hustle

You know how when you get cable tv, you catch a few foreign tv serials and pretty soon they're all you ever watch? I have since given up on local tv, and follow a few shows religiously.

Here's introducing a genre that I believe few know of, but which I find intelligent and ever so entertaining: shows about con artists.


It all started, for me, with Hustle, where a 6-man team pulls off the most outrageous scams with relative ease, and most importantly, plenty of flair. The characters are well-developed and larger than life, and of course there's the obligatory hot chick.


Next, there was The Real Hustle, a factual entertainment series about scams and cons which demonstrates how easy it is to be cheated out of your hard-earned money in everyday life. Just check out this video for an example (there are plenty more related videos that you can go to from there on).


And now there's a new show on the net set. I just caught the pilot of Leverage, and it's one of only a few pilots that I would give 10/10 for. It has a cast that is easy on the eyes and a well-paced and intriguing plot filled with would-i-have-thought-of-that cons. I hope this show enjoys a really long run.

Of course, I'm not trying to promote anything illegal. I just find that these shows keep my mind buzzing, thinking of novel ways out of difficult scenarios. Give it a shot, and you might be hooked as well!

PS: Another fantastic new show is Fringe, a sci-fi show which is somewhat like the X-Files. The pilot itself cost US$10m to produce, and is almost good enough to be a movie on its own!