One of the other inhabitants of the Jeremy-Gilby-dot-Compound, recommended a new TV Series from the BBC for The Editors of Jeremy-Gilby-dot-com to enjoy.

Hustle

I’ve currently only watched half (three episodes) of the first season, and I’m impressed.

The Premise: Five Grifters form a team to play the “Long Con” in a Robin Hood like fashion. Take from the Rich, keep from the Rich. They have a code where they only steal from those “who deserve it” and can afford it. In one episode, it is revealed that a past “mark” was taken for too much and they have to go out of business, so the team takes down a vile art monger and gives part of the take back to the former “mark”.
So its Sneaky Bastards, with a conscience (kind of)

Characters:

• Michael “Mickey Bricks” Stone: – The Inside Man
  Played by Adrian Lester, “Bricks” is the center of the operation. He assembles the team, and is the primary player when the con is being played. He is respected among the criminal world and the justice world as he is seemingly untouchable. He’s great at reading the “mark” and finding a person’s “tells”. His Character Arc, as the main character puts him in a son/Father role, and a father/son role, as he has been mentored by one character, and is mentoring a younger character.
• Danny Blue: – The Apprentice
  Played by Marc Warren, Danny is the young, brash, small con man, who wants to team up with the legendary Micky Bricks. At first, his youth and zeal get him into trouble, but as he learns the craft, he soon becomes the leader (in the fourth season, when Adrian Lester takes a break from filming).
• Stacey Monroe: – The Hook
  Played by Jaime Murray; if Mickey is the father, and Danny is the son, then Stacey is the wife. The only female lead in the show, Stacey ends up being the hook or the distraction during the long con. She and Bricks have a history, and now that Bricks’ wife has divorced him, he has looked to her for support.
• Ash “Three Socks” Morgan – The Jack of All Trades
  Played by Robert Glenister; Ashley, a.k.a. “Ash” is the man for all jobs. He can get things, be a supporting role in a job, and work the auxiliary jobs like driving and sleuthing. In this “family”, Ash is like an Uncle to Bricks.
• Albert Stroller – The Roper
  Played by Robert Vaughn (The Last of the Magnificent Seven.) It was this series that made me realize that Vaughn was still alive (I thought he wasn’t.) Stroller is the Grandfather of the series, and a mentor to Bricks. He primarily serves the plot as the member of the team who identifies the “mark” and justifies why the team needs to rob them.

All in all, I’ve enjoyed the first three episodes, I understand the Fourth Season takes a turn, as Lester takes a break from the series, and is returning to Season 5 (Where Warren and Murray are taking a departure) [Currently filming]
The seasons are also short, six episodes per season, but the episodes are long compared to what we’re used to in the United States; Without Commercials, each episode is a full hour long (20 minutes longer than an hour long show here) and it helps with each individual story. It is also a unique change to the usual 4:40 (four episodes, 40 minutes long) per disk that I’m used to.

One thing I like, and I hope will remain through my watching of this series, most “Dramadies” of this nature tend to get bogged down in the character’s personal dramas, and less on the plot of the episode. While Bricks is dealing with his divorce, it does not seem to be interfering in the plot of the cons, as I feared it would. I hope this keeps up.

Another thing I’ve appreciated is the episodic “breaking of the fourth wall”.
Writers and Directors hate to “give away” the idea of the con in the script. It makes for bad writing to have to help the audience keep up with something that needs to be secret to the “mark”. For example, to have the audience know how one of our characters is reacting to something the “mark” did, without making it obvious (and unbelievable) on screen.
So the Directors made a bold move to “freeze” the scene, and have the character(s) break out of the scene and explain what is happening in the narrative. Much like you would see in theater.
“You see, George here, is making a decision. He knows what he is about to do is wrong, but he is greedy enough to want it anyway… and that is why he’s going to say yes. And once he does, he thinks he is in control, but really, he’s just a puppet on my string. And you can’t cheat an honest man.”
It a nice change of pace to the story, and it doesn’t “ruin” the scene. And, its not overdone, it happens only once in each episode and lasts for only a few moments.

Another example which is sometimes used, when one of our characters is on the con, they will do something which might look like a mistake, or a goof, but once the short scene plays out, they will look to the camera, and break the fourth wall, again, with a telling smirk; telling the audience that this was all planned. Usually, we, the audience, will not see the results of the smirk until the end of the episode; because it isn’t always obvious why the “goof” was made. Like, for our character to lift one’s man wallet, and seemingly lose it a few paces later; only to have a third person pick it up and return it. Why was that useful?

When watching this series, I’m reminded of Ocean’s Eleven (the remake) and the class of villains that Danny Ocean and Rusty put together; and the witty banter that goes back and forth between them; which is probably why I like it so much.

(If you aren’t watching this already Cisco, put it on your Netflix Queue and give it a try)

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