# should I Be Watching Leverage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298 "2010-12-15T23:34:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/1 "2010-12-15T23:34:32Z")
I’ve seen NCIS and Bones reruns a zillion times. Is this show cool, clever, engaging, entertaining? ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/2 "2010-12-16T01:06:01Z")
I enjoy it and the Christmas special that just aired was ampretty good one to start on. It’s not an investigation show like Bones or NCIS it’s an old school caper show. The characters are entertaining and the plots are enjoyable if you are able to suspend your disbelief. Me and my roommate make it a point to watch the show every Sunday when it’s on. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/3 "2010-12-16T01:36:01Z")
You should be watching it, and you should also be watching “Human Target” on FOX as if your life depended on it (if not just because you don’t hate America). ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/4 "2010-12-16T01:56:13Z")
I really enjoy _Leverage_. Yes, you definitely have to go into ‘this-is-TV-it-doesn’t-have-to-be-believable’ mode. But the characters are fun and quirky, and of course, it’s always satisfying to see some evil-doer get their richly deserved comeuppance. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/5 "2010-12-16T02:09:14Z")
At first I was annoyed at its blatant ripoffedness of the UK show _Hustle_, which it most assuredly is a direct imitation of; but very quickly it becomes its own thing, and is brilliant entertainment in any case, so I also heartily recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/6 "2010-12-16T02:12:15Z")
It used to be on Netflix Instant Watch and we very much enjoyed it. Then it fell off Instant Watch and we were sad. So we put it on our disc queue. I thought the first episode was the best, but we are only 2 seasons in. It has the crazy lady from Coupling in it. She’s fantastic! ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/7 "2010-12-16T02:19:30Z")
Without a doubt, watch it. Don’t take it seriously at all, because it’s just a _fun_ show, and not anywhere close to reality. But I enjoy it, and almost never miss an episode. As has been said, the Christmas episode that just aired this past Sunday (with Wil Wheaton as the guest villain) was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/8 "2010-12-16T02:56:04Z")
Yes you should. Next week is the season finale, so you can catch up with all three seasons before the next one starts. There’s a few overarching storylines, but you don’t need to worry about the order too much. And if you’re a night owl, TNT usually airs reruns every weeknight at 2 eastern/1 central. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/9 "2010-12-16T03:47:12Z")
Thanks for those replies! I’ll set it to record. Is it sort of like “Mission Impossible” (TV show not movie)? What is the premise of “Human Target”? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/10 "2010-12-16T05:41:57Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Is it sort of like “Mission Impossible” (TV show not movie)? It’s sort of like _Oceans 11_. They’re con artists with a Robin Hood twist. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/11 "2010-12-16T05:48:24Z")
Meh. i watched the first 3 or 4 episodes and didn’t get drawn in. You might like it – it doesn’t suck like _Rizzoli & Isles_. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/12 "2010-12-16T06:13:26Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What is the premise of “Human Target”? Bodyguard for hire with a mysterious past and a potential death wish gets close to the people he’s hired to guard, makes them _appear_ vulnerable to draw out the attacker and then neutralizes the attacker. Lots of good, hokey martial arts action, improbable fight scenes, MacGyveresque escapes and impossibly quick banter. Just like _Leverage_, enjoy the characters and the action. Don’t think too much about the plot. BTW, watch _Leverage_. ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/13 "2010-12-16T13:55:12Z")
I need to get back into both Leverage and Human Target. We never missed them before, but we moved to an army base for 6 months and don’t have any kind of dvr while we are here (long story). Plus he’s in the field a lot, so even trying to catch up with everything we wanted to watch on hulu got to be too much. Moving home Saturday hooray! Those are two of the shows I want to start catching re-runs of and try to catch back up. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/14 "2010-12-16T14:02:59Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What is the premise of “Human Target”? Explosions. Mexican knife fights. Beautiful women. Scotch. More explosions. Heists. Gadgets. Killing bears with your bare hands. Fancy cocktail parties that end in an explosion of beautiful women drinking scotch in the midst of a mexican knife fight with a bear. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/15 "2010-12-16T14:06:07Z")
We’ve found LEVERAGE uneven. Some shows are lots of fun, others are too gimmicky. But watch it, we have a friend who’s involved with the writing, so we want ratings to be up. > [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > … it’s just a _fun_ show, and not anywhere close to reality. If you mean over-view, I agree, it’s pure fantasty. But if you mean the gimmicks and techno-tricks, our friend claims that all that stuff is “real” in the sense of existing and possible. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/16 "2010-12-16T14:17:43Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > (snip) > > If you mean over-view, I agree, it’s pure fantasty. But if you mean the gimmicks and techno-tricks, our friend claims that all that stuff is “real” in the sense of existing and possible. Wow, that’s very cool. I have heard that Beth Reisgraf, who plays Parker, does all her own stunts, and is quite an accomplished gymnast. One of the things I really like about the show is how they show, in almost-black-and-white, little snippets that give the viewer clues as to how they accomplished what they did. I also love that the show doesn’t seem to take _itself_ too seriously. It’s like everyone involved knows it’s over the top, and they’re just there to have fun, and part of the time they’re kind of winking at the camera. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/17 "2010-12-16T15:33:54Z")
I started watching this show based on recommendations I read on the Dope. I was looking for something mindless and fun. It delivered on the former, but the show was absolutely horrible. I mean, it was so bad that even my wife thought the writing was a joke. She likes Gilmore Girls and Desperate Housewives for Pete’s sake. I’m amazed that anyone can watch more than 4 or 5 episodes before giving up, and I’m entertained by just about anything. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/18 "2010-12-16T16:14:48Z")
I guess we must simply have very different tastes in entertainment, Labrador, because I started watching it, encouraged by Doper endorsements when I asked a similar question about Leverage earlier this year, and now it’s definitely a show I enjoy and look forward to seeing whenever it’s on. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/19 "2010-12-16T16:52:44Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > We’ve found LEVERAGE uneven. Some shows are lots of fun, others are too gimmicky. But watch it, we have a friend who’s involved with the writing, so we want ratings to be up. > > If you mean over-view, I agree, it’s pure fantasty. But if you mean the gimmicks and techno-tricks, our friend claims that all that stuff is “real” in the sense of existing and possible. We agree then, because I mean in the over-view sense, not the techno bits. F’rinstance, the crew seems to get hired instantly to be the inside people just when and where they need to be (waiting tables, tending bar, etc., which is different than a cover like faking being a delivery man). It reminds me how in cop shows, the lead always gets the parking space right in front of the building he needs to go into in midtown Manhattan, when in reality, he’d have to park a billion miles away. Plus I’m a Tim Hutton fan from way back (TAPS, and later Nero Wolfe), and was a fan of his father, Jim Hutton (Ellery Queen). ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298/20 "2010-12-16T17:03:40Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Wow, that’s very cool. I have heard that Beth Reisgraf, who plays Parker, does all her own stunts, and is quite an accomplished gymnast. > > One of the things I really like about the show is how they show, in almost-black-and-white, little snippets that give the viewer clues as to how they accomplished what they did. I also love that the show doesn’t seem to take _itself_ too seriously. It’s like everyone involved knows it’s over the top, and they’re just there to have fun, and part of the time they’re kind of winking at the camera. You mean like how the guy’s limo driver gets delayed and his replacement limo driver looks like Gina Bellman? Really, in that situation there’s only two thoughts that should be going through a guy’s mind. Either “IT’S A TRAP!!!” or “Dear Penthouse, I never thought this would happen to me, but…” The only problem with shows like these (and Ocean’s as well) is the impossible technology. The magical plastic dice in Ocean’s 13, or the remarkably compact EMP gun from Leverage, for example. -Joe [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-watching-leverage/564298.md?page=2)