Con men are a seductive breed of cad that have long enjoyed the attention of filmmakers, novelists and songwriters – The Sting or The Italian Job (be it the classic or current incarnation), for instance, revel in worlds where not everyone is on the same page and strings are being pulled just out of sight. The fun in these narratives comes in watching the screws tighten for all parties involved, waiting and watching to see if the impossibly convoluted capers can in fact be pulled off successfully. Tales of elaborate cons are inherently visual and often richly rewarding, when handled with a measure of flourish.

Hustle debuted in Britain in early 2004 – born of an idea from UK director Bharat Nalluri and producer Jane Featherstone (both of whom worked on the immensely popular series Spooks), the show bears an obvious debt to not only the Ocean's Eleven series of films, but also the slick cinematic style of such works as Criminal and the remade Italian Job. With most BBC series, substance easily trumps style, but this might be the first instance I've encountered where the flashy cinematography, attention-grabbing edits and sly looks to camera overwhelm the often plotted-by-numbers episodes. The kicky opening credits sequences suggests a frothy comedic romp that's not necessarily delivered – a wry sense of humor courses through each story, but moments of brutal drama often undermine the light-as-air feel that most scenes have. And that's the biggest problem Hustle has: it can't sustain a consistent tone. The cast's chemistry is a bit wonky early on, but gets better as the series progresses – the minds behind the camera have assembled a talented, if little-known, cast (only stars Adrian Lester, Robert Vaughn and Marc Warren may be familiar to Yank audiences – and only then, if said audiences watch a lot of British product) but they never do fully come together into a believable, tight-knit crew. Hustle also falls victim to Implacable Cop Syndrome, where the law is generally three steps behind the criminals, with little to no personality, often left shaking their heads in amazement at the conclusion of each episode, while methodically continuing to track the con artists. All of that said, however, Hustle is diverting and worth a look for those who like their drama free of fatty Bruckheimer byproduct.

A BBC production which bowed overseas in early 2004, this series, curiously enough, first aired on the American cable channel AMC in January 2006 (rather than BBC America, as one would expect), having already completed its run of three separate six-episode series (for a total of only 18 episodes – take that, C.S.I. clones!) in the UK. The six episodes that comprise the first series of Hustle are split across the two discs in this set (playable separately or as one big chunk), with bonus features available on each disc. Packaging wasn't available for review, so I can't comment on that. Material for the episode synopses is taken from the BBC Web site and for those who want their Hustle experience untainted by advance knowledge, be aware that some spoilers can be found below.

The Video:

Each episode of Hustle is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen – as befits a recently filmed TV program, the show looks sleek, sharp and crisp, with colors warmly and accurately represented, no signs of edge enhancement or other visual defects. There's a slight hint of PAL-to-NTSC conversion, but it's well handled and barely noticeable.

For all of the flashy visual tricks, the aural experience of Hustle is surprisingly mundane: an acceptable Dolby 2.0 stereo soundtrack that reproduces the persistent, faux-R&B score with no distortion and renders the crackling, jargon-laden dialogue problem-free. Optional English subtitles are also on board.

The impact Hustle had on this side of the Atlantic is most apparent in the relative lack of supplemental material on this set: a 30-minute making-of featurette "Assembling The Team: The Making of 'Hustle'" is needlessly split across two discs (13 minutes, 33 seconds on disc one and 16 minutes on disc two). Presented in anamorphic widescreen, the featurette includes interviews with the principal cast and creative personnel. On the second disc, cast biographies for Lester, Warren, Vaughn, Glenister and Murray round out the set.

Hustle is diverting and worth a look for those who like their drama free of fatty Bruckheimer byproduct – this first season is but a handful of episodes and barely any bonus material so those unfamiliar with the show from its run on cable earlier in 2006 should give this a rental spin before plunking down cash for a copy to take home. Rent it.