S01.01: The Too Many Rembrandts Job

[tessaray]

Drops July 9, 2021 on IMBd TV's free streaming service. 

When the team comes together to help Sophie, they intercept guilt-ridden corporate fixer Harry and decide to help him take down an evil billionaire making money on the back of an opioid crisis.
 

[tessaray]

So, I went to Amazon today for another reason and was in the IMDb channel and the show was live!  (At least the first 2 episodes.)

I loved it. I even liked what's his name, the new guy.  In the first 10 minutes or so, I laughed and teared up.  The team hit all the right notes.  I wish I had printed up a list of catch phrases so I could cross them off. :-) 

The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Sterling had shown up. But there's still time - I can hold out some hope. 

I didn't intend to watch on my laptop this afternoon so I'm looking forward to rewatching it properly later on. It did buffer a bit but it could have been my connection. 

eta:  I timed the commercials and there were less than 2 minutes for the whole show. I don't watch much of anything on IMDb TV, so I don't know what their normal commercial load is and I don't know if it matters if you are an Amazon Prime subscriber (I am) but they were barely noticeable. 

 

[Zonk]

I loved the original show, so I was overjoyed when this popped up.

Sadly, somehow this looks like crap, from a visual standpoint, I mean and I can't put my finger on it why. The framing looks technically okay. Maybe it's the cuts that are way too quick? The lighting is certainly crappy. But is that all? It kinda looks weird. It isn't in a higher framerate than 24fps, but it still has that soap opera feel... Maybe they are overusing the camera pans?

Other than that, not a fan of Nathan being dead. Hope it turns out that it's just a long con and Sophie is in on it. If it is a con, it's not a very good one. They didn't even put dates on his gravestone. If it's not a con, that's horrible production design.

But the writing and the characters playing off of each other seem to still be on point and that is what counts. So I'm in.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, tessaray said:

I loved it. I even liked what's his name, the new guy.

You must be talking about Noah Wylie aka Dr. John Carter of ER fame.

[Zonk]

6 minutes ago, preeya said:

You must be talking about Noah Wylie aka Dr. John Carter of ER fame.

He will always be the librarian to me. (The librarians being a show that was very much like Leverage in a lot of ways and imo cancelled too soon)

[tessaray]

8 minutes ago, preeya said:

You must be talking about Noah Wylie aka Dr. John Carter of ER fame.

Yes.  I was just kidding a bit, since they call him "new guy" more than once. 

[Abra]

I enjoyed this episode. I'm totally fine with how they removed Nate from the equation; he was never a draw for me in the original series anyway. I am delighted that Noah Wyle's Harry isn't played like his character Flynn Carsen from The Librarians - Flynn mostly annoyed the piss out of me. The only quibble I have with him here is how noticeable it is that he can't maintain his New Orleans accent.

 

[giovannif7]

Not gonna lie - I had to stop the first episode for a bit after the first few minutes, after the callback overhead shot in the cemetery (with the gravestone standing in for Nate) to process my grief over the loss. I will admit Kleenex was involved. To me, Nate was a wonderful, complex, damaged character who made me feel for him, even when I had trouble understanding or relating to his actions. The rest of the team, especially Sophie/Gina, sold me on the depth of their loss. I knew I needed time to process it so that I could give the reboot a fair look with fresh eyes.

Once I felt ready to move forward and continue watching, I thoroughly enjoyed the reuniting of the team. The actors and writers did a wonderful job of letting us know these are the same people we've loved, even though a lot has happened since we last spent time with them. Loved all of the character moments, the catch phrases and callbacks, and especially the evolving relationships. The one thing that took me out of it was noticing how much Aldis/Hardison had been hitting the gym - which is definitely not a complaint. I was half expecting Eliot to either tease him about being the new muscle for the team, or to take credit for his workout regimen. It still amazes me how well this disparate group can work/band together, listen to, trust and support each other.

Noah Wylie's character didn't bother me - I was very grateful he wasn't simply slotted in as a Nate/Mastermind replacement. As with the original team when Leverage began, I think they did a great job of introducing us to who he is, what he's done in the past, and why he's now looking to making things right. I look forward to seeing more of how he fits in with the team and how the team helps integrate him into their operations.

[Gigi43]

I think this was a good start. It's Leverage and Nate so the idea he faked his death is entirely possible. I wasn't sure if the implication was he had health problems from the life he lived (heart problems, liver damage from all the drinking) or if he killed himself once he didn't have the cons to keep him going.

 

I like that Harry isn't one of them in the sense he's given 'you people are crazy' lines. He's not replacement Nate, he's just the new guy. I do wish he'd lose the accent. It's not good.

 

Sophie saying Hardison was his father's son got to me.  Though I doubt he's become as ruthless. 

 

The interaction between the originals felt so natural. I loved they used the Boston Museum for a callback. 

[Ms Lark]

And I'm just glad they're back! Not ready to nitpick anything at this point, I'm just enjoying THEM! 😊

ETA: In DC, we really are lobbying to get the Sackler name taken off the Museum. They don't need to be honored for selling opiates!

Edited July 9, 2021 by Ms Lark

[Chaos Theory]

First episode had some kinks in it but the episode had the same magic as the old series and the cast jelled together fine.   The show even explained Nate’s death in a way that made sense.  He burned angry for so long that he burned out…but at least he burned.   Noah Wylie’s character looks like he will be a good addition as well.  A guy who needs the team To make amends just as the team is mourning the loss of Nate so having him as a project actually helps them as well.  

Edited July 10, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[moonorchid]

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a cast gel as well as the Leverage cast. Leverage is the show I still rave about when asked what my fav tv show ever was. It’s just such a damn joy to have new episodes. I love that they loved the show enough to come back. 
 

im assuming we are sans Nate cause of Hutton’s sexual harassment accusations from a few years back. I think the show did a good job of setting it straight that he’s gone and what happened to him. I completely believe and accept it. Nate punished himself for a long long time. It’s a tale as old as time. 
 

My feelings about his death are mostly in connection to how it’s affecting the rest of the team. The only time I really felt it in my gut was when Sophie (in reference to Harrison) said, “he’s his fathers son”…just damn! 
 

I like the introduction of Noah Wylie’s character and how he’s fitting in so far. 
 

LOVE knowing that Parker, Harrison, and Eliot have expanded their operation. They’ve grown and yet are still the same. Character progression and staying true to it and them has always been this shows biggest strength to me. I love it. I love leverage. I’m down for what they are giving! 

[jenrising]

I enjoyed this so much. It really felt like Leverage which was my biggest fear. I knew it would be fine, but the first episode really felt like finding the show again after a long break. 

Like others mentioned, that "his father's son" comment hit me so hard. Largely because it was just thrown away, the show trusted its audience to be gutted without emphasizing it. 

Parker being more open and mature but still so, so Parker is delightful. 

The real problem for me is going to be not watching all of the other available episodes immediately. 

 

 

[akg]

17 hours ago, Abra said:

I am delighted that Noah Wyle's Harry isn't played like his character Flynn Carsen from The Librarians - Flynn mostly annoyed the piss out of me.

I was ok with Harry showing up briefly in a few episodes but hated the romance so very much. They never made sense together and were one of the very few tv couples where I recognized the complete lack of chemistry (I'm awful at that). So I'm very happy that there shouldn't be any chance of him dating within the team. 

 

18 hours ago, Zonk said:

(The librarians being a show that was very much like Leverage in a lot of ways and imo cancelled too soon)

(the Librarians had the same team behind the scenes as Leverage)

 

1 hour ago, moonorchid said:

im assuming we are sans Nate cause of Hutton’s sexual harassment accusations from a few years back

In real life, this is one reason I'm hoping his death isn't a con. I already see Nate a little differently when watching old episodes. In the Leverage universe, I can't see Sophie being in on it (there was no for her to be performing in the first few scenes) and I would hate to think Nate would do such a cruel thing to her.

[Zonk]

4 hours ago, akg said:

(the Librarians had the same team behind the scenes as Leverage)

I never looked into it, so did not know that. But it makes complete sense. The two shows always had the same feel to them,

4 hours ago, akg said:

In real life, this is one reason I'm hoping his death isn't a con. I already see Nate a little differently when watching old episodes. In the Leverage universe, I can't see Sophie being in on it (there was no for her to be performing in the first few scenes) and I would hate to think Nate would do such a cruel thing to her.

Sophie is a method actor. She sucks on stage. So maybe she needed to get into character to play convincingly at the graveyard... is what I could fanwank.

But yeah, now that I learned that Timothy Hutton is a sex-pest, I doubt it's a con. Seems like they just wrote him out. Probably for the better. Still that production design really irks me. How do you not write dates on a gravestone? Were they like "I can't be bothered to figure this out right now, let's put the dates in in post!" and then just forgot or ran out of money? (the post production looks kinda crappy in general, so maybe that is it)

[leighdear]

AHHHHH!!!  11:43 seconds for Eliot to give us the first "Damnit, Hardison!"..... *ROFL*  

I am so gad the crew is back together.  Aldis looks SO buff and handsome!  Geeks may rule, but he sure grew out of his geeky hacker phase.  

And I still love how Parker can just magically morph into whatever generic cute gal is needed for the con.  

Edited July 10, 2021 by leighdear

[Chaos Theory]

I really liked the scene in the museum when Sophie realized Harry was  trying to steal the Rembrandt and it turned into a tutorial on thievery.   “Parker.  He’s not going to learn unless he does it himself.” 

 

 

[DearEvette]

"You know someone nasty enough to pick lice off a cactus with his bare hands?"

Oh, man, this was a damned delight.  The team chemistry is there and it feels like we never left them. 

When Sophie blew up at them at her house and Hardison head-gestured to Parker to go comfort Sophie I was all "are you crazy, Hardison?"  But then Parker's first instinct to comfort Sophie was to suggest they steal something and Sophie's eyes lit up and I knew we were ok!

So many great callbacks.  We got the overhead shot of the four of them in a circle that included Nate's headstone, we got a 'Damnit Hardison!", we got an 'Age of the Geek, baby" and we got Hardison trying to explain to Elliot how much authenticity and care he puts into his forgery (reminded me of his speech in 'The King George Job' where he had to create a 18th century journal and made the ink from boysenberries). So many things.

The humor is spot on (I especially loved the picture of as Bob "Hardison" Ross). And Parker being insane with joy at the prospect of crawling through so many vents.

Enjoyed the heck out of this!

 

[MissLucas]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

The humor is spot on (I especially loved the picture of as Bob "Hardison" Ross). And Parker being insane with joy at the prospect of crawling through so many vents.

 

Two of my favorite moments too! And I might have teared up a bit, not at the cemetery scene but at the first 'dammit Hardison!' (Nate was never my favorite character). I missed this show so much! I just wished they had not dropped this all at once since I have no willpower.

[Crs97]

Nate was my favorite character so I struggled, but loved it!  Noah’s accent sure disappeared quickly.  I hope they don’t feel the need to emphasize Harry’s NOLA background because Noah isn’t good enough to sell it. Harry seems interesting at least. I loved Hardison’s speech at the end the best.  Harry actually lost me a little when he thought finding some people to payoff was good enough.

My PSA: not all lawyers are sleazy and need redemption.

[Orbert]

I liked it.  Obviously everyone's a little older now, but while Sophie, Hardison, and Eliot all just looked a little older, there was something very different about Parker that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  Something about her face.

I know that this first episode had to introduce the characters to anyone who never saw the original series, but having Sophie say "Grifter", Eliot say "Hitter", etc., felt really awkward.  Why would they each say their "roles" out loud like that, to each other?  It seems like there could have been a better way to make their roles obvious to the uninitiated.

Other than those few nitpicks, I thought it was fine.  Harry was introduced in a believeable way, the story was a bit convoluted, but could mostly be followed.  Just like in the original series.  Explaining the twist via black-and-white flashbacks, again just like in the original series, was nicely done.

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Orbert

[AnimeMania]

On 7/8/2021 at 6:32 PM, Zonk said:

Sadly, somehow this looks like crap, from a visual standpoint, I mean and I can't put my finger on it why. The framing looks technically okay. Maybe it's the cuts that are way too quick? The lighting is certainly crappy. But is that all? It kinda looks weird. It isn't in a higher framerate than 24fps, but it still has that soap opera feel... Maybe they are overusing the camera pans?

I felt the same way, because of the hair and makeup, also it seems like they didn't have a large budget so they limited the outdoor shots. The show seemed to spend too much time making callbacks to the original show and winking at it's fans. It threw off the continuity and might throw off new viewers and people who it might have been 10 years since they saw the original show. Eliot's fight scene seemed to be the most relatable part although his moves seemed too fast and his speech went on way too long. Maybe they should of had Eliot voice over what he was going to do while he was actually doing it. Everything Parker said and did just seemed creepy instead of endearing.

[akg]

2 hours ago, Orbert said:

there was something very different about Parker that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  Something about her face.

I thought she was wearing more makeup (or more obvious makeup) than Parker normally did in her first scene but I kind of forgot about that as the episode continued. Her hair ended up bugging me more. The short bangs don't work for her face as well as what she had in the original series.

[Lugal]

They got the band back together!  I was worried about this because I love the original show, but they pulled it off.  Nate's death was explained in a way that made sense.  And even before the stuff about Timothy Hutton came out I seem to recall reading that he hadn't signed on for the show and it's just as well.  I like the look too, a little more real, and not as glossy as it was before.  Aldis Hodge was charismatic when he started on the show, but now he has gravitas (and he's one of those lucky people that will look the same from age 20 to 60).

I was concerned about Noah Wylie being too much like Flynn from Librarians, but I had to remind myself he downplayed things in Fallen Skies.  I thought he did well here.  Although he was supposed to have a New Orleans accent?  Did not notice.

Given the state of the world, Leverage is the show we need right now.

[Maelstrom]

I loved this! 🥰 This post will be looong.

Leverage is one of my two all-time favorite shows, so when I first heard they were rebooting it I really wasn't sure if they could match the original run. But thankfully with many of the same people back behind the scenes it fits seamlessly. And considering the world has only gotten more corrupt in the last decade, we need the Leverage crew now more than ever.

Considering the disturbing allegations against Timothy Hutton, not bringing back Nate made good sense - he was always self-destructive anyway - and IMO actually makes the show stronger. We get to see how the three "kids" have matured, expanding the operation and adapting to the times. And it was interesting to see Sophie after being out of the game for so long, watching her grifter's instincts come right back even as she struggles to make sense of losing Nate.

I thought the filming style was perfect, less slick and glossy and more personal and honest. Streaming shows often have a different look to them than regular shows, but I thought it worked here, adding to the tone of the show. My only quibble was the sound mix at times made some of the dialogue hard to understand, but that's a problem for me with a lot of shows so maybe it's my tv or I just have crappy hearing.

So many great callbacks, even beyond "Dammit Hardison!" and "Age of the geek, baby!" I love that Parker's propensity for stabbing was touched on ("I haven't stabbed anyone for a really long time! Like a month!") the Boston Museum of Art, Nate's collection of stolen/recovered art, Eliot's love of cooking with his global fleet of meat wagons food trucks. Even the overhead five-shot with Nate's grave was a perfect way to honor the original show.

And I also really appreciated that the show acknowledged that time has passed, that the crew has had a lot more jobs and adventures since we last saw them, and that they have grown and matured as individuals and as a team. And of course it makes sense they would update their techniques, like Hardison upgrading his forgeries (the image of him as Bob Ross was a stroke of brilliance).

I too had pretty big reservations about Noah Wyle, but he worked better than I expected. Thank goodness he wasn't as manic and over the top as he was on Librarians, and didn't eat the show as I feared he might either. Though I didn't know he was supposed to have a New Orleans accent? As long they keep the focus on our thieves and not on Harry, I'll be happy.

Since several others have mentioned Beth Reisgraf's face looking different, I'll touch on it too - she clearly had Botox done on her forehead at some point, since her forehead had that smooth, glassy Botox look to it. And in some scenes she sported those enormous caterpillar eyebrows that Hollywood seems to love in recent years (clearly portions of this episode were filmed at different times). But apart from that I thought everyone had aged so naturally and looked great. Aldis was still basically a kid when they filmed the original run, but now he's filled out and looks like a man. Anyone know how many eps we have him for?

I plan on rewatching this tonight (I'm trying to be good and make these eps last as long as I can) because I want to make sure I catch every little detail. Leverage is back!

ETA - I watched through Prime and the ad breaks were minimal, brief, and not inserted mid-scene like some services, always a plus!

Edited July 10, 2021 by Maelstrom

[DearEvette]

16 hours ago, Orbert said:

Obviously everyone's a little older now, but while Sophie, Hardison, and Eliot all just looked a little older, there was something very different about Parker that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  Something about her face.

 

13 hours ago, akg said:

I thought she was wearing more makeup (or more obvious makeup) than Parker normally did in her first scene but I kind of forgot about that as the episode continued. Her hair ended up bugging me more. The short bangs don't work for her face as well as what she had in the original series.

Yeah, her face looked a little different.  I think it was a combo of some make up, the hair (her bangs in the first ep were rather tragic, imo) and it does look like she got some filler in her face so maybe a little swelling?   But she looks more like herself in subsequent episodes and the longer bangs are back.

[DoctorAtomic]

On 7/8/2021 at 5:00 PM, Zonk said:

He will always be the librarian to me. (The librarians being a show that was very much like Leverage in a lot of ways and imo cancelled too soon)

I was pleased when I heard he was cast because of the Librarians. He gets the vibe of the shows. 

I thought it was interesting that they run a whole bunch of crews now. That's a lot of high crime. I did like that they're taking their not-so-ill gotten gains and doing some good things. 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

I just watched a documentary on the Boston art heist!

[DearEvette]

I learned about it through Drunk History:

 

[Hanahope]

Strange…..hot….vents.   Hahaha

oh how I missed this show.  

I do like how they can use “the new guy” with his knowledge of law.  And there’s a lot of old clients to target.

[Crs97]

Upon further reflection, I find it inconceivable that Nate isn’t buried with his son.

[giovannif7]

52 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

Upon further reflection, I find it inconceivable that Nate isn’t buried with his son.

There is a brief shot of a smaller headstone to the left of the one we saw for Nate. We didn't get to see the writing on it - I assumed it represented Nate and Maggie's son.

[Johannah]

Yay!  Leverage is back!  Loved it.

Love the cast, but with them all being a little older, I don't know how they are going to handle the Sophie as seductress part.  I know she says it's mostly attitude and making the mark feel like he's the most important person in the world, or something like that, but I'm not sure I'm going to buy that a man across the room finds her the most attractive and intriguing person he's ever met.  I barely bought it before.

But I'm along for the ride, so I'll believe anything they want me to believe as long as they give me more episodes.

One thing, the line about being like his father was about Hardison?  A callback I don't remember?  I can see it being about Nate, but I don't believe it to be true about him.

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm getting more that Wyle is using his Dark Skies voice than a New Orleans accent. 

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, Johann said:

One thing, the line about being like his father was about Hardison?  A callback I don't remember?  I can see it being about Nate, but I don't believe it to be true about him

Was this the convo that Elliot had with Sophie?  Because yeah, that was in reference to Nate.  Sophie's con had Elliot being the son of an Irish mobster in Boston which is basically's Nate's back story.

Or was it the convo Sophie and Hardison had?  Because I think that was also referring to Nate because I believe Hardison saw Nate as a father figure.

Edited July 11, 2021 by DearEvette

[Johannah]

14 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Was this the convo that Elliot had with Sophie?  Because yeah, that was in reference to Nate.  Sophie's con had Elliot being the son of an Irish mobster in Boston which is basically's Nate's back story.

Or was it the convo Sophie and Hardison had?  Because I think that was also referring to Nate because I believe Hardison saw Nate as a father figure.

It was the second one.  I don't remember Hardison seeing Nate as a father figure, but it makes sense.  At least more sense than comparing Nate to his father.  Thanks!  When Sophie said this, I was wondering if there was a previous ep with Hardison's father and since he wasn't in his life, couldn't imagine it was a compliment.

 

 

[tessaray]

1 hour ago, Johann said:

It was the second one.  I don't remember Hardison seeing Nate as a father figure, but it makes sense.  At least more sense than comparing Nate to his father.  Thanks!  When Sophie said this, I was wondering if there was a previous ep with Hardison's father and since he wasn't in his life, couldn't imagine it was a compliment.

 

 

There was that whole thing with Hardison wanting to run his own crew and Nate mentoring him over the last 2 seasons. It led to Nate taking Hardison into his confidence in the last season in a way that makes me buy into a paternal bond. 

[Johannah]

16 hours ago, tessaray said:

There was that whole thing with Hardison wanting to run his own crew and Nate mentoring him over the last 2 seasons. It led to Nate taking Hardison into his confidence in the last season in a way that makes me buy into a paternal bond. 

Thanks.  I don't  remember that and I'm only in the beginning of season 4 in my rewatch.  Harrison has asked about leading his own team, but Nate hasn't started mentoring him, yet, except to tell him he wasn't ruthless enough.

[joanne3482]

I only heard about this reboot from something on the front page here at Primetimer. I had no idea and binged the whole thing over the weekend. I am so happy Parker and Hardison are still together. Parker is my favorite so I liked seeing her again and still love her quirks (like the stabbing thing) Good con. I liked the creative way they ruined the guy's reputation. 

[wanderingstar]

Seeing these characters back together again made me so happy.

Sophie was back on the con and loving it.

Eliot was...Eliot.

Parker and Hardison remain adorable. And Hardison's quips continue to delight ("Nate was still on VISTA? What kinda ancient historical foolishness is this?")

Welcome back, show!

[chaifan]

I liked the old Leverage, but wasn't an uber-fan.  I just thought it was a fun show.  I will admit Nate was always my least favorite character.  Actually, I've never been crazy about Timothy Hutton in any role.  But Nate just bugged me for some reason.  So I'm glad the show is back without him.  No one looks like they've aged 8 years.  2-3, maybe.  I sort of wish they cleaned Eliot up a bit.  Christian Kane looks so much better clean cut.  But damn!  Aldis Hodge looks fantastic!  (He was great in One Night in Miami, also on Prime.) 

I like "the new guy", but what was with Noah's complete and utter failure to keep his accent?  And it wasn't just an accent, it was his entire style of speech.  Early on he had a low gravely voice, plus the accent, which was a bit over the top NOLA for me and made him sound like an 80 year old man.  And then the gravel went away, and then the accent came and went throughout the episode.  Wylie is a better actor than that, and also good enough to know if he can't keep an accent to just not bother with it. 

I think my favorite part was Parker's bit about the air vents.  I loved the absolute glee she expressed. 

This will be a fun summer watch. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't know why he needs an accent anyway. It's not like you have to be from NOLA to go to Tulane. 

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm watching an old Law & Order and Peter Riegert is the guest perp.  And it reminded me... one of the reasons I'll miss not having Hutton on the show is that we won't see Jimmy Pappadokolous again.

[rur]

On 7/10/2021 at 10:01 PM, Johann said:

Love the cast, but with them all being a little older, I don't know how they are going to handle the Sophie as seductress part.  I know she says it's mostly attitude and making the mark feel like he's the most important person in the world, or something like that, but I'm not sure I'm going to buy that a man across the room finds her the most attractive and intriguing person he's ever met.  

FWIW, did you ever watch Queen of the South? Veronica Falcon, who played Camila, was in her 50s and was pretty damn hot. 

But it looks like the femme fatale-ish roles may go to Parker this time around.  

And, I'm just happy it's back, too. I watched all the episodes in two days.

[Johannah]

11 minutes ago, rur said:

FWIW, did you ever watch Queen of the South? Veronica Falcon, who played Camila, was in her 50s and was pretty damn hot. 

But it looks like the femme fatale-ish roles may go to Parker this time around.  

And, I'm just happy it's back, too. I watched all the episodes in two days.

No, never saw that and I'm not saying Sophie isn't beautiful or older women aren't beautiful or sexy.  I'm probably not saying it right.  Sophie has always been beautiful, but even in the other series, I found it hard to believe that every man in every situation zeroed in on her in a room with many beautiful women. Not every woman is every man's taste.  I always thought of her allure being her one-on-one attitude with the mark.  If the guy didn't always become smitten from across the room and Sophie had to work her magic, I could totally buy it.

[andromeda331]

Dammit Hardison! 

I love that Hardison's and Parker's place has vents for Parker to crawl through. That Leverage expanded to Leverage International. The Food Trucks. The food truck van and mentioning of Lucille.

Its so great to see everyone again! I've missed watching this show. Noah Wyle did a great job. I'm glad that he's the new person and not taking over the mastermind job. 

I liked Sophie picking Eliot's back story being basically Nate's. It made sense. The characters did a good job with Nate's death and missing him. I loved that Eliot, Parker and Hardison were so worried about Sophie. 

[greyflannel]

On 7/13/2021 at 6:08 PM, chaifan said:

I liked the old Leverage, but wasn't an uber-fan.  I just thought it was a fun show.  I will admit Nate was always my least favorite character.  Actually, I've never been crazy about Timothy Hutton in any role.  But Nate just bugged me for some reason.  So I'm glad the show is back without him.  No one looks like they've aged 8 years.  2-3, maybe.  I sort of wish they cleaned Eliot up a bit.  Christian Kane looks so much better clean cut.  But damn!  Aldis Hodge looks fantastic!  (He was great in One Night in Miami, also on Prime.) 

I like "the new guy", but what was with Noah's complete and utter failure to keep his accent?  And it wasn't just an accent, it was his entire style of speech.  Early on he had a low gravely voice, plus the accent, which was a bit over the top NOLA for me and made him sound like an 80 year old man.  And then the gravel went away, and then the accent came and went throughout the episode.  Wylie is a better actor than that, and also good enough to know if he can't keep an accent to just not bother with it. 

I think my favorite part was Parker's bit about the air vents.  I loved the absolute glee she expressed. 

This will be a fun summer watch. 

For me, it just wasn't fun watching an alcoholic be an alcoholic.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I must be in the minority. I miss Nate. I don't think Noah is a good actor so don't like him as the 5th person replacement. I think they would have been better served to have Sterling take over Nate's position. So that alone made this meh for me, and I love Leverage. I'll keep watching because of that fact, just to see all the callbacks. Waiting for Eliot to give us a "It has a very distinctive...."

Aldis being buff, and clean shaven threw me a bit at first.

[Prevailing Wind]

Burton doesn't have this listed on his IMdB page, so the fact that it's not listed for Mark Sheppard, Robert Blanche, or Kari Matchett doesn't mean we won't be seeing Sterling, Bonanno, or Maggie.  <fingers crossed>

[Llywela]

3 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

Aldis being buff, and clean shaven threw me a bit at first.

He was buff and clean shaven in the original series, too...