Homeland

Television shows are a dime a dozen nowadays. There are so many options on what to watch. Gone are the days where everyone sat down at the same time to watch Johnny Carson. Now we are torn between the Bachelor, The Voice, Two Broke Girls, Doomsday Preppers and good ol' Honey Boo Boo Child to name a few. The list is endless. To stand out in a sea of poor attempts is very hard. The decent shows are being drowned out by the mindless programs that fill our precious spare time. Between driving to work, taking care of family and making the house look decent, there is very little time left to do something as simple as watch television. When you actually get that moment, wouldn't you rather use the time watching something with substance? I was feeling the same thing.                                      

Fortunately, I caught the flu. Yes, I do say fortunately. It gave me a whole week off of work. During that week off, my fiance and I decided to check out the show Homeland on Showtime. Homeland is about a U.S. Marine who was held for eight years. After a Delta Force raid on a terrorist compound, the marine was rescued. Around the same time, a CIA agent was given a tip by her asset in Iraq that an American prisoner of war had been turned by al-Qaeda. Was this Marine the one who was turned? When he returns to his life in the U.S. he is considered a hero. Or is he? We had been wanting to watch it, but time kept passing and other shows took precedence. Homeland is amazing. We were instantly hooked. The story, the cast, the dialogue is captivating. We managed to watch 24 episodes in about 5 days.

Claire Danes, who plays the CIA agent Carrie Mathison does a remarkable job. The juxtaposition between her debilitating bi-polar personality disorder and her spot on almost super power field agent skills is mesmerizing. Damien Lewis who plays U.S. Marine, Nicholas Brody keeps you guessing the whole time. While you think he's a terrorist, you grow to feel sad for him and actually root for the possible bad guy. Is Brody a terrorist? Or is he a loyal U.S. Marine, playing the al-Qaeda into thinking he has been turned? Then there is Saul Berenson played by the talented Mandy Patinkin. Saul is Carrie's long time mentor. He is also the no-nonsense Middle East Division Chief agent for the CIA. He is Carrie's biggest advocate, yet he still doesn't completely trust her wild instincts. Saul is the secret weapon in this show. He may speak softly, but I have a feeling that when push comes to shove, he carries a big stick!

Homeland is the show that could bring us all back to the classic TV era. It has depth, and character and keeps you ensnared the whole time. Now that we have finished the first two seasons, we find ourselves wandering aimlessly through bad TV shows while waiting for the return of Homeland. With so little time to spare in our busy lives, make your television watching count. Season 3 of Homeland returns September 29th.