We recently finished watching the first season of Homeland.
What a great show. I love the way that the two main characters provide different reflections of America in the age of terrorism, security, surveillance, suspicion.
And the suspense was intense!
The acting is superb (although I did start to get a kick out of certain facial tics by Claire Danes).
I also like the family/husband/father aspects of Sargeant Brody's story.
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Homeland supports the proposition that television is better than film nowadays.
Beginning with Six Feet Under (for me personally, at least -- I think most people trace this phenomenon to The Sopranos), good long-form television series provide significantly more depth-of-character than do most movies.
As illustrated by the Claire Danes and Damian Lewis characters, long-form TV lets the writers, directors, and actors develop characters. Compared to (most) movies, shows like Homeland, The Wire and Mad Men are thematically and narratively complex. They show the way that relationships evolve and people change from day-to-day and year-to-year.
I have a hunch that the really creative people in Hollywood today are drawn to television moreso than film (I'm looking at you Jon Brytus!).
I hope that there will continue to be shows like this that are interesting, provocative and fun.
