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

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

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

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

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

the bunker ep was so crucial WHY DONT U SEE

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.

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.

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.

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).

ehhh i thought claire danes on a mission was p good, at least the pay off.

"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

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

you have a point about the wife but it's not at all uncommon for military personnel

at least damian lewis doesn't have to be "jonesy" again like in dreamcatcher

this show is better than mad men i don't care what any of y'all say

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

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.

yeah patinkin is definitely the best

mandy patinkin holla!

I think she was doing a plug for Mandy Patinkin brand challah.

Never watched an episode but approve of Mandy's facial hair.

this show is better than mad men i don't care what any of y'all say

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 18:32 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the brody searches in estes's safe scene was lame, but i liked the premiere otherwise

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 18:32 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the "tolerable" in this title makes me so mad

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 18:33 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

horseshoe otm x3
the 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.

yes sarita choudhury left him! ;_; poor saul.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXEh93ZzUHU

i just googled this & was disappointed that it wasn't what i had expected, which is the rece movie w/queen latifah & dolly parton as singers in the south who are bridging whatever divides are beat-you-over-the-head-with-it meant to separate them.

oh man i have never liked naveen andrews for some reason, but i am definitely going to have to see this

the 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).

this is true and a good way of putting it -- the show's strengths are often the things misdiagnosed as weaknesses. not to say it's without weaknesses though.

i have never really got much of anything out of the patinkin character tbh, i feel like if it wasn't played by a 'name' actor nobody would ever talk about him or even notice he was there.

i wonder if it's a kind of variation on how impressed we are with method acting (/famous-actor-weight-gain) - like we feel like a guy with a beard must be a great actor because he is clearly apart from the more hollywoodish everyone-else on a show/in a film. i think in this case it's more that he's good!, but like maybe we bring some expectations of gravitas to the outlying characters like this. i feel like toby zeigler's a good reference point?, maybe not.

toby ziegler is a really good comparison.

richard schiff is great! i mean there's a lot of psychological stuff involved in how you invariably look at character actors vs. more photogenic screen actors sure. i just mean more that patinkin's character hasn't really had a lot to do, relative to his stature as an actor (or, probably his capabilities as an actor), so i wonder where enthusiasm for that character is really coming from. maybe i'm forgetting some great moments he had in season 1 though. he DEFINITELY hasn't had remotely as prominent or memorable a role as toby ziegler, that's for usre.

I think the thing is kind of pointedly that he hasn't had any big moments. He's playing an understated character, a grounded counterpoint to Hurricane Claire. Personally, I really appreciate well-acted but super low-key performances. There's a level of generosity on display that a lot of other actors (particularly name actors) probably wouldn't bring to the role.

Actors seem to get attention for showy and histrionic performances much more often than they do for centered and understated performances. Which is a shame, imo.

This show is pretty overrated and has the worst opening credits sequence in the history of television. I'll still watch the second season, it's enjoyable enough.

yeah opening credits are awful awful awful

it's pretty wild how PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FAVORITE show centers on an American turning against his country because of drone strikes killing innocents

Man, this show really excels at getting straight to story beats you'd expect to happen much further down the line.

Yeah that scene was great. Pretty ridic that Brody would be invited into a secret room to watch that shit though. Lol @ the Departed-style text message espionage.

Man, this show really excels at getting straight to story beats you'd expect to happen much further down the line.

actually I assumed you meant the assassination attempt, but the final surprise before the credits would qualify as one too

Yeah, that's what I was referring to.

"yeah opening credits are awful awful awful"

No, lion mask is great!

yeah that's what i was saying itt a couple weeks ago, i love that they move the story forward so quickly when you expect this usual cable drama slow burn -- like i half expected the first season to end with Carrie and Brody coming face to face again in a big confrontation, instead they got there halfway through the season and set up so much more to happen. just kinda refreshing after Rubicon.

Rubicon was awes watch it

i...did? obviously? i liked it, too, i'm just saying i also like how this feels like a counterpoint to it.

or are you saying "watch it" like "you're on thin ice" i guess

that's the one.

the plot is total jingo pulp but both leads are great. lewis I always liked and danes was irritating at first but she's grown on me and the emaciated schizo panic makes for a fantastic action hero. like you never know what she's going to do, and neither does she.

this was a good ep. all the stuff w/the kid is really nicely done.

can i just

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mblaowBszN1qcax6bo1_r1_500.png

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mblaowBszN1qcax6bo1_r1_500.png

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mblaowBszN1qcax6bo1_r1_500.png

that face has been in my head all week, lol at them actually calling the episode "the smile"

also whyyyy can i not find a gif

zomg at the ending of this new one

obv there is no way the memory card does not get lost now, i am just worried something doesnt happen to saul tho

he might not even tell carrie about it!

Season 8 is now on UK Netflix. I'm going in...