The Con is On

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Con is On
Series = Hustle


Caption =
Season = 1
Episode = 1
Airdate = Start date|2004|02|24
Production =
Length = 60 minutes
Writer = Tony Jordan
Director = Bharat Nalluri
Guests =
Episode list = List of Hustle episodes
Prev =
Next = Faking It

"The Con is On" is an episode in the British television comedy-drama series "Hustle" that was first broadcast on 24 February 2004. It is the first episode of the series created by Tony Jordan, and made by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom.

ynopsis

Mickey "Bricks" Stone has just been released from prison, having served a sentence for attacking his wife's boyfriend. An expert at the "long con", he assembles his old team of fellow hustlers to pull off one last con before he retires for good.

His team is diverse, ranging from old hand Albert Stroller, to the alluring Stacie Monroe, and the jack-of-all-trades Ashley "3 Socks" Morgan. Their "mark" is a greedy business man and with the con all going to plan, short con player Danny Blue enters the picture to try and join the team and could jeopardize the score.

With the police hot on their trail, will Mickey and his crew be able to pull off the con successfully, or will Danny bring it all crashing down? One thing is for sure - the con is on.

Cast

*Michael "Mickey Bricks" Stone — Adrian Lester
*Danny Blue — Marc Warren
*Stacie Monroe — Jaime Murray
*Ash "Three Socks" Morgan — Robert Glenister
*Albert Stroller — Robert Vaughn
*Eddie — Rob Jarvis
*Peter Williams — James Laurenson
*DS Terri Hodges — Liz May Brice
*DCI Mullens — Ken Bones
*Neil Cooper/DePalma — Tom Mannion

Production

*In the opening shot of the series Mickey Bricks addresses the camera, and thus the audience directly, which is called breaking the fourth wall. Clearly the creators have established that this is a story-telling device that they will use throughout the series.

Viewing Figures

*The only hit of BBC's new dramas. It hit 6.7 Million viewers, which beat out ITV's 5.5 Million viewers for "The Football".

Cultural References

*Upon first meeting Danny, Mickey comments "I bet you've even watched The Sting". Later in the episode, when Danny gate-crashes the con, Mickey introduces Danny as 'Mr Redford'.

External links

* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0608705/ The Con is On] at the Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.tv.com/hustle/the-con-is-on/episode/307095/summary.html The Con is On] at TV.com