This is progressing crazy fast. I kind of love that - most of what went down in this hour I sort of figured would be reserved for the finale. Which is still, like, 5 eps away.
― Simon H., Tuesday, 15 November 2011 05:57 (twelve years ago) link
Have persevered and enjoying this a lot more now!
― Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, 17 November 2011 00:24 (twelve years ago) link
this shit is cray
― lag∞n, Sunday, 1 January 2012 23:44 (twelve years ago) link
its really killing me that that roomful of infidels didnt get blowed up tho
― lag∞n, Sunday, 1 January 2012 23:48 (twelve years ago) link
there really wasn't any chance they would, though? like when they kept teasing that scene in the promos i was like yeah yeah how 'suspenseful'
― some dude, Monday, 2 January 2012 01:38 (twelve years ago) link
claire danes is way more than tolerable!
― horseshoe, Monday, 2 January 2012 20:51 (twelve years ago) link
I dunno, i found the "manic" scenes borderline unwatchable
― Number None, Monday, 2 January 2012 20:53 (twelve years ago) link
morelike claire panes in my ass
― the buttfarters (Lamp), Monday, 2 January 2012 21:26 (twelve years ago) link
I had some post-holiday downtime last week, during which sped through the first seasons of this & Game of Thrones (both of which, along w/ Enlightened, I'd flagged as the new serial dramas of '11 I should investigate). Both made for excellent marathon viewing, actually!
I'm mixed on the show, overall, though. The over-reliance on cliffhangers and twists was gimmicky & pulpy in a way that didn't really jive w/ the overall tone of the show. The performances of Damian Lewis & Mandy Patinkin were exceptional, though. I'd say the same for CD, but
is kinda otm
bonus points for having a 'sullen teenager' character that I didn't just want to sock in the jaw.
― hooked on ebonics (Pillbox), Tuesday, 10 January 2012 03:40 (twelve years ago) link
The over-reliance on cliffhangers and twists was gimmicky & pulpy in a way that didn't really jive w/ the overall tone of the show.
This. For all of its outer trappings of realism, its dependence on typical tv narrative conventions made the show feel kind of hollow in the end from a philosophical standpoint. Maybe that's the squishy librul in me talking. Still, couldn't stop watching.
― omar leeettle (Leee), Sunday, 5 February 2012 22:33 (twelve years ago) link
man this fucking show. i enjoyed quite a bit even though yeah, over-reliance on cliffhangers and twists. but that last episode was just a huge shitshow. that entire scene with brody not exploding that bomb was just painfully terrible: first false alarm, smth's broken in my supercool exploding vest. imma repair it. and just when i'm about to do it for realz, secret service tells me my daughter's on the phone and it's an emergency. you know what else is an emergency fuckheads, an assassination attempt. i almost switched it off then but i thought i'd already watched 12 hours of this so the remaining 30 minutes couldn't be that bad. and yet. it ends with that fucking shock therapy and claire danes connecting the last dots bcz she remembers her good times with brody. fucking hell that was lame as shit.
also, there's one thng that's been bothering me during the entire series. why the fuck does everyone call brody by his last name, including his wife?
― Jibe, Sunday, 26 February 2012 08:35 (twelve years ago) link
that's his name, don't were it out
― kinder, Sunday, 26 February 2012 08:42 (twelve years ago) link
haha nice
― Jibe, Sunday, 26 February 2012 09:20 (twelve years ago) link
Just found out Isa is Arabic for Jesus.
― Où sont le Lord Custos d'antan? (Leee), Sunday, 8 April 2012 20:18 (twelve years ago) link
I'm watching this - halfway through. Decent enough. Kinda ham-handed, heavily skewed toward melodrama (backstory of the affair w/ the boss; flashbacks to idyllic times), don't know why but I expected a little more nuance.
Danes' kinda icy - you can see her not so much acting as pushing the "manic/edgy" button from a deep interior; the scene where she showed up at her sister's house, ready to collapse under the weight of the world, really carried weight though.
― "Fourvel - it's like Fievel, but one less." (R Baez), Wednesday, 18 April 2012 01:46 (twelve years ago) link
― Où sont le Lord Custos d'antan? (Leee), Sunday, April 8, 2012 4:18 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yes it is but JUST FYI it's pronounced "ee-sa" not the crazy annoying way damian lewis pronounces on this damn show.
― horseshoe, Wednesday, 18 April 2012 01:50 (twelve years ago) link
season 2 trailer
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh_TPjZJCRc
awful music ... looks intense though. will watch.
― dmr, Friday, 17 August 2012 19:33 (eleven years ago) link
take 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh_TPjZJCRc
pumped
― lag∞n, Friday, 17 August 2012 19:38 (eleven years ago) link
Wonder what convolutions they'll go through to keep the same roster of characters/actors. After the disappointing end of last season I'm sceptical, but sure I'll watch it.
― Cong rat ululations (seandalai), Saturday, 18 August 2012 02:15 (eleven years ago) link
awful music
lol Downton Abbey used a Scala/Kolacny Brothers rendition in their upcoming season trailer too.
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 24 September 2012 15:42 (eleven years ago) link
I like this show fine but after they crushed the Emmys last night I think it's officially v v overrated
all the comments upthread about ham-handed, melodramatic, over-reliance on twists are otm but they won the award for writing
and Damian Lewis beat Cranston and Jon Hamm
I know over-calibrating like this and being all "it's a good show, but" is sort of boring commentary but elevating this up over Breaking Bad and Mad Men is kinda nuts imo.
― dmr, Monday, 24 September 2012 19:31 (eleven years ago) link
I really like the show, but I agree.
Almost suited up for "Mad Men is about more than you're making it out to be" in response to this article but...ugh.
http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/09/24/895061/homeland-emmys/
― Legendary General Cypher Raige (Gukbe), Monday, 24 September 2012 19:38 (eleven years ago) link
i'm kinda holding my breath for the second season, i feel like what they do with that will either validate the first season's virtues or further expose its flaws
― some dude, Monday, 24 September 2012 19:44 (eleven years ago) link
yeah despite really liking the first season the kind of flaws that were throwing themselves up there puts me in the strange position of having absolutely no faith that the creators can come through on a second season. will be happy to be proven wrong though.
― Legendary General Cypher Raige (Gukbe), Monday, 24 September 2012 19:47 (eleven years ago) link
yeah it always felt like the odds were high that it could be a one season wonder -- in which case i'm fine with that season getting every possible reward, so long as diminishing returns don't get the same kind of accolades
― some dude, Monday, 24 September 2012 19:49 (eleven years ago) link
melodrama and plot twists are central elements of the shows style, rather than something that detracts from it, also the emmys are dumb who cares
― lag∞n, Monday, 24 September 2012 19:49 (eleven years ago) link
I like twists, they just went overboard w/ it in places (mainly the bunker episode) and I have a feeling it will only go farther in that direction as they try to top themselves
― dmr, Monday, 24 September 2012 19:55 (eleven years ago) link
yeah exactly, they've painted themselves into a corner where they'll have to be very careful and continuing to raise the stakes without it getting ridiculous
― some dude, Monday, 24 September 2012 19:56 (eleven years ago) link
the bunker ep was so crucial WHY DONT U SEE
― lag∞n, Monday, 24 September 2012 19:59 (eleven years ago) link
it was what it was, i'm just saying it's hard to follow, is the kind of thing that is usually saved for a series finale rather than a first season finale. but that's really what i liked best about Homeland, i expected this slow moving plot of small revelations and instead every episode just sprinted right ahead of how far i expected it to go in advancing the action.
― some dude, Monday, 24 September 2012 20:08 (eleven years ago) link
i am finding myself p excited for this, i think it is more a reflection of my susceptibility to trending topics on blogs than it is my affinity for homeland, though.
― unprotectable tweetz (schlump), Monday, 1 October 2012 01:27 (eleven years ago) link
i expected this slow moving plot of small revelations and instead every episode just sprinted right ahead of how far i expected it to go in advancing the action.
I think the employment of hyper-escalating stakes is the method this show has used to pull the wool over people's eyes wrt its Greatness. It's a fine show on its own terms, but it's fairly pedestrian on a narrative level. Kinda like the Oz of espionage thrillers.
― Old Lunch, Monday, 1 October 2012 21:01 (eleven years ago) link
After sitting with the season premiere for a bit, I'm a little more "ehhh" than I was even after the letdown of last season's finale:
"Duh, accidentally revealed my dad's a Muslim!"Reporter was concerned about a Congressman's office being bugged, but said Congressman didn't think twice before ransacking a CIA director's office (not to mention getting fingerprints everywhere?)."Duh, almost forgot my notebook!"Attempts at high dramatic tension when the events depicted are low-stakes on a narrative level (Claire Danes ain't gonna get caught and sent home, Damian Lewis ain't gonna get caught bustin' a CIA safe).
― Old Lunch, Monday, 1 October 2012 22:43 (eleven years ago) link
ehhh i thought claire danes on a mission was p good, at least the pay off.
― unprotectable tweetz (schlump), Monday, 1 October 2012 22:52 (eleven years ago) link
"Duh, accidentally revealed my dad's a Muslim!"
yeah i think i was saying something like "come the fuck on" out loud at the screen during this scene
but yeah the CD scene at the end of the episode was good and not at all about the 'suspense' of whether she'd get away but about her taking stupid chances and getting a giddy thrill out of getting away
― jaz a make wardance (some dude), Monday, 1 October 2012 23:22 (eleven years ago) link
even though i ended kinda disappointed with the first season, still went ahead and watched the first episode. and i'm just gonna repeat what i said last time but ffs why does everyone call him by his last name, including his wife? this annoys me so much
― Jibe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 16:14 (eleven years ago) link
you have a point about the wife but it's not at all uncommon for military personnel
― jaz a make wardance (some dude), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 17:21 (eleven years ago) link
at least damian lewis doesn't have to be "jonesy" again like in dreamcatcher
― jaz a make wardance (some dude), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 17:22 (eleven years ago) link
this show is better than mad men i don't care what any of y'all say
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 21:32 (eleven years ago) link
the brody searches in estes's safe scene was lame, but i liked the premiere otherwise
the "tolerable" in this title makes me so mad
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 21:33 (eleven years ago) link
FWIW, I'm pretty okay with the actors winning Emmys (and I think it's kind of a shame that Mandy Patinkin wasn't even nominated). The acting is definitely this show's strong suit.
― Old Lunch, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 21:42 (eleven years ago) link
yeah patinkin is definitely the best
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 21:43 (eleven years ago) link
mandy patinkin holla!
― jaz a make wardance (some dude), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 21:50 (eleven years ago) link
I think she was doing a plug for Mandy Patinkin brand challah.
― Old Lunch, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 21:52 (eleven years ago) link
Never watched an episode but approve of Mandy's facial hair.
― djh, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 22:45 (eleven years ago) link
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 18:32 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 18:33 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
horseshoe otm x3the more i think about this i can't work out what anyone could want out of it that it doesn't deliver. like some degree of ~spiralling narrative ridiculousness~ is inherent to its form (& to a degree i think deliberate? like i was just reading a CD interview where she was talking about researching CIA guys, hearing about the tactics actually employed, like manufacturing chance meetings by like crashing your car into a target's, &c).
i feel like any drift towards a kind of grizzly toby zeigler david axelrod hesh in the sopranos shaggy dog guy archetype is desirable in tv drama, & patinkin is just a super satisfying frowny guy (awesome hat) who you want to see burrowing his chin droopily into his weary hand all the time. just imagine an accompanying web extra, produced w/youtube, of patinkin at home, wearily sighing, looking overwhelmed but resigned to having to sort through a pile of laundered clothes. his character's single (/alone), now, right? maybe we will get some of this.
― unprotectable tweetz (schlump), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 22:56 (eleven years ago) link
yes sarita choudhury left him! ;_; poor saul.
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:02 (eleven years ago) link
After her debut film Mississippi Masala became an art house hit, Sarita Choudhury acted as a Pakistani country-western singer in Wild West
waht i need to see this movie
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:06 (eleven years ago) link
Just finished S2 and S3 in relatively quick succession and I'm still enjoying it. Admittedly I don't hold it to very high account, but that means there's been more than enough genuinely good parts for me to forgive or ignore the numerous failings.
Eager to see where it goes post-Brody and glad to see that the consensus here seems to be that S4+5 are worth watching.
― brain (krakow), Saturday, 8 December 2018 18:24 (five years ago) link
Ooft, season 4 really goes for it! I'm about two-thirds of the way and have been blind-sided at least twice already.
― brain (krakow), Thursday, 10 January 2019 00:36 (five years ago) link
Ha... and again! That episode 4.11 twist was maybe a step too far for me - I actually laughed more than anything.
― brain (krakow), Friday, 11 January 2019 19:56 (five years ago) link
need mod to remove ‘tolerable’ from thread title
― flopson, Saturday, 12 January 2019 03:35 (five years ago) link
also the ‘that girl naked’ part probably
― flopson, Saturday, 12 January 2019 03:36 (five years ago) link
it was great when they hired some graffiti artists to add visual authenticity to a Euro set and they wrote loads of derogatory stuff about them like "Homeland is watermelon" in Arabic. Although I'd have used much stronger terms of abuse than that tbh.
― calzino, Saturday, 12 January 2019 09:21 (five years ago) link
I didn't understand Dar Adal's explanations in the season 4 finale at all, but I guess this whole strand continues through season 5.
Didn't they write that Homeland was racist? https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/15/homeland-is-racist-artists-subversive-graffiti-tv-show
― brain (krakow), Saturday, 12 January 2019 11:45 (five years ago) link
"The graffiti on the left says: ‘Freedom … now in 3D’. The one on the right says: ‘Homeland is watermelon’ (which is slang for not to be taken seriously)."
from yr link under the pic.
― calzino, Saturday, 12 January 2019 11:53 (five years ago) link
Ah, sorry, I only skim re-read the link before posting. Calling it racist is at least clear and direct criticism, if lacking in swear words.
I wonder if they though that writing 'Homeland =[a tolerable claire danes, mandy patinkin & that girl from firefly naked]' in Arabic was both two seasons too late and rather denigrating to Morena Baccarin.
― brain (krakow), Saturday, 12 January 2019 12:19 (five years ago) link
I'm sure it's not a original idea, but I would very much watch a Peter Quinn offshoot series or origin film.
― brain (krakow), Monday, 21 January 2019 00:32 (five years ago) link
Finished season 6.
I preferred 4 & 5, but it was still passable and Rupert Friend was absolutely fantastic.
― brain (krakow), Saturday, 23 February 2019 11:02 (five years ago) link
Finished season 7, which I wasn't keen on.
Assuming spoilers are ok at this point...
I really missed Quinn.
In season 8 they could mirror how things began with Brody by having Saul begin to suspect that Carrie has been turned by the Russians during the months she was held there apparently going crazy through lack of medication.
Apparently Yevgeney is going to back in S8, so Russia will still feature somehow.
― brain (krakow), Monday, 18 March 2019 17:33 (five years ago) link
Season 8? Fucking hell.
― chap, Monday, 18 March 2019 17:34 (five years ago) link
*going to be back
― brain (krakow), Monday, 18 March 2019 17:36 (five years ago) link
xpost Ha, had the exact same thought before I saw your post. This thing was sputtering halfway through the first season, what the shit.
― Goody Rickels on the Dime (Old Lunch), Monday, 18 March 2019 17:37 (five years ago) link
Season 7 was no season 4 but I watched it.
Oleg from The Americans showing up probably the highlight. The episode with the hacker possibly the worst Homeland episode ever.
― seandalai, Monday, 18 March 2019 23:12 (five years ago) link
Glad I'm not the only one who persevered. I'm under no illusions as to its worth/quality, but it's been entertaining enough nonsense overall.
Yeah, that diversion with the hacker was particularly rubbish and annoyingly throwaway - I kept expecting for some twist to bring him back in later in the season, because it seemed utterly pointless otherwise.
― brain (krakow), Monday, 18 March 2019 23:45 (five years ago) link
Anyone watching this final series?
― kinder, Sunday, 19 April 2020 21:24 (four years ago) link
Not yet, but I will do at some point soon.
― brain (krakow), Sunday, 19 April 2020 22:20 (four years ago) link
same here
― El Tomboto, Sunday, 19 April 2020 22:29 (four years ago) link
Just finished it tonight. What a superb finale to one of the greatest TV shows ever. I'll miss it.
― the grateful dead can dance (anagram), Sunday, 3 May 2020 22:02 (four years ago) link
3 episodes in.
― Yerac, Sunday, 3 May 2020 22:06 (four years ago) link
Wouldn't dream of posting spoilers here but hold onto your hat, you're in for a ride.
― the grateful dead can dance (anagram), Sunday, 3 May 2020 22:09 (four years ago) link
wow that was good
― kinder, Monday, 4 May 2020 21:22 (three years ago) link
I bet I'm the last person to find out that Zabel is Claire Danes' real life husband!
― kinder, Monday, 4 May 2020 21:54 (three years ago) link
Season 8 is now on UK Netflix. I'm going in...
― brain (krakow), Tuesday, 16 February 2021 23:09 (three years ago) link