Homeland - on Showtime - best new series

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deep

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ordinarily I'm a skeptic

Homeland-Damian-Lewis-Claire-Danes.jpg


http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-homeland-review-20110930,0,155345.story

I keep reading these very positive reviews,
praising the writing, and acting. For me, the writing is the key.
 
I'm so skeptical about it as well. The look and subject matter of the show do not interest me at all, but the reviews are freakin' through the roof. I'll have to check it out.
 
I checked it out last night. It was okay.
If I had not had any expectations, I would have thought I made a nice find.


Cinemax has a series called Strikeback, found it by accident, it is really good. Time Warner has it on OnDemand, people should check that one out.
 
I wanted to watch this, but alas, no Showtime (which also prevents me from seeing From the Sky Down until the AB/Zooropa box set comes out), also Damian Lewis looks far too much like he's turned his weird-damaged-goods detective from Life into this show as a POW. Seriously, way too similar in terms of mannerisms.
 
I checked this out last night. It was ok. I'm not sure about Carrie's psychotic angle, but at least they gave it to us early and didn't introduce it much later. I guess she gets her brilliant flashes of inspiration when she's having an episode. It might be helpful at some point to get a bit of background on her.

I'm going to check out Strikeback, on the recommendation, thanks. :up:
 
Homeland is easily one of the best new pilots of the season for me.

I was absolutely stunned with Clair Dannes' character. I got a feeling this will be a special show.

Let's hope that the 2nd episode doesn't dissapoint.
 
I'm going to check out Strikeback, on the recommendation, thanks. :up:

it's not brilliant by any measure, it is just that I found it by accident, surfing through my onDemand free stuff.

usually that stuff is unbearable, after about 5-10 minutes, i got to turn it off.
This held my interest, they throw in a couple of hot nude scenes, and there is action, plus it is not predictable.
 
Downloaded it last night.

I realized I saw this before.

It was called "Brothers".
 
I'm kindof put off by Carrie. I can't put my finger on it just yet, but she's beginning to annoy the hell out of me.

And I can't help but ask: Does an American soldier who "turns" necessarily also become Muslim? I'm not sure why they felt the need to make that a part of his story. It feels cheap. It's completely plausible that a rescued POW might come back "turned" without bringing religion into it imo.

I'm willing to give it a few more viewings, hopefully these are minor quibbles I have.

They should lose the intro though. Also cheesy and overkill imo.
 
I think the Muslim angle is there to confuse the audience more. It doesn't mean he's turned, just that he's found it as a path to God or became religious for the first time. I would think that a terrorist group that hijacks the Muslim faith for their own means would therefore need it's members to believe in that religion to some extent. Otherwise, what sort of cause could they convince him to join in for? The episode clearly made everything more dubious by presenting his turning to the religion as kind of a spiritual awakening rather than a bit of co-coercion. We really won't know if he's tilted until the end of the season, I'm certain.

Anyway, they keep reeling me in more with each passing episode. Briskly paced stuff without any annoying leaps in logic or red-herrings in a similar series like The Killing. I just hope we get some sort of closure since the ratings have been pretty sub-standard and I wouldn't place a bet on a second season despite the acclaim.
 
I think the Muslim angle is there to confuse the audience more. It doesn't mean he's turned, just that he's found it as a path to God or became religious for the first time. I would think that a terrorist group that hijacks the Muslim faith for their own means would therefore need it's members to believe in that religion to some extent. Otherwise, what sort of cause could they convince him to join in for?

Well that's sortof my point. To preface however..when I say "turned" I mean in the sense of becoming an agent for the terrorists, I don't mean it in a religious sense at all. I mean it in the original sense it was presented to us as, ie, as a spy. I couldn't care less if he's Christian, Muslim, Jew, atheist, whatever. Frankly I find it more probable and realistic that a man will "turn" and become a spy based on disillusionment with his country's ideals, and foreign policies, the lies he and others were told to get him to go to war, etc, than out of religious conversion. I think it's much harder to change a man's faith (or lack of it) than it is to sway his politics, in other words.

I'm still on the fence. I don't like unnecessarily gratuitous scenes and this series has so far had at least one in each episode.
 
Just watched the pilot - liked it a lot more than I was expecting! Looking forward to catching up with the next few.
 
I suppose at some point they're going to explain how an atheist (or at minimum, agnostic) being brutally tortured and held as a POW just magically decides to become Muslim? Because that's still a really dumbass part of this show imo.
 
I think they kind of did that in the last episode,

when you have absolutely nothing, any kindness is given much more value than it would in an ordinary environment
 
Oh yeah. I only last night realized I hadn't posted since I started watching it. I was caught up a chunk of episodes ago.
 
I'm liking it pretty much
I can't say for sure it is the best new series this year

safe to say, it is in my top five.
 
I'd slide it into my Top 5 dramas, but Game of Thrones has to take home the trophy for Best New Show of 2011.

I'd probably rank 'em...

1. Breaking Bad
2. Mad Men
3. Game of Thrones
4. Homeland
5. Boardwalk Empire


And I'd round out a Top Ten with 30 Rock, Doctor Who, Louie, Treme....and, god forbid, The Killing.
 
He woke up, was given a bath and some care and next thing you know he's bowing to the east praying. Like, come on.

I don't think they were implying he immediately converted to Islam at that moment. I thought that had happened sooner.

Also, I don't think you can say whether that's realistic or not until you've been kept captive and tortured for years.

I don't think it's a stretch for someone in a situation like that to cling to whatever small comfort they find (or are presented with), whether that's religion, or someone showing an act of kindness.
 
Hah hah deep.

Youve been held captive and tortured for years on end by radical Muslims. A seemingly moderate Muslim (moderate: hes quiet, patient to a degree and isnt necessarily kicking the shit out of you every 3 hrs) takes you in and gives you breakfast...hell yah, time to find comfort in Islam! :cute:
 
I don't find it that ridiculous at all that someone would find comfort in religion in such a dark situation, and if Islam is the religion that's presented to you, it makes sense to me that one might try it out and see if it helps them.

I don't see why that's so unbelievable.

Anyway, I don't care if people don't think it's the greatest show on TV, but I'd prefer to discuss it with people who are actually enjoying it.
 
Ok, fine, but this past episode was supposed to be giving us some insight as to the rationale for his newfound faith (and allegiance?), so Im talking to that.

I guess I dont need to reiterate that I find it beyond believable that an atheist or agnostic who suffers for years at the hands of so-called believers would at any point, much less the rather accelerated way they present it (and I realize its not a straight timeline), be finding comfort in, gravitating to or even sympathizing with, the religion of his captors. People who are unbelievers find even more to dislike and pull even further away after experiences like that, not convert to it!

Like I said before, they'd sooner sell me on a politics/disillusionment with US foreign policy angle alone than this notion that he'd be finding his comfort in religion. :shrug:
 
I am with Cori, I think they set it up enough (without going back and listing a blow by blow from each episode),
we have had glimpses here and there for it to not be total shit writing, like The Killing or the last season of Lost.
 
This past episode, I thought, was more about why he might have had reason to turn, not about the religion bits. He became close to the boy, the boy was killed by a bomb, etc etc etc. :shrug:

But that said, I'm not 100% that the kid WAS what's-his-name's son. Although that would be a pretty elaborate set-up, to have Brody teach and grow close to a random kid in the hope that eventually said child would be blown up by an inevitable US bombing, and huzzah, now we've turned an American soldier.

So maybe I'm reaching there.

Also, I didn't recall that there was dialogue or anything pointing to Brody being an agnostic/atheist, so obviously if that IS the case and I'd just forgotten, then yeah, it's a bit harder to believe. But I still don't think it's such a huge stretch. I don't know that I can say definitively it would never happen, seeing as how I've never been held prisoner and tortured for eight years.
 
Cori: there was a scene after he came home where the family was shocked that he wanted to pray for dinner. His wife also mentioned it later. I called him either atheist or agnostic but safe to say at minimum unbeliever. Also, before the bombing he was already pretty immersed in the religion..praying etc..when the boy was killed he knew how to conduct the rituals even. To be honest if they were trying to imply that the boy's death was the turning point they're doing a rather sloppy job of it.

Deep: I fully get that they are trying to set up this explanation. And thats what it feels like..more a series of hints so we are expected to understand, than a natural story line..even if fictional.
 
I forgot about Downton Abbey when I tried plotting where Homeland stands amongst the best shows. That show is phenomenal in every way and slightly better than Homeland. Technically a new show as well since it didn't premiere in the United States until this year.
 
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