Exciting, fun and highly enjoyable! Another thrilling, action-packed second season of “Leverage”! Featuring commentary for all 15 episodes and a good number of special features as well. Fans of the series will definitely enjoy this latest DVD release. Recommended!
© 2009 Leverage 2 Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: LEVERAGE – THE 2nd SEASON
DURATION: 15 Episodes – 646 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital, Color
COMPANY: Electric Entertainment/Paramount
RATED: Not Rated
RELEASE DATE: May 25, 2010
Created by Chris Downey, John Rogers
Directed by Dean Devlin, Marc Roskin, Jonathan Frakes, Jeremiah S. Chechik
Written by Chris Downey, John Rogers, Amy Berg, Christine Boyland, Albert Kim, Melissa Glenn, Jessica Rieder
Executive Produced by Amy Berg, Dean Devlin, Chris Downey, John Rogers
Co-Executive Producers: Kearie Peak, Marc Roskin
Produced by Paul F. Bernard
Co-Produced by Rachel Olschan
Music by Joseph LoDuca
Director of Photography: David Connell
Edited by David Siegel, Sonny Baskin, Brian Gonosey
Casting by Scott David and April Webster
Product Design by Lauren Crasco, Leonard Harman
Art Direction by Brian Harms
Set Direction by Crista Schneider
Costume Design by Nadine Haders
Starring:
Timothy Hutton as Nathan Ford
Christian Kane as Eliot Spencer
Aldis Hodge as Alec Hardison
Gina Bellman as Sophie Devereaux
Beth Riesgraf as Parker
Mark Sheppard as Jim Sterling
Jeri Ryan as Tara Cole
Kari Matchett as Maggie Collins
The master thieves of TNT’s hit drama Leverage are back for another high-voltage season of expert cons and action-packed heists. Following the destruction of their operational headquarters, Nate Ford (Academy Award® winner Timothy Hutton) and his highly skilled team of con artists reunite to take down the corrupt bigwigs. In Season Two, the Leverage team sets out to recover millions of dollars lost in a Ponzi scheme, stage a deadly virus outbreak, and go head-to-head against a rival crew of slick thieves. To fight the criminal underworld, the Leverage team knows the high-tech tricks of the trade to get the job done. Sometimes it’s good to be bad. This 4-disc DVD set of LEVERAGE: The 2nd Season includes 15 riveting episodes and is packed with cool special features.
Steal from the rich and give back to those who deserve it, giving those who have no chance some leverage.
“LEVERAGE” is the hit TV drama series on TNT executive produced by Dean Devlin (“Godzilla”, “Independence Day” and “Universal Soldier”), Chris Downey (“The King of Queens”) and John Rogers (“Cosby”) and also to see involvement by Jonathan Frakes (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “Roswell”) as a director and Amy Berg (“The 4400”) as a writer/producer.
“LEVERAGE” stars Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton (“The Good Shepherd”, “Ordinary People” and “The Last Mimzy”), Christian Kane (“Angel”, “Close to Home”), Aldis Hodge (“Red Sands”, “Friday Night Lights”), Gina Bellman (“Coupling”, “Jekyll” and “Permanent Vacation”), Beth Riesgraf (“Struck”) and Mark Sheppard (“Battlestar Galactica” and “Dollhouse”) who are part of a group of thieves who steal from the corrupt and give to the needy.
For the first season, the series would become a major hit for TNT as it became the #1 program on Tuesday nights with solid ratings for the drama series. As the series is now approaching its third season, the second season will be available on DVD featuring 15 episodes on 4-DVD’s and plenty of special features!
“LEVERAGE” revolves around former Insurance Investigator Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton) who has exposed scams and recovered stolen items worth millions for his insurance company. But when it came to getting his son’s medical treatment covered, his insurance company denied it and his son died because he was unable to get the treatment he needed.
One day, someone gives Nate a chance to get back at his insurance company, if he teams up with a group of thieves and manages them. In the process, Nate realizes the good that this group can do (and at the same time fulfilling their needs for stealing and making money) and creates a company called Leverage Consulting & Associates which was created to help those with major insurance problems and give them leverage and making sure that what happened to him, will never happen to anyone else.
For the second season, Nate and the Leverage team decide to reunite but this time around, the jobs they have are much more riskier including the group taking on a popular government official and not knowing that Nate’s rival James Sterling is back and now working for Interpol and is trying to capture Nate.
Leverage Consulting & Associates consists of:
Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton) – Because of his job as a former insurance fraud investigator for IYS insurance, Nathan (or Nate) is very smart when it comes to his planning and delegating jobs to the group. Unfortunately, since his son’s death, his life has led to alcoholism and a divorce from his wife but with Leverage, it has given him a renewed sense on life and to help people even if it means working with thieves. He is often referred to as “The Black King/White Knight” because his a good guy but now responsible for managing a few of the world’s top thieves.
Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman) – Sophie is a terrible actress on stage but she’s also an excellent con woman who specializes in art thefts. She is acquainted with Nathan as he caught her in the act of stealing a painting. There is sexual tension between her and Nathan.
Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane) – A retrieval expert but also an expert in martial arts and weapons. Knows his weapons and how to disarm the opponent. And the temperamental member of the group.
Parker (Beth Riesgraf) – Professional thief, cat burglar and explosives expert. Loves money and often the odd person of the group. Not very good around people.
Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge) – An excellent hacker and computer/technology expert. Knows how to hack into everything, knows the hardware and knows how to fit into any surrounding to infiltrate an area.
Other characters:
Tara Cole (Jeri Ryan) – A con and grifter who ends up teaming up with the Leverage team.
James Sterling (Mark A. Sheppard) – Nate’s former business partner and now rival. Sterling works for Interpol and will do all he can to catch Nate.
Maggie Collins (Kari Matchett) – Nate’s ex-wife Maggie, who divorced him because he became an alcoholic. Still cares for Nate and will sometimes call him for help.
“LEVERAGE – The 2nd Season” features the following episodes on four discs:
Disc 1:
- EPISODE 14 – The Beantown Bailout – The Leverage team reunites to take on a major job that involves an Irish mob and a banker.
- EPISODE 15 – The Tap-Out Job – Leverage goes to Nebraska to take on a corrupt mixed martial arts promoter.
- EPISODE 16 – The Order 23 Job – The Leverage team tries to stage a virus breakout in order to retrieve money from a convicted felon who have stolen from the people.
- EPISODE 17 – The Fairy Godparents Job – The Leverage team ends up at a private school in which Sophie tries to help a teenager in need.
Disc 2:
- EPISODE 18 – The Three Days of the Hunter Job – The Leverage team work to expose a tabloid newscaster.
- EPISODE 19 – The Top Hat Job – The Leverage team must put on a magic show to take on a corporation putting out tainted food in the market.
- EPISODE 20 – The Two Live Crew Job – The Leverage team takes on another group of thieves.
- EPISODE 21 – The Ice Man Job – Since Sophie is gone, Hardison must play the inside man to take down a diamond merchant.
DISC 3:
- EPISODE 22 – The Lost Heir Job – The Leverage team tries to stop a crooked lawyer from trying to take over his client’s estate.
- EPISODE 23 – The Runway Job – The Leverage team infiltrates an oppressive sweatshop.
- EPISODE 24 – The Bottle Job – The Leverage team takes on a loan shark.
- EPISODE 25 – The Zanzibar Marketplace Job – The Leverage team must work with their enemy Sterling in order to free Maggie from jail.
DISC 4:
- EPISODE 26: The Future Job – The team goes after a fraud psychic medium (played by “Beverly Hills 90210” star Luke Perry).
- EPISODE 27: The Three Strikes Job – The Leverage team takes on their largest project yet, taking down a corrupt lawyer.
- EPISODE 28: The Maltese Falcon Job – The season finale. As the Leverage team tries to take down a corrupt lawyer and Sterling gives Nate an ultimatum which which will change the team dynamic.
VIDEO:
Overall, “LEVERAGE” looks very good for a television drama. Featured in Widescreen, a lot of scenes are done in the indoors and outdoors that is where the series is most vibrant and more colorful. Like most drama series on DVD, it’s when you get into low light situations and you do see artifacting. But I have to admit that “Leverage” has been one of those titles with very good video and personally, this is one series that I would have loved to see released on Blu-ray.  But overall, for a drama series on DVD, “LEVERAGE” is stylishly cool in terms of visual appeal.
AUDIO:
As for audio, the series is presented in Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and definitely utilizes the front channels for its explosions and rear surrounds take advantage of action sequences. I discovered use of LFE as well and overall, for a drama series on DVD, “LEVERAGE” sounds great. Dialog is easy to understand and more than enough action sequences on each episode.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“LEVERAGE” features many special features as each disc has optional audio commentary for EVERY episode. The fourth disc is where the majority of the special features are located. Included on the fourth disc are:
- The Creators of Leverage Q&A – (18:55) Executive producers John Rogers, Dean Devlin and Chris Downey talk to a live audience about how the origins of the show came about and casting the talent for “Leverage”.
- John Rogers Set Tour – (3:08) Executive Producer John Rogers talks about shooting in Portland, Oregon and a tour of Leverage HQ.
- Behind the Boom Featurette – (7:14) A featurette on the creation of special effects for “Leverage”. In this featurette, the creation of a major explosion in a building.
- “The Hand Job” Spoof Video – (5:08) Actor Aldis Hodge shows people how to do things the Leverage way.
- Andy Lange Music Featurette – (2:58) Singer/songwriter Andy Lange talks about utilizing his music on the show. The producers talk about how they came about using Andy’s music on the show.
- Season 2 Wrap Party Gag Reel – (9:02) Featuring the bloopers from season 2 of “Leverage” plus the cast and crew of “Leverage” doing gags on set.
EXTRAS:
“Leverage – The 2nd Season” comes with a cardboard slip-over case.
From the first episode of “Leverage”, I was sold. Solid writing, cool characters and overall, the first season was exciting and enjoyable. The second season turns up the notch as we see more action and also the odds against the team slightly higher. The characters are truly tested and by the end of the final season, it definitely makes you excited (as well as a bit impatient) for the upcoming third season.
I was very impressed with the first season and each talent really brings their A game to the series. Timothy Hutton plays a convincing role as the mastermind of the group; Gina Bellman brings that sexiness that she had in BBC’s “Coupling” to the series but added depth as a true-to-art con artist; It’s great to see Christian Kane again kicking butt since his years on “Angel” and also to see the two talents Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge definitely shine in this series. The characters are well, cast, well-planned, well integrated into the series and I really enjoyed the amount of character development we see in each episode. Despite being thieves, they are all likable in their own way.
If anything, we are starting to see the chemistry of each characters gel and also, I like how things are starting to heat up between Nate and Sophie. As for the addition of Jeri Ryan to the second season of “Leverage”, she’s a bit of a wildcard. You can picture her helping the team but at the same time, but unlike the other members, she’s been used to the con life for awhile and she can play both sides and thus, it’ll be interesting to see how her character is utilized in the future.
I also felt the writers bringing back Mark Sheppard for Jim Sterling was smart. He is the true antagonist for the group and how the ended the second season definitely will have viewers wanting to know what happens for the third season.
Usually, there tends to be some drop-off when it comes to storytelling but the writers managed to keep things exciting and fresh, now that we are seeing the group becoming more mobile as they take on various jobs nationwide. But this time, the jobs they are taking on are much riskier and can lead to their downfall.
For those who haven’t watched the first season, it helps to know the background and why Nate is driven to work with a group of thieves but the series is easy to follow, so it’s not going to be hard to follow the storyline for season two. But I do recommend watching the first because it goes into the team dynamics and also learning about Nate’s drive for what he is doing.
As for the DVD, similar to the last season’s release, it’s packed with special features and commentary. I think that fans of the show will be entertained by the amount of content included. The commentary tracks are actually informative and there are a good amount of humor in the commentary tracks, in fact, no worries about the commentary being dry as they keep the commentary tracks quite lively.
Overall, “Leverage” fans will enjoy this latest DVD release.  Fifteen exciting and enjoyable episodes, plenty of special features content and like the first release, “Leverage – The 2nd Season” is quite solid and I doubt anyone will be disappointed. Definitely recommended!