Every Fall TV season I get excited for returning shows like my favourite on Showtime, Dexter, as well as a choice couple of others on premium cable.
This year I was over-the-moon to be able to watch the first three episodes of Dexter before they aired and I looked forward to viewing the show that airs immediately after it, "Homeland", starring Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin and a new discovery for me, the British actor, Damian Lewis.
I'd seen promos for Homeland and it looked really good. I've loved Claire Danes forever and Mandy Patinkin can always be counted onto turn in a solid performance.
I wasn't prepared however, for the amount of emotional clout that the first episode would carry nor the level of anticipation for MORE that it would generate. I feel truly lucky that I can watch the next few episodes of Homeland ahead of time to better talk about it here. In the meantime, trust me, if you want a edge-of-you-seat, wonderfully executed, grounded in reality drama of our times, NOW is the time for you to stay put after viewing Dexter. I promise, you will be glad you did.
Here is a bit of background on Homeland followed by a few critical reactions from near and far from others who have started watching this new, after-Dexter offering from Showtime.
Damian Lewis, Claire Danes & Mandy Patinkin star in Showtime's "Homeland', Sundays at 10 ET/PT
Claire Danes stars as CIA agent Carrie Mathison who is haunted by what she considers her personal failure to recognize clues that might have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks. Even now, Carrie’s failures continue.
When the show opens, she is in Baghdad, rushing to a unauthorized meeting with a condemned Iraqi prisoner. Just before Carrie is discovered in hushed conversation with him, he whispers a spine-chilling secret: An American POW has been"turned' -- converted into a terrorist. Carrie's cover is blown and she's got no proof whatsoever so she is demoted to desk work back at Langley in D.C., under the skeptical eye of a deputy director, David Harewood (David Estes), who doesn’t think Carrie has any business being part of the Agency.
Then comes the news that a U.S. Marine sergeant captured at the beginning of the second Iraq war has been rescued. After a raid, the man is found hidden away in deplorable conditions, disoriented and filthy. It’s Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) who is brought home to a hero’s yellow-ribbon welcome.
Even before his debriefing, Carrie is convinced Brody is the terrorist her source warned her about.
“Homeland” comes to us from Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa and Chip Johansson, all longtime writer-producers on “24.” It stars Claire Danes (“Terminator 3,” “Temple Grandin”), Morena Baccarin (“Firefly,” “V”), Damian Lewis (“Band of Brothers,” “Life”) and Mandy Patinkin (“Chicago Hope,” “Dead Like Me,” “Criminal Minds”).
Official DEXTER Series Site: http://www.sho.com/dexter
After the jump - What the critics are saying:
What the critics are saying about Showtime's Homeland (Sunday nights @ 10 p.m. E/P):
HitFix says: ... the best new show of the fall season. ... functions terrifically as both a thriller and a commentary on our post-post-9/11 world …
AOL says: ... manages to be both an addictive espionage thriller and a compelling character study, as well as a well-constructed exploration of the difficulties and ambiguities of fighting terrorism a decade after Sept. 11. Without a doubt, it is one of the finest new shows of the year. ...
Time Magazine says: ... pretty easily my favorite new series of the fall ...
TV Guide says: ... fall's most riveting new drama ... Shows like Homeland have a way of keeping us deliciously off balance. Can't think of a place I'd rather be or a show I'd more highly recommend.
USA Today says: ... stands out as the season's best new drama. ...
The New York Times says: ... gripping ... “Homeland” is almost impossible to resist.
The Los Angeles Times says: ... not just the best new drama of the season (and would be, no doubt, even if the bar had been set higher than it has been this year), it's the first telling of a post-9/11 story that is all the things it should be: politically resonant, emotionally wrenching and plain old thrilling to watch. ...
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says: .... offers the same "24" sense of urgency without a ticking-clock gimmick. If "24" was about the short game, "Homeland" is about the long con. It's an engrossing serialized drama with one of the best casts on TV. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says: ... spellbinding ... Eventually, Brody will begin looking over his shoulder. We can't wait to see what he'll find. The Washington Post says: ... arrives with a taut air of near-perfection. ... What makes “Homeland” rise above other post-9/11 dramas is Danes’s stellar performance as Carrie — easily this season’s strongest female character, who is also hiding some personal secrets of her own. The latter half of the first episode is exhilarating. I’m hooked.
The Boston Herald says: ... riveting ... Patinkin is the perfect low-key foil to Danes’ manic energy. What seems like a straightforward question — Is Nick a traitor to his country? — might be the most devilishly complicated thing to answer, and definitely worth pursuing in this complex show.
The Boston Globe says: … Am I hooked? Big time. Of all the drama pilots I watched, this was my favorite. …
Variety says: ... does some of its best work via flashbacks to Brody's time in captivity, sprinkling additional tidbits with each glimpse into the past. …
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