THE COMPLETE SERIES - Hustle (2004 - 2012)

Looking at my compulsion to collect DVDs... and a complete series I own

A TV series about con-artists from the BBC.

 The following may contain very mild spoilers, although it tries to avoid doing so.  The "The Ending" section will mention if a show had a resolution or a cliffhanger (but no description of what happens).

Hustle

2004 - 2007, 2009 - 2012.

Length:  8 series of 6 hour long episodes each (48 epsiodes) 

Ending:  Open ending but nicely bookends the show.

Think:  The Sting or Ocean's 11 the series.

Creator:  Tony Jordan.

Cast:  Robert Glenister & Robert Vaughn.

Overview:

A group of con-arts come together to perform "long cons" on people... but only those who deserve it.

Series 1 - 3

Fresh out of prison, Mickey "Mickey Bricks" Stone gets the group back together only to attract the attention of Danny Blue an up and coming con artist who wants to join the group - and thinks he should be running it.

Series 4

With Mickey in Australia, Danny takes charge as the group travels back and forth between Britain and the US, picking up new con artist Billy Bond.

Series 5 - 8

Mickey returns from Australia, while Danny, Stacie and Billy remain in America.  To replace them the groups is joined by Emma and Sean Kennedy.

The Run:

Most episodes are self-contained, there's a little character development.  Some series reference the first episode in the last.

The Viewing:

Marathoning the show sometimes causes the episodes to become a little "samey" although they do more and more often attempt to break the formula more often as the show goes on.  The show breaks the fourth wall in most episodes which some people may not like, and the show makes the fourth wall breaking more and more fanciful as the show goes on, increasing the problems.

Quality:

The show has great writing, directing and acting throughout the series.

Criticisms:

Although the gang always claim that "you can't con an honest man" to make the to soften the criminality of the characters, a lot of their smaller cons show otherwise.  For a group of people that usually make a lot of money each episode and con their way out of paying for most things, they seem to be inexplicably and constantly broke.  In series 4, instead of cons, their are some outright heists.

The Ending:

No real ending, but nicely wraps up the series with a nice call back to the beginning.

Watch It If...

...You want a crimey/heisty show which doesn't do the "using cons to fight crime" cliche to soften the characters criminality even further.

~ DUG.