By
Dean Robbins
 Our
terrorist in Washington
‘Homeland’ is just too silly to take seriously
Everyone — including President Obama — has
jumped on the bandwagon for “Homeland,” Showtime’s
melodrama about a mentally ill CIA agent named
Carrie (Claire Danes) on the trail of a brainwashed
U.S. congressman (Damian Lewis) who’s secretly
working for Al Qaeda (Sunday, 9 p.m.). I appear
to be the only holdout, and nothing in the second-season
premiere has changed my mind.
Danes plays “crazy” by furrowing her brow and
wildly walling her eyes. Carrie is a woman you
wouldn’t put in charge of a neighborhood watch,
and yet the CIA entrusts her with the safety
of the nation. “We have no other options!” the
CIA chief cries before sending Carrie off on
a delicate mission to the Middle East. That’s
right, the entire U.S. government HAS NO OTHER
OPTIONS than to work with this disturbed lady
in an incongruously fabulous hairdo.
Now if you were a traitorous congressman trying
to pass as a loyal American, wouldn’t you play
it cool whenever someone said the word “terrorist,”
rather than twitching, sweating and looking
guilty as hell? In “Homeland,” oddly enough,
such suspicious behavior doesn’t prevent you
from being considered as a vice-presidential
candidate.
If President Obama finds this series realistic,
I’d have to question his foreign-policy bona
fides. Gov. Romney, I think I see an opening.
‘Last Resort’
Thursday, 7 p.m. (ABC)
The broadcast networks are all jostling for
our attention at the start of the new season.
With “Last Resort,” ABC has one of the showiest
entries involving nothing less than world destruction.
A U.S. submarine is given orders to nuke Pakistan,
but Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher)
smells a rat. When he refuses the order, the
government fires on its own sub which hastily
takes refuge on an exotic island. Though the
plot is apocalyptic, some of the scenes have
an appealingly human scale, conveying a sense
of normal individuals making decisions with
global consequences.
With the world in the balance, I can’t think
of anyone I’d rather have in charge than Braugher.
Captain Chaplin maintains his cool even as he
threatens a rogue presidential administration
with annihilation: “We will not hesitate to
unleash fiery hell down upon you. I give you
my word.”
He — and ABC — have got my attention.
‘The Simpsons’
Sunday, 7 p.m. (Fox)
After 20-plus years of “The Simpsons,” you
tune in to every new season wondering if they’ve
still got it. Wonder no more: The kickoff for
2012-13 is breathtaking in its comic virtuosity.
Densely packed with gags and allusions, it follows
Bart’s journey to New York City in search of
a lost love (voiced by Zooey Deschanel). The
satirical targets — from “Saturday Night Live”
to “Mamma Mia” to Ayn Rand — are demolished
with a light flick of the wrist. In one throwaway
joke, Bart witnesses the filming of Ken Burns’
“The Making of the Empire State Building: Part
I, The Basement.”
Indeed there are more successful jokes in this
one episode of “The Simpsons” than there are
in entire seasons of most TV comedies. I am
in awe.
‘666 Park Avenue’
Sunday, 9 p.m. (ABC)
As a “Twilight Zone” and “Night Gallery” freak,
I’m all in favor of horror series that make
me jump behind the couch. In “666 Park Street,”
an innocent couple (Rachael Taylor, Dave Annable)
move into a 13-story Manhattan apartment building
where residents make deals with the devil. The
devil takes the form of a sinister-looking bald
guy (Terry O’Quinn of “Lost”), who owns the
building with his seductive wife (Vanessa Williams).
So far the horror isn’t working. In 2012 it’s
hard to frighten an audience with “scary” numbers
like 666 and 13. The generic minor-chord score
sounds like it was purchased from the iTunes
monster-movie store. Compared to FX’s standard-setting
“American Horror Story,” this seems like child’s
play.
Still, the actors are effective, and you do
keep wondering what’s around the next dimly-lit
corner. I’m going to give “666 Park Avenue”
another couple episodes, and keep the space
clear behind the couch, just in case. CV |
