Hurrah for Golden Globes winner Homeland … and Luther!
Homeland has been the compelling viewing at our place, so it’s grand to see Claire Danes pick up a Golden Globe for best actress and the show score one for best drama.
Based on an Israeli series — imagine the extra emotional baggage this storyline would have over there — it tells the story of a CIA analyst (Danes) tipped off about a US POW turned by Al-Qaeda. There follows a game of superb cat and mouse as the returned POW is feted as a hero while Carrie, fighting some nasty demons of her own, tries to unravel the alleged plot. Such murky waters, flowing superbly, with plenty of eddies and rapids as the camera reveals several sides of the unfolding story — inside the CIA, the soldier’s eight years of imprisonment, his family’s reaction to suddenly having him return after having been declared dead.
Homeland is not a Stars n Stripes show, but rather shares a more British sensibility in its approach to national moral issues and the way to conclude a spy drama. Gripping stuff, superbly acted across the board, and a big tick mark for its representation of the soldier’s wife — played by Firefly and V remake star Morena Baccarin, Jessica is far from window dressing.
A second season has been approved.
Stars of two other shows that have occupied our spare time were also acknowledged at the Globes (commentated entertainingly at ABC online): Jessica Lange for American Horror Story, which I’ve praised before, and Idris Elba for Luther. Luther is a superb British crime show with Elba playing the eponymous cop right on the edge — he’s starred in superb vampire UK series Ultraviolet and brilliant US crime series The Wire, amongst many other things; a chameleon of accents and wielder of a striking screen presence.
New series of both are in the works.
January 17, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Homeland starts on channel 10 in a couple of weeks, doesn’t it? Want to see it even more now.
January 17, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Definitely worth putting up with inane commercials for!
January 17, 2012 at 1:31 pm
I can’t afford one of those special TVs with no commercials.
Don’t watch enough TV to make it worth while even if I could
January 17, 2012 at 1:33 pm
We’ve become pretty selective, too; just don’t have time for mediocre tv these days…
January 17, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Great post Jason and thx for alerting me to these great shows! Jeez – the downside of not having pay tv – I miss out on so much. Thanx Scott for advising me that it’s coming to Channel 10 better than nothing. I work nights so will tape it and skip the ads! Huzzah
January 17, 2012 at 1:46 pm
I _think_ it’s the 22nd of January. And I _think_ it’s channel 10. Check your local guides for details
January 17, 2012 at 2:02 pm
Yes, Scott checked it out – on Ch 10 22 Jan @8.30pm. You can watch the first episode here before it views on tv http://ten.com.au/video-player.htm?movideo_m=147250&movideo_p=46024
I would watch more tele if I had pay tv I think – coz of all the cool doco and movie channels
but I had to make a choice: internet or pay tv…
January 18, 2012 at 3:30 am
[...] while we’re talking about movies check out Jason Nahrung’s latest blog post where he reviews a couple of great television shows that picked up some Golden Globes at the 69th [...]