I'm writing to tell you about one of my favorite TV shows this year. Ready for a surprise? It's not science fiction. I know, right? You didn't think I watched any TV shows that weren't Fringe, The 4400, Farscape, Game of Thrones, Terra Nova, Falling Skies, or The Walking Dead. Okay... I do watch Dexter.
Anyway, this show is called Homeland, and the closest other show I've got to compare it to is 24. The thing is, Homeland doesn't have a resident badass. Instead, it's got a lot of investigation and intrigue, and damn good characters.
The series follows Carrie Mathison, a CIA operations officer who, after conducting an unauthorized operation in Iraq, is put on probation and reassigned to the CIA's counterterrorism center in Langley, Virginia. While she was conducting the operation in Iraq, Carrie was warned by an asset that an American prisoner of war had been turned by Al-Qaeda. Carrie's job is complicated when her boss, Director of the Counterterrorism Center David Estes, calls Carrie and her colleagues in for an emergency briefing. It is then that Carrie learns that Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine Sergeant who had been reported as missing in action since 2003, has been rescued during a Delta Force raid on a compound belonging to terrorist Abu Nazir. Carrie comes to believe that Brody is the American prisoner of war that her asset in Iraq was talking about. However, the federal government and her superiors at the CIA consider Nicholas Brody a war hero. Realizing it would be next to impossible to convince her boss, David Estes, to place Brody under surveillance, Carrie approaches the only other person she can trust, Saul Berenson. The two must now work together to investigate Brody and prevent another terrorist attack on American soil.
Saul Berenson is played by Mandy Patinkin, and Carrie Mathison is played by Claire Danes. I remember Clare Danes from Terminator 3 and Mandy Patinkin from The Princess Bride, but haven't watched the two of them in action much other than that. I'll tell you - they're amazing. Morena Baccarin is also a major role, which should delight fans of Firefly and the V remake. Plus, it's on Showtime, which means that you get to see her boobs. This did not upset me.
Homeland, like Dexter, has some downright amazing writing. It's also got some fantastic acting. Everyone - even the kids - pull off their roles brilliantly, and you absolutely believe it.
When we watched the twelth and final episode of the first season, my heart was literally racing. I swear - I put my hand on my chest and my heart rate was notably increased. I can't think of any TV show I've ever watched that's done that. I cannot wait for season two, and I may have to purchase the DVD set once it's released.