showtime's Homeland =[a tolerable claire danes, mandy patinkin & that girl from firefly naked]

so far I like the new character on the CIA side

No, I don't think Brody was on to her. I think she wanted an opportunity to do exactly what she did, so she made a lame half-excuse and did it.

kinda makes sense

omg this show

not being totally clear whether Carrie's right or wrong or what reason she's really doing something for is a pretty consistent and usually deliberate theme of the show imo

also remember she went in thinking he was on the hook, but in fact we know that he had already contacted his handler and was told to feel her out. so she probably had a sense that he was more cagey than she expected, at a minimum. and her whole thing was "we don't have enough time, we just need to go all in." so there was a sense maybe that it was better to move on him than to play mind games with no payoff for the next two episodes weeks.

just started season one...wow this show is good

tbh i keep watching this show but srsly sometimes i'm laughing real hard at what's happening on screen

Me and my housemate were in hysterics when he was strangling the tailor while talking to Jess on the phone. Don't know if that was the intended reaction.

I still think it's very overrated. It's decent but doesn't come near the top echelon of current TV drama.

A lot of folks are praising its audacity, but Breaking Bad far outstrips it on that count (as well as in acting, writing and direction...)

this > breaking bad imho, sorry

I don't think it's good in terms of ~realness~ but it's fucking excellent TV. Like, the tailor episode was absolutely dumb and the scene in the forest was hilarious, but at the same time, I was all like... NOOOO BROOOODY WTF ARE YOU DOINGGGGGGG? AND WHY AM I EVEN ROOTING FOR YOU, YOU TERRORIST?!

this > breaking bad imho, sorry

thats a good one do u know any more joeks y/n

i mean i like breaking bad a lot, i just find the plotting in homeland more compelling albeit frenetic, much more than the moody indulgences of breaking bad but that's just my taste

I think Homeland is more qualitatively comparable to, like, Big Love or L O S T. Hopefully it's able to avoid the late-period quagmire those shows sank into.

I think what makes Homeland impressive is that it's smart and inventive within the confines of a genre that's often formulaic, whereas Breaking Bad carved out its own space from the beginning.

Which is to say, it's hard for me to compare them. I find that Homeland, with its fast pace and constant intrigue, is more addictive (I've watched most of the series within the last two weeks), but that doesn't necessarily make it better.

as pointed out upthread, i just think they pick great moments for unexpected plot developments. I mean, I legitimately have no idea how the show is going to proceed from this episode onwards.

Is Brody going to be a triple-agent? Are the Brody family going to be phased out eventually, The Wire-style? I read somewhere that the original plan was to tie up the Brody storyline last season and have every season with Carrie facing a new enemy, but I guess they liked Damien Lewis too much or it was too similar structurally to Dexter or something. I could still see that happening though, with Abu Nazir's defeat being the ultimate goal.

I also sort of liked how they managed to fit in Dana's cute teenage emo romance in this, which somehow didn't seem awkward at all in the middle of all the CIA espionage stuff. Can't imagine that's going to end well though. "My dad tried to kill your dad", etc.

"My dad tried to kill your dad", etc.

lol

damien lewis is the best thing about anything he's been in. would be sad to see him go.

otm have crushed on him since Band of Brothers. Will be impressed if they managed to keep him on somehow.

i feel bad for dana already

is wife going to get naked again?

i dunno dude that's why they call it a 'cliffhanger'

turning any TV thread into "but is it as good as Breaking Bad?" is like bringing up Radiohead on random ILM threads imo, check your sacred cows at the door and focus on the subject at hand

yeah. so it is good as The Wire?

i can't imagine Brody ever getting written out of the show, at this point he's too essential

i don't know if i've repped for Life on ilx before. it was a really fun procedural, with some great, odd bits that were just a collision of noir and pop-zen. Funny and either fake-deep or fake-real-deep or real-fake-deep or something at times. so of course it got cancelled. Lewis was perfect for the title role also. does inscrutable really well.

yeah. so it is good as The Wire?

― Mansplains Drifter (Gukbe), Wednesday, October 24, 2012 9:22 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

The Guardian thinks so

Claire Danes is glowering at me through a subway window with a look in her eyes that makes me want to confess to crimes I never committed. That face – the surly set jaw and stony scowl – is all over New York's subway walls right now. And below it, in big letters, the words "IT HITS HOME" and "9/30". This is the date that Homeland, the drama threatening to trump The Wire as the crowning show of this television "golden age", returns with a second series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwEqA_x5qF8

Really liked Life. Lost it's way when lead actress got pregnant irl and they had to sideline her. Lewis ending Roman was a p sweet ending tho. Lewis was great

This is the date that Homeland, the drama threatening to trump The Wire as the crowning show of this television "golden age", returns with a second series.

No. Really, just...no.

literally no one else thinks that. Not even this show's biggest fans

Was that Guardian piece written by Sam Wollaston? Because he is terrible.

Hermione Hobby

I still think it's very overrated. It's decent but doesn't come near the top echelon of current TV drama.

^^^^ While a lot of the plot points are total eye-rollers, the least convincing thing about the show to me is Brody as ascendant political star. I know you guys dig this guy's acting, I don't get it. It's implausible to me that anyone this devoid of charisma would be fast-tracked like that. The guy walks around like a serial killer. Wld be way more interesting if he demonstrated some political chops or was somehow more likeable/charming.

Yeah, i totally agree with that. He's sort of reptilian (although that's possibly an advantage in politics)

Well, it's not like his political career is going to pan out anyway.

Cos Romney and Ryan absolutely drip with charisma.

Well, this was about the only way they could keep everything moving indefinitely. I worry that it will spiral out with alias-like levels of 'spy' twists tho.

Cos Romney and Ryan absolutely drip with charisma.

Come on you know what I mean. However bad at it, they do what politicians must: smile, slap backs, kiss babies, make dad jokes etc.

kids hitting the person is just ugh.

i don't know if i've repped for Life on ilx before. it was a really fun procedural, with some great, odd bits that were just a collision of noir and pop-zen. Funny and either fake-deep or fake-real-deep or real-fake-deep or something at times. so of course it got cancelled. Lewis was perfect for the title role also. does inscrutable really well.

― s.clover

this is accurate, omits to mention excessive car-driving soundtrack scenes tho.

and sarah shahi, sigh.

serious lolz at the knife in hand bit. like how was that a good idea at all ? and his "every good cop needs a bad cop" reply to saul was just as hilarious & stupid.

heh, i can't say it wasn't over the top but it was a pretty effective plot point in the interrogation

Yeah I didn't mind that, it was dumb but fun. Weird point for the show though I guess - original plot now all fully wrapped up and finished with, and the direction they're going next can't help but be completely different to everything that's gone before. Hopeful it'll still hold up but it could easily sharkjump too.

The tricky part will be that the obvious drama relates to whether the CIA can trust Brody. And yet, so far, we've always been shown Brody's perspective - so we'll always know whether they can or not...

I hope they dispatch with Brody, CIA Super Hero pretty soon and just take up a new villain/storyline.

oh and can i just say that i knew shit was gonna go south for dana as soon as she said "let's have some fun" jesus that was kinda brutal

lol yeah Quinn could have made his point without punching a hole through Brody's hand. Just... punching him would probably have been enough.

didn't really mind though, because the following interrogation scenes between Carrie and Brody were amazing and probably just bagged them both a couple more Emmys.

I'm done with the show as of last week. Loved it! Awesome! But it's a slow show and I feel like I've been shown all that I'm interested in seeing.

That's probably the right answer and this time next year I expect I'll be kicking myself for not doing the same.