Leverage on BBC, I mean TNT network

Another new program on TNT tonight was the new series Leverage. The show is a drama action mix. And it is essentially a copy of a British program that covers exactly the same ground.

Yes, Hollywood writers have proven themselves to be consistent and clueless yet again. The concept of originality has gone out the window. Because the name of the program this American version copies is called Hustle.

Yes it is almost exactly the same. Conmen (and women) with various specialities work together to take on bad people with lots of money and minor morality. Take out the accents, change the locations, replace a man with a woman, and make the leader an ex-lawman with a heart of gold and a need for a rush and you have Leverage.

That all said about the lack of originality, the question is if this copy is like Life On Mars and The Office, or like Coupling. And in each of these I mean the American remake of the BBC hit television series. Well from the first episode we get the answer of The Office.

Timothy Hutton is interesting as the cop gone bad for a good reason. Revenge for his son that died because of insurance company greed. This character is pivotal in not making this a 'crime is good' show. And he is believable as the guy in charge and trying to manage the greatest good.

And a tip of the hat to 2 key members of the cast.

Gina Bellman plays Sophie. Bellman is know best to most US and UK viewers for her work in the hit series Coupling (British version). Her work in Leverage is not too far from her role as Jane. She is a grifter that uses her sex appeal to make the con work. Obviously producers realized they should give some kind of attention to the fact they were ripping of BBC yet again, and she adds a nice flair to the program.

Christian Kane is back on American series work. Fans of the show Angel will remember him as the ambitious evil lawyer (is there another kind) Lindsey McDonald. Since the end of Angel he hasn't been seen much, but he fills in the morally ambigous nature that Leverage needs. And he does tend to fit the muscle man role well too.

Beyond that the cast is mostly unnotable. In fact It is highly likely that this series will fail after a season or 2. The problem I see is 3-fold, and not the fault of the actors.

The first problem will be the writers. Hollywood these days is uninspired and lazy. As such it is highly likely that scripts from Hustle will be reworked for American audiences. And as consistent with such copies, the translation rarely works.

The second issue is that since there are 2 women and 3 men there must be a love interest in the show. Already we have seen in the premiere that Timothy Hutton and Gina Bellman have a dubious past. That will likely need to be expanded on, and old-flames will rekindle. To the detriment of the show. Any other pairing will also likely detract from the ongoing theme of the series (expect that other paring to be the other female and Kane).

The last problem will very likely be cost of locations. Since this is an American show that targets rich and greedy Americans they will have to travel to spots known for the rich and greedy. That means shooting in L.A., New York, Miami, Las Vegas and a few other mmajor cities (D.C. is sure to be on the list). That means big money. And unless the show is a blowout hit, which I think unlikely, they can't afford that.

So many of the locations will be highly generalized. And that will detract from the appeal of the show. Not that the cast, and in this case the writers, can do anything about that. You just can't write away glitz that is expected to be seen.

I hope the series does develop into something good. I like most of the cast, and the original show was quite good. I just fear the ability of Hollywood writers today. We shall see if Tuesdays regular timeslot episode will match up to the high bar that Sunday's premiere created.