Homeland - on Showtime - best new series

[No spoken words]

NSW!

So glad to read your post because I also thought the finale was very well done and was almost...elegant?

Anitram!

Elegant is apt, I think. I know what you mean.

 

[maycocksean]

Well, I'm in for Season 2.

I agree that Homeland S1 was far and away better than S1 Heroes and I also liked Heroes first season.

 

[No spoken words]

Well, I'm in for Season 2.

I agree that Homeland S1 was far and away better than S1 Heroes and I also liked Heroes first season.

I hope you enjoy it!

 

[PhilsFan]

I think the most unrealistic thing about this show is how much power the vice president has. Do they even have a president in this reality? What the fuck does he do? Nothing, apparently.

 

[mobvok]

Well, both Biden and Cheney have been reasonably influential in terms of governing policy, so that never struck me as weird. I think the "worth a warm bucket of spit" view of the Vice Presidency's office is a bit anachronistic/a cute anecdote for poli-sci textbooks.

Obviously there's an incentive to avoid naming the President if it's at all possible, given the weird half real half fictional nature of the last 10 years in Homeland.

 

[deep]

Henry Bromell Dead: 'Homeland' Producer Dies At 65


that's too bad

this guy had his hand in a lot of good T V

 

[namkcuR]

I know this was overshadowed by the BB finale, but did anyone catch the S3 premiere of this tonight?

 

[No spoken words]

DVR'd, will watch this week at some point. Hoping it starts like S1 and S2 started, and not like S2 ended....

 

[u2popmofo]

DVR'd, will watch this week at some point. Hoping it starts like S1 and S2 started, and not like S2 ended....

Same.

 

[bollox]

Yeah, I'll watch this after I recover from Breaking Bad. Seriously Homeland, you couldn't have waited a week? Same with the Eastbound & Down premiere. Come on, you don't go up against the Super Bowl.

 

[u2popmofo]

Yeah, I'll watch this after I recover from Breaking Bad. Seriously Homeland, you couldn't have waited a week? Same with the Eastbound & Down premiere. Come on, you don't go up against the Super Bowl.

There was way too much TV last night. I was going to switch over and watch the other shows once BB was over, but ended up sticking through that Talking Bad show as well.

 

[corianderstem]

Oof. I'm not sure I'm going to keep this one in my TV rotation.

 

[deep]

Well, since nobody watched but me last night,
I will just say this, I'm not sure I'm happy with the big twist revealed last night

 

[monkeyskin]

Decided to wait for reactions on the season overall before coming back.

Is anyone else feeling really apathetic towards TV drama since Breaking Bad finished? Hoping Treme will wash the blues away (no pun intended).

 

[No spoken words]

I am watching, Deep, but have not yet seen Sunday's episode....seems to be a lot of negative feedback over whatever happened.

 

[deep]

You know me, it's about the writing.
When you get to the episode that closes with Carrie walking into Sol's backyard, and that conversation. Ask yourself do you buy it. I may have to do a rewatch of the 2 preceding episodes to see if it could be plausible.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I got behind and went in knowing the twist (out of curiosity since I never read show spoilers) and while you can see that they have the actors often playing things a certain way so that it will fit the twist, the dialogue and reactions often make next to no sense. Really, just a stupid gimmick to throw on top of what was already a wasted first third of the season.

I'll probably drop this one soon.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Is anyone else feeling really apathetic towards TV drama since Breaking Bad finished?

Hell, no. More good dramas than ever on television right now. Breaking Bad may have been the best show on television at the moment (debatable since Season 5 was a little too action-movie-y and their were some series like Enlightened that really knocked it out of the park in 2013), but there's a zillion others.

Here's all the other dramas currently still airing on television that I watch (and I have very high standards):

The Americans
Boardwalk Empire
Broadchurch
Call The Midwife
Doctor Who
Downton Abbey
Endeavour
The Fall
Game Of Thrones
Hannibal
Homeland
House of Cards
In The Flesh
Mad Men
Masters Of Sex
Orange Is The New Black
Orphan Black
Rectify
Sherlock
Treme

Still planning on watching The Bridge (FX) and Ray Donovan (Showtime). Justified and Walking Dead aren't for me.

 

[No spoken words]

The Americans was just fucking perfect, at least for me. So well done/acted...and it never gave into the predictable, but never veered off into the implausible. Cannot wait for S2.

From the above list, I watch(ed) and enjoy(ed):

Broadchurch
Thrones
House of Cards (mostly style over substance but good looking style indeed)
Homeland (but will bail if it does not improve)
Mad Men (obvs)
Orange is the New Black
Orphan Black
Sherlock

Still in the DVR:

Rectify
Masters of Sex
The Bridge

Justified is a favorite of mine as well. So is VEEP. About to start Luther. Etc.

So, yeah, sorry to have Breaking Bad end but there's plenty of TV left that piques my interest.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

If you like Broadchurch, you really should watch The Fall. It's on Netflix and stars Gillian Anderson and the guy that's going to star in 50 Shades of Grey soon. Only five episodes and there's a second season due next year.

Agreed that The Americans was very well done. Some of their spy antics though were a little too lucky in how they worked out, but the show definitely hasn't driven over into the realm of Homeland-level theatrics (pointless subplots, needless twists, out of character traits and insanely massive looming threats).

Rectify was the best new series of the year for me. Hands down. If you like character driven shows like Mad Men, you'll really dig it.

Agreed that House of Cards has next to no depth. The writing is fantastic, mind you, but it's all surface level since the show doesn't have too much to say. Still, it's an extremely addictive popcorn muncher and that alone would make it one of the ten best shows around for me.

 

[No spoken words]

Oh I plowed through Cards in a weekend, it definitely hooked me.

I will watch Rectify soon. U2DM fan will kill me if I do not.

 

[monkeyskin]

It's an impressive list and I watch about half of it (plus some others).

But what I meant was that there's not much on tv right now, as in currently airing this week. There's basically:

Boardwalk (gave up after 3 seasons)
The Walking Dead (ditto but far worse)
Sons of Anarchy (starting to improve after a dire start this year but not great)
Homeland (waiting for year end to hear if the season was worthwhile)
Masters of Sex (keen, but letting pile up for a binge)
Downton Abbey (not for me)
American Horror Story (ditto)

So right now it's all just a bit meh. I'm rewatching Mad Men and catching up on The Fall, which is top notch so far. Treme, Sherlock, True Detective, Girls, Banshee and The Americans all on their way soon though.

 

[No spoken words]

This is what my DVR/Netflix is for.

Agreed that as for currently airing new fare, it's light.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Stopped watching after S1, but I hear Dana had a sex scene this season and now I'm going to go catch up on the rest of the series.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Agreed that as for currently airing new fare, it's light.

Which is a good thing considering all the catch-up we have to play. One kind of wishes it were the mid 90's again. Then you could just watch The X-Files every week and have a life.



Downton Abbey completely sucks now. American critics will dig into it when it airs here next year. I'll finish the season, but I'll only watch it further on because:

1) The ending could be around the corner. I can't imagine them stretching it out past Season 5. The mainstay actors are all clearly becoming bored.

2) My girlfriend will watch it regardless (we watch most of these shows together) and it's a short season every year, so it's not a horrible proposition.


Boardwalk Empire has to be one of the most underrated shows in television history. It started out pretty strong and got better from Season 1-3, only to have television critics take less and less notice (despite them all agreeing it was improving and one of the best shows around). At the very least, it's the greatest show ever made on a technical level (direction, cinematography, set, etc.) and the many Emmys it has won can attest to that (including five this year). In fact, the show has won 17 Emmys which is more than even Mad Men (15) and Breaking Bad (10). Perhaps the most decorated drama series via the Emmys since The Sopranos (21).

 

[anitram]

Are people still watching this?

I feel like it's gone off the rails. They should have killed Brody last season.

 

[corianderstem]

I ended up dropping it a handful of weeks ago.

 

[No spoken words]

I gave up 4 episodes into this season. Was not even a decision, per se, I just lost the desire to watch.....they're still in my DVR.

You know what's exciting? Season 2 of The Americans coming soon. There you go.

 

[anitram]

Yes! I am pumped about The Americans! I thought it was coming a bit later because of the Olympics. Can't wait, it's such a great show and also stylistically pleasant to watch. Let's hope it stays on that level in S2.

I think I'm watching Homeland out of habit more than anything. I also don't really watch much TV otherwise. But geez, it's really become ridic.

 

[Pearl]

I jumped on the Homeland a few months ago and recently finished Season 2 on Netflix. I'm now watching Season 3 OnDemand.

I think I really watch it for Claire Danes. She really is a great actress and is amazing to watch.

I never could grasp how the audience was supposed to view Brody. Were we supposed to sympathize with him for being brainwashed, or hate him for practically being a terrorist? Maybe it was how the character was written or how the actor portrayed him, but I was always puzzled.

Two episodes into Season 3 and I already don't get all the focus on Dana. If the show wants to portray how Brody's family is coping with all the chaos he left behind, that's one thing, but to go deep into her boyfriend and mental health is pointless.

I find the love story between Brody and Carrie silly. It should've stayed where it was at the end of Season 1 where they became antagonists rather than lovers. The whole "saving the bad guy from his demons" was ridiculous.

Finally, I wished the terrorist attack at the end of Season 2 didn't have so many deaths. A few dozen would've been fine, not 219. That scene with all the body bags was heart wrenching.