lot more prevalent these days. And funny.
People have said Nick/Nora, Hart/Hart and Holt/Steele but it defintely had more of throwback N/N feel for me. Very witty the way the dialog was structured with N/S having their little side conversations. Sterling was a great foil, although perhaps a little too much of a boob. Still, he had some great funny moments, particularly the "I didn't think it would work!" And the hot cold game was the most fun I've had with him/Nate in a scene since the elevator game in Maltese Falcon!
A couple quibbles for both - would Nate really just run off when he knows Sophie is coming back? Seemed engineered for the big save at the end. I could almost buy it, but not quite.
On Rundown, that "through and through" wound was basically through lung and bone, so . . . yeeeaaahh, maybe have makeup move that up next time. Also, Spy Truck is not exactly innocuous. The idea that they could take it and keep it for that long. . . . I had to look the other way for that one as well. Also, Parker playing jungle gym on Hardison was cute and all but totally offended my understanding of explosives. (Of course , my understanding is based entirely on what I've seen in movies, so I could be wrong.)
Q1) Was this a one off for Nate/Sophie? Meaning, the banter was sort of a new look for them. Is that a new direction or just a little fun for the team split? Q2) So that's what happens when you cut Samson's hair? He gets shot right away by a jumpy zealot?!? Q3) Is the action thriller also just a one off or something you would explore more with the show? Q4) I'm assuming the split cast eps are cheaper to produce. Is that true? Does that play into the decision to do those? Q5) If there is a Season 6, will you do the split eps again?
Question is about #509: How will hardison ever be able to run his own team one day if he always seems to be freaking out when he faces lots of pressure?
The Frame-Up Job jumps straight to first place in my favourite episodes! I could spend hours watching it! Tim Hutton and Gina Bellman did a brilliant job.
Q: Was posing as a model for the painter how Sophie got introduced to art and then eventually art theft or was it part of one of her cons?
Amazing episodes! I can't pick a favourite though - like comparing apples and oranges. One was all summer blockbuster, and the other was all retro with witty banter and character back story.
509 question: I must have blinked and missed something with the sniper and the golf clubs. Where did the sniper get them from? Or were the his? (And if so, why did he have them on him?)
I liked Hardison's slight freak out, actually. I think the audience needed Hardison to freak out to give verisimilitude to the scene and gravitas to the threat. Hardison is a thief, untrained and ill equipped to deal with terrorist threats. The lives of 150 million people were hanging in the balance ... I think 'under pressure' kinda understates the situation. Honestly, it'd be more worrying if he HADN'T freaked out a little.
Well I know I am going to sound like a gushing idiot but last night's episodes were amazing. (There aren't enough adjectives to express how I feel.)
Watching "The Rundown Job" my heart was racing the entire time. Your talented writers certainly chose an interesting (although extremely scarey) story.
The actors gave amazing performances. I feel like we have watched Beth, Christian & Aldis grow as actors over the past 5 years and now they have achieved their Doctorate. From the nuances of the characters themselves(and with each other)to their use of facial expressions to delivering the lines you have quite a talented cast. I love them all but especially Christian has really developed his acting chops. Of course, Gina & Tim were wonderful as always.
I am so hoping for a Season 6 before Hollywood realizes the talent they have overlooked.
Is that enough gushing? Because I could certainly continue... I want to thank you for being you; I think I am in love!
WOW! You weren't kidding about all those tweets about the chemistry between Tim and Gina. They did a brilliant job in The Frame Up episode. Man! it's totally my fave episode of the whole series. :D
@Calla: Totally with you on Sophie's updo -- GORGEOUS. Good point about Parker's hair -- what woman would ever forget to get her hair out of the way before a job like that? Reminds me of -- I think it was "Iron Man 2," when Scarlett Johanssen took her hair DOWN to do an action scene. I said to my friend, "If we didn't already know a man wrote this, we'd know it now."
Watching The Rundown Job with my wife and about half way through she asked who directed it. I told her I thought it was Dean Devlin. She said, "Oh, there's just a lot more slo-mo and effects shots than usual. Thought maybe there was someone new doing this episode."
"Nah, that's just the Deancake."
And then after explaining exactly what that is I check Twitter at the next commercial break and what do I find at the top of the page? Courtesy of @Electric44 : "We broke our record tonight. Rundown Job had over 205 digital effects shots! Yowza! #Leverage"
I have to gush about the little tricks in Frame Up - I loved the technique of having Nate in the background in color while the rest of the scene was washed out. The "walking on water" thing really came out great. I also thought putting the characters' IDs on screen was a fun touch.
Q6) Who came up with the idea for those little bits?
Q7) In the washed out scenes, where Nate was in color, Sterling and Sophie were coming up with the theories and Nate wasn't in the scene. Was Nate in color supposed to represent that Nate had already thought of those same theories or was he listening in somehow or what?
Q8) Will we get any more of the more Jackie Chan like fun Eliot fights this season? Like with props and such?
Q9) I tend to think slow motion is overdone in action sequences these days - what's your personal philosophy on that?
1. These were both amazing and SO much fun. Until I read here I didn't even figure out that the son recognized Sophie from the painting, although I had guessed that she was the subject pretty much from the first "it's personal". Not because I'm a genius, but because Gina B. did such amazing things with her face in those scenes. What other reason would Sophie have for nearly crying when the painting wasn't what she expected to see? So great.
2. It makes me crazy when people comment "I'm from X and that looked totally wrong! We don't have any buildings that look like that!" . . . except this time the look of the "Metro" did distract me. Good-natured non-set-related nitpick - there are no "platform A", etc. in the Metro system; what kind of high-class establishment do you think we have here? :) Each station has generally a max of two platforms, and they're pretty much "this one" and "the other one". Kudos on the reference to Shady Grove, since the trains are indeed designated by terminus. But generally - if there is a need to distinguish them, such as one of the many times when something breaks - the platforms are, too. And then you usually get a surly, mumbled "trainstoshadygrovewilldepartfromtheglenmontplatform, CUSTOMERS, PLEASE CLEAR THE PLATFORM, thankyoutrainarrivingshortly".
3. Which leads me to a question/DC nitpick I wasn't fast enough to post to The 'Gimme a K' Street Job. Nothing in the Capitol complex is ever labelled "Congress Hearing Room". From the bit where Eliot tried to convince the Congressman to run for Senate, we were definitely in the House (where, yes, the Reps are frequently called "Congressman" even though technically the term would be equally applicable to a senator). But the House and Senate do not share meeting space ever. In reality that room would have been labelled something like "United States House of Representatives Committee on x" (because the committees don't share space, either). It made it seem as if the show had fallen into the trap of thinking Congress is the other body from the Senate, instead of the aggregate body that includes the House and the Senate. I don't for a second believe any of the Leverage humans actually made this mistake, so my question is - was there some reason legal didn't want you to call the House the House? Someone was afraid of impugning the reputation of the actual chairman of the (I'm guessing) Committee on Education and the Workforce?
Btw for what it's worth I've worked on the Hill for years and I TOTALLY bought that there would be a Federal High School Sports Commission or whatever it was. We do indeed have commissions out the hoo-ha and many of them are for way weirder things.
I live in the D.C. area too, and took the Metro to work every day for 4 1/2 years, but all the Metro inaccuracies didn't bother me much. Just one more thing to put in the ever-growing "Only on television" file. :-)
Sorry for another hair question, but in the 10-second promo for the winter episodes, there's a shot of Eliot with longer hair again. Will there be a way to fit this all into a reasonably linear continuity, or should I just get back on the Fun Train?
Loved the scenes between Christian and Aldis. Loved how they are kind of like brothers. My question what did you use for the scene where Christian/Eliot gets shot. The wounds looked so real, especially the one that seemed to go through his shoulder, was that painful for christian
Did they refer to Sterling and Nate working as "partners" at IYS? I don't we've ever heard them called the P word before this episode. It's been noted that they worked together at IYS but I thought it was more a professional rivalry gunning for the title of the #1 investigator than any collaboration. I was never all that curious about Nate's days at his old job but the thought of that partnership is just too enticing. I know Mr. Sheppard's availability is always a huge hurdle, but would you guys at least be open to the idea of writing a flashback episode for that? (Apologies if I'm the millionth person to ask). And I will name my future son John Roger if you film that episode and make Nate and Sterling wear the mustaches that Hutton and Cane wore in The DB Cooper Job.
Rundown: I particular appreciated that you portrayed the Congressman and the Colonel as two people basically on the right side who had a legitimate difference of opinion and both had a point. I was disappointed with Covert Affairs when Lena, Kari Matchett's big professional rival within the CIA, turned out to be a traitor as well.
I was also struck by Dr. Udall's resemblance to Nate, especially given the "become your enemy" comments about him. Of course the alleged perpetrator, and the most famous incorrectly alleged perpetrator, of the 2001 anthrax attacks were government biowar experts. Did we ever get a clear idea of Udall's plan? If he wanted to demonstrate the problem, why did he want to maximize casualties by disabling the response systems?
Parker was for some reason insanely _more_ sexy than usual in this episode. It was consistent, at least, with the theory that she and Hardison had first actually had sex between the previous episode and this one, though I'm not sure I'd want to defend that theory. (I know the official answer -- the character's off-camera sex lives are "whatever works best for each viewer".) Actually Parker was such a wish-fulfillment goddess in this episode that I thought at times that the whole thing might be Hardison's fantasy. But no.
Frame-up: Thanks for writing down "ma mystere" -- I have high-school French but never got the name of the painting from hearing it spoken.
I did notice that the official list of suspects who had access to everything left out the manservant...
Rundown Job - fantastic episode. I'm biased because I adore Eliot, but of all the things I loved in this episode, number one was Christian's performance. Number two was that outstandingly cute haircut he got. Questions - 1. When Parker reminds Eliot that they had all agreed to change together, what change is she talking about? Change from running cons to something else? Change their value systems? Change their hairstyles? Who's in that agreement - these three or Sophie and Nate too? 2. Was Eliot referring to his disturbing career path from enlisted soldier to assassin when he told Vance that obsession makes you into what you chase? Or did he mean he'd been pondering his current career, where he brings down manipulative, dishonest people using manipulative, dishonest methods? Thus leading to the change Parker mentions? 3. (Maybe this is the same question as #2, which is maybe the same a #1) In the flashback from the Big Bird Job, Eliot looked pretty happy to be working with Vance. Now he makes it clear that he's not interested in any more jobs. When did this change of heart kick in?
RE: The Rundown Job 1. Castleman Security Vault....Really? Love it! 2. I kept waiting for the crabby old Congressman being in on it. Brilliant episode though. 3. And did I see a little salt and pepper in Christian's beard? Sexy! 4. I hope we get a Season Six.
Just a note after thinking about it. Having a friend with hair as long as Eliot's who is also a fighter, the only reason he cut it was a fire during a camping event. The stove flared up in his face and singed his hair so that he had to trim it. So I'm thinking rescuing someone from burning building and getting caught. That's what early morning story came to mind as I was driving to work. Thanks again for a smash up summer finale. Looking forward to the fall.
BTW, considering y'all just made two feature movies each with a running time of some 40 minutes, I just want to say: Your production crew is WICKED AWESOME.
5.09 @anon at 5:37 (question about golf clubs): I'm pretty sure the sniper had them so that he wouldn't seem out of place carrying a long, heavy package...that looks like a rifle. It's one of the standard spy accessories.
Hm, Parker is doing the comforting thing. She has truly grown as a person over the years.
Um, guys? Spanish influenza, and not even one rubber glove? A mask? What happened to precautions?
Parker? Climbing all over Hardison? Unghksdlfnkj. Ooh, black nail polish! Love it!
Hey, Eliot didn't take the gun apart. And that backfires (pun!).
Aww, people-crutch!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.10 "Spoilers!" Was that for us?
"You're not supposed to root for the criminals." Really? What have we been doing all this time, Nate?
New Zealand wine! Gina!
Ooh, callback to the pilot: "I've got a Sophie."
Aren't the flashback scenes kind of what you said Parker's thief vision is like? All black and white except for the valuables (except this was Nate in color).
Ooh, the music after the hot-cold thing on Nate sounds like something out of the Nero Wolfe series...I think. Actually, this whole thing feels like Nero Wolfe. Archie Goodwin, anyway. Was that on purpose?
Awesome! And now I'm going to have Leverage withdrawal.
Before seeing the episodes I was all set to comment about prefering the team all together, yada yada...but then I watched The Frame-Up Job and I have a new favorite. With the fast-paced witty banter and the red herrings it was so Nick and Nora and so, so good. Don't get me wrong, I love "usual" Leverage episodes and love the whole team, BUT should Eliot, Hardison and Parker decide to continue fighting domestic terrorists in DC, I would totally watch the "Nate and Sophie Show" every week.
Since I feel I should ask a question, here's another "Did we learn Sophie's real name?" to add to your collection. If so, care to spell it out for me? Not gonna lie, it took me a second viewing to catch why the son thought Sophie looked familiar...so you can see why I need help figuring out the name.
Thanks for an entertaining hour (or two!) of TV each week!
First of all, let me say: MONTE MARKHAM!!!! Thank you for that! My inner child of '70s TV squeed in delight when I saw him, and then heard him. (As Eliot would say, it's a very distinctive voice.)
These two eps showcase exactly why I love the Leverage writers. Y'all can do perfect "Thin Man" in one ep, with elegance, style and witty banter, then you can turn around and give us a much better "24" ep than "24" ever managed.
I adored the Nate/Sophie-Sterling glory that was "Frame-Up" – Nate at his detective best, Sophie at her "who me?" art-thief best, and Sterling at his smug-snippy best. (Seriously, does anybody do a slow burn like Mark Sheppard? I think not.)
I admit, I figured out pretty early (like, immediately) why Sophie wanted to see the painting so badly, but I didn't see the reveal of the son coming. I loved watching Nate and Sophie alternately bicker and sizzle, and I just adored Sterling's bevy of beauteous Interpol agents. I also loved Sophie's running indignation that no one added the "ex" to art thief, and her using "Collins" as one of her aliases. I think Maggie would be flattered.
And "Rundown" … dear God, you people almost killed me! Seriously, I would watch EPH saving the world by blowing up large chunks of it, while Vance apologizes to Congress for them, every week. I loved Eliot's intensity, Hardison's genius and Paker's balletic beauty. I think my favorite moment, though, and maybe one of my favorite moments in five seasons, was Eliot telling Hardison he wasn't afraid because "you're the smartest guy I've ever known." My li'l heart nearly exploded from the bromantic goodness!
And I liked Vance. It would have been so easy to make him a cartoon figure, but he came across as an intense, driven but admirable guy. Kudos for that. I was also struck in a thinky way by the conflict between him and Congressman Yount and exactly how we go about meeting the threats that face us – fast and lean but playing fast and loose with established rules, or adapting as best we can but sticking to rules that were established for very good reasons (and in the wake of very real abuses)? I'm pretty sure we'll be struggling with that question for a while.
At this point, my one question (others have been asked) pertains to Eliot and Vance. In that flashback in the season opener, Eliot seemed happy to be working with his old CO again, but, in "Rundown," he seemed more hesitant. Was it just Parker and Hardison's involvement that worried him a bit, or is the soldier thing another part of his past he's trying to leave behind?
"Rundown" was huge amounts of fun (and unconsciously terrifying because something like that is not at all impossible), and I loved the sheer competence porn of our Hitter, Hacker and Thief doing what they do. But what I loved most was the fact that they were in it together. The family love just shone in this.
These were both great episodes and I have a lot of things to say so get comfy: 1. In the Rundown Job Christian's acting completely stole the show. He was perfect 2. I know you are getting a lot of Eliot short hair questions but I just wanted to note that he kind of looked like Lindsay McDonald in Angel 5th season 3. I feel like the look between Parker and Eliot at the end before the big climax was a callback to 401 "we do what they can't" because Hardison didn't seem like he had any idea what was about to happen which brings me to 4. I am using all of the power in my very being to try to feel good when I watch Parker and Hardison together but I can't feel the spark. And it seems every time Parker and Eliot have any semblance of an emotional connection or a moment, Parker goes and loves on Hardison like it was him that she had the moment with (like at the end of 401 and the end of 509)Why is that? 5. I feel like Eliot had a lighter, less angry attitude in 509 and also he got shot.Was the hair his armor? 6. Not to sound like a sadistic bitch, but I actually liked the fact that Eliot got shot. It seemed to add to the seriousness of the episode and the badassery. But this brings me to 7. Why does Hardison always talk about not being appreciated when Eliot almost dies in every other episode? Is it the kind of person he is(Ex:like Eliot may be the kind of guy that doesn't like to celebrate his birthday but Hardison wants everyone to know when his has arrived)? Okay 510: 1. I didn't think that I'd like this episode as much as the first because of the lack of a certain three people but man I loved it. I love the chemistry with Nate and Sophie. It genuinely makes me smile to watch. 2. I think the relationship of Nate and Sophie is the best this season because it is past the love/hate chase sequence and they are kind of like Mr. and Mrs. Smith except thieves. 3. Did you paint a naked picture of a young Gina? 4. I feel like this was almost a callback to the boy night/ girls night except they never crossed. Did you filmed these at the same time as well. 5. This episode was really good. I was so satisfied with it honestly. I am actually glad that you are killing more people. It makes the show seem more dangersous and nail biting. Between you guys and Supernatural, I don't know what I would do without you guys. I really hope you get renewed.
To the anonymous that was confused about why he would frame the servant: He couldn't get the fake into place so it looked stolen regardless of who he framed. In fact, the issue wasn't WHO he framed (he actually chose pretty well considering the servant was the only one without an alibi) but rather, it was Sophie presence and knowledge of the painting (which, as you pointed out, he couldn't have anticipated). Though I'm not sure why the curator wouldn't have the code. I don't see why he would give the lawyer the code and not his personal art curator. Also, I don't understand why the son didn't want the inheritance. To throw suspicion away from himself? It seemed to make people more suspicious of him than anything. And the kind of guy who would kill his father for money didn't seem the type to turn down the reward. Also, I wish it had been established earlier that the son had been an artist. It seemed to come out of nowhere. I think there's a term for a convenient plot-point in a mystery. What is it called again?
Loved the nod to the 1st David job in the beginning of The Rundown Job. We have been re-watching our DVD's just before seeing this one and had just saw that episode again. It was a nice to have a thread connecting back to season 1. Have you guys ever considered having the team face a total package character like they had in "The Pretender." Come to think of it they had a "Miss Parker" too. Love the show, please keep them coming. It's so rare to find a show that interests me as much as Leverage. Amazing writing, wonderful direction, and even the smallest parts are casted perfectly.
Am I the only person who couldn't care less about the "OT3"? Especially Eliot? I don't want to seem like a hater. And I seem to be the only one in the fandom who feels that way. I'll just be glad he at least cut is ridiculous hair and take the win. Good job with both episodes (despite my not caring inherently about the three ducklings).
We've got a Sophie inspired Whedon to write for Tony Stark, "We've got a Hulk."
I didn't notice Kane cut his hair. But then, I'm a hetero male. What I did notice is he needed three punches to take out the virus terrorist and also three hits to knock out Baldwin's character. Oh yeah, and he left the pistol loaded.
Another stellar pair of episodes. I was on the edge of my seat during Rundown Job in particular -- that one was completely awesome in every respect. Loved the bonding between Eliot and Hardison, and Hardison and Parker in particular.
My thoughts:
(Frame up Job)
If I understand the son's scheme correctly, it was:
1. He collaborated with the curator to forge the Mettier paintings in the house and sell them to buyers. 2. At some point, he decided to go for the My Mystery painting. He used the fingerprint dust trick on the keypad to figure out which buttons were in the code, then exhaustively searched until he hit upon the right numbers. 3. Being unable to crack the second alarm, he built a fake wall in front of the painting. That's why he was visiting the vault every day; he was building the wall a little at a time. 4. Eventually, he finished the wall and went to switch in the fake painting. The father saw him, learned that he'd been accessing the vault, and had the code changed. 5. The son killed the father with the medication and hid the forgery in the manservant's room to frame him. 6. The plan was, once everyone left the house and the power was shut off (or just the alarm system), he could go back in and extract the real painting at his leisure. This is also what he would have done if he hadn't been discovered, instead just waiting for his dad to die naturally.
(Do I have this right?)
A few other questions:
A. How could the son ensure that the father wouldn't go into the vault at any point beforehand and see the incomplete wall? The daughter said that he checked on it every day. He was using a walker, but he seemed to be able to get out of bed, and he had a manservant to help him move around. B. Once the father realized what was going on, why didn't either he or the alarm company person check inside the vault to make sure the painting hadn't been stolen yet? The painting was already behind the fake wall at that point; they would have noticed that the painting wasn't there if they'd checked. C. Why didn't the son accept being put back into the will? Was it just so that he wouldn't seem to have a motive to kill his dad? D. What was the son's plan for afterwards? The whole world would think that the real Mettier was the forgery, and the real one that he had looked nothing like it. Because of all the other forgeries, he couldn't use any of the other paintings in the house to validate his own. How could he convince any buyer that he had a genuine Mettier?
(Rundown Job)
Was Eliot being honest when he told Hardison that Hardison was the smartest guy Eliot knew? What about Nate?
Thanks again for doing these post mortems. They're really enjoyable to read.
How did Sophie know the artist? Why did he paint her portrait?
Is it your intention to ever find out more about her past? Is that in the cards for this season?
If the show is renewed, will you return next season as showrunner? I'm sure you can't discuss the actors contracts but (without getting specific) are you confident they'd all be on board to return as well?
I'm asking the tough questions, my friend.
My brother works for TNT. He said you were supposed to find out about renewal around the time the cooking episode aired. What's taking so long, damnit? He said that's all he knows on the subject. I am not satisfied with that in the least.
I love the show and will be here to support you guys till the end. If this is the last season, it was a good ride. Thanks for that and for answering our questions.
In addition to my previus comments a few moments ago, I wunna add that I dont mean to say I wud not also get with Parker as well. I wud take a wet rag to dat. White nigga prolly dont kno nuthn about that. Ill xplain when u older.
@Jessica Snyder: Yes, I'm pretty sure you're right. In the scene where he's encouraging a freaked out Hardison, his eyes are practically green, but then in the last scene his eyes are definitely bright blue.
Were we supposed to suspect Adam Baldwin's character of being involved in the false-flag terrorist attack? It seemed like the opening scene-cut cut was trying to imply an association with the terror team, with the scene of him getting chewed out by Congress immediately providing motivation and establishing the "above the law/by any means necessary" morality required to go through with something like that.
Or am I just reading too much into it because the last thing I saw Adam Baldin in had him as a villain?
first off, I want to voice that I am sorry about any complaints that I had, These two episodes were amazing, and The writers are awesome, I am sorry for ever doubting them. I can see better now how the characters are and were written this season.
The Rundown job is probably one of my favorite episode ever, I guess I love all the episodes with a bigger focus on Hardison and Parker, because they are my favorite, and Elliot was completely awesome! I really enjoy the friendship between the three, and Elliot being the big brother/mentor/teacher to them, has made me like him even more. Only real question that I have, is what was the creepy thing that Hardison saw in the Lab? My curiosity is getting the better of me there :)
The Frame-up job is another one that I thought was amazing and honestly it was better then I expected! Nate and Sophie are usually the ones that I enjoy least, but I was pleasently suprised and I really enjoyed them here. And Sterling was a pleasent surpise for me, because I had no idea that he would be there. I also liked how Sophie was accused for stealing the painting the whole time, and after they prove her innocent, they find the painting and steal it. XD I also would like to know, How did you guys come up with the interrogation scene? Because that was brillant, and how much was improved there? and while on the same idea, how much of the banter between Nate and Sophie improved and how much was scripted?
Overall the two episode were really well written and were really fun episodes! I can't wait for the winter episodes!
1. If this does end up being the last season, (or even if it doesn't), can we have a spinoff of Sterling being an Interpol Sherlock Holmes?
2. Actually...do Sterling and Nate see each other as Holmes to Moriarty?
3. Does Sterling already know Sophie's real name?
4. Why did he assume Nate had headquartered in Portland rather than just running a con there?
To the Rundown Job: 5. Why did that fellow try to hire Eliot (other than the obvious of getting the team into the plot) when the baddie clearly already had the sniper as muscle 45 days earlier?
6. Why was Hardison explaining so much to Eliot & Parker about the Spanish flu? (Really, why do people not take the flu seriously?)
5. I know you've mentioned her before, but can you remind us who Beth's gymnast stunt-double is and her background? She's really good.
6. Oh, back when Baldwin did his cameo in the premiere, wasn't that supposed to be something he and Eliot did over the summer? Why then did Vance seem so surprised/Eliot was so insistent that Eliot didn't do that kind of work anymore? They haven't been in Portland that long, have they?
Not only did I predict the Sophie painting thing (which was actually ok because it made me understand what Sophie was feeling as she was feeling it, which I liked), but it's OBVIOUS that this is the last season of Leverage as we know it. Either this show ain't getting renewed, or it's going to look different coming back next year. Am I right?
...dammit, Rogers, I was supposed to be asleep an hour ago. I had to stay up and watch both parts instead, and that is on you.
I have had my reservations about some of the episodes this season. I felt like y'all were losing track of what made me love this show in the first place, devolving into fanservice that was serving fans other than myself. And then you go and pull this shit and I'm right back on board.
Competence porn is back. I missed it. We haven't seen a lot of it this season, but sweet cockslapping Jesus, there it is, and it is magnificent. The visual echo of the false wall in both episodes is nice, but the porn runs deeper than that. With "The Frame-Up Job", I feel like you made the Thin Man sequel that nobody bothered to make after the third one.
And speaking of old movies, you or someone else had the big shiny brass ones to open an episode with a conversation about classic film noir, and then do a straight visual echo of the first shot of Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard. That was fucking awesome.
I'm not even gonna talk about bringing back Sterling and having him always win, that's easy and obvious. What impresses me is that you broke up the team on a team show and it worked, and you did two episodes that were basically two episodes of two completely different shows, and they BOTH worked. Also they were kind of exactly the same reunderneath.
I have not been this impressed with Leverage in a long while. Well played.
@aurora--I think Eliot wasn't doing wetwork, it was one of those missions that Vance was admonished for by the government in the beginning of the episode...namely assembling teams from various agencies (along free agents like Spencer) and sending them off on missions without the paperwork or procedure outside of the regulations.
As for The Run Down Job, it was brilliant! Loved Eliot in charge (he really is Batman), Parker was awesome and has shown a lot of growth as a person (season one Parker would've been gone in an instant), and Hardison really shined. The interplay between all three of them was perfect.
The Perspective-Vision (tm) done in both episodes was really well done (as well as in The Broken Bird Job), in fact I hope it is brought back for the whole team at some point in the future (only because I'd love to see Eliot's perspective-vision--I'm imagining fighting stances and the names of the attacks that he uses).
The Frame Up Job was great, and totally good in a different way. The banter between Nate & Sophie was cool--and anytime Sterling shows up is totally golden.
Overall I thought it was superb summer finale...and I can't wait to see what lies ahead in the back half of the season!
capcha: marbvie 49...sounds like the name of some bad chemical or something.
The frame up job was great, finally a dialogue driven ep with witty banter, good times. :) We got enough banter plus a great art heist story. To echo some of the other comments, this could be an intriguing and watch worthy spin off.
Questions: - who painted the Sophie portrait? - could you include extended versions of episodes say 50 minutes on iTunes? 42 min television is just so short nowadays.
LOVED both episodes to the bone. I didn't worry much knowing that the team was going to be split up for these episodes, but I never expected just how AWESOME the result would be. Love the action/humour split down the middle. You guys have really outdone yourselves, kudos for that!!
First up, I watched Frame-Up first then Rundown – is that the order, or am I mixed up? Some thoughts/questions on the whole:
1. Any explanation why HPE were on their own in D.C.? They were obviously just finishing up a job, but I find it strange that Nate and Sophie would let them run off by themselves. Why weren’t they involved in the first place? Was this Nate “testing” them again?
2. Found it weird how Elliot didn't call N&S for help/to inform them during Rundown. There was only a small mention of Parker texting Sophie in Frame-Up, and that didn't seem like it contained any news about their exploits. Was there a reason the two groups couldn’t communicate, did HPE not want to tell N&S, or was it just an oversigh?
3. Eliot seemed pretty cool, even happy, working with Vance in the season premiere, which in Leverage-time I would say was just a few weeks/months ago at most. Any cause for the sudden coldness towards him?
4. Elliot’s “employer” – one to watch, or just a one-off appearance? Why the sudden call after so long, or are we to assume Elliot’s turned down tons of calls while working with the team?
5. That dead-piggy scene - did you guys just happen to find a ton of pigs sleeping around or did you fire some birds at them? Damn well shot scene – creeped me out a lot more than I expected, and I have a pretty morbid, disturbing mind. Great work!!
6. Loved the whole 24/Flashpoint vibe going on in this ep! Not very typical of Leverage but a nice departure nonetheless. Any chance we’ll be seeing the team get unceremoniously roped into another nation-wide/internationally threatening conflict like this?
7. Sophie’s gulp ‘n dribble when Nate appeared was perfect – scripted or improv from Gina? I liked the parallel with Maltese Falcon ;)
8. LOVED Sterling coming back, but his entrance felt a bit contrived, honestly. No one had any time to raise the alarm before Nate & Sophie bolted, so what was Sterling doing there right then? Even if he was hoping to catch Sophie and/or Nate again, there must have been tons of art exhibitions/auctions over the past years that Sophie never went to – has he been visiting every one of them? Besides, he did give away that he knows their base, and I honestly expected him to keep tabs on Nate, so if he wanted to get them he could just have waltzed in the front door. Unless he somehow knew of the painting’s connection to Sophie? Then again, I think only Sophie would know the painting’s origin.
9. On that point , story-wise, what was Sophie’s relationship with Mettier? Was it done before or during her career as a grifter? And where did you guys find a painting that looked like Sophie/Gina? Same guy who painted Harlan Leverage III?
10. “Still the second best detective I know” – Love the blatant animosity yet grudging respect Nate and Sterling still have going on between them. Any chance we’ll be seeing Sterling ever coming over to the dark side or even helping them out? By the way, nice callback with “I’ve got a Sophie” ;D
11. Back before she left Nate in ‘Two Live Crew’ Sophie stated her identities “weren’t just names” to her and that she knew everything about them, when their parents died, first kiss, etc. Now we see her trivialising them and saying “oh honey, even I don’t know them all” extremely lightly – does this mean she’s finally putting her past to rest, or is she still struggling to sort through all of them? Or was she just getting extra lovey-dovey to get under Sterling’s skin?
12. We’ve come pretty close to understanding almost everyone in the team – maybe not knowing the exact specifics, but at least understanding most,of their motivations in their past actions/careers, as well as reasons in leaving the past behind and moving forward – except Sophie. Her past is still floating up in the air and I have no doubt she loves the team, but she’s still an enigma when it comes to how much we, or they, really know about her. Are there any plans to bring us deeper into Sophie’s backstory?
13. I think this pretty much displays my obsession with Sophie.
14. You mentioned during the 'Three Card Monte' post-game that "When you need to know about Nate's mom, we'll go there. You still have to meet his sister ...". Any idea when this is happening?
Can’t wait for November, but I don’t want to see this show end far too soon. There’s so much potential for more and you guys have proven that you have the chops to keep on delivering. Now tell us, what can we non-US fans do to help swing the renewal votes in our favour?
For the Rundown Job, how did Parker know that the vaccination had been given in the shoulder? She was bumping/hitting people on their shoulder blades. While some vaccinations are given there (I still have a scar from the smallpox vaccine there), not all of them are. Most vaccination shots (for adults) seem to go in the upper arm. I've even had one that goes in the back of the hip and one in the good old gluteus maximus. So how did she know that Udall vaccinated himself in the shoulder? Something lost in editing for time or am I thinking about it too much?
Just wanted to say I love both episodes and thank you for a great season so far.
For The Frame Up Job - It was great to have Sterling back and I loved the relationship talk between Nate and Sophie whenever Sterling was trying to talk to them. Hilarious! Also loved how Nate's reenactment of everything was shown. And, talking about all seasons of Leverage, you guys continue to amaze me with your camera shots. I am a film student and I watch each episode several times observing how the scenes are shot and like I said, I'm constantly amazed.
The Rundown Job is now my favorite episode. Since everyone else is commenting on it, I guess I will also: Love Eliot's new haircut.
I just have one question regarding The Rundown Job. How many takes were done of each time Eliot got shot? I know that each new take would require new wardrobe and squibs that would take time to set up. Knowing Christian is great at all his stunts, I'm guessing each one was done only once.
I should've asked this in the season premiere, but it is sort of relevant thematicallt to the Rundown Job. When Eliot does national security type things on "vacation" for his old buddies, does he use firearms? I guess the end of the episode sort of gives an answer, but I'm curious about the contextual flexibility of Eliot's desire to not use guns / kill people (which we've already seen him do in an incredibly desperate situation, of course). Is it like "not unless the lives of people I love absolutely require it," or is it "nothing I'm doing for Nate justifies that level of violence, but things I'm doing for Uncle Sam still may"?
I'm always curious about the production side of things, so how was the filming of these two episodes structured? Was it done in the same way as the the BNO/GNO Jobs, where you had double the crew?
You burned through about a dozen plots in The Frame Up Job. (I got most of them pretty quickly, but I'm extremely genre savvy and it only adds to my enjoyment. So, yay you.) As you're writing the show, do you ever think, no, let's not use that now because we can use it later in a different / better way?
In the last write-up you did, can you expand on the comment that all showrunners / writers hate the 6 act show? How does it differ from a writing / production standpoint? Why did it change?
As a note: Obviously I'm wanting another season, but I hope that when Leverage finally does get an end date, you know about it going into it so that you can plan the last season accordingly. Do many TV shows get that luxury? Could TNT give you renewal, but say it would be the last one? Does that happen? (Um... slash did it already happen and you're just running a con on your viewers, you smart, sneaky man?)
@cybrestrike
I love the "The Perspective-Vision (tm)". Awesome name.
I kind of felt like Eliot had his own PV there in that episode -- in the last podcast JR said that Eliot kind of saw a diagram of the body with the weak points pointed out, but I like to think of his perspective as kind of like how the time was fluid around him as he fought. Like, as he's fighting, he can almost pause and take notes of everything going on around him, and then react accordingly.
Nothing new to say, really, just wanted to respond to some other commenters:
@awa64 - I ought to wash your mouth out with soap, for suggesting that Colonel John Casey could be a villain. I demand satisfaction! ;p
@Rocxb7 - Re: Eliot and Parker having more chemistry than Hardison and Parker... Sorry, can't speak for anyone else, but I don't see it. At all.
@Nav - 4. Again, can't speak for anyone else, and certainly not the show runners, but I got the sense that that was exactly what we're supposed to think.
5. I just figured it was CGI, myself. With the whole "no animals harmed" thing that goes on in Hollywoodland, it seemed to be the most likely explanation.
9. That's a damned good question, because when Sophie was talking about how she had a personal stake in it, my first thought, for some reason, was that she was somehow related to Mettier, either he was her father, or ex-husband, or something like that...
First off - LOOOVED both episodes! Loved the bond between Parker and Eliot and the love between Parker and Hardison and the Flirting - OMG the great flirting between Nate and Sophie!! Holy building and character development, even Sterling showed more personality! Sterling's physical humor (like looking behind the bookshelf when he kicks Nate out after the cold/warm mind games) and the not always having the perfect solution (like saying he'll arrest them for being annoying) - LOVE! 1 - If you are going to keep developing him as a fun person to love to hate (well, less hate now), can we assume he'll be back more in the future (assuming there is a future to the show). 2 - While I loved each hour individually, I know you right the finale in case it's the end. Why oh why not end with at least a moment of the team together as a whole or talking about making the split more permanent? I loved these episodes but I'd be bummed if it ended without a final who TEAM moment!! 3 - Love all the humorous one liners and expressions! Was that just everyone loosening up a little in the writing room or an active goal for character development? 4 - whats up with Elliot's hair cut?
note: Yall rock and I'll be sooo annoyed if the show doesn't get renewed! There is just NOTHING that is witty and engaging on tv besides yall! Major high fives and hells yeah to the writers!!
I haven't commented in a while but I have to say -- KUDOS on the two best episodes of this season, and two of my favorites of any season. If you're going out, you're certainly going out with a bang. {mixed emotions}
I loved the Rundown Job so much that I watched it twice before even starting the Frame-Up Job but then I couldn't get enough of the Nick/Nora banter from Nate and Sophie. (Excellent writing and Excellent acting from Tim and Gina, the delivery of those lines in that timing with all the back and forth . . .AWESOME!) And then I had to rewatch Rundown Job one more time just to soak in all of the delicious action with well-timed slo-mo, Hardison vision, and Adam Baldwin. Before I knew it, it was already 3 AM.
My questions with comments mixed in (with tags): [509] That's an awful lot of backstory to set up between Vance and the Congressman to use for one episode just to explain why Vance had to use E/P/H. Will we be seeing them again? [509] How many pigs were props and how many were digital? [509] The shot of E/P/H framed separately by the gate while watching the pig flu massacre -- great shot! [509] So Professor Udall goes crazy because no one listens to him, and is able to work through Eliot's initial contact to hire at least 4 hitters to a) take out the farmer (that was the sniper holding him down, right?) b) rig his house & fake trailer lead and c) take out 4 DC emergency heads who didn't listen to him? How does a biotech professor get the contact info and financial means to hire these fine folks? Considering he was disgraced and drummed out of his professional positions. [509] Was it just me or does Aldis have a very distinct voice (sorry) for action? When he has the freakout over the discovery of the Spanish flu and later when he clears the train car -- that's a voice we don't normally hear from him in most episodes -- he normally does cocky, laidback, and sarcastic. [509] I'm having trouble understanding how the news broadcast about the robbers caught with diamonds and beer connected. Did these other thieves, hired by Udall, cut through the wall, find the lost lab (I LOVE secret history!), obtain the spanish flu there, get it out before getting caught and claiming they just had diamonds and beer? [510] How many takes did Tim and Gina need for their banter dialogue? Was any of it improv or all scripted? [510] I also have to say that I love how you've got no problem with keeping Nate and Sophie together and writing their couple-y interactions so well. Between Leverage and Chuck, I'm glad to see TV writers say, "What Moonlighting curse?" and write interesting couples for us to watch and root for. [510] Why paint something completely different as the fake of Ma Mystere? I understand that was needed from a story perspective, and you could also say, "Well, no one knows what it looks like (and is still alive), so he could paint anything he wanted. If someone was coming in to check everyday (ie his dad), while he might not have noticed the intricacies of the other fakes, he would surely be able to notice something that is completely different. Or if not him, who was the other person unlocking the door and checking regularly, as shown on the alarm logs? [510] So what did the son and curator get out of selling all the other Metier fakes? They were in possession of the real ones, but couldn't ever sell them, as it would put them under suspicion. They did not profit from the sales of the fakes, as he refused any money from the estate, and I don't think she would get that substantial of a cut. Thanks again for a great show and for your willingness to interact with your audience via this blog. Can't wait until November!
Re the anonymous comment about an NCIS Leverage mash up - OMG!!!! The world of intelligent humor and wonderfully dysfunctional families on TV might just implode from the awesomeness! Lets see - that would be Nate v Gibbs. Hardison v McGee. Eliot v Ziva. And Parker v Tony? hmmm notsomuch on that being a good match.
@*Michelle, re: Leverage-NCIS mashup – I think we'd have about five or ten minutes of Eliot v Ziva, and then much more time of Eliot + Ziva … most of it off-camera for Standards and Practices. ;)
And instead of thinking "Parker v Tony," think Parker *and* Abby. As in the friendship that burned down the Navy Yard.
As for Tony, he gets Sophie. And he'll never know what hit him. ;)
Just one comment: after the Rundown Job, especially the deleted shots that were on the Amazon/iTunes versions, I'm convinced you lot are deliberately doing OT3 bait. Not just bait for the Eliot/Parker shippers, but bait for the trio as a whole. Honestly, Eliot and Hardison both checking out Parker's laserdance and fistbumping about it? Hilarious.
Why didn't the son didn't just forge Ma Mystere? I know they said he painted it ahead of time, but he was going in the vault every day, so he had seen the image to copy it. (Nice touch that he couldn't quite place Sophie at the event).
Re: Eliot wetwork. Thanks, @cybrstrike! I wasn't realizing that Vance was offering a more permanent job. That make sense.
5 years in the making.......parker finally kisses harrison without being a con!! and love elliot and hardison friendship!!! I would so watch a spinoff of parker/hardison/elliot
There is no way I can put into words just how much I LOVE The Rundown Job.
The scene between Eliot and Alec, where Eliot lets Alec know how much he trusts Alec.. shows his faith in him. The scene was just amazing. That said the simple look between Eliot and Parker on the subway car. It blew me away. maybe I misread it but I took it to mean both were about to do could end in death but that they were willing to do that because they were changing for the good.
Okay Questions: We know that Eliot takes his Oath to the Government very seriously. So when Vance tried to use that to get Eliot to help and Eliot resisted. Was Eliot resisting because Vance was trying to force him to do something or was it because he didn't want to involve Alec and Parker.
Then at the end with Eliot refusing part time work. Was it because he didnt want to do 'That" anymore or because he knew he could do more with his team/family.. or maybe both.
I think I remember hearing on a podcast that we would learn more about Eliot'f family in later eps this season. Will this be Military family or his mom, dad, or siblings? Or could it just be that Eliot sees the Team as his family?
I loved #509 - Hardison/Parker/Eliot were brilliant, not a boring moment.
1. I loved Parker and Hardison romantic moments, they were so amusing, and well blended into the action. 2. Eliot was excellent in his intensity and that drive to do the right thing, he's tough and practical 3. The episode was well written and well directed, I could find no fault. I also loved the chemistry between all three. 4. I hope the writers are busy pitching this H/E/P to TNT or other Studios as a more exciting NCIS type show (these are the guys you call when legal doesn't work). 5. I absolutely loved how Parker disarmed the bomb by climbing all over Hardison, it was both sensual and exciting, I really like how you inserted this tenderness love between the thief and the hacker, it's just so cute, the couple who steals together stays together.
I am really sorry to say this but I was not as fascinated by #510, I kept waiting for E/H/P to show up, Sophie and Nate are good at what they do but they are much better when they have P/H/E to bounce off of.
I don't have much to say, no questions, but at the very least I wanted to say this:
I'm really pulling for a sixth season of Leverage, it's on my Christmas list for sure. But in the event it isn't, I'm glad for the Run-Down Job just for the chance to see "the kids" not just being competent or "best of the best" but pure and simple badass! When I get chills watching Hardison walk into frame...
That's an episode I'll be watching over and again.
I love Leverage and have been writing about you guys on line since 2010. I know you always write and film each season as if it's the last. I know that's what keeps the drama fresh. With each episode the viewer also feels this might be the "last time" we see new episodes of Leverage. Now, with Internet viewing, do you feel On line series will start to be a norm and would you ever consider doing that with Leverage after your run with TNT is over. You have the technology and the following and you have Hardison! Lol.
So my theory is Sophie will tell Nate her name when he finally is able to say "I love you"--without stuttering.
The real name came up after all Nate's phone calls to Sophie in Season 2, and he never got past "I...I...I...um". He did something similar in The Frame-up Job", but seemed a lot closer. Looking forward to the last episodes of the season. If TNT is smart, they'll renew for S6 AND S7 soon :)
Thanks for all the great writing and production (I'll ditto all the comments on the awesome hair, costumes and effects from these two episodes}.
I really loved the summer finale of leverage. I hope TNT will renew soon. This is the best show ever. Even I don't understand everything because I am not a native speaker.
"The Rundown Job" was a really great episode. I love the three kids doing their own job. I loved the new elements and the differences. So I have a question about the virus. 1.Was it the same virus as in 2009? 2. And is it really possible to burn it like Parker did? That seems a little bit unrealistic.
"The Frame Up Job" was the best episode ever for me. Gina and Tim are great together. Also there was Mark Sheppard. I can never get enough of Sterling. "Everything is sunshine and rainbows." That was awsome.
I only have two question. 1. Who painted the picture of Sophie and was it especially painted for this episode? 2. Is Nate going to say "I love you."? I have this feeling that he is unable.
What did Hardison use to make the improvised smokescreen? Looked like a couple of cans of orange spray paint, but I can't imagine that's readily availabe at a cart outside a subway station.
If you had asked me yesterday if I thought Kane with shorter hair would be a disappointment - I'd have said yes. OMG, was I wrong. The man is just flat gorgeous. (however, an army buzz would be a bit gross) ;o)
Kind of general 'don't know nuthin about running TV shows'
The acts you talk about (now up to 6 since Season 4) - are they dictated by commercial breaks? Otherwise, if everyone hates them, why do that many, unless it is the almighty dollar?
Loved the "Rundown Job". All three performed like champions, they kept me bolted to my seat, afraid I'd miss any of the action or smart quips. I really hope there will be a sixth season. If TNT is foolish enough to cancel Leverage then you guys should take your talents to NBC, they are in dire need of good proven shows.
Remember guys you owe it to your fans and NBC will offer a bigger budget and larger salaries.
LOVED both eps. I'm an Eliot geek and I love a good action/drama w/ comedy thrown in so Rundown was my fave...BUT Frame-Up was GREAT too. Nate & Sophie full force? Sterling never stood a chance! Great way to end the summer season and can't wait to see the return of my favorite crew!!
Someone made a comment earlier about how much some of the actors have grown (which I don't disagree with) but I do want to say that Kane has always been a very good actor. His role on Angel was my favorite of the entire cast. It was the reason I watched the show. I don't think the acting on shows of that genre get appreciated enough. There have been a lot of really good performances that's been done on Angel, Buffy, Supernatural, etc... Sorry, just saying.
@ Rocxb7 What kind of moment did Parker and Eliot have? Parker and Eliot looked at each other to confirm their timing that she had to get the case clear and he was going to distract the professor.
Here was a real moment: When Hardison wanted to quit because of the virus, Eliot grabbed his wrist and then cuffed the nape of his neck, while looking deep into Hardison eyes while giving him the patriotic speech. - NOW THAT WAS A MOMENT.
The chemistry between Parker and Hardison is obvious, even in real life, when you see them together at ComicCon and the launch parties, there is super chemistry between them - Watch the part2 live webchat on youtube with Beth and Aldis.
Two brilliant yet vastly different episodes. I'm even more thoroughly impressed with the calibre of Leverage's writing team and cast and crew than ever.
One question though about The Rundown Job: the cut between the snipper and Eliot each checking the time was very fast, but were Eliot and the snipper both wearing the same model of watch? If they were, was this a clue to Eliot's past as a Navy Seal? You've said previously that Eliot lied about his age to go into the military. Is his being a contemporary of the snipper and being issued the same watch plausible?
This is about Nate, really. I was rewatching S1 & S2, and there's a lot of focus there on the pain Nate feels for losing his son. Revisited at the end of the Queen's Gambit Job, but taken more of a backseat lately. Is Nate still hurting, has he healed, or has he just shut himself off another way? Found another vice besides alcohol?
On a personal note, I am an Hardison and Parker fan. I am a proud Geek, who loves anything tech, so Hardison is my man, plus most everything that Hardison does is possible to do, just not as fast and as slick as he makes it out to be. I closely know people who are Hardisons.
Parker is sublime, she's-in-she's-out and it may take you days or even months to know that she stole it. Hardison+Parker makes me laugh, smile and listen carefully for the quips and sarcastic punch lines. Their romance is cute because they are still trying to figure out this strange thing called pretzel/love
I like how in the last one, you were like "Don't shit on my writers!" that was fucking sick, man. Hey, I'd want you to be my boss. MY boss asked me if he could "make a fun video with [me]" the other day. When I asked him what he meant, he winked. Yeah. Fuck everything about that. Good on you for being so cool. Don't go to a certain restaurant on Sunset. Not only is my boss a jerk, but Javier (who is from Spain, not Mexico) sticks his thumbs in the soup.
Also, everybody knows TV takes creative liberties with time. Although, I like to pretend that all episodes of Law & Order take place concurrently. And that when Detective Briscoe has an argument with his daughter during an investigation, it really takes a fucking year to sort that shit out by the time trial rolls around. Also, how they get fuckin DNA results back so fast on EVERY COP SHOW ON EARTH?? That shit takes months. But I don't see Dick Wolf taking the time to read people bitch about it. THANK YOU, JON! Love you, man. Hope you really are my boss some day. I'd do anything to even be the JANITOR in your writer's room. Just to learn from each and every one of you. That's the dream. Thanks for taking the time to do this and thanks for keeping me dreaming! (makes waitressing on Sunset bearable)
weirdly enough, even though I love me some Parker, and Hardison too, The Rundown Job didn't quite click for me. I guess it's the whole "it's the end of the season so they won't fail and millions won't die" feeling in the back of the head which makes it less exciting than it could be on pure story-terms.
Was completely smitten with the Frameup job, though. Because of course you know that in the end all will be good, but the suspense is in the how. Plus Sterling.
Also just realised that some time during season 1 somebody asked on this here blog whether we'd ever get the "Sophie takes her clothes off-job". I guess we just did?
I have to admit that if those two were individual shows, I'd tune into E/H/P sometimes, but I'd fanatically watch Nate/Sophie.
and you know what, that captcha can just go fuck itself. Fourth try now and I'm _sure_ I entered them right. WTF?
Nate said "when you left that day" in regards to her shoes, shouldn't he have said "when you left this morning"? I mean, it was just later on in the same evening, wasn't it? If it wasn't, then why was she wearing her shoes for the event the day BEFORE the event? Right?
Also, this is probably a more appropriate question to ask the showrunner: why didn't Sophie want Nate's company to see the painting? Why couldn't she tell him once it was stolen? "It's personal" seems a little vague to me. I'm not saying I disagree creatively with her saying that but I'm wondering if there's more to it. Is it just one of those things I'll never understand because I don't have any secrets? That's probably it.
I'm obsessed with this episode. I'm a little biased because Nate and Sophie are two of my favorite fictional folk, but I thought, of the two episodes, this one really benefited from its simplicity in a way that made me enjoy it more. Though the other was just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim. For it was grassy and wanted wear. Though as for that the passing there, had worn them really about the same. I don't know what I'm talking about anymore. Loved them both (but I will be re-watching Tim and Gina's at least five more times). Thanks!
Great episodes. Good job everyone. I'm just going to keep it simple with a congrats on a job well done. And you better not break our hearts with this finale, Jon. I'm not playing around. Love Gina and Tim.
Glad to know I'm not the only one fucking up these captchas. WHAT IN THE SHIT. "10 PENSITOR" That's exactly what I typed. whatever the fuck that means.
Did Nate expect Sophie to come save his ass? If not, did he know she was there when he said "I'm smart enough not to kill my partner"? Is he ever going to tell her he loves her? I mean god damn.
You all outdid yourselves for these two episodes. And for that I would like to congratulate the cast and crew! Great acting, writing, directing, editing, great everything!
As said by others, you split the team up but it still worked! But I still prefer them to be together most of the time because that was the Leverage Team that we came to know and love :) I hope you guys get renewed for another season or 2. At least give everyone the chance to prepare for a last season and not just pull the rug beneath our feet by ending it all this year.
I can't think of a question to ask since it has been asked by the others above.
I guess I'll just ask a hair question! Tim and Christian both cut their hair in this season, was it their choice or is it for the show? :D
Oh, and I really love Tim and Gina. They really have great chemistry together. And of course, Beth, Aldis and Christian were just great as well. :)
1. What was your reaction when you first say Christians hair? 2. During the deep Elliot and Hardison scene, I'm guessing Kane added a "Kiss for luck" in for the gag reel? 3. Probably a long shot, but any chance you know where I left my DVD remote? 4. Loved Sterlings more comedic scenes in this ep but he seemed less formidable than usual. Didn't get the hints himself quickly or get a one up on Nate and Sophie or anything, was that intentional to give Nate more of a badass feel? Just that I missed that constant chess feel between Sterling and Nate 5. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? 6. Your reaction once you saw Tim's twitter pic of him nice and safe on a jet ski? 7. Who among the cast has given you the biggest headache with stunts and misadventures and what was it? 8. How much do you think @damagedhearts lost her shit when you wished her happy bday? 9. Who would you say is your least favourite cast member? Don't worry, we won't tell them.... honest.... ish.....
@trixie, I totally agree with you that they are much better together, but if I HAD! to choose then I'd choose (NCIS/IT TAKES A THIEF) type show with P/H/E on regular network TV.
I am not dismissing Nate and Sophie, I love them both, but I think if there was a split P/H/E would be more Network TV attractive, even on TNT viewers would go for the glitz and pace of a Thief/Hacker/Retrieval Specialist over a mind-game duo, but when you have them all together the result is magic. Last night I watched the TNT fan question interview with Beth and Aldis and I loved the chemistry...take a look at part #1 and #2
@NSH_Legacy said... 1. What was your reaction when you first say Christians hair? 2. During the deep Elliot and Hardison scene, I'm guessing Kane added a "Kiss for luck" in for the gag reel?
Choked on my water just picturing Christian kissing Aldis. Sure do hope that is on a gag reel.
omg the Rundown job was like watching a full lenght future film, so much action and a lot going on but brilliantly made into a 40 min fun fest...love that trio...btw not sure about the hair, he looked different and it looked good but I still think I prefer the longer version...hm do I have any questions? Nope, just great work as always...
The frame up job was brilliantly done has got to be my favorite episode . Nate and Sophie were so hot Together the chemistry between them amazing to watch : ) My question - if you's were to get a season 6 will u do the same thing have just an Sophie and Nate ep and I think you should write a kinda heart to heart like programe for Tim and gina there chemistry is to Fantastic to pass by : )
Can you explain what it means for Leverage to be 0.07 or 0.08? I keep seeing those numbers regarding the show and I don't understand what they are referring to or why it is important.
1) I know the Genre acting scene can be something of a 'small world' and we've been seeing plenty of staples as Leverage guest stars. Is there anyone on your Do Want list for if you get another season? Summer Glau and Christian Kane fighting together (or each other) just sounds like a thing of beauty to me as an example. 2) Since Eliot does't like Hospitals, and they're in Portland now, does he get acupuncture? Somehow I can totally see Eliot's idea of healing being getting stabbed by dozens of sharp objects. 3) I love the spotlight on how each of our Crew in the Rundown Job handles serious 'life-or-death' pressure. There's the completely panicked look in Hardison's eyes (a la Mile High Job), the almost instinctive-seeming leanings toward Self-Sacrifice for Eliot (Big Bang Job), and Parker... Well, I'm reminded of a dancer who takes a deep breath before breezing onto a stage (...Too many episodes to count, oh leaping off buildings and handling bombs). Is there any post-its for keeping track of that kind of stuff or is it just naturally intrinsic to writing the characters? 4) Is that Sterling grudgingly starting to like what Nate does there at the end? Or at least being willing to like Nate again? 5) A murder mystery at an Art Auction? Did Nate and Sophie just have their Perfect Date? 6) That made me think what Parker and Hardison's would be... Maybe LARP? Oh god Parker as a Rogue...
@Christina The ideal would be a minimum of 2.x for Cable. --- REVIEW: As I said before the "Rundown Job" was excellent, well written and well executed, that being said you know how the industry works; Some folks having seen it will now be busy writing a prelim script outline to shop to the various networks. I would suggest that you guys write your own outline script and send it to various network execs in order to block anybody shopping a similar script around, which would block you from doing so if you are not renewed by TNT (God forbid).
All I can ask of you guys, is that no matter what happens at TNT don't stop trying to keep this marvelous show on the air. You guys are a super talented team of Writer/Directors/Actors, with a great show...The only fault I have is that this show needs more promotion, more publicity bookings on national shows. You have some very charming actors with great personalities, use them more (The Letterman Show/Jay Leno/Jimmy Kimmel/The View/Chelsea Lately, etc).
"you think you got it all figured out" no he doesn't, idiot. That's why he just asked you "why did you go in and out so many times?" ha. Anyway, the bad guy's performance in that scene was good, he seemed like a genuine sleaze.
Did Nate know Sophie would save the day? Why did he go back there if he didn't know the painting was hidden there and the bad guy would have to return? Why did he leave Sophie at the bar?? Was that in an effort to protect her or was he getting back at her for keeping secrets? Why did the guy try and kill Nate? He would have gotten away with it if her just hid until Nate left. Or better yet, if he had just shot him in the back of the head. OR if he had just played it cool and been all, "I miss my dad, I came back here to remember him blah blah." Maybe Nate wouldn't have fallen for him but it's always better, in my experience, to make murder your plan B.
One question: was Gina cool with the naked painting? (Not that she had to pose for it or anything).
Who painted it? Were you tempted to use her naked portrait from Coupling (ha)? What do you do with things like that once production is over (fake paintings, I mean. You must have had a couple on this show given all the art stealing).
...I guess that was four questions. And all about Gina naked. Does that make me some kind of fiend? I was the same person who asked about Parker and Hardison's sex life so I think this officially makes me a fiend. In order to throw suspicion off of my fiendishness, I'll ask one final question:
Were you aware that in last season's "The Radio Job", after Nate's Dad blows up and as the scene fades to Dubenich in jail, for a second, the lights on the floor of the jail coincide with the image of Nate's face and it looks like he has a moustahce just like his father's? Go ahead and look at it. I'll wait.
It's creepy! It's like the ghost of his dad or something. Good casting choice for Nate's father. He does look like Tom Skerrit. Especially with a creepy fading light mustache.
Gina saying "naughty" at the end of that episode was the single hottest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. The way she said it. Damn.
Also. I realize Gina lives in London and Tim lives in New York (I... think?) but if you don't get them together for the episode commentary on the dvd... I will die, Jon. You will have killed me. It will be murder. YOUR HANDS WILL HAVE BLOOD ON THEM CAN YOU LIVE WITH THAT
Can we PLEASE get a show about Nate and Sophie getting hired by interpol to solve art theft crimes? Good LORD that was fun to watch. Seriously. I love Leverage but I'm sad that was only one episode.
Is Nate dying at the end of the season? Yeah, yeah. I know you can't actually say. But what else could you have been planning since season one? Death or retirement. It's not like you could have been planning "Nate continues doing what he's doing" since the beginning. So we know THAT'S not the case. And it's all we want! Leverage team spending their golden years grifting and grofting (not a thing).
I feel like Nate wants EACH of them to build their own team. Making sure Parker can be empathetic, making sure Eliot can mastermind that congressman, all the secret stuff he's doing with Hardison. And he may have even been testing Sophie to make sure she was listening to that nerd in the alien episode. It seems like he's prepping them to each head their own team and maybe... make Leverage a little more global. Either that or he's dying and wants to make sure he teaches them everything he can before he goes. But considering his son died of cancer, that seems like an odd choice to me.
OK, I have a couple of non-ep Q's but sorta show related:
- as a business, how is the establishment going? I keep envisioning an ep revolving around Jon Taffer and "Bar Rescue" showing up. I think I would pay to see the team's reactions, especially Alec & Elliot.
- another HUGE scammy mess involves brokers putting the elderly into variable annuities. Has this come up in writer's meetings?
- since you've mentioned it in a few of your ep recap posts .... any thoughts on the announced Vunce Vaughn "Rockford Files" movie?
Thanks for the show & tell TNT to renew. Barkley doesn't need as much $ now, as he's on a diet
A lot of good points above, To weigh in on the question of CKs hair: I think the shorter hair takes 10 years off of him...I like it. Question: In addition to all the other connections and allusions mentioned above, Was Jonas Gault the son of John? so why wasn't his daughter named Ayn? or Dagny?
I think these two episodes are my favorites so far. Keep doing 'em. Demand renewal for Season 6 and 7 (and while we're at it 8 and 9...)
Aww, you guys are cute with the fake-metro. Everybody knows that DC stations are sterile, subterranean pits with no soul! I understand about the logos and the physical locations and the trains, but can't you guys dim the lights to give it that authentic cave feel?
Fantastic ep, though. Had me at the edge of my seat...
@anonymous 12:19 PM said, "The ideal would be a minimum of 2.x for Cable."
2.x what? I don't know what that number is referring to and Google can't help when it doesn't know what you are asking. Thank you for responding, though.
1. First of all, please do not split the team for good. "The team is perfect the way it is", like Sophie said in The Hot Potato Job. Those five complete each other. 2. That said, well done, it's good balance splitting the team once in while. 3. I loved The Frame Up Job. Agreed to someone above that "Lots of people do good action/thriller stuff, but clever and witty is rarer." Awesome writing, perfect performances from Gina, Tim and Sheppard. Fast thinking, intimacy and fun between Nate and Sophie. Must say I was missing Gina changing characters/ accents. I'm watching The Frame Up Job over and over. 4. Sophie's facial at the end "and very naked". Wowwwww!!! 5. Now a real question. I was looking for Leverage DVD with Portuguese subtitles and just found Season 1. Do you know if there are DVD with Portuguese subtitles for Seasons 2 to 4? In Brazil Leverage Season 4 is on Space, but either in English with no subtitles or dubbed (awful). Sure I watch it in English, but since I love this show so much that I watch any episode more than once I'd like to purchase DVD with subtitles (at a fair price I hope!). Congrats and hoping for at least S6 and S7!
@Ruben- How did Sterling lose? He recovered a valuable painting(that none except 1 person knew was a fake), arrested 2 people for the crime with 1 accomplice dead and took all the credit and had a bevy of lovely lady agents to assist him. He also knows that the team is based around Portland now. That's 3 wins and since sophie would never tell how she knew Ma mystere was a fake that's mnot a loss.
@MagzMC- Q2- If I could work for Interpol and have only serious and deadly blonde female agents working for me, I would. Q3-I'm sure John would hire Kari Matchett in a minute for that show, if... she weren't already On Another Show.(Covert Affairs-USA network)
about the metro- Ease up folks, it was a cool set and making it look exactly like the DC metro would likely have cost so much as to make this show undoable. Production/set design is a trade-off between what you can do and how much it costs and how much time you have to make the set. C'mon everyone board the Fun Train! @SueN. Vance seems to be a military version of Nate with his putting together teams for a mission, Ok maybe Peter Graves/IMF but he assembles what he can to get the job done and worry about clean-up later. @Anonymous at 629 PM- Theson having stolen the painting would sell it and be rich and go on his way. His rift with his dad would be a good excuse to show he didn't want the inheirtance and throw everyone off his trail, IMHO. I think the line about the 2nd best detective is like the Eliot I have no weaknessess bit. They see themselves as the best and the other as a close second. @Christine trry this article on how the Nielsen ratings work http://brusimm.com/nielsen-television-ratings-explained/ and then go to TVbytheNumbers.com and compare ratings to get a feel
Another question: So who gets to call Mom and Dad and tell them (especially Mom) that Big Bro has been shot? I'm guessing Hardison loses another round of rock, paper, scissors, right?
It has been a busy week for me so I am just getting to this posting.
all comments on 509 (510 will be a separate post)
I loved the little extras included in the iTunes version! Any chance we will get more of that?
1) regarding editing down to tv air time. Does one editor have to make these decisions or are options given to a small group (Dean, Editor etc)
2)I love the competence porn with the laser dance.. and I know that you have to leave Parker's hair long to help disguise Beth from her stuntie...but there has to be some way to do that differently because the hair would have hit the lasers...
3) How much time elapsed from when Eliot got the call from Riley to when the team showed up at Riley's work place? Doesn't seem like there would have been enough time for Riley to get the alternate shooter in place.
4) At the trailer in the field... When Eliot called Vance, the phone showed 'Blocked' caller ID. If the Caller ID was blocked, how did Vance know that it was Eliot calling earlier?
5) Just how much of the stunt driving of the 'Vette did Kane really get to do? We know from BTS pics that Kane/Hodge did some of the green screen...
6) On the MAX car... where did Eliot's coat go? (At least on the iTunes version...) Now its there and then it isn't. Not complaining about the gun show mind you... and I know it was a necessary production need...just unexplained.
7) I didn't notice the 'non'-Leverage music at the end until about the 3rd watching.. Are you setting us up for the spin off? Cause I would definitely watch that just as faithfully as I watch Leverage!
My favorite episode this season... and possibly for the entire series. Thank you...
oh and @SueN...that is not a call I would want to make at all! Do you wonder if Nurse Gayle is going to help with Eliot's recovery again?
Dumb question but, when Nate ells Sophie to run when the gunman is approaching. Is he doing that to protect her or to use her as bait? Maybe a little bit of both? Re-watching it, she definitely distract the guy and makes it easier for Nate to take him out but that is seriously dangerous. He could have fired on her from that distance pretty easily before Nate got to him. Instead of firing, though, he chose to take a couple steps closer. So did Nate know it would play out that way or was he just trying to save her? I won't think you're some kind of misogynist if you say he was trying to protect her. Or anti-feminist. whatever. Considering she did just save his life moments beforehand. Speaking of which, did he know she would show up to save him?
Loved having more of Sterling in "The Frame Up Job"! Did Mark Sheppard have a hard time keeping a straight face when he and Gina were playing a couple? Will we see more of Sterling in the winter?
I'm getting a weird vibe that you're attempting a spin-off without Tim and Gina. I don't know if that's what you'd call it. Maybe just a re-imagining of the show. Regardless, there seems to be a mounting pile of evidence to support this. This saddens me, given my fondness for the two of them.
While I wish you guys luck in whatever capacity you return in (should you be given the opportunity), I honestly felt like the Run Down Job was the weaker of the two episodes on Sunday night. Not only can you not do 24 better than 24 (nothing personal) but the charm of the ensemble was lost, I think.
I feel like Parker, Hardison, and Eliot (while I love those characters) are the ones whose personal triumphs and tribulations I can predict the most. Between Parker's charming social quirks and anxieties, Eliot's somber monologues about what happens to a man when he does blah blah blah, and Hardison's ambitions and assertions about how its the "age of the geek", I can't help but feel like they've leaned on too much to carry the B story each week. And Nate and Sophie have been neglected. When we do see the two of them, it's usually about their romance. Or in my eyes, a hole in the floor where its implied a romance exists.
You say Sophie's arc was accelerated in season 2 but that just felt like the tip of the iceberg to me and I'm disappointed to hear that that is somehow a complete story for that character in your mind. Maybe I've read thi completely wrong. But that episode had a distinct pilot-y feel to me. And the Frame-Up Job felt like a last hurrah.
I know you don't need me coming on here telling you how to write or run your show so I'm sorry to waste your time. And I'll just finish by saying thank you for creating the show in the first place, it's been a great ride. I'll watch whatever series you work on next. And I'd shake your hand if this weren't the internet.
It'll be a scene to remember indeed, and this show terribly lacks moments like that one. But, I don't think it'll happen because they'll just show us something completely separated from this episode, as they always do. Remember that Parker had six weeks to heal? No mention of that, either.
Great episodes, the both of them! Most of my questions have been asked. But I know there is an order of shooting eps, an order the writers want in a perfect world and the order that is shown.
What is the order the writers intended for these first 10 episodes?
I know you often say it makes no difference, but as a journalist, I love the story telling and I usually can tell. For instance, Frame Up should have come before Rundown, simply because frameup had a line that accounted for the kids' absence and rundown had nothing about Nate and Sophie (yeah, it probably should have had something, too).
342 comments:
1 – 200 of 342 Newer› Newest»No question..just wanna be the first to post cause I'm excited for the double showing tonight
In The 'Gimme A K' Street post-game, you wrote, "...every con we do could in theory be used to pull apart the real-world equivalent of the mark...." and given that you know people like Apollo Robbins...
When can we expect you and your team of cohorts to start pulling off some of these cons in the real-world?
And, if you don't do it, then who will?
Just curious over Kane's wardrobe - does he have say over what he wears? Asking because the t-shirt he was wearing said "Wolf" in Japanese, and wolf is a recurring theme with him...?
Okay... I love Eliot with long hair but I'll admit Christian is hot with the short hair too.. Now if we can just get him clean shaven. :). The previews look great I can't wait to watch.
I hope TNT renews Leverage soon. I truly love this show.
I know this is old news, but just wathching The Scherezade Job. Amazing that you had the emotional grasp that everyone stopped during the last notes of the violin solo. Mesmerizing. Leverage is far more entertaining than Hustle by a longshot, as we have emotional investment in the characters.
@deanangst: Hey! It's poesie from LJ! *waves* (This is who I think it is, isn't it? :P Because otherwise, embarrassing!) Okay, just wanted to say hi. And agree with you on the short hair (OMG, can you say Lindsey McDonald?!!) and the shaving. Last week's ep? What, did Eliot forget his razor or something?
ypeI am glad summer finale is running back to back. I think its better that way.
I am hoping you get a S6.
In the First David Job Nate picks up the briefcase of $8 million. What happened to that money? Did he share it with the team?
I loved the nod to Chuck, the Casey farm
We never get tired of it either Alec. Who needs Catherine Zeta-Jones when you have Beth Riesgraf?
Answer: only Michael Douglas.
Oh and Sean Connery. :P
At the sight of Eliot's hair, I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of fangirls cried out and were suddenly silenced.
Also, I wonder how hard it was to keep from having him say "Fore!" after the beatdown with the golf club. (I know, you're supposed to say "Fore!" before, not after, but he was kind of busy before.)
At the sight of Eliot's hair, I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of fangirls cried out and were suddenly silenced.
Also, I wonder how hard it was to keep from having him say "Fore!" after the beatdown with the golf club. (I know, you're supposed to say "Fore!" before, not after, but he was kind of busy before.)
Sorry for the double post. The Captcha was acting up.
Is it just me, or is TNT airing tonight's episodes out-of-order? The Frame-Up Job comes before The Rundown Job, no?
1)Was the "Casey Farm" name an intentional nod to Baldwin's most recent role, or just a nice coincidence?
2) Was the fact that Nate and Sophie didn't show up for so long a deliberate choice, or were Tim Hutton and Gina Bellman busy with other projects at the time? I mean, I'm certainly not complaining about some good Hacker/Hitter/Thief action, but it's interesting, especially after last week's Parker-heavy episode.
@Dan -- maybe they had some more stuff to burn in Japan. :-)
"I need that brain." I'm hoping that sparks lots of "Young Frankentstein" jokes on this season's gag reel.
(Sorry. I'm exhausted and a little loopy.)
The Rundown Job....BESY FUCKING JOB EVER! I would totally watch E/P/H in their own show! This totally FUCKING ROCKED!
Wow. Parker's method of saving Hardison is the sexiest thing I've seen in ages.
Say, admittedly this is from Wikipedia, but apparently the Spanish Flu only existed "in the wild" in human beings. So how'd it kill those pigs?
Is the part of Chuck Bartowski being played by Alec Hardison tonight?
Rachel Olschan Violin Concerto, nice.
Just started watching.
Ahem. Parker and Hardison are giving new meaning to the term "competence porn."
"That's where the four lines intersect."
Ha, ha, ha! Sigh...
Parker's going to lose her memory, isn't she?
One answer is obviously, "Too Much," but how much did they want to allow the use of "Metro" name and logos?
Excuse me, Nate and Sophie didn't show up at all. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this one is going to be only the two of them.
Rundown job...I'll let it slide because I love you and this show to pieces, but have NONE of you been on the DC metro? :) I suppose us Washingtonians should be used to it by now. TV and movies almost never come close to looking right. In any case, FANTASTIC episode!!! Loving Eliot's new hair, my fingers are aching to run through it... ;)
OK - first thoughts:
Christian Kane's haircut looks great.
Killer scene with the pigs.
What kind of a wuss is Eliot? He gets a huge wraparound bandage for his shoulder shot? Nate only took a little square patch. ;)
The initial scenes seemed a bit rushed but some great individual scenes, particularly the two big Eliot-Hardison scenes.
Totally only goes to support my theory that the team is breaking up. I see some foreshadowing here, my friend. And I don't care how good on single individual episode is with Nate/Sophie and Parker/Hardison/Eliot. In the long term, they're still all better together.
I should probably clarify I was kidding about the look of the DC metro. I'm aware that you have a budget and are probably all too familiar with the love-hate relationship we have here with the metro system and their fares. :)
I wish the painting had a different name. I keep thinking it's a painting of Fred Astaire's mother.
(Like I said -- loopy.)
Wait, so is Indira McAllister her real name? I must say, after all of that time, if that's really it, that's a nice and understated way of doing it.
Re #509:
SENSATIONAL show! This is the mix of serious and funny that I LONG for from Leverage. SUPERB departure from the series format, but still incorporating a "mini-gloat" at the end.
Could you tell I liked the show a little?
Questions/comments:
1. I like Eliot's short hair - in fact it could be just a tad shorter - but was disappointed that it wasn't explained in the show. I was expecting such a monumental event to have relevance to the plot! What was the reason, anyway?
2. Was "Charles Scalzi" a tribute to John Scalzi, super SF author and subject of Wil Wheaton's audiobook readings? (Check out "Redshirts", everyone!)
3. Loved the love from Eliot of his team throughout, but was a bit surprised at his calling Hardison "The smartest guy I know." From a hacker standpoint, sure, but Nate is the brains. Would that have ever entered into Eliot's equation? Or is Eliot just not that impressed with Nate's smarts?
4. Was Monte Markham's subway disguise supposed to remind us of Nate? It did for me.
5. There was some MAD visual style in this ep, particularly at the safe opening in the beginning. On the other hand, not thrilled with the slo-mo, but I'll forgive it because of how good the rest of the direction was. Yay, Dean! What inspired the rather different and delightful style?
6. Wasn't Markham's final speech just a bit too melodramatic?
7. Eliot walks (or runs) into a bullet? TWICE? And his HIT is a cutaway? To quote from Harry Potter, you "have got to sort out [your] priorities!"
I doubt that #510 can match the greatness of #509, but I'm still looking forward to seeing it. BTW, thanks in advance for your looking into another LoDuca soundtrack; download would be perfectly acceptable to me, though physical CD is always preferable.
OH My God!! The Rundown Job-Best Episode Ever! My heart was racing the whole time. Very different kind of episode. Loved Christian's short hair! Just wondering the reason for it? A change of pace,or for a specific reason in the show?
BTW, loved the Eliot flip from season 3
You Leverage showrunners are big damn geniuses. First the serious, nail-biting, ticking-clock suspense episode and now the sexy, funny farce. Excellent balance, excellent pacing, excellent showcase of characters and actors, and EXCELLENT way to leave us wanting more!
Just guessing... the painting is of a late teens early twenties Sophie, and the painting's name is her name.
This is like a wonderful episode of Hart to Hart. This is perfect Sunday television. Thank you.
I love the 509. It is like Leverage doing an NCIS episode. Someday, I would love for the Leverage crew to go up against Gibbs and his crew.
Haha, Agents Tennant and Smith. I'm a Doctor Who newbie and even I got that!
Next time Hardison runs into Stirling, he should totally call him "Canton Everett Delaware the Third".
(The second after I typed that, Sophie used "Agent Tennant" as a alias)
@IMForeman -- ooh, I like that idea. Hope you're right.
@IMForman, and the son did it, cased (or cut the powwr) the joint while working on the pool, and that's why he thinks he knows Sophie.
I call TOTAL foreshadowing. Sterling AND the Colonel are hiring? What a surprise.
Rundown Job
A fun departure from the norm; enjoyed the "24" (or "MI-5") style. :)
Frame-Up Job
LOVED. IT.
0) Were all the comments about the "manservant" a shout-out to Manservant Neville?
1) The flashbacks with Nate and each of the suspects were beautiful. Was Nate being on two sides as the camera panned done by Tim running around the back of the camera?
2)Loved the Agent Tennant/Smith shoutout. Hardison's not the only Whovian on the team, then!
3) That shot of Nate standing on the water - very cool, and was it a reference to the Cars music video? The one Tim didn't direct?
Non-episode-related fun fact: Gerald Downey did a surprise cameo in a Cialis ad during the second episode...
I was right - #510 not as great as #509, but delightful in its own way. Art thefts, despite their frequent use on TV shows and movies, are not exactly my "Mettier", and I don't even try to figure out the killer / forger TOO closely, but I was actually pretty close on this one.
With these two shows, you may have actually created two "back-door" pilots for new series: one with Eliot, Hardison, and Parker; the other with Sophie and Nate. The teams work SO WELL. (I doubt that was your intention, but I can dream...)
And NOW I see - Eliot's shorn hair went to Sterling's beard!
Only one real question: Didn't you use Agents Tennant and Smith once before? (One of them should have been "Delaware"!)
One thing on #509 that I forgot to ask: Was there any intention to finger the congressman as a red herring? I really thought he might be involved in the plot, but that dropped off after the blow-up.
And now the waiting begins until the series resumes... sigh. Thanks for the great entertainment you and your entire crew provide. And thanks for answering all these questions we ask; it's truly something special to have such a connection to a TV show of this quality.
Sa-wish! I can not say I perfectly had the evil villains plot laid it, but by the time of the commercial break with Nate having a gun to his head I did sucessfully call Sophie being the subject of the art paintingsp in question thus how she knew it was a fake even without seeing it. Granted it helped a lot that I had written a story a few years back involving a thief and a famous painting that she was the muse of, so while I am not a great detective, I am a master of recognizing genre conventions!
The word on Eliot's shirt says Wolf in Chinese. The written Japanese language uses lots of words from Chinese.
So, in the Broken Wing Job, Parker mentions that Hardison's the smartest guy she knows. In the Rundown Job, Eliot says the same.
Q1: Is this foreshadowing Hardison building his own team?
Q2: Is Indira McAllister Sophie's real name? If not, was it one of those names Sterling reeled off?
Slow. Standing. Ovation.
Dark and light, physical and cerebral. And all about trust.
Sterling surrounded by young female agents and losing his temper.
Eliot's slow-mo sequences, the visual of Hardison's processes, and LASER GRID.
Eliot taking a serious stand with the team, Hardison confessing to Parker, Parker risking everything.
Sophie's past (was her name in there, somewhere)?
And two offers of legit employment.
Best two hours this season and maybe my favorite two hours of all seasons (well . . . maybe).
So . . . Leverage becomes an Apollo Robbins-like consulting company, except perhaps slightly, ah, grayer in its methods?
'Cause I'd be up for that.
First off-Rundown Job rocked!
I know there's going to be feedback about Eliot's hair but along with Vance's offer, it seems it might hint of things to come. Will we learn why Eliot chose to cut it?
Wolf in Japanese on a t-shirt? Souvenir of their recent trip?
I love how Eliot took control when they panicked. He's obviously officer material.
The behind the scenes with the Segway looked very cool in the final cut.
Questions
1. Castleman? As in the Homecoming Job?
2. SHould all these job offers in both episodes make me nervous?
3. Wow. The allusions. Casey Farm. Riley (character in Buffy/ actor in Summer Catch) I know I'm missing some.
4. Director's choice to slow down the fight scenes? Considering we lose track of Eliot's punches at normal speed, this was an interesting choice that really seemed to serve the story.
5. Hardison geeking out about the cool van was great. I wonder if he installed a backdoor to the system for future use.
6. Once again we get the ..."it's a very distinctive..." I listen for this almost as much as I listen for "seriously."
7. Parker driving. "Hold on." Lots of laughs in this.
I could go on but I think I'll stop. BRAVO!
Frame-Up Job was a lot of fun too. Sterling being flummoxed is so much fun. Offering Nate and Sophie a job was disturbing.
Now we wait for RENEWAL announcement where I sacrifice popcorn to the TV gods AND
the winter episodes.
Thank you for starting my work week off with character goodness. You're building their relationships without sacrificing plot. Others should learn from this.
and a Glenn-Rieder safe again.
So, the Rundown Job is like a backdoor pilot, right?
That was not your typical Leverage.
It would make an AMAZING new series about saving the world though.
The Rundown Job
Peeve: I realize ye olde through-and-through is a television staple, but people actually have bones in their shoulders. Just sayin'.
I just bought the Strikeback DVDs but haven't settled into watch yet (too many chores); does the timing work out that this could have been influenced a bit by that?
The Frame-Up Job
Aaand the "competence porn" continues.
I think I like this one better. Lots of people do good action/thriller stuff, but clever and witty is rarer.
Loved watching Nate drive Sterling bonkers by doing nothing. A very deliberate nothing.
Sterling seemed a step behind, a little slow. But then he does tend to let Nate do all the heavy lifting when he's around.
The show we didn't see is the backdoor pilot for Sterling and his bevy of female agents. Sort of the new Charlie's Angels. (Or the new new Charlie's Angels. Or the new new new Charlie's Angels, if we count the movies.)
Definitely the best two episodes of the season so far - in either order.
Now's around the time we should start hearing about season 6 judging from previous years - what can the fans do to swing the odds in our favor?
Tell me you're kidding. When they first steal the NSA van, Elliot says the sniper was a SEAL, but when they call up a picture from his file, he's not in a Navy uniform. You've got him in an ARMY uniform? Complete with infantry insignia and a CIB? Words fail me. You know we're detail oriented and yet screw that up? Seriously? There's a big difference between NAVY and ARMY!
I have to say that 509 was amazing. Loved 510 too but EPH stole the evening. I was surprised to see Christain actually cut his hair. Y'all have been talking about it for a long time. Don't worry about the Felicity fallout. He didn't go that short...and hair grows. LOL It's the man that makes the hair, not the hair that makes the man.
I do wish you were able to make the DC Metro a little more "real" with at least maps and logos, do you need permission or have to pay fees for it. I sure filming onsite here on the East Coast may not be in the budget but the maps can be found online. :( And Implied or not worrying about airborne hazards is nothing new to us who ride the Metro.
I have to say in 510 I kind of "saw" the false wall almost right away. Hardison did the same thing in The Homecoming Job with the back of the truck to hide the pallets of money. I wasn't surprised and I did yell "I knew it!" when Nate smashed the wall. Ironic there were false walls in both epis tonight. Hehehe...
Loved the banter and chemistry between Nate and Sophie. TO be honest, it is one of the first times I found their banter amusing, I mean really amusing. Annoying Sterling with it was part of the fun. Their chemistry even worked tonight. Good job.
Well keep it up! Can't wait until Nov. Can't believe we have to wait... When do we find out if we get a season 6??? I pray we do, don't know what I'd do w/out it. Hugs to everyone!!! Job well done.
I just want to say I'd watch both those shows on TNT :). The new 3 hander with Hardison, Parker and Eliot and the very Nick & Nora Charles show.
Their side jabber was just to funny. I thought Sterling was going to blow a fuse.
Thanks so much for some great TV.
Btw... loved the fact that Eliot had to accept help from Parker and Hardison. He's always protective of the "family" but showing the "love" for Hardison that was new. Loved it! Eliot is finding his way back from the dark side! In season 2 admitted he was just getting used to being part of a team and this season said if they had to be "normal" it would be most difficult.
AND is Sterling going soft on Nate and the team?? That's 2 or 3 times they've made him look good.
ARGH!!! TNT can't take this show away!! They HAVE to renew it. We are invested in it!! It would be like losing SG1 or Eureka!! They just HAVE to renew!
Sending an SOS via car alarm may be my new favorite last minute message method from any show, ever.
Called Sophie being the subject of the painting when she kept refusing to say why she was so interested in it and why she knew the fake wasn't it (the name and date helped) but it took an embarrassingly long time to realize that's why the son thought she looked familiar! Awesome. I love a mystery that manages to put the solution right out in the open but in such a way that it only becomes obvious the second time through.
Rundown Notes: I see Castleman is still in business. I'm guessing even with Castleman himself in jail, the company goes on.
This is a very tense, very fine episode. I honestly wasn't sure they were all getting out alive.
Vance talking about the terrorist teams being lean and tight is them getting inside the government's Ooda loop, yes?
It's is true that Eliot, Hardison and Parker when off the leash really are terrifying.
Hardison vision was pretty damned cool.
Nadine puts together some really stylin' thiefwear for Parker.
Good call back to the First David Job.
The NSA having no file on Parker. Was she really that far off the grid? How did Nate, Sterling and Dubenich have info on her?
The missing uranium and hydrogen bomb... do I want to know if that's ledger or black box? The Spanish Flu... that I know is real.
It's a shame Hardison didn't get to keep the NSA's Super-Lucille. I hope he took the opportunity to some sort of virus that gives him a backdoor into their systems.
It's really awesome what Hardison can do with a couple of smartphones. I'm guessing NFC will give him new toys to play with.
How is it that Eliot faced down a room full of heavily armed pro hitters and never got shot once, but facing a crazy science guy he gets shot twice. I guess the difference between a warehouse and a train car is the thing.
Frame-Up Job:
Sophie using "Collins" as her name... if Maggie knew...
Ma mystère... no help with the name there. Just French for "My Mystery" Though I had to turn on on Closed Captioning to see the spelling, and thus see it was French. I had thought it may have been her surname, like "mamastaire" or something.
Sophie sitting on Sterling's lap and ruffling his hair... it's unusual to see Sophie doing something like that with the intention of annoying someone.
Love the Doctor Who shout out... especially with Mark as Smith.
Also love Sterling's All-Girl Squad of Interpol agents. He could film his own version of the "Addicted to Love" video.
Sterling's "interrogation" of Hart... classic.
I find it hard to believe Sterling didn't already know Nate's new base of operations. I'm guessing that was more a "Now you know that I know."
The painting, Ma mystère... I swear it looks very similar to a painting in Jane's apartment in Coupling. My memory may be faulty there.
509 was great!!!!lhardison finally got a real kiss, and elliott, parker, and hardison has great chemistry, 510, to be honest , was kind of boring!!bring season 6 on!!
"I've lost art in shipping before" - heh, yeah, and the Rashomon Job's running on another channel later tonight :)
509: Can't help but draw parallels to the Avengers, with Eliot's friend in the Agent Coulson slot.
Enjoyed both eps a lot but have to say frame up job was really nicely done. Nate, Sophie and sterling could totally have their own show solving art crimes...yes please! Or a redux of Hart to Hart with Tim and Gina even better :)
I wish you guys had a bigger budget to do really big sfx, dean devlin would totally have a giant spaceship reigning down fire on Capitol hill in that wide shot :)
No questions but a pat of the back for job well done!
If you don't get renewed can you write the Nate and Sophie drink, kiss, and solve crime show instead? Because honestly that was all I've ever wanted.
Someone on TNT's board suggested that tonight's double feature was like '24' versus 'Nick and Nora.' Having never seen even one minute of '24,' I found myself thinking it was more like 'The Mod Squad' versus 'Nick and Nora.' Either way, works for me. And, I would totally watch a P/H/E spinoff.
@PurpleOps, I'm inclined to think that even Nate might say that Hardison is the smartest person he knows. However, comma, Nate possesses wisdom and 'big-picture' thinking that Hardison yet lacks. But, hell, in terms of raw IQ, Hardison might be the smartest character on television. I can totally see him having a Vizzini moment:
"Have you ever heard of Gregory House? Temperence Brennan? Abby Sciuto?"
"Yes."
"Morons."
First, questions directly for you!
1. Sterling never loses, but in this situation it looked like he actually /did/ lose! Is that significant or am I just missing something?
2. The Max runs something like 20 hours a day and the Zoo stop is right in the middle of things. Did you guys have to film in the middle of the night or did you actually get them to stop for you? How tough was it getting all of the crew and such down those two little elevators?
3. Do you plan on doing more of that "Hardison vision" stuff, or was that just to match the tone of this specific episode?
The rest of this post is responses to other folks.
-------------------------
Rundown job...I'll let it slide because I love you and this show to pieces, but have NONE of you been on the DC metro? :) I suppose us Washingtonians should be used to it by now. TV and movies almost never come close to looking right. In any case, FANTASTIC episode!!! Loving Eliot's new hair, my fingers are aching to run through it... ;)
-------------------------
To be fair, it was a perfect representation of the Portland Max line. *grin*
Which is funny, because our Max line is almost entirely above ground. The only part below ground is actually near the Zoo.
--------------------
I love how Eliot took control when they panicked. He's obviously officer material.
--------------------
Me too. But in the RPG his secondary role is actually Mastermind.
Just for the curious, how's here the RPG assigns primary and secondary roles.
Nate: Mastermind/Grifter
Parker: Thief/Hitter
Hardison: Hacker/Mastermind
Sophie: Grifter/Thief
Eliot: Hitter/Mastermind
Whose idea it was to let Sterling wear a white tie? Was it symbolic? As in pointing out he is still on the whites side of the board or just a coincidence?
Both were great episodes!
But, I'm leaning toward The Rundown Job as the better choice for the last ep of the summer. While The Frame-Up Job was a terrific RomCom, The Rundown Job was the Summer Blockbuster! So, who chose the airing order and why were they ordered that way?
My compliments to the hairdresser for both these episodes. I loved Sophie's up-do at the party; can't beat curly and elegant. Parker's longer, sleeker locks were lovely as well; her bangs are reminiscent of Rita Hayworth that's very sexy - though I worried she's trip either the lasers or the Claymore with all that un-contained hair going everywhere while she's doing her precise (and amazing) gymnastics.
I know it's already been asked, but you couldn't expect me to compliment the hairdressers without mentioning Eliot. I know the team does things off-screen (like the diamond job that was being wrapped up at the start of the episode), so anything could happen - a bandage across the bridge of his nose, a new scar, a haircut. I just wonder what came first - Kane wanting (or maybe needing for another job) to cut his hair, or someone at the show deciding that Eliot must have a haircut for story or production reasons. Or was it simply someone saying "Dean, you can't just tease them every hiatus about cutting Eliot's hair, but then not doing it; at some point, if you don't cut, it's just going to be crying wolf and fans will just stop reacting and they'll start resenting you for baiting them."
There were lots of couples moments in both eps - Nate and Sohie with the less-dire situation having time for clever, flirthy banter and many tender kisses. While Parker & Hardison got a few poignant looks, the "I don't need luck" non-kisses, then the final "OMG, we seriously might die this time" good-bye kiss followed up by the "I can't loose you" embrace that made Beth's cheekbones look fantastic.
But none for Eliot. Not only did he have no time, but he also had no real opportunity to chat up anyone. Are we to infer that Eliot is like Sampson and he loses his power (or desire) to attacked women with his shorter hair, OR that he has someone(s) he's been seeing sort of regularly waiting for him back in Portland?
I did like the parallel's between the episodes: the addition of an old colleague (Vance & Sterling), the presence of false walls, etc. Were all these parallels intentional or just coincidental?
Finally, I understand that Eliot joined the military, ended up working with Vance where things got "dirty" and Eliot acknowledging that when you try to defeat the bad guys by using the bad guy methods, it's easy to become the thing you're fighting against. So, did Eliot make a slow, gradual progression from military assassin to assassin-for-hire, or did he do something so bad in the military that paid assassin seemed like an easier gig? Path of least resistance sort of thing that, unfortunately, ended him up in the employ of Moreau? In the pilot, Eliot seemed to be the least complicated of the crew - he hit people, really well - but, as we're gotten to know him, I think he's become the most complex member of the crew, with far more history, job experience, and acquired knowledge and skill than all the others put together.
Anyway, that's for 2 great eps! I am now looking forward to November!
Oh and about
"Second best detective I've ever known"
Nate knows that he ties with Sterling as they can't outsmart each other. He managed to send him over a goose chase because Sterling knows the same. So was that line was about bragging or in Leverageverse is there a better detective out there that can outsmart both Sterling and Nate?
Loved, loved The Mod Squad Saves DC show--great production values, could have easily been a 2 hour movie. Actually this made me feel a little better about the "new direction" theme--crime fighting for the NSA. @allyone probably has it right.
Also felt the Chucklove, with Casey AND the Casey Farm. Can General Beckman/Bonita Friedericy please, please be on Season 6? Please?
Really liked the change of direction to The Thomas Crown Affair. I'd watch this show, too. Only quibble was that Sterling seemed a little passive and very much living in the past--seems like he should be past that by now, they've been through too much and he's needed their help too often. And the son as art thief was telegraphed a little bit.
Driving me crazy is the location of the Gault mansion--I know I've been there, is it in Forest Hills? It's been many years since I've lived in Portland, so can't place it--but the Tri-Met logos were very recognizable :) Too expensive to coverup?? Not that light rail looks like the DC subway anyway. Looking forward to the Podcasts.
Anyway, I think The Rundown Job is my fav episode of the season--though I think each new episode is my fav :)
Thanks for some awesome episodes.
I loved The Frame-Up Job. Loved it. I'm not usually impressed with basic cable programming. Best episode yet. Congrats. Seriously. Felt like the old Gina Bellman again.
1. Why did Eliot cut his hair?
2. Aren't they get infected by the flu when those pigs and the old man died? (sorry I just ask out of the blue, honestly don't know how virus works lol. I just assume it flies up in the air...)
3. Is the name twice mentioned is Sophie's real name? You did say it'll be said out loud.
4. Why does Sterling always show up either on season finale or summer finale? Lol.
Anyway. Doesn't feel so finale as the big enemy like previous seasons isn't available. (yet?)
And I actually was about to complain why you separated them from 5 to 3 & 2. But I cancelled my complain! They got better portion and I LOVE the amount of Sophie in the episode. So like old times!!! Still in love hate relationship with Sterling though.
#RenewLeverage #WeWantLeverageSeason6
Wow. Wow. Wow. You broke my brain with awesomeness.
OK, tagging these:
#509 was epic. Loved the different directing style, it absolutely felt like an action movie. And E/P/H are terrifyingly cool when they run the show. You even fit in a brag! Questions:
1)There's some epic in-verse reason for Eliot cutting his hair, right? It got singed when he was fighting mooks in a burning building or something, a la the Butcher of Kiev. Or wrestling bad guys near the lip of an active volcano.
2) Not actually a question, just thanks for all the competence porn and team love between E/P/H.
3) Hardison was filing away ideas for Lucille, wasn't he? (After he was in the NSA van.)
4)Re: Hardison being the smartest guy they all know, and the Hardison vs Nate debate, I view Nate being the best at predicting people/manipulating them, as well as Xanatos Gambits, but I view that as much to do with his years of experience as his intelligence, whereas in terms of sheer IQ and general and technical knowledge, Hardison outclasses them all, but due to his age lacks Nate's ... lets call them street smarts. Would this generally be correct?
5)Do the kids often handle cons on their own, or is this another Secret Nate Training Plot? (I'm leaning towards the latter, but I really want to imagine E/P/H regularly having badass epic adventures on their days off, though maybe not on a 'terrorist attack' scale.)
6) I'm officially OK with the team splitting up, so long as the kids stay together. But what are the actual chances of getting a franchise of Mission Impossible style E/P/H movies?
7) How does Nate react when his hitter walks in with two bullet holes?
8) Was Eliot even a little bit scared? Or has he always known how dangerous and terrifyingly effective those three could be together?
OK, #510. Loved this too, a great balancing ep and totally Nick and Nora. Thank you for another tiny Sophie back story tidbit!
1) What's the story with Sterling and his harem of interpol agents? I always pictured him as too much of an workaholic to be ladies man (and also I secretly ship Maggie/Sterling.)
2) Is Sterling mellowing? Or has he at least given up on throwing Nate and his team in jail? He won in the sense that he got everything he wanted, but secret prison threats aside, he didn't seem to be angry with Nate anymore about Nate's poor life choices (or what he views as poor life choices, becoming a thief.)
3) Why IS Sophie so mysterious? I understand from a writing standpoint, no poncy Wolverine in a nightshirt scene, etc, etc, but I'm talking about Sophie's in-verse reasoning. Everybody knows Nate's past, Hardison is too young to have a past, Parker's has kinda been revealed, and even though Eliot's is vague, we know why he doesn't like to talk about it - it was either highly classified, or something he was ashamed of (or both). So why does Sophie insist on keeping all her cards so close to her chest? Not a complaint, mind, just curious :)
Bonus extra question:
1) Congrats on syndication. Does that help your chances of renewal, or is the world of TV renewals so mercurial that it doesn't mean much?
1. Why are all of Sterling's fellow agents sexy young ladies?
2. How happy were you guys with Tim's jump into that pool?
3. The episode was great. I'd watch Tim ad Gina do that for hours. Days. Well done, everyone involved.
"couldn't let a perfectly good fake go to waste" seems like a lame excuse for him to set up the fake theft. Had he not framed Paolo, the son would have gotten away with the whole thing. Why make it a crime scene unnecessarily? Sophie would have known it was a fake but he couldn't have anticipated that. Seriously, why did he frame the guy? That's really bugging me and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Probably would have worked better if he'd had something personal against the "man servant" and let his emotions cause him to make that error. You usually say "whatever answer makes you want to watch more" and I guess that will be what I'm taking away from this. Unless you have a better answer.
Ok, I'm a Nate girl through and through so when I say how much the first episode blew the second out of the water, don't take that lightly.
That was incredible. The whole 2 hours was incredible.
As I said on twitter, I feel like I need a valium and a cigarette after that. So much tension and craziness and then there was some sexiness too.
If TNT do not renew you guys, they are absolute fools.
*snort* My captcha has 69 in it. Yes, I am twelve tonight.
Just want to say, Rundown Job...BEST. EPISODE. EVER. Thank you a million times for that one! Questions: 1. Will Eliot's haircut be explained? I know the episode will be seen out of sync, so it would be nice to have an explanation as to why it was suddenly cut. 2. Eliot stepped up to the plate for this one and Hardison & Parker looked to him for the lead...is this a foreshadowing of things to come if (when) we get a season 6? 3. Who was the guy who called Eliot? Should we know him or is he someone to watch? 4. Will we see Vance again? I liked him! 5. In the Frame Up Job, the alias that Nate didn't know, was that Sophie's real name? 6. More Sterling please!! Thanks John :)
John man, fantastic set of episodes, well done to all concerned and what a great way to leave us fans wanting more.
First to The Frame Up Job, I loved all the competence porn from Nate's mental processes and deductions to Sophie impressing Sterling. And I love that the show didn't cheat as everything Nate deduced was available to the viewer with nothing plucked out of the air.
Q1 Was this episode approached in the same way as The 10 Lil'll Grifters, did you plan out the clues to ensure no cheating?
Q2 Sterling has leggy blonds in matching suits as his team, whats with that? Also please let it be that Sterling hires Maggie as the art expert for his crack Interpol art theft team.
Q3 When Nate is focused on a puzzle he makes extremely reckless decisions. First he just takes off on Sophie after she made it clear she planned to stay the night! I would think most guys in that situation would stay with the beautiful woman, then he goes to the scene of a murder knowing who the murderer is and that he is on the premises and proven to be dangerous, with no means of protection. Is this Nate's most fatal flaw, not been able to see the wood for the trees when he's obsessed? What was he going to do had Sophie not arrived?
Q4 Art has obliviously been a huge part of Sophie's life but how did she learn about it? Life experience, work research for grifting? Which came first the love of Art of the need to understand it to steal it? And what is more important to her acting or art? Also Nate mentioned that he used to drink strong drinks like the paint check mix in college, care to elaborate, where did he go? What did he study? Was it after seminary or do seminarians get shit faced too?
Now to The Rundown Job, again loved all the competence porn and the trust and interdependence between E/P/H. Just one question, what did Vance do to their records? How clean are they and is it only within USA jurisdiction?
so how many times did Kane get knocked out by the bag of golf clubs?
I have to agree with @calla--the hair was amazing on Sophie and Parker. And with Eliot--I'm wondering if the shorter hair means a transition from thief back to military man.
Question: Why does TNT mess with the episode order? The Rundown Job definitely should have been the mid-season finale--it almost had the scope of a season finale (except no Nate or Sophie of course). No surprise it was directed by Dean :)
I don't think anyone else asked this, but how was the scene with the dead pigs filmed? That was a lot of pigs.
Strong summer finale for the show, although I much preferred the Frame Up Job, which was truer to the Leverage style and also a bit more distinctive than your average "millions in peril" format that's a lot more prevalent these days. And funny.
People have said Nick/Nora, Hart/Hart and Holt/Steele but it defintely had more of throwback N/N feel for me. Very witty the way the dialog was structured with N/S having their little side conversations. Sterling was a great foil, although perhaps a little too much of a boob. Still, he had some great funny moments, particularly the "I didn't think it would work!" And the hot cold game was the most fun I've had with him/Nate in a scene since the elevator game in Maltese Falcon!
A couple quibbles for both - would Nate really just run off when he knows Sophie is coming back? Seemed engineered for the big save at the end. I could almost buy it, but not quite.
On Rundown, that "through and through" wound was basically through lung and bone, so . . . yeeeaaahh, maybe have makeup move that up next time. Also, Spy Truck is not exactly innocuous. The idea that they could take it and keep it for that long. . . . I had to look the other way for that one as well. Also, Parker playing jungle gym on Hardison was cute and all but totally offended my understanding of explosives. (Of course , my understanding is based entirely on what I've seen in movies, so I could be wrong.)
Q1) Was this a one off for Nate/Sophie? Meaning, the banter was sort of a new look for them. Is that a new direction or just a little fun for the team split?
Q2) So that's what happens when you cut Samson's hair? He gets shot right away by a jumpy zealot?!?
Q3) Is the action thriller also just a one off or something you would explore more with the show?
Q4) I'm assuming the split cast eps are cheaper to produce. Is that true? Does that play into the decision to do those?
Q5) If there is a Season 6, will you do the split eps again?
Question is about #509: How will hardison ever be able to run his own team one day if he always seems to be freaking out when he faces lots of pressure?
The Frame-Up Job jumps straight to first place in my favourite episodes! I could spend hours watching it! Tim Hutton and Gina Bellman did a brilliant job.
Q: Was posing as a model for the painter how Sophie got introduced to art and then eventually art theft or was it part of one of her cons?
Amazing episodes! I can't pick a favourite though - like comparing apples and oranges. One was all summer blockbuster, and the other was all retro with witty banter and character back story.
509 question: I must have blinked and missed something with the sniper and the golf clubs. Where did the sniper get them from? Or were the his? (And if so, why did he have them on him?)
I liked Hardison's slight freak out, actually. I think the audience needed Hardison to freak out to give verisimilitude to the scene and gravitas to the threat. Hardison is a thief, untrained and ill equipped to deal with terrorist threats. The lives of 150 million people were hanging in the balance ... I think 'under pressure' kinda understates the situation. Honestly, it'd be more worrying if he HADN'T freaked out a little.
Well I know I am going to sound like a gushing idiot but last night's episodes were amazing. (There aren't enough adjectives to express how I feel.)
Watching "The Rundown Job" my heart was racing the entire time. Your talented writers certainly chose an interesting (although extremely scarey) story.
The actors gave amazing performances. I feel like we have watched Beth, Christian & Aldis grow as actors over the past 5 years and now they have achieved their Doctorate. From the nuances of the characters themselves(and with each other)to their use of facial expressions to delivering the lines you have quite a talented cast. I love them all but especially Christian has really developed his acting chops. Of course, Gina & Tim were wonderful as always.
I am so hoping for a Season 6 before Hollywood realizes the talent they have overlooked.
Is that enough gushing? Because I could certainly continue...
I want to thank you for being you; I think I am in love!
WOW! You weren't kidding about all those tweets about the chemistry between Tim and Gina. They did a brilliant job in The Frame Up episode. Man! it's totally my fave episode of the whole series. :D
@Calla: Totally with you on Sophie's updo -- GORGEOUS. Good point about Parker's hair -- what woman would ever forget to get her hair out of the way before a job like that? Reminds me of -- I think it was "Iron Man 2," when Scarlett Johanssen took her hair DOWN to do an action scene. I said to my friend, "If we didn't already know a man wrote this, we'd know it now."
Watching The Rundown Job with my wife and about half way through she asked who directed it. I told her I thought it was Dean Devlin. She said, "Oh, there's just a lot more slo-mo and effects shots than usual. Thought maybe there was someone new doing this episode."
"Nah, that's just the Deancake."
And then after explaining exactly what that is I check Twitter at the next commercial break and what do I find at the top of the page? Courtesy of @Electric44 :
"We broke our record tonight. Rundown Job had over 205 digital effects shots! Yowza! #Leverage"
Yummy yummy Deancake. Mmmmmmmm....
Knew I'd think of some other stuff.
I have to gush about the little tricks in Frame Up - I loved the technique of having Nate in the background in color while the rest of the scene was washed out. The "walking on water" thing really came out great. I also thought putting the characters' IDs on screen was a fun touch.
Q6) Who came up with the idea for those little bits?
Q7) In the washed out scenes, where Nate was in color, Sterling and Sophie were coming up with the theories and Nate wasn't in the scene. Was Nate in color supposed to represent that Nate had already thought of those same theories or was he listening in somehow or what?
Q8) Will we get any more of the more Jackie Chan like fun Eliot fights this season? Like with props and such?
Q9) I tend to think slow motion is overdone in action sequences these days - what's your personal philosophy on that?
1. These were both amazing and SO much fun. Until I read here I didn't even figure out that the son recognized Sophie from the painting, although I had guessed that she was the subject pretty much from the first "it's personal". Not because I'm a genius, but because Gina B. did such amazing things with her face in those scenes. What other reason would Sophie have for nearly crying when the painting wasn't what she expected to see? So great.
2. It makes me crazy when people comment "I'm from X and that looked totally wrong! We don't have any buildings that look like that!" . . . except this time the look of the "Metro" did distract me. Good-natured non-set-related nitpick - there are no "platform A", etc. in the Metro system; what kind of high-class establishment do you think we have here? :) Each station has generally a max of two platforms, and they're pretty much "this one" and "the other one". Kudos on the reference to Shady Grove, since the trains are indeed designated by terminus. But generally - if there is a need to distinguish them, such as one of the many times when something breaks - the platforms are, too. And then you usually get a surly, mumbled "trainstoshadygrovewilldepartfromtheglenmontplatform, CUSTOMERS, PLEASE CLEAR THE PLATFORM, thankyoutrainarrivingshortly".
3. Which leads me to a question/DC nitpick I wasn't fast enough to post to The 'Gimme a K' Street Job. Nothing in the Capitol complex is ever labelled "Congress Hearing Room". From the bit where Eliot tried to convince the Congressman to run for Senate, we were definitely in the House (where, yes, the Reps are frequently called "Congressman" even though technically the term would be equally applicable to a senator). But the House and Senate do not share meeting space ever. In reality that room would have been labelled something like "United States House of Representatives Committee on x" (because the committees don't share space, either). It made it seem as if the show had fallen into the trap of thinking Congress is the other body from the Senate, instead of the aggregate body that includes the House and the Senate. I don't for a second believe any of the Leverage humans actually made this mistake, so my question is - was there some reason legal didn't want you to call the House the House? Someone was afraid of impugning the reputation of the actual chairman of the (I'm guessing) Committee on Education and the Workforce?
Btw for what it's worth I've worked on the Hill for years and I TOTALLY bought that there would be a Federal High School Sports Commission or whatever it was. We do indeed have commissions out the hoo-ha and many of them are for way weirder things.
(ETA: OH MY GOD the captcha)
I live in the D.C. area too, and took the Metro to work every day for 4 1/2 years, but all the Metro inaccuracies didn't bother me much. Just one more thing to put in the ever-growing "Only on television" file. :-)
Sorry for another hair question, but in the 10-second promo for the winter episodes, there's a shot of Eliot with longer hair again. Will there be a way to fit this all into a reasonably linear continuity, or should I just get back on the Fun Train?
This has probably been said, but I loved the "Tennant and Smith" alias in 510.
I adore Sterling and love when he gets to show up.
I also really love seeing Hardison, Parker, and Eliot work together and hope we get to see it more often.
Loved the scenes between Christian and Aldis. Loved how they are kind of like brothers. My question what did you use for the scene where Christian/Eliot gets shot. The wounds looked so real, especially the one that seemed to go through his shoulder, was that painful for christian
Did they refer to Sterling and Nate working as "partners" at IYS? I don't we've ever heard them called the P word before this episode. It's been noted that they worked together at IYS but I thought it was more a professional rivalry gunning for the title of the #1 investigator than any collaboration. I was never all that curious about Nate's days at his old job but the thought of that partnership is just too enticing. I know Mr. Sheppard's availability is always a huge hurdle, but would you guys at least be open to the idea of writing a flashback episode for that? (Apologies if I'm the millionth person to ask). And I will name my future son John Roger if you film that episode and make Nate and Sterling wear the mustaches that Hutton and Cane wore in The DB Cooper Job.
Rundown: I particular appreciated that you portrayed the Congressman and the Colonel as two people basically on the right side who had a legitimate difference of opinion and both had a point. I was disappointed with Covert Affairs when Lena, Kari Matchett's big professional rival within the CIA, turned out to be a traitor as well.
I was also struck by Dr. Udall's resemblance to Nate, especially given the "become your enemy" comments about him. Of course the alleged perpetrator, and the most famous incorrectly alleged perpetrator, of the 2001 anthrax attacks were government biowar experts. Did we ever get a clear idea of Udall's plan? If he wanted to demonstrate the problem, why did he want to maximize casualties by disabling the response systems?
Parker was for some reason insanely _more_ sexy than usual in this episode. It was consistent, at least, with the theory that she and Hardison had first actually had sex between the previous episode and this one, though I'm not sure I'd want to defend that theory. (I know the official answer -- the character's off-camera sex lives are "whatever works best for each viewer".) Actually Parker was such a wish-fulfillment goddess in this episode that I thought at times that the whole thing might be Hardison's fantasy. But no.
Frame-up: Thanks for writing down "ma mystere" -- I have high-school French but never got the name of the painting from hearing it spoken.
I did notice that the official list of suspects who had access to everything left out the manservant...
Rundown Job - fantastic episode. I'm biased because I adore Eliot, but of all the things I loved in this episode, number one was Christian's performance. Number two was that outstandingly cute haircut he got.
Questions -
1. When Parker reminds Eliot that they had all agreed to change together, what change is she talking about? Change from running cons to something else? Change their value systems? Change their hairstyles? Who's in that agreement - these three or Sophie and Nate too?
2. Was Eliot referring to his disturbing career path from enlisted soldier to assassin when he told Vance that obsession makes you into what you chase? Or did he mean he'd been pondering his current career, where he brings down manipulative, dishonest people using manipulative, dishonest methods? Thus leading to the change Parker mentions?
3. (Maybe this is the same question as #2, which is maybe the same a #1) In the flashback from the Big Bird Job, Eliot looked pretty happy to be working with Vance. Now he makes it clear that he's not interested in any more jobs. When did this change of heart kick in?
RE: The Rundown Job
1. Castleman Security Vault....Really? Love it!
2. I kept waiting for the crabby old Congressman being in on it. Brilliant episode though.
3. And did I see a little salt and pepper in Christian's beard? Sexy! 4. I hope we get a Season Six.
Loved the episodes.
So what was the thought behind separating the team into two individual episodes? Foreshadowing a spinoff of Eliot, Hardison and Parker?
Really wish the haircut, which I love, was explained.
Please no more shooting Eliot, my heart stops everytime, hate to see him bleeding.
When in November does Leverage return?
Thanks for all you do here on the blog and bringing us Leverage. You rock.
Just a note after thinking about it. Having a friend with hair as long as Eliot's who is also a fighter, the only reason he cut it was a fire during a camping event. The stove flared up in his face and singed his hair so that he had to trim it. So I'm thinking rescuing someone from burning building and getting caught. That's what early morning story came to mind as I was driving to work. Thanks again for a smash up summer finale. Looking forward to the fall.
Was I wrong or was Eliot's eyes brighter blue at the end of Rundown than in the beginning? If so, why?
BTW, considering y'all just made two feature movies each with a running time of some 40 minutes, I just want to say: Your production crew is WICKED AWESOME.
Greats double episodes, featuring the split team,
Finally, we got to hear "it is a very distinctive " watch from Eliot.
The Rundown Job was great, did it styled like Contaigon with the timing intro?
5.09
@anon at 5:37 (question about golf clubs):
I'm pretty sure the sniper had them so that he wouldn't seem out of place carrying a long, heavy package...that looks like a rifle. It's one of the standard spy accessories.
Hm, Parker is doing the comforting thing. She has truly grown as a person over the years.
Um, guys? Spanish influenza, and not even one rubber glove? A mask? What happened to precautions?
Parker? Climbing all over Hardison? Unghksdlfnkj. Ooh, black nail polish! Love it!
Hey, Eliot didn't take the gun apart. And that backfires (pun!).
Aww, people-crutch!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.10
"Spoilers!" Was that for us?
"You're not supposed to root for the criminals." Really? What have we been doing all this time, Nate?
New Zealand wine! Gina!
Ooh, callback to the pilot: "I've got a Sophie."
Aren't the flashback scenes kind of what you said Parker's thief vision is like? All black and white except for the valuables (except this was Nate in color).
Ooh, the music after the hot-cold thing on Nate sounds like something out of the Nero Wolfe series...I think. Actually, this whole thing feels like Nero Wolfe. Archie Goodwin, anyway. Was that on purpose?
Awesome! And now I'm going to have Leverage withdrawal.
Before seeing the episodes I was all set to comment about prefering the team all together, yada yada...but then I watched The Frame-Up Job and I have a new favorite. With the fast-paced witty banter and the red herrings it was so Nick and Nora and so, so good. Don't get me wrong, I love "usual" Leverage episodes and love the whole team, BUT should Eliot, Hardison and Parker decide to continue fighting domestic terrorists in DC, I would totally watch the "Nate and Sophie Show" every week.
Since I feel I should ask a question, here's another "Did we learn Sophie's real name?" to add to your collection. If so, care to spell it out for me? Not gonna lie, it took me a second viewing to catch why the son thought Sophie looked familiar...so you can see why I need help figuring out the name.
Thanks for an entertaining hour (or two!) of TV each week!
First of all, let me say: MONTE MARKHAM!!!! Thank you for that! My inner child of '70s TV squeed in delight when I saw him, and then heard him. (As Eliot would say, it's a very distinctive voice.)
These two eps showcase exactly why I love the Leverage writers. Y'all can do perfect "Thin Man" in one ep, with elegance, style and witty banter, then you can turn around and give us a much better "24" ep than "24" ever managed.
I adored the Nate/Sophie-Sterling glory that was "Frame-Up" – Nate at his detective best, Sophie at her "who me?" art-thief best, and Sterling at his smug-snippy best. (Seriously, does anybody do a slow burn like Mark Sheppard? I think not.)
I admit, I figured out pretty early (like, immediately) why Sophie wanted to see the painting so badly, but I didn't see the reveal of the son coming. I loved watching Nate and Sophie alternately bicker and sizzle, and I just adored Sterling's bevy of beauteous Interpol agents. I also loved Sophie's running indignation that no one added the "ex" to art thief, and her using "Collins" as one of her aliases. I think Maggie would be flattered.
And "Rundown" … dear God, you people almost killed me! Seriously, I would watch EPH saving the world by blowing up large chunks of it, while Vance apologizes to Congress for them, every week. I loved Eliot's intensity, Hardison's genius and Paker's balletic beauty. I think my favorite moment, though, and maybe one of my favorite moments in five seasons, was Eliot telling Hardison he wasn't afraid because "you're the smartest guy I've ever known." My li'l heart nearly exploded from the bromantic goodness!
And I liked Vance. It would have been so easy to make him a cartoon figure, but he came across as an intense, driven but admirable guy. Kudos for that. I was also struck in a thinky way by the conflict between him and Congressman Yount and exactly how we go about meeting the threats that face us – fast and lean but playing fast and loose with established rules, or adapting as best we can but sticking to rules that were established for very good reasons (and in the wake of very real abuses)? I'm pretty sure we'll be struggling with that question for a while.
At this point, my one question (others have been asked) pertains to Eliot and Vance. In that flashback in the season opener, Eliot seemed happy to be working with his old CO again, but, in "Rundown," he seemed more hesitant. Was it just Parker and Hardison's involvement that worried him a bit, or is the soldier thing another part of his past he's trying to leave behind?
"Rundown" was huge amounts of fun (and unconsciously terrifying because something like that is not at all impossible), and I loved the sheer competence porn of our Hitter, Hacker and Thief doing what they do. But what I loved most was the fact that they were in it together. The family love just shone in this.
Lovely, lovely jobs on both of these.
@JB: I believe the "is it her real name" candidate was Indira MacAllister (or McCalister, McCallester, or any of the other variations thereof)
These were both great episodes and I have a lot of things to say so get comfy:
1. In the Rundown Job Christian's acting completely stole the show. He was perfect
2. I know you are getting a lot of Eliot short hair questions but I just wanted to note that he kind of looked like Lindsay McDonald in Angel 5th season
3. I feel like the look between Parker and Eliot at the end before the big climax was a callback to 401 "we do what they can't" because Hardison didn't seem like he had any idea what was about to happen which brings me to
4. I am using all of the power in my very being to try to feel good when I watch Parker and Hardison together but I can't feel the spark. And it seems every time Parker and Eliot have any semblance of an emotional connection or a moment, Parker goes and loves on Hardison like it was him that she had the moment with (like at the end of 401 and the end of 509)Why is that?
5. I feel like Eliot had a lighter, less angry attitude in 509 and also he got shot.Was the hair his armor?
6. Not to sound like a sadistic bitch, but I actually liked the fact that Eliot got shot. It seemed to add to the seriousness of the episode and the badassery. But this brings me to
7. Why does Hardison always talk about not being appreciated when Eliot almost dies in every other episode? Is it the kind of person he is(Ex:like Eliot may be the kind of guy that doesn't like to celebrate his birthday but Hardison wants everyone to know when his has arrived)?
Okay 510:
1. I didn't think that I'd like this episode as much as the first because of the lack of a certain three people but man I loved it. I love the chemistry with Nate and Sophie. It genuinely makes me smile to watch.
2. I think the relationship of Nate and Sophie is the best this season because it is past the love/hate chase sequence and they are kind of like Mr. and Mrs. Smith except thieves.
3. Did you paint a naked picture of a young Gina?
4. I feel like this was almost a callback to the boy night/ girls night except they never crossed. Did you filmed these at the same time as well.
5. This episode was really good. I was so satisfied with it honestly. I am actually glad that you are killing more people. It makes the show seem more dangersous and nail biting. Between you guys and Supernatural, I don't know what I would do without you guys. I really hope you get renewed.
To the anonymous that was confused about why he would frame the servant: He couldn't get the fake into place so it looked stolen regardless of who he framed. In fact, the issue wasn't WHO he framed (he actually chose pretty well considering the servant was the only one without an alibi) but rather, it was Sophie presence and knowledge of the painting (which, as you pointed out, he couldn't have anticipated). Though I'm not sure why the curator wouldn't have the code. I don't see why he would give the lawyer the code and not his personal art curator. Also, I don't understand why the son didn't want the inheritance. To throw suspicion away from himself? It seemed to make people more suspicious of him than anything. And the kind of guy who would kill his father for money didn't seem the type to turn down the reward. Also, I wish it had been established earlier that the son had been an artist. It seemed to come out of nowhere. I think there's a term for a convenient plot-point in a mystery. What is it called again?
Loved the nod to the 1st David job in the beginning of The Rundown Job. We have been re-watching our DVD's just before seeing this one and had just saw that episode again. It was a nice to have a thread connecting back to season 1. Have you guys ever considered having the team face a total package character like they had in "The Pretender." Come to think of it they had a "Miss Parker" too. Love the show, please keep them coming. It's so rare to find a show that interests me as much as Leverage. Amazing writing, wonderful direction, and even the smallest parts are casted perfectly.
Am I the only person who couldn't care less about the "OT3"? Especially Eliot? I don't want to seem like a hater. And I seem to be the only one in the fandom who feels that way. I'll just be glad he at least cut is ridiculous hair and take the win. Good job with both episodes (despite my not caring inherently about the three ducklings).
Question: Since when is Hardison Iron Man?
We've got a Sophie inspired Whedon to write for Tony Stark, "We've got a Hulk."
I didn't notice Kane cut his hair. But then, I'm a hetero male. What I did notice is he needed three punches to take out the virus terrorist and also three hits to knock out Baldwin's character. Oh yeah, and he left the pistol loaded.
Another stellar pair of episodes. I was on the edge of my seat during Rundown Job in particular -- that one was completely awesome in every respect. Loved the bonding between Eliot and Hardison, and Hardison and Parker in particular.
My thoughts:
(Frame up Job)
If I understand the son's scheme correctly, it was:
1. He collaborated with the curator to forge the Mettier paintings in the house and sell them to buyers.
2. At some point, he decided to go for the My Mystery painting. He used the fingerprint dust trick on the keypad to figure out which buttons were in the code, then exhaustively searched until he hit upon the right numbers.
3. Being unable to crack the second alarm, he built a fake wall in front of the painting. That's why he was visiting the vault every day; he was building the wall a little at a time.
4. Eventually, he finished the wall and went to switch in the fake painting. The father saw him, learned that he'd been accessing the vault, and had the code changed.
5. The son killed the father with the medication and hid the forgery in the manservant's room to frame him.
6. The plan was, once everyone left the house and the power was shut off (or just the alarm system), he could go back in and extract the real painting at his leisure. This is also what he would have done if he hadn't been discovered, instead just waiting for his dad to die naturally.
(Do I have this right?)
A few other questions:
A. How could the son ensure that the father wouldn't go into the vault at any point beforehand and see the incomplete wall? The daughter said that he checked on it every day. He was using a walker, but he seemed to be able to get out of bed, and he had a manservant to help him move around.
B. Once the father realized what was going on, why didn't either he or the alarm company person check inside the vault to make sure the painting hadn't been stolen yet? The painting was already behind the fake wall at that point; they would have noticed that the painting wasn't there if they'd checked.
C. Why didn't the son accept being put back into the will? Was it just so that he wouldn't seem to have a motive to kill his dad?
D. What was the son's plan for afterwards? The whole world would think that the real Mettier was the forgery, and the real one that he had looked nothing like it. Because of all the other forgeries, he couldn't use any of the other paintings in the house to validate his own. How could he convince any buyer that he had a genuine Mettier?
(Rundown Job)
Was Eliot being honest when he told Hardison that Hardison was the smartest guy Eliot knew? What about Nate?
Thanks again for doing these post mortems. They're really enjoyable to read.
How did Sophie know the artist? Why did he paint her portrait?
Is it your intention to ever find out more about her past? Is that in the cards for this season?
If the show is renewed, will you return next season as showrunner? I'm sure you can't discuss the actors contracts but (without getting specific) are you confident they'd all be on board to return as well?
I'm asking the tough questions, my friend.
My brother works for TNT. He said you were supposed to find out about renewal around the time the cooking episode aired. What's taking so long, damnit? He said that's all he knows on the subject. I am not satisfied with that in the least.
I love the show and will be here to support you guys till the end. If this is the last season, it was a good ride. Thanks for that and for answering our questions.
jus watched the eps. Dam yall niggas got reflections of the lazers in Parkers eyes? DAM. Your post production dont play.
Sophie look fine as hell for an old lady. U can tell her i sed that 2. I wud marry her ass.
brother yall better come back next year im not playn.
In addition to my previus comments a few moments ago, I wunna add that I dont mean to say I wud not also get with Parker as well. I wud take a wet rag to dat. White nigga prolly dont kno nuthn about that. Ill xplain when u older.
@Jessica Snyder: Yes, I'm pretty sure you're right. In the scene where he's encouraging a freaked out Hardison, his eyes are practically green, but then in the last scene his eyes are definitely bright blue.
Were we supposed to suspect Adam Baldwin's character of being involved in the false-flag terrorist attack? It seemed like the opening scene-cut cut was trying to imply an association with the terror team, with the scene of him getting chewed out by Congress immediately providing motivation and establishing the "above the law/by any means necessary" morality required to go through with something like that.
Or am I just reading too much into it because the last thing I saw Adam Baldin in had him as a villain?
first off, I want to voice that I am sorry about any complaints that I had, These two episodes were amazing, and The writers are awesome, I am sorry for ever doubting them. I can see better now how the characters are and were written this season.
The Rundown job is probably one of my favorite episode ever, I guess I love all the episodes with a bigger focus on Hardison and Parker, because they are my favorite, and Elliot was completely awesome! I really enjoy the friendship between the three, and Elliot being the big brother/mentor/teacher to them, has made me like him even more.
Only real question that I have, is what was the creepy thing that Hardison saw in the Lab? My curiosity is getting the better of me there :)
The Frame-up job is another one that I thought was amazing and honestly it was better then I expected! Nate and Sophie are usually the ones that I enjoy least, but I was pleasently suprised and I really enjoyed them here. And Sterling was a pleasent surpise for me, because I had no idea that he would be there. I also liked how Sophie was accused for stealing the painting the whole time, and after they prove her innocent, they find the painting and steal it. XD
I also would like to know, How did you guys come up with the interrogation scene? Because that was brillant, and how much was improved there? and while on the same idea, how much of the banter between Nate and Sophie improved and how much was scripted?
Overall the two episode were really well written and were really fun episodes! I can't wait for the winter episodes!
The Rundown Job- flawless episode. Seriously one of the best episodes of the series.
Parker/Hardison/Eliot can carry an episode!<3
I especially loved the way you're now showing Alecs hackin'. Tis awesome. Will that be a standard thing now or was it a one show thing?
Gawd I love Leverage.
First the Frame up job:
1. If this does end up being the last season, (or even if it doesn't), can we have a spinoff of Sterling being an Interpol Sherlock Holmes?
2. Actually...do Sterling and Nate see each other as Holmes to Moriarty?
3. Does Sterling already know Sophie's real name?
4. Why did he assume Nate had headquartered in Portland rather than just running a con there?
To the Rundown Job:
5. Why did that fellow try to hire Eliot (other than the obvious of getting the team into the plot) when the baddie clearly already had the sniper as muscle 45 days earlier?
6. Why was Hardison explaining so much to Eliot & Parker about the Spanish flu? (Really, why do people not take the flu seriously?)
5. I know you've mentioned her before, but can you remind us who Beth's gymnast stunt-double is and her background? She's really good.
6. Oh, back when Baldwin did his cameo in the premiere, wasn't that supposed to be something he and Eliot did over the summer? Why then did Vance seem so surprised/Eliot was so insistent that Eliot didn't do that kind of work anymore? They haven't been in Portland that long, have they?
Just realized when the son said he has seen Sophie somewhere, does it mean IN the painting?? :D
Not only did I predict the Sophie painting thing (which was actually ok because it made me understand what Sophie was feeling as she was feeling it, which I liked), but it's OBVIOUS that this is the last season of Leverage as we know it. Either this show ain't getting renewed, or it's going to look different coming back next year. Am I right?
...dammit, Rogers, I was supposed to be asleep an hour ago. I had to stay up and watch both parts instead, and that is on you.
I have had my reservations about some of the episodes this season. I felt like y'all were losing track of what made me love this show in the first place, devolving into fanservice that was serving fans other than myself. And then you go and pull this shit and I'm right back on board.
Competence porn is back. I missed it. We haven't seen a lot of it this season, but sweet cockslapping Jesus, there it is, and it is magnificent. The visual echo of the false wall in both episodes is nice, but the porn runs deeper than that. With "The Frame-Up Job", I feel like you made the Thin Man sequel that nobody bothered to make after the third one.
And speaking of old movies, you or someone else had the big shiny brass ones to open an episode with a conversation about classic film noir, and then do a straight visual echo of the first shot of Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard. That was fucking awesome.
I'm not even gonna talk about bringing back Sterling and having him always win, that's easy and obvious. What impresses me is that you broke up the team on a team show and it worked, and you did two episodes that were basically two episodes of two completely different shows, and they BOTH worked. Also they were kind of exactly the same reunderneath.
I have not been this impressed with Leverage in a long while. Well played.
@aurora--I think Eliot wasn't doing wetwork, it was one of those missions that Vance was admonished for by the government in the beginning of the episode...namely assembling teams from various agencies (along free agents like Spencer) and sending them off on missions without the paperwork or procedure outside of the regulations.
As for The Run Down Job, it was brilliant! Loved Eliot in charge (he really is Batman), Parker was awesome and has shown a lot of growth as a person (season one Parker would've been gone in an instant), and Hardison really shined. The interplay between all three of them was perfect.
The Perspective-Vision (tm) done in both episodes was really well done (as well as in The Broken Bird Job), in fact I hope it is brought back for the whole team at some point in the future (only because I'd love to see Eliot's perspective-vision--I'm imagining fighting stances and the names of the attacks that he uses).
The Frame Up Job was great, and totally good in a different way. The banter between Nate & Sophie was cool--and anytime Sterling shows up is totally golden.
Overall I thought it was superb summer finale...and I can't wait to see what lies ahead in the back half of the season!
capcha: marbvie 49...sounds like the name of some bad chemical or something.
1. Did you specifically say to Nadine that you wanted MORE of an Emma Peel vibe than ever before?
2. How cool is it that Hardison knows how Parker's tools are stored around her body? Cool. Your idea?
3. THE HAIR! When did Hardison cut his hair??? hehehe Not all of us obsess.
4. Who actually painted Sophie's picture for the show?
PS..loved you at FC in June (front row, print dress)
The frame up job was great, finally a dialogue driven ep with witty banter, good times. :) We got enough banter plus a great art heist story. To echo some of the other comments, this could be an intriguing and watch worthy spin off.
Questions:
- who painted the Sophie portrait?
- could you include extended versions of episodes say 50 minutes on iTunes? 42 min television is just so short nowadays.
Great 2 hrs of tv, cheers
LOVED both episodes to the bone. I didn't worry much knowing that the team was going to be split up for these episodes, but I never expected just how AWESOME the result would be. Love the action/humour split down the middle. You guys have really outdone yourselves, kudos for that!!
First up, I watched Frame-Up first then Rundown – is that the order, or am I mixed up? Some thoughts/questions on the whole:
1. Any explanation why HPE were on their own in D.C.? They were obviously just finishing up a job, but I find it strange that Nate and Sophie would let them run off by themselves. Why weren’t they involved in the first place? Was this Nate “testing” them again?
2. Found it weird how Elliot didn't call N&S for help/to inform them during Rundown. There was only a small mention of Parker texting Sophie in Frame-Up, and that didn't seem like it contained any news about their exploits. Was there a reason the two groups couldn’t communicate, did HPE not want to tell N&S, or was it just an oversigh?
3. Eliot seemed pretty cool, even happy, working with Vance in the season premiere, which in Leverage-time I would say was just a few weeks/months ago at most. Any cause for the sudden coldness towards him?
4. Elliot’s “employer” – one to watch, or just a one-off appearance? Why the sudden call after so long, or are we to assume Elliot’s turned down tons of calls while working with the team?
5. That dead-piggy scene - did you guys just happen to find a ton of pigs sleeping around or did you fire some birds at them? Damn well shot scene – creeped me out a lot more than I expected, and I have a pretty morbid, disturbing mind. Great work!!
6. Loved the whole 24/Flashpoint vibe going on in this ep! Not very typical of Leverage but a nice departure nonetheless. Any chance we’ll be seeing the team get unceremoniously roped into another nation-wide/internationally threatening conflict like this?
7. Sophie’s gulp ‘n dribble when Nate appeared was perfect – scripted or improv from Gina? I liked the parallel with Maltese Falcon ;)
8. LOVED Sterling coming back, but his entrance felt a bit contrived, honestly. No one had any time to raise the alarm before Nate & Sophie bolted, so what was Sterling doing there right then? Even if he was hoping to catch Sophie and/or Nate again, there must have been tons of art exhibitions/auctions over the past years that Sophie never went to – has he been visiting every one of them? Besides, he did give away that he knows their base, and I honestly expected him to keep tabs on Nate, so if he wanted to get them he could just have waltzed in the front door. Unless he somehow knew of the painting’s connection to Sophie? Then again, I think only Sophie would know the painting’s origin.
9. On that point , story-wise, what was Sophie’s relationship with Mettier? Was it done before or during her career as a grifter? And where did you guys find a painting that looked like Sophie/Gina? Same guy who painted Harlan Leverage III?
10. “Still the second best detective I know” – Love the blatant animosity yet grudging respect Nate and Sterling still have going on between them. Any chance we’ll be seeing Sterling ever coming over to the dark side or even helping them out? By the way, nice callback with “I’ve got a Sophie” ;D
11. Back before she left Nate in ‘Two Live Crew’ Sophie stated her identities “weren’t just names” to her and that she knew everything about them, when their parents died, first kiss, etc. Now we see her trivialising them and saying “oh honey, even I don’t know them all” extremely lightly – does this mean she’s finally putting her past to rest, or is she still struggling to sort through all of them? Or was she just getting extra lovey-dovey to get under Sterling’s skin?
12. We’ve come pretty close to understanding almost everyone in the team – maybe not knowing the exact specifics, but at least understanding most,of their motivations in their past actions/careers, as well as reasons in leaving the past behind and moving forward – except Sophie. Her past is still floating up in the air and I have no doubt she loves the team, but she’s still an enigma when it comes to how much we, or they, really know about her. Are there any plans to bring us deeper into Sophie’s backstory?
13. I think this pretty much displays my obsession with Sophie.
14. You mentioned during the 'Three Card Monte' post-game that "When you need to know about Nate's mom, we'll go there. You still have to meet his sister ...". Any idea when this is happening?
Can’t wait for November, but I don’t want to see this show end far too soon. There’s so much potential for more and you guys have proven that you have the chops to keep on delivering. Now tell us, what can we non-US fans do to help swing the renewal votes in our favour?
(sorry for the loooooooooooooooong post!!!!!!)
For the Rundown Job, how did Parker know that the vaccination had been given in the shoulder? She was bumping/hitting people on their shoulder blades. While some vaccinations are given there (I still have a scar from the smallpox vaccine there), not all of them are. Most vaccination shots (for adults) seem to go in the upper arm. I've even had one that goes in the back of the hip and one in the good old gluteus maximus. So how did she know that Udall vaccinated himself in the shoulder? Something lost in editing for time or am I thinking about it too much?
Just wanted to say I love both episodes and thank you for a great season so far.
For The Frame Up Job - It was great to have Sterling back and I loved the relationship talk between Nate and Sophie whenever Sterling was trying to talk to them. Hilarious! Also loved how Nate's reenactment of everything was shown. And, talking about all seasons of Leverage, you guys continue to amaze me with your camera shots. I am a film student and I watch each episode several times observing how the scenes are shot and like I said, I'm constantly amazed.
The Rundown Job is now my favorite episode. Since everyone else is commenting on it, I guess I will also: Love Eliot's new haircut.
I just have one question regarding The Rundown Job. How many takes were done of each time Eliot got shot? I know that each new take would require new wardrobe and squibs that would take time to set up. Knowing Christian is great at all his stunts, I'm guessing each one was done only once.
I should've asked this in the season premiere, but it is sort of relevant thematicallt to the Rundown Job. When Eliot does national security type things on "vacation" for his old buddies, does he use firearms? I guess the end of the episode sort of gives an answer, but I'm curious about the contextual flexibility of Eliot's desire to not use guns / kill people (which we've already seen him do in an incredibly desperate situation, of course). Is it like "not unless the lives of people I love absolutely require it," or is it "nothing I'm doing for Nate justifies that level of violence, but things I'm doing for Uncle Sam still may"?
Holy crap, those episodes were AMAZING.
I'm always curious about the production side of things, so how was the filming of these two episodes structured? Was it done in the same way as the the BNO/GNO Jobs, where you had double the crew?
You burned through about a dozen plots in The Frame Up Job. (I got most of them pretty quickly, but I'm extremely genre savvy and it only adds to my enjoyment. So, yay you.) As you're writing the show, do you ever think, no, let's not use that now because we can use it later in a different / better way?
In the last write-up you did, can you expand on the comment that all showrunners / writers hate the 6 act show? How does it differ from a writing / production standpoint? Why did it change?
As a note: Obviously I'm wanting another season, but I hope that when Leverage finally does get an end date, you know about it going into it so that you can plan the last season accordingly. Do many TV shows get that luxury? Could TNT give you renewal, but say it would be the last one? Does that happen? (Um... slash did it already happen and you're just running a con on your viewers, you smart, sneaky man?)
@cybrestrike
I love the "The Perspective-Vision (tm)". Awesome name.
I kind of felt like Eliot had his own PV there in that episode -- in the last podcast JR said that Eliot kind of saw a diagram of the body with the weak points pointed out, but I like to think of his perspective as kind of like how the time was fluid around him as he fought. Like, as he's fighting, he can almost pause and take notes of everything going on around him, and then react accordingly.
Nothing new to say, really, just wanted to respond to some other commenters:
@awa64 - I ought to wash your mouth out with soap, for suggesting that Colonel John Casey could be a villain. I demand satisfaction! ;p
@Rocxb7 - Re: Eliot and Parker having more chemistry than Hardison and Parker... Sorry, can't speak for anyone else, but I don't see it. At all.
@Nav - 4. Again, can't speak for anyone else, and certainly not the show runners, but I got the sense that that was exactly what we're supposed to think.
5. I just figured it was CGI, myself. With the whole "no animals harmed" thing that goes on in Hollywoodland, it seemed to be the most likely explanation.
9. That's a damned good question, because when Sophie was talking about how she had a personal stake in it, my first thought, for some reason, was that she was somehow related to Mettier, either he was her father, or ex-husband, or something like that...
First off - LOOOVED both episodes! Loved the bond between Parker and Eliot and the love between Parker and Hardison and the Flirting - OMG the great flirting between Nate and Sophie!! Holy building and character development, even Sterling showed more personality! Sterling's physical humor (like looking behind the bookshelf when he kicks Nate out after the cold/warm mind games) and the not always having the perfect solution (like saying he'll arrest them for being annoying) - LOVE!
1 - If you are going to keep developing him as a fun person to love to hate (well, less hate now), can we assume he'll be back more in the future (assuming there is a future to the show).
2 - While I loved each hour individually, I know you right the finale in case it's the end. Why oh why not end with at least a moment of the team together as a whole or talking about making the split more permanent? I loved these episodes but I'd be bummed if it ended without a final who TEAM moment!!
3 - Love all the humorous one liners and expressions! Was that just everyone loosening up a little in the writing room or an active goal for character development?
4 - whats up with Elliot's hair cut?
note: Yall rock and I'll be sooo annoyed if the show doesn't get renewed! There is just NOTHING that is witty and engaging on tv besides yall! Major high fives and hells yeah to the writers!!
I haven't commented in a while but I have to say -- KUDOS on the two best episodes of this season, and two of my favorites of any season. If you're going out, you're certainly going out with a bang. {mixed emotions}
I loved the Rundown Job so much that I watched it twice before even starting the Frame-Up Job but then I couldn't get enough of the Nick/Nora banter from Nate and Sophie. (Excellent writing and Excellent acting from Tim and Gina, the delivery of those lines in that timing with all the back and forth . . .AWESOME!) And then I had to rewatch Rundown Job one more time just to soak in all of the delicious action with well-timed slo-mo, Hardison vision, and Adam Baldwin. Before I knew it, it was already 3 AM.
My questions with comments mixed in (with tags):
[509] That's an awful lot of backstory to set up between Vance and the Congressman to use for one episode just to explain why Vance had to use E/P/H. Will we be seeing them again?
[509] How many pigs were props and how many were digital?
[509] The shot of E/P/H framed separately by the gate while watching the pig flu massacre -- great shot!
[509] So Professor Udall goes crazy because no one listens to him, and is able to work through Eliot's initial contact to hire at least 4 hitters to a) take out the farmer (that was the sniper holding him down, right?) b) rig his house & fake trailer lead and c) take out 4 DC emergency heads who didn't listen to him? How does a biotech professor get the contact info and financial means to hire these fine folks? Considering he was disgraced and drummed out of his professional positions.
[509] Was it just me or does Aldis have a very distinct voice (sorry) for action? When he has the freakout over the discovery of the Spanish flu and later when he clears the train car -- that's a voice we don't normally hear from him in most episodes -- he normally does cocky, laidback, and sarcastic.
[509] I'm having trouble understanding how the news broadcast about the robbers caught with diamonds and beer connected. Did these other thieves, hired by Udall, cut through the wall, find the lost lab (I LOVE secret history!), obtain the spanish flu there, get it out before getting caught and claiming they just had diamonds and beer?
[510] How many takes did Tim and Gina need for their banter dialogue? Was any of it improv or all scripted?
[510] I also have to say that I love how you've got no problem with keeping Nate and Sophie together and writing their couple-y interactions so well. Between Leverage and Chuck, I'm glad to see TV writers say, "What Moonlighting curse?" and write interesting couples for us to watch and root for.
[510] Why paint something completely different as the fake of Ma Mystere? I understand that was needed from a story perspective, and you could also say, "Well, no one knows what it looks like (and is still alive), so he could paint anything he wanted. If someone was coming in to check everyday (ie his dad), while he might not have noticed the intricacies of the other fakes, he would surely be able to notice something that is completely different. Or if not him, who was the other person unlocking the door and checking regularly, as shown on the alarm logs?
[510] So what did the son and curator get out of selling all the other Metier fakes? They were in possession of the real ones, but couldn't ever sell them, as it would put them under suspicion. They did not profit from the sales of the fakes, as he refused any money from the estate, and I don't think she would get that substantial of a cut.
Thanks again for a great show and for your willingness to interact with your audience via this blog. Can't wait until November!
Re the anonymous comment about an NCIS Leverage mash up - OMG!!!! The world of intelligent humor and wonderfully dysfunctional families on TV might just implode from the awesomeness! Lets see - that would be Nate v Gibbs. Hardison v McGee. Eliot v Ziva. And Parker v Tony? hmmm notsomuch on that being a good match.
@*Michelle, re: Leverage-NCIS mashup – I think we'd have about five or ten minutes of Eliot v Ziva, and then much more time of Eliot + Ziva … most of it off-camera for Standards and Practices. ;)
And instead of thinking "Parker v Tony," think Parker *and* Abby. As in the friendship that burned down the Navy Yard.
As for Tony, he gets Sophie. And he'll never know what hit him. ;)
Just one comment: after the Rundown Job, especially the deleted shots that were on the Amazon/iTunes versions, I'm convinced you lot are deliberately doing OT3 bait. Not just bait for the Eliot/Parker shippers, but bait for the trio as a whole. Honestly, Eliot and Hardison both checking out Parker's laserdance and fistbumping about it? Hilarious.
And another question...
Why didn't the son didn't just forge Ma Mystere? I know they said he painted it ahead of time, but he was going in the vault every day, so he had seen the image to copy it. (Nice touch that he couldn't quite place Sophie at the event).
Re: Eliot wetwork. Thanks, @cybrstrike! I wasn't realizing that Vance was offering a more permanent job. That make sense.
P.S. Echo others. This captcha is atrocious.
Here's a multi-episode question. What are some of Nate's plans we DON'T see?
5 years in the making.......parker finally kisses harrison without being a con!! and love elliot and hardison friendship!!! I would so watch a spinoff of parker/hardison/elliot
There is no way I can put into words just how much I LOVE The Rundown Job.
The scene between Eliot and Alec, where Eliot lets Alec know how much he trusts Alec.. shows his faith in him. The scene was just amazing. That said the simple look between Eliot and Parker on the subway car. It blew me away. maybe I misread it but I took it to mean both were about to do could end in death but that they were willing to do that because they were changing for the good.
Okay Questions: We know that Eliot takes his Oath to the Government very seriously. So when Vance tried to use that to get Eliot to help and Eliot resisted. Was Eliot resisting because Vance was trying to force him to do something or was it because he didn't want to involve Alec and Parker.
Then at the end with Eliot refusing part time work. Was it because he didnt want to do 'That" anymore or because he knew he could do more with his team/family.. or maybe both.
I think I remember hearing on a podcast that we would learn more about Eliot'f family in later eps this season. Will this be Military family or his mom, dad, or siblings? Or could it just be that Eliot sees the Team as his family?
I loved #509 - Hardison/Parker/Eliot were brilliant, not a boring moment.
1. I loved Parker and Hardison romantic moments, they were so amusing, and well blended into the action.
2. Eliot was excellent in his intensity and that drive to do the right thing, he's tough and practical
3. The episode was well written and well directed, I could find no fault.
I also loved the chemistry between all three.
4. I hope the writers are busy pitching this H/E/P to TNT or other Studios as a more exciting NCIS type show (these are the guys you call when legal doesn't work).
5. I absolutely loved how Parker disarmed the bomb by climbing all over Hardison, it was both sensual and exciting, I really like how you inserted this tenderness love between the thief and the hacker, it's just so cute, the couple who steals together stays together.
I am really sorry to say this but I was not as fascinated by #510, I kept waiting for E/H/P to show up, Sophie and Nate are good at what they do but they are much better when they have P/H/E to bounce off of.
So, The Rundown Job. Which season of Global Frequency would that have been in?
I don't have much to say, no questions, but at the very least I wanted to say this:
I'm really pulling for a sixth season of Leverage, it's on my Christmas list for sure. But in the event it isn't, I'm glad for the Run-Down Job just for the chance to see "the kids" not just being competent or "best of the best" but pure and simple badass! When I get chills watching Hardison walk into frame...
That's an episode I'll be watching over and again.
I love Leverage and have been writing about you guys on line since 2010. I know you always write and film each season as if it's the last. I know that's what keeps the drama fresh. With each episode the viewer also feels this might be the "last time" we see new episodes of Leverage. Now, with Internet viewing, do you feel On line series will start to be a norm and would you ever consider doing that with Leverage after your run with TNT is over. You have the technology and the following and you have Hardison! Lol.
So my theory is Sophie will tell Nate her name when he finally is able to say "I love you"--without stuttering.
The real name came up after all Nate's phone calls to Sophie in Season 2, and he never got past "I...I...I...um". He did something similar in The Frame-up Job", but seemed a lot closer. Looking forward to the last episodes of the season. If TNT is smart, they'll renew for S6 AND S7 soon :)
Thanks for all the great writing and production (I'll ditto all the comments on the awesome hair, costumes and effects from these two episodes}.
I really loved the summer finale of leverage. I hope TNT will renew soon. This is the best show ever. Even I don't understand everything because I am not a native speaker.
"The Rundown Job" was a really great episode. I love the three kids doing their own job. I loved the new elements and the differences. So I have a question about the virus.
1.Was it the same virus as in 2009?
2. And is it really possible to burn it like Parker did? That seems a little bit unrealistic.
"The Frame Up Job" was the best episode ever for me. Gina and Tim are great together. Also there was Mark Sheppard. I can never get enough of Sterling. "Everything is sunshine and rainbows." That was awsome.
I only have two question.
1. Who painted the picture of Sophie and was it especially painted for this episode?
2. Is Nate going to say "I love you."? I have this feeling that he is unable.
very good comment
What did Hardison use to make the improvised smokescreen? Looked like a couple of cans of orange spray paint, but I can't imagine that's readily availabe at a cart outside a subway station.
Absolutely awesome!
Loved the explosion ;o)
If you had asked me yesterday if I thought Kane with shorter hair would be a disappointment - I'd have said yes. OMG, was I wrong. The man is just flat gorgeous. (however, an army buzz would be a bit gross) ;o)
Congrats on 2 fab episodes
Kind of general 'don't know nuthin about running TV shows'
The acts you talk about (now up to 6 since Season 4) - are they dictated by commercial breaks? Otherwise, if everyone hates them, why do that many, unless it is the almighty dollar?
Thanks so much!
Loved the "Rundown Job".
All three performed like champions, they kept me bolted to my seat, afraid I'd miss any of the action or smart quips.
I really hope there will be a sixth season. If TNT is foolish enough to cancel Leverage then you guys should take your talents to NBC, they are in dire need of good proven shows.
Remember guys you owe it to your fans and NBC will offer a bigger budget and larger salaries.
LOVED both eps. I'm an Eliot geek and I love a good action/drama w/ comedy thrown in so Rundown was my fave...BUT Frame-Up was GREAT too. Nate & Sophie full force? Sterling never stood a chance! Great way to end the summer season and can't wait to see the return of my favorite crew!!
Someone made a comment earlier about how much some of the actors have grown (which I don't disagree with) but I do want to say that Kane has always been a very good actor. His role on Angel was my favorite of the entire cast. It was the reason I watched the show. I don't think the acting on shows of that genre get appreciated enough. There have been a lot of really good performances that's been done on Angel, Buffy, Supernatural, etc... Sorry, just saying.
@ Rocxb7
What kind of moment did Parker and Eliot have?
Parker and Eliot looked at each other to confirm their timing that she had to get the case clear and he was going to distract the professor.
Here was a real moment:
When Hardison wanted to quit because of the virus, Eliot grabbed his wrist and then cuffed the nape of his neck, while looking deep into Hardison eyes while giving him the patriotic speech. - NOW THAT WAS A MOMENT.
The chemistry between Parker and Hardison is obvious, even in real life, when you see them together at ComicCon and the launch parties, there is super chemistry between them - Watch the part2 live webchat on youtube with Beth and Aldis.
Two brilliant yet vastly different episodes. I'm even more thoroughly impressed with the calibre of Leverage's writing team and cast and crew than ever.
One question though about The Rundown Job: the cut between the snipper and Eliot each checking the time was very fast, but were Eliot and the snipper both wearing the same model of watch? If they were, was this a clue to Eliot's past as a Navy Seal? You've said previously that Eliot lied about his age to go into the military. Is his being a contemporary of the snipper and being issued the same watch plausible?
This is about Nate, really. I was rewatching S1 & S2, and there's a lot of focus there on the pain Nate feels for losing his son. Revisited at the end of the Queen's Gambit Job, but taken more of a backseat lately. Is Nate still hurting, has he healed, or has he just shut himself off another way? Found another vice besides alcohol?
On a personal note, I am an Hardison and Parker fan.
I am a proud Geek, who loves anything tech, so Hardison is my man, plus most everything that Hardison does is possible to do, just not as fast and as slick as he makes it out to be.
I closely know people who are Hardisons.
Parker is sublime, she's-in-she's-out and it may take you days or even months to know that she stole it.
Hardison+Parker makes me laugh, smile and listen carefully for the quips and sarcastic punch lines.
Their romance is cute because they are still trying to figure out this strange thing called pretzel/love
I like how in the last one, you were like "Don't shit on my writers!" that was fucking sick, man. Hey, I'd want you to be my boss. MY boss asked me if he could "make a fun video with [me]" the other day. When I asked him what he meant, he winked. Yeah. Fuck everything about that. Good on you for being so cool. Don't go to a certain restaurant on Sunset. Not only is my boss a jerk, but Javier (who is from Spain, not Mexico) sticks his thumbs in the soup.
Also, everybody knows TV takes creative liberties with time. Although, I like to pretend that all episodes of Law & Order take place concurrently. And that when Detective Briscoe has an argument with his daughter during an investigation, it really takes a fucking year to sort that shit out by the time trial rolls around. Also, how they get fuckin DNA results back so fast on EVERY COP SHOW ON EARTH?? That shit takes months. But I don't see Dick Wolf taking the time to read people bitch about it. THANK YOU, JON! Love you, man. Hope you really are my boss some day. I'd do anything to even be the JANITOR in your writer's room. Just to learn from each and every one of you. That's the dream. Thanks for taking the time to do this and thanks for keeping me dreaming! (makes waitressing on Sunset bearable)
weirdly enough, even though I love me some Parker, and Hardison too, The Rundown Job didn't quite click for me. I guess it's the whole "it's the end of the season so they won't fail and millions won't die" feeling in the back of the head which makes it less exciting than it could be on pure story-terms.
Was completely smitten with the Frameup job, though. Because of course you know that in the end all will be good, but the suspense is in the how. Plus Sterling.
Also just realised that some time during season 1 somebody asked on this here blog whether we'd ever get the "Sophie takes her clothes off-job". I guess we just did?
I have to admit that if those two were individual shows, I'd tune into E/H/P sometimes, but I'd fanatically watch Nate/Sophie.
and you know what, that captcha can just go fuck itself. Fourth try now and I'm _sure_ I entered them right. WTF?
by no means a big deal but...
Nate said "when you left that day" in regards to her shoes, shouldn't he have said "when you left this morning"? I mean, it was just later on in the same evening, wasn't it? If it wasn't, then why was she wearing her shoes for the event the day BEFORE the event? Right?
Also, this is probably a more appropriate question to ask the showrunner: why didn't Sophie want Nate's company to see the painting? Why couldn't she tell him once it was stolen? "It's personal" seems a little vague to me. I'm not saying I disagree creatively with her saying that but I'm wondering if there's more to it. Is it just one of those things I'll never understand because I don't have any secrets? That's probably it.
I'm obsessed with this episode. I'm a little biased because Nate and Sophie are two of my favorite fictional folk, but I thought, of the two episodes, this one really benefited from its simplicity in a way that made me enjoy it more. Though the other was just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim. For it was grassy and wanted wear. Though as for that the passing there, had worn them really about the same. I don't know what I'm talking about anymore. Loved them both (but I will be re-watching Tim and Gina's at least five more times). Thanks!
Great episodes. Good job everyone. I'm just going to keep it simple with a congrats on a job well done. And you better not break our hearts with this finale, Jon. I'm not playing around. Love Gina and Tim.
Glad to know I'm not the only one fucking up these captchas. WHAT IN THE SHIT. "10 PENSITOR" That's exactly what I typed. whatever the fuck that means.
Did Nate expect Sophie to come save his ass? If not, did he know she was there when he said "I'm smart enough not to kill my partner"? Is he ever going to tell her he loves her? I mean god damn.
Wow.Guys.Wow. (with slow clap)
You all outdid yourselves for these two episodes. And for that I would like to congratulate the cast and crew! Great acting, writing, directing, editing, great everything!
As said by others, you split the team up but it still worked! But I still prefer them to be together most of the time because that was the Leverage Team that we came to know and love :) I hope you guys get renewed for another season or 2. At least give everyone the chance to prepare for a last season and not just pull the rug beneath our feet by ending it all this year.
I can't think of a question to ask since it has been asked by the others above.
I guess I'll just ask a hair question! Tim and Christian both cut their hair in this season, was it their choice or is it for the show? :D
Oh, and I really love Tim and Gina. They really have great chemistry together. And of course, Beth, Aldis and Christian were just great as well. :)
1. What was your reaction when you first say Christians hair?
2. During the deep Elliot and Hardison scene, I'm guessing Kane added a "Kiss for luck" in for the gag reel?
3. Probably a long shot, but any chance you know where I left my DVD remote?
4. Loved Sterlings more comedic scenes in this ep but he seemed less formidable than usual. Didn't get the hints himself quickly or get a one up on Nate and Sophie or anything, was that intentional to give Nate more of a badass feel? Just that I missed that constant chess feel between Sterling and Nate
5. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
6. Your reaction once you saw Tim's twitter pic of him nice and safe on a jet ski?
7. Who among the cast has given you the biggest headache with stunts and misadventures and what was it?
8. How much do you think @damagedhearts lost her shit when you wished her happy bday?
9. Who would you say is your least favourite cast member? Don't worry, we won't tell them.... honest.... ish.....
and it turns out I can't spell 'saw'....
Did Hardison say he was sending the SOS as --- ... ---? Which is what the car honked. Because that spells OSO. S = ... and O = ---.
@trixie,
I totally agree with you that they are much better together, but if I HAD! to choose then I'd choose (NCIS/IT TAKES A THIEF) type show with P/H/E on regular network TV.
I am not dismissing Nate and Sophie, I love them both, but I think if there was a split P/H/E would be more Network TV attractive, even on TNT viewers would go for the glitz and pace of a Thief/Hacker/Retrieval Specialist over a mind-game duo, but when you have them all together the result is magic.
Last night I watched the TNT fan question interview with Beth and Aldis and I loved the chemistry...take a look at part #1 and #2
(1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lxr1pICV6k&feature=relmfu
(2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxK4cTrJow4
@NSH_Legacy said...
1. What was your reaction when you first say Christians hair?
2. During the deep Elliot and Hardison scene, I'm guessing Kane added a "Kiss for luck" in for the gag reel?
Choked on my water just picturing Christian kissing Aldis. Sure do hope that is on a gag reel.
omg the Rundown job was like watching a full lenght future film, so much action and a lot going on but brilliantly made into a 40 min fun fest...love that trio...btw not sure about the hair, he looked different and it looked good but I still think I prefer the longer version...hm do I have any questions? Nope, just great work as always...
The frame up job was brilliantly done has got to be my favorite episode . Nate and Sophie were so hot Together the chemistry between them amazing to watch : )
My question - if you's were to get a season 6 will u do the same thing have just an Sophie and Nate ep and I think you should write a kinda heart to heart like programe for Tim and gina there chemistry is to Fantastic to pass by : )
Can you explain what it means for Leverage to be 0.07 or 0.08? I keep seeing those numbers regarding the show and I don't understand what they are referring to or why it is important.
Amazing episodes!
1) I know the Genre acting scene can be something of a 'small world' and we've been seeing plenty of staples as Leverage guest stars. Is there anyone on your Do Want list for if you get another season? Summer Glau and Christian Kane fighting together (or each other) just sounds like a thing of beauty to me as an example.
2) Since Eliot does't like Hospitals, and they're in Portland now, does he get acupuncture? Somehow I can totally see Eliot's idea of healing being getting stabbed by dozens of sharp objects.
3) I love the spotlight on how each of our Crew in the Rundown Job handles serious 'life-or-death' pressure. There's the completely panicked look in Hardison's eyes (a la Mile High Job), the almost instinctive-seeming leanings toward Self-Sacrifice for Eliot (Big Bang Job), and Parker... Well, I'm reminded of a dancer who takes a deep breath before breezing onto a stage (...Too many episodes to count, oh leaping off buildings and handling bombs). Is there any post-its for keeping track of that kind of stuff or is it just naturally intrinsic to writing the characters?
4) Is that Sterling grudgingly starting to like what Nate does there at the end? Or at least being willing to like Nate again?
5) A murder mystery at an Art Auction? Did Nate and Sophie just have their Perfect Date?
6) That made me think what Parker and Hardison's would be... Maybe LARP? Oh god Parker as a Rogue...
@Christina
The ideal would be a minimum of 2.x for Cable.
---
REVIEW:
As I said before the "Rundown Job" was excellent, well written and well executed, that being said you know how the industry works; Some folks having seen it will now be busy writing a prelim script outline to shop to the various networks.
I would suggest that you guys write your own outline script and send it to various network execs in order to block anybody shopping a similar script around, which would block you from doing so if you are not renewed by TNT (God forbid).
All I can ask of you guys, is that no matter what happens at TNT don't stop trying to keep this marvelous show on the air.
You guys are a super talented team of Writer/Directors/Actors, with a great show...The only fault I have is that this show needs more promotion, more publicity bookings on national shows. You have some very charming actors with great personalities, use them more (The Letterman Show/Jay Leno/Jimmy Kimmel/The View/Chelsea Lately, etc).
"you think you got it all figured out" no he doesn't, idiot. That's why he just asked you "why did you go in and out so many times?" ha. Anyway, the bad guy's performance in that scene was good, he seemed like a genuine sleaze.
Did Nate know Sophie would save the day? Why did he go back there if he didn't know the painting was hidden there and the bad guy would have to return? Why did he leave Sophie at the bar?? Was that in an effort to protect her or was he getting back at her for keeping secrets? Why did the guy try and kill Nate? He would have gotten away with it if her just hid until Nate left. Or better yet, if he had just shot him in the back of the head. OR if he had just played it cool and been all, "I miss my dad, I came back here to remember him blah blah." Maybe Nate wouldn't have fallen for him but it's always better, in my experience, to make murder your plan B.
One question: was Gina cool with the naked painting? (Not that she had to pose for it or anything).
Who painted it? Were you tempted to use her naked portrait from Coupling (ha)? What do you do with things like that once production is over (fake paintings, I mean. You must have had a couple on this show given all the art stealing).
...I guess that was four questions. And all about Gina naked. Does that make me some kind of fiend? I was the same person who asked about Parker and Hardison's sex life so I think this officially makes me a fiend. In order to throw suspicion off of my fiendishness, I'll ask one final question:
Were you aware that in last season's "The Radio Job", after Nate's Dad blows up and as the scene fades to Dubenich in jail, for a second, the lights on the floor of the jail coincide with the image of Nate's face and it looks like he has a moustahce just like his father's? Go ahead and look at it. I'll wait.
It's creepy! It's like the ghost of his dad or something. Good casting choice for Nate's father. He does look like Tom Skerrit. Especially with a creepy fading light mustache.
I'm not a pervert now, right?
Gina saying "naughty" at the end of that episode was the single hottest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. The way she said it. Damn.
Also. I realize Gina lives in London and Tim lives in New York (I... think?) but if you don't get them together for the episode commentary on the dvd... I will die, Jon. You will have killed me. It will be murder. YOUR HANDS WILL HAVE BLOOD ON THEM CAN YOU LIVE WITH THAT
Can we PLEASE get a show about Nate and Sophie getting hired by interpol to solve art theft crimes? Good LORD that was fun to watch. Seriously. I love Leverage but I'm sad that was only one episode.
Is Nate dying at the end of the season? Yeah, yeah. I know you can't actually say. But what else could you have been planning since season one? Death or retirement. It's not like you could have been planning "Nate continues doing what he's doing" since the beginning. So we know THAT'S not the case. And it's all we want! Leverage team spending their golden years grifting and grofting (not a thing).
I feel like Nate wants EACH of them to build their own team. Making sure Parker can be empathetic, making sure Eliot can mastermind that congressman, all the secret stuff he's doing with Hardison. And he may have even been testing Sophie to make sure she was listening to that nerd in the alien episode. It seems like he's prepping them to each head their own team and maybe... make Leverage a little more global. Either that or he's dying and wants to make sure he teaches them everything he can before he goes. But considering his son died of cancer, that seems like an odd choice to me.
OK, I have a couple of non-ep Q's but sorta show related:
- as a business, how is the establishment going? I keep envisioning an ep revolving around Jon Taffer and "Bar Rescue" showing up. I think I would pay to see the team's reactions, especially Alec & Elliot.
- another HUGE scammy mess involves brokers putting the elderly into variable annuities. Has this come up in writer's meetings?
- since you've mentioned it in a few of your ep recap posts .... any thoughts on the announced Vunce Vaughn "Rockford Files" movie?
Thanks for the show & tell TNT to renew. Barkley doesn't need as much $ now, as he's on a diet
A lot of good points above, To weigh in on the question of CKs hair: I think the shorter hair takes 10 years off of him...I like it.
Question: In addition to all the other connections and allusions mentioned above, Was Jonas Gault the son of John? so why wasn't his daughter named Ayn? or Dagny?
I think these two episodes are my favorites so far. Keep doing 'em. Demand renewal for Season 6 and 7 (and while we're at it 8 and 9...)
Aww, you guys are cute with the fake-metro. Everybody knows that DC stations are sterile, subterranean pits with no soul! I understand about the logos and the physical locations and the trains, but can't you guys dim the lights to give it that authentic cave feel?
Fantastic ep, though. Had me at the edge of my seat...
@anonymous 12:19 PM said, "The ideal would be a minimum of 2.x for Cable."
2.x what? I don't know what that number is referring to and Google can't help when it doesn't know what you are asking. Thank you for responding, though.
1. First of all, please do not split the team for good. "The team is perfect the way it is", like Sophie said in The Hot Potato Job. Those five complete each other.
2. That said, well done, it's good balance splitting the team once in while.
3. I loved The Frame Up Job. Agreed to someone above that "Lots of people do good action/thriller stuff, but clever and witty is rarer." Awesome writing, perfect performances from Gina, Tim and Sheppard. Fast thinking, intimacy and fun between Nate and Sophie. Must say I was missing Gina changing characters/ accents. I'm watching The Frame Up Job over and over.
4. Sophie's facial at the end "and very naked". Wowwwww!!!
5. Now a real question. I was looking for Leverage DVD with Portuguese subtitles and just found Season 1. Do you know if there are DVD with Portuguese subtitles for Seasons 2 to 4? In Brazil Leverage Season 4 is on Space, but either in English with no subtitles or dubbed (awful). Sure I watch it in English, but since I love this show so much that I watch any episode more than once I'd like to purchase DVD with subtitles (at a fair price I hope!).
Congrats and hoping for at least S6 and S7!
@Ruben- How did Sterling lose? He recovered a valuable painting(that none except 1 person knew was a fake), arrested 2 people for the crime with 1 accomplice dead and took all the credit and had a bevy of lovely lady agents to assist him. He also knows that the team is based around Portland now. That's 3 wins and since sophie would never tell how she knew Ma mystere was a fake that's mnot a loss.
@MagzMC- Q2- If I could work for Interpol and have only serious and deadly blonde female agents working for me, I would. Q3-I'm sure John would hire Kari Matchett in a minute for that show, if... she weren't already On Another Show.(Covert Affairs-USA network)
about the metro- Ease up folks, it was a cool set and making it look exactly like the DC metro would likely have cost so much as to make this show undoable. Production/set design is a trade-off between what you can do and how much it costs and how much time you have to make the set. C'mon everyone board the Fun Train!
@SueN. Vance seems to be a military version of Nate with his putting together teams for a mission, Ok maybe Peter Graves/IMF but he assembles what he can to get the job done and worry about clean-up later.
@Anonymous at 629 PM- Theson having stolen the painting would sell it and be rich and go on his way. His rift with his dad would be a good excuse to show he didn't want the inheirtance and throw everyone off his trail, IMHO.
I think the line about the 2nd best detective is like the Eliot I have no weaknessess bit. They see themselves as the best and the other as a close second.
@Christine trry this article on how the Nielsen ratings work http://brusimm.com/nielsen-television-ratings-explained/ and then go to TVbytheNumbers.com and compare ratings to get a feel
@Christina
Answer to question:
http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/leverage-season-five-ratings-23797/
Another question: So who gets to call Mom and Dad and tell them (especially Mom) that Big Bro has been shot? I'm guessing Hardison loses another round of rock, paper, scissors, right?
It has been a busy week for me so I am just getting to this posting.
all comments on 509 (510 will be a separate post)
I loved the little extras included in the iTunes version! Any chance we will get more of that?
1) regarding editing down to tv air time. Does one editor have to make these decisions or are options given to a small group (Dean, Editor etc)
2)I love the competence porn with the laser dance.. and I know that you have to leave Parker's hair long to help disguise Beth from her stuntie...but there has to be some way to do that differently because the hair would have hit the lasers...
3) How much time elapsed from when Eliot got the call from Riley to when the team showed up at Riley's work place? Doesn't seem like there would have been enough time for Riley to get the alternate shooter in place.
4) At the trailer in the field... When Eliot called Vance, the phone showed 'Blocked' caller ID. If the Caller ID was blocked, how did Vance know that it was Eliot calling earlier?
5) Just how much of the stunt driving of the 'Vette did Kane really get to do? We know from BTS pics that Kane/Hodge did some of the green screen...
6) On the MAX car... where did Eliot's coat go? (At least on the iTunes version...) Now its there and then it isn't. Not complaining about the gun show mind you... and I know it was a necessary production need...just unexplained.
7) I didn't notice the 'non'-Leverage music at the end until about the 3rd watching.. Are you setting us up for the spin off? Cause I would definitely watch that just as faithfully as I watch Leverage!
My favorite episode this season... and possibly for the entire series. Thank you...
oh and @SueN...that is not a call I would want to make at all! Do you wonder if Nurse Gayle is going to help with Eliot's recovery again?
duh... the entire 509 ep has 'time stamps' I will figure out the time lag next time I watch and see if I really have a question.
Dumb question but, when Nate ells Sophie to run when the gunman is approaching. Is he doing that to protect her or to use her as bait? Maybe a little bit of both? Re-watching it, she definitely distract the guy and makes it easier for Nate to take him out but that is seriously dangerous. He could have fired on her from that distance pretty easily before Nate got to him. Instead of firing, though, he chose to take a couple steps closer. So did Nate know it would play out that way or was he just trying to save her? I won't think you're some kind of misogynist if you say he was trying to protect her. Or anti-feminist. whatever. Considering she did just save his life moments beforehand. Speaking of which, did he know she would show up to save him?
What was the implication of Tim's line "I think I drank this in college"?
Loved having more of Sterling in "The Frame Up Job"! Did Mark Sheppard have a hard time keeping a straight face when he and Gina were playing a couple? Will we see more of Sterling in the winter?
One more question, are any of the cast members interested in directing an episode of Leverage?
I'm getting a weird vibe that you're attempting a spin-off without Tim and Gina. I don't know if that's what you'd call it. Maybe just a re-imagining of the show. Regardless, there seems to be a mounting pile of evidence to support this. This saddens me, given my fondness for the two of them.
While I wish you guys luck in whatever capacity you return in (should you be given the opportunity), I honestly felt like the Run Down Job was the weaker of the two episodes on Sunday night. Not only can you not do 24 better than 24 (nothing personal) but the charm of the ensemble was lost, I think.
I feel like Parker, Hardison, and Eliot (while I love those characters) are the ones whose personal triumphs and tribulations I can predict the most. Between Parker's charming social quirks and anxieties, Eliot's somber monologues about what happens to a man when he does blah blah blah, and Hardison's ambitions and assertions about how its the "age of the geek", I can't help but feel like they've leaned on too much to carry the B story each week. And Nate and Sophie have been neglected. When we do see the two of them, it's usually about their romance. Or in my eyes, a hole in the floor where its implied a romance exists.
You say Sophie's arc was accelerated in season 2 but that just felt like the tip of the iceberg to me and I'm disappointed to hear that that is somehow a complete story for that character in your mind. Maybe I've read thi completely wrong. But that episode had a distinct pilot-y feel to me. And the Frame-Up Job felt like a last hurrah.
I know you don't need me coming on here telling you how to write or run your show so I'm sorry to waste your time. And I'll just finish by saying thank you for creating the show in the first place, it's been a great ride. I'll watch whatever series you work on next. And I'd shake your hand if this weren't the internet.
@ SueN
It'll be a scene to remember indeed, and this show terribly lacks moments like that one. But, I don't think it'll happen because they'll just show us something completely separated from this episode, as they always do. Remember that Parker had six weeks to heal? No mention of that, either.
Great episodes, the both of them!
Most of my questions have been asked.
But I know there is an order of shooting eps, an order the writers want in a perfect world and the order that is shown.
What is the order the writers intended for these first 10 episodes?
I know you often say it makes no difference, but as a journalist, I love the story telling and I usually can tell. For instance, Frame Up should have come before Rundown, simply because frameup had a line that accounted for the kids' absence and rundown had nothing about Nate and Sophie (yeah, it probably should have had something, too).
Thank you for doing this
Post a Comment