don't be dull, be fannish

The Top Hat Job that came to be because Timothy Hutton wanted to play a magician? Best. Episode. Yet! Hilarious doesn't even begin to describe it. Just... them trying to pull off the con with Nate pretending to be a magician, Parker falling through the ceiling, Hardison hanging from the line, the boss in the box, gummy frogs! It's also the episode where Christian Kane hit his head so badly during a fight that he had to have 17 stitches done! 17!!! Right across his forehead. Sheesh on a pogo stick! No wonder when the guy does all his stunts.

Still, my favorite scenes are the character-driven ones. Like the ones with Eliot and Sophie, the scene with the bomb. Or Parker and Hardison, with him trying to teach himself card tricks and her stealing his cards. Parker always poking Eliot, sitting close and bumping their shoulders together sisterly. Beautiful.

The only character scenes I don't like are the Nate and Sophie ones. I just feel that they are rehashing issues that are no issues at all. Oh well...

I like that S2 - at least so far - seems to focus more on the "kids", that Eliot, Hardison and Parker get more room to shine. And that the writers are trying to shuffle the "pairings" a bit. For example, in the first 3 episodes, we got some great scenes with Eliot and Sophie - during S1, we didn't see these two even talk properly. And then there are other tidbits, like Eliot's teaching Parker how to fight. Things like that make the show feel... broader, deeper, richer. And I love it. Basically, there have always been only 2 things I didn't like about this show: Nate's drinking and the Nate/Sophie shipping drama. When the show steers clear of that, it's excellent.

One thing I noticed - and it was also mentioned in the audio commentaries - was Eliot's attitude towards violence and abuse. The writers insisted that the fans got it wrong, that Eliot hadn't been abused as a kid, that he just hated senseless violence and violent people. Well, their intentions aside, no one who has had a happy childhood and became a well-adjusted person has an attitude as hard set as Eliot. He sees it as normal to take one for the team, he considers it a part of his job to let the bad guys beat him bloody for the sake of the team. If that's not the point of view of a deeply troubled person with issues, then I don't know what is. I guess it's once more the case of showing A while saying B...

Leverage is so much better when Nate isn't drinking. I really don't understand why they had to do this arc, his alcoholism. I think it was unnecessary and it turned some people off. At least for me, it was a big reason to stop watching the show the first time around. When Nate doesn't drink - like in eps 107-110 - the show flows so much better. Yes, the characters still have their issues but they are not jerks. The same goes for Sophie and her incessant whining about how Nate doesn't appreciate her enough.

I liked that 107 was Eliot centric and 109 & 110 Parker centric. Or Parker and Hardison centric. We found out so much about them in these eps. It was wonderful. I think Nate has been grooming Hardison to become something more, to be more than the resident nerd, he has been guiding his growth. And it's wonderful. It feels like a... father & son relationship.

There are many shows that I used to love when they started, but then something happened and I gradually - or abruptly, depends on the show - lost interest in them. One of these shows is Leverage. I've never seen more than a season and a half, I always got stuck in the middle of S2, for some unfathomable reason. But I decided to finally break the curse. And so I picked up my Leverage S1 DVD box set and got on with it!

It's really funny, watching the first episode, realizing just how much some things change - and how much others stay the same. Like with Nate and his... well, not dislike but... his distance from other people in the team, the scene in which he tells Eliot that they are not friends. How much that changes with time! And then there are things that never change at all - like Eliot calling Parker "weird" XD

You know, even in the first first episode, I preferred the mischief the "kids" got into - Eliot, Hardison and Parker - over the "parents'" - Nate and Sophie's - shipping trouble. I guess it's because I intensely dislike the "will they, won't they" scenario. The kids just bicker all the time. Yeah, I prefer that!

TNT officially canceled Leverage: link. Luckily, the producers and writers decided already some time ago to film the S5 finale as if it were a series finale, just to be sure, because they thought fans deserved a proper ending, one that they had planned for from the get-go. Yes, it makes me a bit sad - though I got stuck around S2.5 - but at least it will have a real ending, not something rushed and nonsensical a la SGA. I think that shows that are on for more than 3 years deserve to be given the time to end properly.

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Also, Psych was renewed for just an 8 episode long S8: link. That makes it pretty certain that S8 will be its last, that they got just enough episodes to end it properly. Well, Dulé Hill did say he wanted out after S7. I don't really mind. I like the show but I think they went as far as they could go with it. There wasn't much space for maneuvering in the first place and rather than let it go stale and get canned because of ratings, it's better to give the fans a proper good-bye.

This show still pushes my embarrassment squick button sometimes, but overall, it's really funny and I love the team!feeling. Tara was a lot of fun but I kinda missed Sophie - even though I didn't miss her godawful pining after Nate *cringes* But Sophie definitely fits better with the team, she's... mellower, not in it for the money anymore, you know?

My favorite guest stars?


Mark Sheppard as Sterling, of course! Picture found here!

I met Mark Sheppard in person and yeah, he really is as sweet and funny and kind as they say.

Who else? Paul Blackthorne, Matt Keeslar (hey, he and Mark Sheppard were together in two eps of The Middleman!) and Luke Perry (man, Luke aged well!) - all of them played the bad guys, of course :P

I could still do without the shipping - Nate/Sophie, Hardison/Parker... Eh. Give me the team. I prefer the brother-sister relationship Eliot and Parker have. They are sweet! So yeah, I prefer the "kids" to the "parents" here.

The last episode was quite interesting. I loved Sterling's reaction to ( spoilers! ) You know, it's hard to see Sterling as the bad guy here, really. He just enjoys himself so much, chasing after Nate and his crew.

Aaaaaaand I'm done with S2 - it only took me over a year (since I got the DVDs which are, as I found out, a bit wonky, one of the eps wouldn't play - oh well... :/).

TNT renewed Leverage for a 15-ep-long S5: link.

Maybe I'll start watching House again? ( A House&Wilson scoop that gives me hope! )

Jim Beaver teases S7 of Supernatural (gosh, I love the guy!): link.

I love what Mark Gatiss said about Sherlock: "Mark Gatiss has suggested that the forthcoming series of Sherlock will delve deeper into Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson's friendship." Link.

According to Comic Book Movie, XMFC is the best reviewed comic book movie of this year! YAY \o/! Link!

Matt Webb Mitovich posted slight spoilers for the upcoming season of Leverage - Eliot-related stuff which is my favorite :)

( Spoilers! )

And that made me want to finally catch up on the show. I got stuck on... *looks... and looks... and looks* OMGosh, on ep 207? Wow, that's lotsa catching up! Leverage, here I come!

207 The Two Live Crew Job: I still don't care about Sophie's issues. I mean, the last scene should've been romantic, I guess, but it just didn't work for me. I don't know, I just don't see WHAT the issue is with her being all "I don't know who I am anymore" suddenly. It kinda doesn't work for me. Just like the scene with her boyfriend in that school episode. I know that the writers came up with that because of Gina's pregnancy, but it still feels forced and rough around the edges to me.

You know, this episode felt overall rather forced, over the top bordering on ridiculous. This show's not to be taken seriously, I know that, but this felt more like a parody already.

What I did love was the scene with the bomb, that was awesome - and rather unexpected. And Parker in general - her reaction to Sophie's funeral, her anger at the other team's thief... And Eliot, his fight with the ex-Mossad agent was so hot!

The audio commentary was pretty funny. I enjoyed finding out that the other team's thief was actually Apollo Robbins, the Leverage's con consultant. And the ex-Mossad agent was played by the exec producer of HBO's In Treatment. And the secretary at the beginning? Tim Hutton's personal assistant! Hehe...

205 The Three Days of the Hunter Job: I don't care about Sophie's "issues" and her love life. I know why the writers had to go there, what with Gina Bellman's pregnancy, but I still don't care about that plotline.

What I did love was Eliot teasing Parker with various conspiracy theories - and them bumping shoulders. Hardison was simply amazing in this one. I LOLed when Eliot teased Hardison over the comm. Those three kids really are like siblings! And I loved Eliot cooking! And Eliot playing a bad-ass secret agent!

I was also glad that the team didn't forget what happened the last time Sophie took charge - that they had to blow up their offices.

And you know what? Now I need a fic where Eliot actually IS a member of this secret Council. That would be quite awesome, I'm telling ya :P