Release Date: September 17, 2013
Episodes: 4-discs, 15 episodes
Run Time: 635 minutes

Leverage focuses on a team led by former insurance investigator turned thief, Nate Ford (Hutton). Together, they try to level the playing field for people whose lives have been destroyed by the rich and powerful. In the final season of Leverage, the team will be forced to face changing personal dynamics as the relationship between Parker (Riesgraf) and Hardison (Hodge) heats up, and Nate continues to struggle with inner demons. Among their upcoming jobs, they will target a conniving shipping executive (guest star Cary Elwes); weathly scientist; an ex-hockey-player-turned-team-owner (guest star Treat Williams); a corrupt restaurateur; and a corrupt businessman (guest star Matthew Lillard). In addition, the team will once again face their nemesis, insurance-investigator-turned Interpol-agent Jim Sterling (guest star Mark Sheppard).

This time last year, Leverage fans were waiting to watch the final five episodes of the series. The cancellation wasn’t announced until December 2012 but for those following the show’s shelf life, it was safe to say the series would be coming to an end. And here it is, the final season on DVD. What a great final season it was. Not necessarily my favorite season of the series but it had all of the ingredients that made me fall in love with this show in the first place.

Getting to know even more bits and pieces about these characters over the final season was rewarding. Exploring the back stories of these characters has always been a slow, intriguing journey and the show ended leaving plenty to be desired still but I’m okay with that. It’s satisfying and almost justifying to not know everything about these characters. Need to know. It really works.

Of course that’s not the only aspect that works here. The schemes, the comedy, the way these characters rally around each other even when it puts them in a tough spot…everything was there and everything came together. So well. The episodes that stand out the most for me include “The Gimme a K Street Job,” “The Real Fake Car Job,” “The Frame-Up Job,” “The Low Low Price Job,” and “The Corkscrew Job.” I remember jumping into Leverage after being gripped by a certain episode and I could easily imagine anyone catching a rerun of any of the above episodes and having the same experience.

But it’s the series finale that cuts deep. We were duped! Ha. Should have seen that one coming but that’s what makes the episode so much fun to watch again afterwards. The entire time you’re watching you’ll be thinking, “I don’t want this to end, I don’t want this to end,” while you’re thinking, “Wait, what just happened?” Talk about a thrill. Heart racing action and suspense and an overflowing amount of emotion shooting a series finale knowing the cast and crew had a very good idea this was the series finale, so they wrote and shot the episode like it was, like they always wanted to end the show. We can’t say we didn’t get closure. We did and it was glorious. Easily the best episode of the season the perfect ending to a terrific series.

I am going to miss Nathan, Sophie, Alec, Hardison, and Parker. The mystery Timothy Hutton brought to the screen. The many accents Gina Bellman brought to the table. Everything about Christian Kane as Eliot. The cleverness and quirkiness Beth Riesgraf to Parker. The comedy Aldis Hodge brought to Hardison and the chemistry Riesgraf and Hodge brought to a relationship I had been waiting so long to see come to fruition. I am going to miss the cons, saving the good guys, putting the bad guys in their places. These cons in the final season will satisfy your Leverage needs so buy the DVD because you know this is one show you know you’ll be watching over and over again.

Special Features:

* Gag Reel (8 minutes) – Best gag reel of the series. Aldis Hodge and Beth Riesgraf steal the show not only in every episode but in just about every outtake. Best of all, it’s a lengthy reel.

* Deleted Scenes (4 minutes) – There are about ten deleted scenes (two-three per episode) from “The First Contact Job,” “The French Connection Job,” “The Low Low Price Job,” and “The White Rabbit Job.” While none of these scenes are worth watching, I hated the lack of transitions between scenes. You don’t need to know why any of these scenes were cut, they were clearly unnecessary but it would be nice to have breaks between all of the scenes so there’s a better flow and the viewing experience isn’t so jarring.

* Commentary (For Every Episode) – It’s no secret that I love commentaries. Nine times out of ten, those are the best features on a DVD set. This is no exception. Especially since there is commentary for every single episode. Bravo cast and crew for caring enough to get this done. They care about this show, their experience on the show, and the people behind the show and the love shines through in everything these people do. This season was already heightened due to listening to the Leverage 10 Podcast, a gold mine for die hard fans who want to hear from the writers behind each episode. Commentary for every episode on top of that? Whatever is better than icing on the cake is what this is. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving. Leverage fans never stop learning about what went into each episode and also get a deeper analysis of the characters and relationships on the show.

Aspiring writers should also watch every single commentary on this DVD. Advice galor. One of the best pieces of advice from the commentary? The plot and beats are in your research. Spend at least three weeks doing research. There’s more where that came from, so take some time to watch these commentaries. It’s a gold mine of information about writing and working on and off set period. We learn from every aspect of putting an episode together not just writing and scouting but the difficulties of hiring and training a group of skilled people for a specific episode for example is also touched on.

Let’s not forget about interesting fun facts…there was a rule that there would never be a “Previously on Leverage” introduction and there was more than one E.T. reference in the same episode. But if we’re going to talk references, you have to watch the commentary for the series finale to see just how many references to the Pilot episode there are. The answer? Endless. Lots to learn and lots to smile and laugh about as well. If there’s one cast and crew who knows how to do commentary right, it’s this one.

Cast & Crew Conducting Commentaries:
Series Creators, Chris Downey and John Rogers, Writers, Aaron Denius Garcia, Jeremy Bernstein, Geoffrey Thorne, and Jenn Kao, Directors, Marc Roskin, Tawnia McKiernan, John Harrison, Dean Devlin, and P.J. Pesce, and Cast Members, Aldis Hodge and Christian Kane

Own Leverage The 5th Season on DVD today.