Advance Review: Showtime's Homeland, S1, E1 - "Pilot"

Air Date: October 2, 2011, 10:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★★

Who’s the hero – who’s the threat? When MIA Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody returns home to a hero’s welcome after eight years in enemy confinement, brilliant but volatile CIA agent Carrie Mathison isn’t buying his story. She believes that Brody has been turned and is now working for Al Qaeda. What follows is a dangerous game of cat and mouse with nothing short of American national security at stake. ~ Showtime

I was lucky enough to receive an invite to watch the series premiere of Homeland at the movie theater rather than viewing it online. Showtime decided to release the episode to the public-at-large, which, by the way, is quite a good marketing ploy. I say I was “lucky enough” because watching the Pilot on the big screen gave it a whole different feel than watching on my computer. Homeland is so well written, directed and acted I felt like I was watching a full-length movie rather than the premiere of an exciting new highly addictive television series. As a matter of fact, when the show was over, I was pissed there wasn’t more! I wanted all my questions answered.

Advance Review: Showtime's Homeland, S1, E1 - "Pilot" 1

The Brody family poses for a picture outside their home.

By now, we all know the premise of Homeland. CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), who has some sort of mental disorder as evidenced by the pills she takes, receives a secret piece of information from a source in Iran shortly before he is killed. That intel leads her to believe returning war hero Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) isn’t what he appears—rather, she thinks he’s in cahoots with Abu Nazir (Navid Negahban), leader of an Al Qaeda sleeper cell. Then again, nothing in Homeland is as it seems. Mathison’s obsession with proving her point is what has made me become obsessed with this new series.

After eight years in captivity, Brody returns to a seemingly loving family, including wife Jessica (Morena Baccarin), daughter Dana (Morgan Saylor), and son Chris (Jackson Pace). However, with Jessica believing Brody to be dead, she and Brody’s friend—and fellow Marine—Mike Faber (Diego Klattenhoff), hooked up. Now, Jessica seems committed to making her marriage work, forcing Mike to return to friendship status. How the writers work this out should be very interesting since Jessica and Mike were planning to tell the kids about their relationship and move in together. I must admit, after all I’ve heard about how difficult it is for POWs to assimilate back into everyday life, I find it strange that Brody and Jessica hop into bed on the first night.

Damian Lewis is fabulous as Sgt. Brody. Brody is obviously hiding something, actually many things, and Lewis plays this cool strong character to perfection — from the shifty eyes, which are normally a mesmerizing blue and oh so easy to fall right into, to the facial expressions and body movements he employs. I first fell in love with Lewis during his stint as Charlie Crewes on Life, a TV series that ran from 2007-2009. In Life, Crewes, a police officer, returns from a 12-year prison stint after being wrongly convicted of a murder. It is interesting that in both roles, he returns from captivity to find things are not what they were when he went away.

Advance Review: Showtime's Homeland, S1, E1 - "Pilot" 2

Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) isn't happy about the tactics Carrie (Claire Danes) uses

The addition of Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson, Mathison’s mentor and former Middle East Division Chief, makes me nervous. That’s not to say I don’t think he’s terrific in this role—he’s terrific in everything he does. But he has a reputation for leaving shows in their prime—think Chicago Hope and Criminal Minds—and I’d hate to see that happen here. He’s the only one who believes in Mathison, although by the end of the Pilot, we’re left not knowing exactly what kind of relationship they have. While it appears her friendship with Berenson is platonic, there’s one scene where she comes on to him. There’s definitely more than meets the eye with this woman.

Speaking of relationships, it appears Mathison has had, and may still be having, various sexual relationships with the men in her life. I’ll even go as far as saying she’s promiscuous. Enter David Estes (David Harewood), Mathison’s boss. It’s no secret he doesn’t like her. His dislike and attempts to thwart her efforts at every turn can’t possibly be because she didn’t predict 9/11—which she holds herself personally responsible for—so I’m looking forward to learning the story behind them, especially since he is now divorced. I’m also anxious to know what happened in her life to make her so promiscuous. At first glance, she doesn’t seem the type.

Advance Review: Showtime's Homeland, S1, E1 - "Pilot" 3

Carrie (Claire Danes) spying on Brody (Damian Lewis, unseen) from a van

There is only one thing that bothers me about Homeland—the ages of both Claire Danes and Morena Baccarin. Danes, at 32, isn’t old enough to have been so intimately involved with 9/11, and Baccarin, also 32, isn’t old enough to have two teen-aged children. But it’s a minor point and one easy to overlook given how well the actresses perform in their roles.

Many people are comparing Homeland to Showtime’s other short-lived political thriller, Sleeper Cell, and with good reason. The premise of both shows is to prevent another terrorist attack on our country. But that’s not the only reason. Homeland has the same great execution, sharp writing, and brilliant acting as the former show. So let’s hope Homeland doesn’t meet the same fate as Sleeper Cell and end after only two seasons.

Having only seen the series premiere, I don’t normally go all in and say I guarantee this show is going to be a big hit. But I’m doing just that with Homeland. I promise you’ll be hooked from the get go and will anxiously await each new episode – just like I’m doing now.

Tune in to the series premiere of Homeland on Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 10:00 pm ET/PT only on Showtime.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!