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
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.
― unprotectable tweetz (schlump), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:12 (eleven years ago) link
oh man i have never liked naveen andrews for some reason, but i am definitely going to have to see this
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:16 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― jaz a make wardance (some dude), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:25 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― unprotectable tweetz (schlump), Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:30 (eleven years ago) link
toby ziegler is a really good comparison.
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:30 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― jaz a make wardance (some dude), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 03:23 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― Old Lunch, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 09:15 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― Old Lunch, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 09:20 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― I wish to incorporate disco into my small business (chap), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 15:23 (eleven years ago) link
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
― jaz a make wardance (some dude), Thursday, 4 October 2012 16:33 (eleven years ago) link
Man, this show really excels at getting straight to story beats you'd expect to happen much further down the line.
― Simon H., Monday, 8 October 2012 04:53 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― dmr, Monday, 8 October 2012 15:55 (eleven years ago) link
actually I assumed you meant the assassination attempt, but the final surprise before the credits would qualify as one too
― dmr, Monday, 8 October 2012 15:56 (eleven 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 (four 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 (four 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