Crossing Lines

I wondered how many Americans would want to watch the FBI version of the EU? I was right, not that much. A big American network was involved but they hardly screened it if any. It wasn't doing well in the participating EU countries either.

As for me, some of the European cast is cooler than the FBIs. The locations are pluses. In the US there are only cities and small towns. They also travel in style. Yes, the FBI also have their planes for travel, but the ICC team also has copters to go across countries.

Donald Sutherland is good but him running around like 007 is too much. The cast seemed to be unstable throughout the seasons. Some characters were killed before they were developed. It's not surprising that it was ended at the 2nd season. Netflix could have made it great starting from the 3rd. They tried but didn't get anywhere. The story line is a lot more interisting to me than many of the Netflix originals.

Critics critized that the ICC unit was fake. But it was a fiction! Are any FBI drama based on real stories?

Sadly, what was left is a Facebook page where the cast was promoting it hoping for another season as a Netflix original.

The worst compulsive watching TV series

Of course, it is "How to get away with murder" or something like that. I regret clicking on it and watched the 1st episode. It was so different and so compulsive to watch. The story line is a bit tedious if you only watch it once a week. For binge watching, you can always get as far into the story as you want. But I was wrong.

The story got old quickly. But they always bring up something totally unexpected so you know you are not getting any nearer to the end of the story in that episode. But that's not the problem. Either the writers have an ideology to promote or they just want to torture people because they can.

The gay couple is lovely but not the gay sex. Why would I want to watch gay sex when I'm 120% straight? Why can't they bring a Lesbian couple? Are you torturing me?

The lead lawyer is supposed to be the Venus, every man and woman want to be in love with her. But she is totally out of shape, old and ugly when the wigs and makeup were taken off on screen. Did they deliberately want to torture people? Did they want to find out how much they can get away with? No women wanted the job?

Appearance isn't the problem. I have to watch the Lesbian sex and when I have to turn my eyes on the black guy's gorgeous abs instead of her body and face.

Just when you don't think that the story cannot be any longer, they manage to have at least another season. Too bad, I'm not interested in the ending when I have to watch so many torturous sex scene.

Leverage

I missed this little gem a few times because the introduction to the series didn't spike my interest. It looked like a white collar special crime unit taking on big corporations. It didn't seem realistic, which is one of my requirements.

I didn't remember how I rediscovered it. Maybe I clicked on it and soon found out that it was a team of cons. It satisfied a few of my binge watch requirements. It was the McGayer of cons, like Burn Notice as the McGayer of spies. I don't know if the writers consulted masterminds but I was willing to be conned into the series.

I think the producers made sure that every character is lovable and easy on the eyes.  And the actors delivered, including the thief. It was such an easy to watch time filler or waster.

I would think the Mastermind and the Grifter were veteran actors. The Hacker is doing it just right. And who wouldn't want a Muscle in their team who can knock anybody out in seconds? And he is a womanizer who can charm every woman that you don't dream of? The Thief may be a difficult character but soon anybody else will try to work with her on her feelings or lack of it.

After 5 seasons on a lesser network, it's respectable to retire. Any more will be too tedious. The formula without annoying long term threads serve them well but there can only be so many variations you can do on the cons.

I didn't see the end coming. Usually, there are hints when the season comes to an end. The formula in the last episode didn't change a bit until I saw the team dying. It was a happy ending after all. But I feel that the ending was a bit rush. The formula con had to be the main thing and the ending added little to it.

Spoiler alert. It was just another episode except for a minute that the Mastermind proposed to the Grifter all of a sudden and they rode into the sunset, leaving the rest of the team to carry on the torch.

The writers did leave something memorable - a secret black book that documents all the guilty parties in the financial crisis of 2008, when the series started. And it was the heist of all times.