Homeland 

If you want to watch some inane shoot em up show about terrorism where America can do no wrong and always kills the enemy, there are plenty of those available. However if you want a more in depth look at the causalities of terrorist attacks and the people that devote their lives to preventing them, then Homeland is a show for you.

One thing that has bothered me for years in shows like 24 is the stereotypical views that they promote about the non-traditional Americans such as Muslims. Every single Islamic member that is shown in shows like 24 ends up having some ties to terrorism and is inherently evil. It doesn't stop there though, any deviation of what is thought to be the ideal American lifestyle leads to trouble in such single minded simplistic shows, but I digress.

This is a review about Homeland which is a surprisingly good entertainment. It starts with Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes in an astonishing performance) learning that an American POW has been turned and is now working for a terrorist organization. Later when an American POW, Gunnery Sergeant Nicolas Brody (Damian Lewis), is rescued she starts to think that he may have been the one she was warned about.

WIthout any proof or any real probable cause, she opens an investigation and begins tracking his movements to see if anything raises suspicions. Another bothersome thing about many other shows is the way the lead characters of those shows someone has the audacity and ability to flout both federal and state laws without any repercussions. Homeland does not let any of it's characters get off so easy. If any character is in the wrong in any way they are appropriately chastised for it. In addition to Claire Danes and Damian Lewis awards worthy performances, Mandy Patinkin's performance as upper level CIA officer and Carrie Mathison's mentor is phenomenal.

Not wanting to give away to much of this amazing plot I will end this review here. However I will say that even though the first few episodes of season one are a little slow, it is to be expected since automatically leading into the action is a good way to turn an astute brilliantly crafted show into another asinine action filled debacle.