Homeland - Season 1 [DVD]

Quite good. Very cerebal - you need to concentrate and stick with it.

One of the best intelligent and subtle programmes I have seen recently. Made me watch it far more quickly than I planned to as I was so keen to see the next episode.This deals with the complexities of human experience, especially in the modern era of 'terrorism' - it debates what is terrorism; religion; what is justified; it admits US mistakes of accidental mass murder; it looks at the cult of political power and what people will do to gain it - what is one person's pain, is another person's triumph. What it means to be a traitor or a hero.As well as complex ideological issues which some viewers may not get, or want to get as it sometimes challenges our US/euro-centric view of the world - reading some of the low-star reviews, there are complex and subtle characters. Both Brodie (Damien Lewis - whose performances are always phenomenally complex and three dimensional) and Carrie's characters were superb - both very complicated and dealing with intelligent brokenness in different ways. It is this superb acting that keep the movie in such suspense - not being able to tell what might happen next, as real people work in very complex and sometimes contradictory ways. No one can say that the characters are simplistic - and all the characters did bring empathy and interest - including the personal sadness of Saul and his costly support of Carrie.The balance between current and past timelines was excellent - and produced just at the right time to keep the suspense going. It was great to genuinely have no idea which way the plot was going to turn - certainly until we are given more information through-out the series. A worthy follower of 24, without quite so much gore.Now for series two...

...if you can't, don't bother. The plot is basically outrageous in every way, as one would expect from the people who gave you that latter-day Superman Jack Bauer. This is a bit more sensible in some ways, a whole lot crazier in others. So, if you can shut out your disbelief and refrain from shaking your head in bewilderment every 30 seconds or so, and simply go along for the ride, you'll enjoy it. All I can say is that, if US intelligence is really like this, we're in more trouble than we can possibly imagine.The actors are generally good, the two stars, Damian Lewis and Claire Danes, particularly so. Ms. Danes appears to be 'way over the top at times, but then I confess I don't know how manic are people with her condition (it also speaks volumes about the CIA's vetting procedures that she's there at all!). Mandy Patinkin as Ms. Danes's mentor is also excellent. On the other hand, Morena Baccarin, who plays Lewis's much put-upon wife, is a gorgeous china doll of a creature, there, it seems, purely for eye candy.On the subject of eye candy, do we really need so much explicit sex? I'm no prude, and if a sex scene adds something to the story, fine. However, many of these seem to be there purely because they can now do such things, and I find it gets to be a bit of a bore after a while. The sole purpose appears to be to show off Ms. Baccarin's undoubted assets.So, if you've had a hard day at the office and want to simply switch off all your critical faculties and wallow in something entertaining but unlikely occasionally verging on ridiculous, this is for you.Will I watch Season 2? Yes, as soon as it's offered at a bargain price. I am sufficiently intrigued with the basic premise to see where they go next. But I also get the feeling that the ideas are going to run out and the whole thing become steadily more absurd.

If you look at the other reviews, you'll see most people love the show and a few really dislike it. How to tell if you're likely to be in the majority or minority? Three things I think.First, as US dramas go, it's fairly slow paced. Compared to, say, 24 the plots moves along at a snail's pace. I think that works really well, as it makes the moments of drama and action that much more shocking and enjoyable to watch. (With 24, much though I loved it, after a while you get punch drunk: 'oh, what's the amazing twist that is going to be coming up any moment now as we're nearly at an advert break...?').Second, most series like this run into the issue that nearly all the times the good guys close in on the bad guys you just know something is going to go wrong as you're not yet in the final episode, so you have a lot of false climaxes. I find that irritating, and really liked the way Homeland mostly avoided that. On the other hand, if you find those false climaxes tense and fun, you'll probably miss them in this show.Third, Damian Lewis comes over as rather wooden. Bad acting that you dislike? Or good acting that shows someone struggling to get to grips with their emotions? To enjoy the show, you need to pick the latter.Hope that helps you make your choice!