The premise of Once A Thief is simple enough to grasp: the misadventures of a trio of criminals working for justice, under the guise of an enigmatic director (known only as the Director), fighting mobsters, crooks and killers. This trio includes Li-Ann, Mac and Victor. Mac and Li-Ann have ties to a Hong Kong triad but wish to get out of the game. Vic was a cop who was set up by his corrupt colleagues. They are hired by a shadowy government agency in British Columbia, where they work alongside British hit-men for-hire Murphy and Camier, and Jackie, a gung-ho teenage mob boss.
Some people find this show too silly to take seriously, but it does have its many impressive moments, and to be fair, it was intended to be a comedy, anyway. And when it comes to characters, they all make you want to be a part of the adventures yourself. At first I wasn't a big fan of Jackie with her giggly cheerleader routine, but she's the type of character who grows on you as she begins to make further appearances in the series. The mysterious Director, unfazed in even the most dire situations (until her weird X-Files spoof episode) provides the main characters both a friend and a foe at times. Hands-down my favourite characters of the reoccurring cast though were Mr. Murphy and Mr. Camier, the agency's professional "cleaners", who, to use Camier's words, "clean the world of evil". At first they are merely contract killers who serve as their current episode's creepy villains, but as the series continues they turn out to not be so soulless after all, and they even team up with the agency on occasion. Camier also concedes to being in-love with Li-Ann, an idea that might have been explored further had the series continued past its twenty-three episodes. I could definitely imagine Murphy and Camier having their own spin-off show together. Of course, Once A Thief's vast collection of minor characters, from a cult of uranium-smuggling Goths to an Irish terrorist, give each episode a lot of material to work with and ideas to explore.
What I find sad is that Once A Thief had so much more potential, and yet it ended after only 23 episodes for whatever reason. Although it's way too late for its fans to ever hope for a revival of it (it was produced the year I was born for crying out loud), at least all 23 episodes were recently released in a DVD format. I've been binge-watching them all lately and they're hilarious, really a lot of fun.
Some people find this show too silly to take seriously, but it does have its many impressive moments, and to be fair, it was intended to be a comedy, anyway. And when it comes to characters, they all make you want to be a part of the adventures yourself. At first I wasn't a big fan of Jackie with her giggly cheerleader routine, but she's the type of character who grows on you as she begins to make further appearances in the series. The mysterious Director, unfazed in even the most dire situations (until her weird X-Files spoof episode) provides the main characters both a friend and a foe at times. Hands-down my favourite characters of the reoccurring cast though were Mr. Murphy and Mr. Camier, the agency's professional "cleaners", who, to use Camier's words, "clean the world of evil". At first they are merely contract killers who serve as their current episode's creepy villains, but as the series continues they turn out to not be so soulless after all, and they even team up with the agency on occasion. Camier also concedes to being in-love with Li-Ann, an idea that might have been explored further had the series continued past its twenty-three episodes. I could definitely imagine Murphy and Camier having their own spin-off show together. Of course, Once A Thief's vast collection of minor characters, from a cult of uranium-smuggling Goths to an Irish terrorist, give each episode a lot of material to work with and ideas to explore.
What I find sad is that Once A Thief had so much more potential, and yet it ended after only 23 episodes for whatever reason. Although it's way too late for its fans to ever hope for a revival of it (it was produced the year I was born for crying out loud), at least all 23 episodes were recently released in a DVD format. I've been binge-watching them all lately and they're hilarious, really a lot of fun.