Greetings,
I hate this list. I really do. Well, I hate the fact that it exists. For those of you who don't know, I generally don't make top ten episode lists for a show until it is off the air. I have bent that rule a bit, but, for the most part, I've kept it. Hence, I hate this list of top ten episodes of Leverage, because, and I can't stress this enough, LEVERAGE SHOULD NOT BE OFF THE AIR! I'm sorry to shout, but it's just how I feel.
If you haven't seen the show, first of all, I feel bad for you, and I will give you a very brief summary of what it was about. Five former bad guys become the best good guys and help out people who have been afflicted with injustice. I can also sum up the cast and characters very easily as well. We have Beth Riesgraf as Parker, "The Thief", Aldis Hodge as Alec Hardison, "The Hacker", Christian Kane as Elliot Spencer, "The Hitter", Gina Bellman as Sophie Devereaux, "The Grifter", and, of course, Timothy Hutton as Nathan Ford, "The Mastermind". Now I may have mentioned this before, but I love every character on this show, as well as those who portray them. This is easily one of the best assembled casts on one of the best shows of all time. And this is probably the reason for its cancellation.
I think I mentioned this before also, but, judging from much of what I see on TV these days, shows with original concepts, excellent writing, well-developed and complex characters, and superb casts are not generally what become successful. Still, I and all of the fans of Leverage are quite grateful for the five seasons and 77 episodes that we did get. Oh, and speaking of those 77 episodes, there was not one that I didn't enjoy - NOT ONE! As I was making this list, I realized that Leverage never put me at a loss for entertainment, and I was reaffirmed in the fact that this was quite possibly the best comedy show on TV that wasn't actually a comedy. I couldn't find a single episode I disliked. I don't think I can say that about any other program I've ever watched. Maybe if they would have thrown some crap in there they would have had a longer run. But, no, they had far too much respect and appreciation for their audience. Granted, I did like some more than others, evident by the fact that I picked favorites, but the brilliance of this show did make that a daunting task. Oh, well. Here you have it - my top ten episodes of the late, great Leverage.
#10. "The Boost Job" (Season 3) - You know all those jokes about crooked car dealers? Well, looks like they were right. And what makes this episode so great besides the obvious? You've got Bill Engvall playing that crooked car dealer! Sweet! It would seem that Leverage is now up there with the likes of Law and Order when it comes to taking people we've loved for years and turning them into complete lowlifes. Good show.
#9. "The 12-Step Job" (Season 1) - When the team finds out a man has been stealing from a charity, they follow him right into rehab, where Nate poses as an addict and Sophie as a therapist. That little charade certainly brings out a lot of things about their relationship. And speaking of relationships, pay close attention to the scenes with Elliot and Hardison, since this episode contains some of the best exchanges between the two. Forget YOU and YOUR slushy scenes, Glee!
#8. "The Van Gogh" (Season 4) - During a big chunk of the series, there was this constant "will they or won't they" thing going on between Parker and Hardison. In this episode, the team looks for a Van Gogh that was lost decades earlier, and the only people who know where it is are a pair of star-crossed lovers, as they are called. It is Parker and Hardison who we see standing in for them as their story is reenacted. This is actually a very heartfelt episode, something that Leverage has never shied away from doing, but this one I found to be, I guess, the sweetest.
#7. "The Studio Job" (Season 3) - We get to hear Christian Kane sing, see John Schneider be a bad guy and watch as Beth Riesgraf does a hilarious job of imitating someone who is (I probably have to say this due to copyright or something) NOT Lady Gaga at all. Wink, wink. Yeah, do I really have to say anything else about this?
#6. "The Tap-Out Job" (Season 2) - After a man is hospitalized during a fight, the team tracks down a shady promoter. Now since we're talking about fighting, obviously, Elliot plays a major role here. I normally enjoy his fight scenes, but the one near the end is a bit, let's say, much. However, the reason I like this episode is because, as twisty as the show can be, there is actually an exceptionally good twist in this one. It involves a saxophone . . . a little.
#5. "The Fairy Godparents Job" (Season 2) - So the team has to get money from a guy who is hiding it away in his house. Problem is that he is under house arrest, and one of the only ways someone can get out of that, temporarily, is for a family event. So they infiltrate the school of the guy's stepson, Widmark (yes, there is discussion of that name) in order to see if he has any talent that would warrant him performing in . . . something. Hands down, though, the best thing about this episode is Timothy Hutton's performance as a German doctor of education. It's pretty much genius.
#4. "The Miracle Job" (Season 1) - Here, we have a Catholic priest who gets attacked before he can ask the city to save his church. Turns out, the priest is an old friend of Nate's. So, in order to help him, they fake a miracle. Tsk, indeed. Unfortunately, the miracle ends up being far too believable, enough to attract the attention of the Vatican. This episode has plenty of laughs, including Parker continually calling a statue of St. Nicholas Santa Claus and a cold-hearted businessman wanting to buy the church and turn it into something called Bibletopia. Sigh. Did this guy never read that story in the Bible where Jesus got a little upset about people selling things in the temple? This might be a tad worse. But, again, Timothy Hutton steals the show, albeit, not in a humorous way. He has a few quiet but very emotional scenes as his character dwells on the past and memories of his son who died years before. He is amazing here.
#3. "The Wedding Job" (Season 1) - A desperate wife and mother comes to the team in hopes to get money she was promised by a Mafia boss named Nick Moscone after her husband took the fall for a murder that he didn't commit and to hopefully get him out of jail. As it happens, Moscone's daughter is about to be married, so they use this as an opportunity to get the job done. Everyone plays a great part here. We get Sophie as a wedding planner, Nate as a priest, Parker and Hardison as FBI agents, and Elliot as a chef. And if you think the last thing on that list was a one time deal, it's not. Stay tuned. Now one of the best things about this episode is the guest performance of Nicole Sullivan as Moscone's wife, Heather. She is hilarious, as usual, and I wish she would have been on the show more.
#2. "The French Connection Job" (Season 5) - Remember a second ago where I mentioned Elliot was acting as the chef? Well, in this episode, we dive head first into that little talent of his. Wait, not just talent, but his passion for it. He poses as a cooking teacher in order to help a man named Toby who has a culinary school for underprivileged kids, which is being taken over by a corrupt man played by the wonderful Steve Valentine of Crossing Jordan fame. That guy wants to turn the school into one for people who will pay big money for classes. Now Toby is also the person who taught Elliot how to cook, how to use his knife to create instead of destroy, as Elliot puts it. They think there might be some shady drug smuggling in the new school, but it turns out they are smuggling something that is just as, if not more, valuable - French truffles. Ooh, tasty. Again, this is another one that particularly lets everyone stand out with their performances, and yet again, we get some fantastically funny Elliot/Hardison time. Oh, and the way Elliot makes his students always answer him by saying, "Yes, Chef!" Yeah, I really, really liked that. Just watch it.
#1. "The Rashomon Job" (Season 3) - Okay, I don't know what it is about me, but this is the third list I've made where an episode based on the Rashomon Effect is featured. I guess I just like the idea. Anyway, no new case for the team this time, but rather they reminisce on a heist from the past. It is the heist of a valuable dagger that they all think they stole on the same night. Of course, this happened before they all were working together, five years earlier to be exact. So which one of our skilled and stealthy team members did the deed? Well, I certainly won't tell and ruin the enormous amount of fun you'll have watching this episode. This one is absolutely phenomenal. Each time one of the group tells their version of the night's events, it peels back another layer and gets even more entertaining. I particularly love the way they portray each other, especially Sophie, in their individual flashbacks. It's priceless, just priceless. Without a doubt, at least in my own head, this is the best of the best.
This is just awful. As much of a joy that it was to remember all the wonderful times I've had with this show, I can't help but to be sad about its departure. It has been not even two weeks since the final episode aired, so I guess the wound is still fresh. But I'm glad we got these great episodes, and I'm glad for DVDs, which means I can watch them again and again. And don't think I won't.
Godspeed, my sweet Leverage team. May we, by some miracle, one day meet again.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
