Hustle

...above Observer statement sums up Hustle in one sentence, you can find it on the Kudos website, (Kudos Film and TV is the name of Hustles Production Company). - Congratulations for making Hustle, Kudos! - The program is about a team of grifters who proud themselves on being the modern day Robin Hood, mixing with the greedy to embroider their own pockets with gold. Their term is 'You can never con an honest man'; is just so hitting the nail on the ...
...bible of modern day rhetoric, Hustle makes some vitally important life decisions for you. If you're given an opportunity too good to be true, it is exactly that. Walk away and let some other sad sucker to fill there boots and find they've got a hole in the toe. Important daily life undertones are sent to us by the BBC courtesy of Hustle, not that any of you readers are greedy or claiming expenses for a water-logged tennis court. I can see an episode ... more

TV Show: HU$TL£
BBC 9pm Wednesdays - 5 Series in all as far, next one scheduled in January 2010

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"Immoral stylish fun pitched perfectly for the Noughties." - Observer
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More Bungles than Rainbow!
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The above Observer statement sums up Hustle in one sentence, you can find it on the Kudos website, (Kudos Film and TV is the name of Hustles Production Company). - Congratulations for making Hustle, Kudos! - The program is about a team of grifters who proud themselves on being the modern day Robin Hood, mixing with the greedy to embroider their own pockets with gold. Their term is 'You can never con an honest man'; is just so hitting the nail on the head with a hammer. The scripts for the last five series should be laid out to the public with prophets chants of approval and a feather off Robin Hoods' Green Beret used as a marker as you read the dialogue. A bible of modern day rhetoric, Hustle makes some vitally important life decisions for you. If you're given an opportunity too good to be true, it is exactly that. Walk away and let some other sad sucker to fill there boots and find they've got a hole in the toe. Important daily life undertones are sent to us by the BBC courtesy of Hustle, not that any of you readers are greedy or claiming expenses for a water-logged tennis court. I can see an episode in series '6' depicting fraudulent claims from Governmental Officials in their white shorts on a tennis court, with dark shades hatching blackmailing plots to the 'Fees Office'. I can smell the 'Old Spice' from here.

The Kudos production team has made big in-roads in regards to complex fraudulent methodology, to bring out five series alone. Series one, was believable without exaggeration, but you do ask yourself if it would be something you would have fallen for. By series five you're in no doubt the schemes are endorsing to a much higher level. Clever exchanges of switching are what Kudos is re-known for within a story-line that is manageable to relate to. The use of language is supreme as the team has an inept manner which enables a believable team connection, this is paramount in Hustle and it shows true intellect from boiler-room up to the big gun producers. From series 1 to 4 the characters did not change and this is required as the ideological program format and character interchange had to be formed for the team to work and make it a success. By series four, I feel it was about time for 'new blood' to enter the program as already the gelled main characters could bounce off grafter techniques so the new characters could follow and learn as it did in series one. The one thing that never changed was the 'principles' the golden rules, knowing when to get out and not forsaking each other s identities, so the chain will never be broken; this is the grifter's code.

The 'Mark' (This is the person who is targeted for the con) is set in each episode, that is the one thing the voyeur (TV audience) can be assure of, but that is just about it when it comes to the con concept. The audience will be able to pick up a story-line without much trouble along the way. The one thing that is vital with Hustle is you can't miss the first five minutes as the main foundations are set out and each character has particular jobs assigned to them, also you will learn who the 'Mark' is? - This really is a program for the 'noughties', those of you who really love money and getting one over on a 'greedy fat cat' one without any qualms of selling his old Granny Smith to a Fruit Merchant, excluding the dentures. Hustle is the one for you.

Series Five Cast is as follows
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Albert Stroller - Robert Vaughn
Michael Stone - Adrian Lester
Ash Morgan - Robert Glenister
Emma Kennedy - Kelly Adams
Sean Kennedy - Matt Di Angelo
Eddie - Rob Jarvis

Robert Vaughn - plays Albert Stroller with a twinkle in his eye; he is the ringmaster for the tricksters. He is the cheeky Uncle who always wins match-stick poker and never tells of his tricks. He sets the mark about 75% of the time. He is a believable man with the Guardian and Martell Balloon beside him; speaks eloquently with impeccable attire and manners that beholds a trusting handshake to all which he engages in. "You look like a man who knows exactly what he requires, Sir" - His mannerisms draws in the mark and plays with their ego with tantalizing ease.

Adrian Lester - who plays Michael Stone was subsequently quoted in the Guardian as being a ' tall, dark, handsome man will leap into an expensive sports car, blag his way into a super-swanky penthouse suite, charm his way into restaurants, con his way into wallets and bank accounts - and win the hearts of millions of TV viewers. And he will do it all with an air of effortless ease and a flash of a sweet smile'. - It is unlike any other Guardian quote, I read before. Stone is the leader and is the one making the quick-fire decisions in how to nail the 'mark'. Skilled at his art the con merchant has no weaknesses when it comes to intellect, switching plans comes naturally. His decorum is marveled and as we delve deeper into his character it does become obvious that his undoing just maybe a beautiful lady; that's how Stone has been portrayed by Tony Jordan, Hustle script-writer.

Robert Glenister - depicts a clever role as Ash Morgan; is the heart-beat of the tricksters group. His brains are his weapon which divulges many plan analogies in means to hit their 'mark' successfully; extremely hard to read and articulate to a precision no other con merchant could master. Ash Morgan's gadgetry knowledge in security is first rate, also breaking dodgy firewalls is his area of expertise; he is a key player in the set-up process in hatching the con, as well as an exemplary actor in the art of deception and diversion. Ash has the know-how and supremacy to be the glue in hatching the ultimate con; he is the man to ask whether it really is possible to steal a crown.

Kelly Adams - is the siren of the team as Emma Kennedy; having just finished her apprentice as a master in deception she has passed her first series in Hustle. She emulates the wonders of youth, beauty and has a notoriously wicked streak, quick thinking and has been in the front-line when it comes to manipulating the 'mark' as well as having a wicked sense of humour that melts away any doubt that the 'mark' may have; a vital tool in solving potential problems when under fire. She is the evidence that being sexy can have main benefactors when dealing with the filthy rich and their greed. She is no Maid Marion though, she is a tough cookie, mentally strong and does not suffer fools she has a mind and can infiltrate her character easily within any situation and group; the perfect accessory in their group dynamics.

Matt Di Angelo plays the protective younger brother of Emma, as Sean Kennedy. A wide-boy, cheeky exterior that makes mistakes due to his youth but some-how always comes up smelling of roses. His naïve outlook is refreshing to the team as he can be easily molded within the group. He is the young pretender; delusional when it comes to the young brother protector of Emma, as it is she who has the brains and style. Sean has that uniqueness of pure raw talent that can't be taught. His overwhelming vision of being part of the gang is infectious and stimulating to watch. Sean Kennedy's cheekiness is his strong point; he is nevertheless skating on thin ice most of the time as a whippersnapper fraudster, it is sister, Emma who is the real protector. - Very well executed first series for Matt Di Angelo in Hustle he sure didn't slip up.

Rob Jarvis who has a role playing Eddie; has made the easily lead bar man his own since the first series; a Stan Laurel character, who seems to always be sucked in to the grifters plan; and always gets the raw deal of it. A bar man who is so likeable you understand why the team has looked after him and taken him under their wing; usually all for the wrong reasons as he is the gullible one who is played more times than Rooney though-out the Premiership season. The grifters bar trick cons on poor Eddie is a light-hearted interlude that is an absolute belly-laugh; definitely worth remembering while getting served in a bar, some of which are pure TV gold, Rob Jarvis is a legend at playing the victim. Now a middling aging bar man he finds a huge fascination in the life of the gang and secretly wants to be one of them. His matey façade with the con artists is one of the endearing parts of Hustle, and in series six no doubt you will see the puppy dog eyes of Eddie trying to steal a crisp from Gary Lineker. Eddie brings a real human element into Hustle and compliments the rest of the gang members.

Script-writer Tony Jordan who has written for East Enders, Spooks and Casualty, is the big reason why Hustle has hit the psyche of the UK audience. Hustles conception was during the first running of Spooks filming when he started throwing some ideas around. It quickly was picked up by the BBC and within a year Hustle was on main time TV. Surprisingly the average first series audience figures touched on 6.95 Million viewers; which was remarkably high for a completely new concept. The last series figures have not dwindled after five series; The BBC have in fact posted up next January 2010 for the start of the next series, surprising especially after the ever so much read about BBC series cut-backs that swamp the headlines, along with salary cuts.

The title scene designed by animator Joe Berger stimulates a refreshing retro style that sends me back to Kojak and those heavy 1970's era that enriched our TV title headings. The nostalgia came flooding back to me last year when I'd viewed Hustles' fourth series, simple forms floating in shapes of money signs and of course a symbolic fat man being hung out to dry. Joe Berger got nominated for his animation; perhaps he should do animations for politic programs.

Hustles' use of time frame technology is one of its kind at present. This is where a scene is cut to a frame and slowed up quite considerably and the acting around the sequence continues as part of the scenario; elements of the film technology while making The Matrix was used in Hustle as the con-artists explain how the con was done for the voyeur, that is us, the audience. Hustle still has a lot of scope as new concepts are brought to our attention through the media, by fraudulent gangs who are consistently changing technologies themselves to depict different routes to people's cash, it is good that a program like Hustle actually makes methods feasible to a UK public.

Now we live in a 24/7 community whereby security is such an important means of everyday living, it is vital that programs show this need within our community as it stops point-blank and makes people think and realize what could be a con, which otherwise could easily be missed.

A TV Show like Hustle is thankfully a genre within itself due to the very successful Spooks series that pioneered this genre in program making. There is always a hidden meaning in producing these formatted programs and Hustle proves that there are always rules to take seriously. Hustle identifies that there is some form of ethical grounding at the end of each episode, whether through the character or just whether Eddies bar tab is paid or not.

Thank you for reading,

© 1st2thebar- 08 -2009 

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