After a decent opening episode to the season this one was a bit of a disappointment although it still provided a few good laughs. The story opens with an art thief stealing a Van Gogh painting in Brazil. When this character gets back to the UK he is searched by customs but they don't find the painting. As he is freed he spots an old friend; Ash, who is with the regulars as they drop off Albert who is off to Las Vegas. It is clear that they are not pleased to be seen by the thief who they call "Liability" Finch. It doesn't take long to discover why as he loudly greets them and makes comments about their less than legal business.
He is soon trying to get the group to help him get the painting back from an airport locker in Rio but Mickey is determined to have nothing to do with him as any job with him is likely to end in prison. Unfortunately not all of the team feels the same way and soon Sean is trying to help Finch raise funds and is promptly caught by the police. This leads to customs officer Clifford Davies turning up at the bar and offering Mickey a deal he can't refuse: get back the painting, leave evidence against Finch and clear out his funds in exchange for Sean's release.
The plot was as convoluted as ever and while viewers won't be surprised at the end result the way it came about might not have been worked out in advance. The main weakness for me was Liability Finch, I just found his character annoying to the point that I didn't have too much sympathy for his plight, this wasn't the fault of actor Mark Benton it was just the way the character was written. While I thought this was a week episode for Hustle it was still a reasonable way to pass an hour, certainly better with a lot of programmes on TV.
He is soon trying to get the group to help him get the painting back from an airport locker in Rio but Mickey is determined to have nothing to do with him as any job with him is likely to end in prison. Unfortunately not all of the team feels the same way and soon Sean is trying to help Finch raise funds and is promptly caught by the police. This leads to customs officer Clifford Davies turning up at the bar and offering Mickey a deal he can't refuse: get back the painting, leave evidence against Finch and clear out his funds in exchange for Sean's release.
The plot was as convoluted as ever and while viewers won't be surprised at the end result the way it came about might not have been worked out in advance. The main weakness for me was Liability Finch, I just found his character annoying to the point that I didn't have too much sympathy for his plight, this wasn't the fault of actor Mark Benton it was just the way the character was written. While I thought this was a week episode for Hustle it was still a reasonable way to pass an hour, certainly better with a lot of programmes on TV.
