HOMELAND: The Complete First Season - Blu-ray Review

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Homeland: The Complete First Season is out now on Blu-ray and DVD with perfect time to catch up with the show before season two airs on Showtime. This show is a prime reason to consider adding Showtime to your lineup of cable channels, for it has a extraordinary cast and a timely story line. The drama stars Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Damian Lewis, Morena Baccarin, Jamey Sheridan, and James Rebhorn

The story follows Carrie Mathison (Danes), a brilliant CIA Analyst with a history of being a loose cannon. She thinks that a recently rescued U.S. POW Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody may actually be a member of Al Quaeda. Instead of a hero he may be a sleeper agent plotting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Mathison acts on a hunch, putting her reputation and sanity at risk to uncover the truth. The plot has so many layers and various clues, making the show great edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

There is some awesome symbolism with the opening sequence for the show, and I also love the music. It reminds me of the score used for David Fincher's The Game. Each episode jumps into action at a fast pace, and has a cool way of giving away small clues at the end of each episode. This gives the show a great sense of progression, and I actually feel as though the show is going somewhere. The characters are complex and multi-dimensional, and I can not get enough. This is one of the first shows that truly captures the political landscape of the Post-9-11 era. Homeland is one of the best psychological dramas that I have seen, and it could only be done justice on Showtime. Currently I do not subscribe to Showtime, but this is one show that would make me consider subscribing for.

The cast is superb, and I love seeing Danes in a serious meaty role. Her character is wounded and far from perfect, which makes her easy to relate to in many ways. Not only do you relate to her as an audience member, you see how the other characters can relate to her. Brody is played superbly by Lewis (Band of Brothers). Everytime that I see Patinkin on screen I feel the urge to scream "My Name is Inigo Montoya, You Killed my Father, Prepare to Die". All joking aside, Patinkin is perfect as the veteran CIA Agent. Morena Baccarin is beautiful and multi-layered as Brody's wife. I am glad to see she has a new series after V went down the tubes.

If you are like me, you don't always get to watch every episode of a series. The cool thing about this disc is that there is an option to play the discs in Season Fromat, which allows you to watch episodes back to back without going back to the menu. The disc also has some solid special features:. 
  • Commentary on Pilot: The commentary track may only be for the pilot episode, but it is a solid commentary by Clair Danes and Damian Lewis, and showrunners Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa. It is a great way to take a closer look into the show after you have finished the entire first season.
  • Deleted Scenes (1080p): Each disc includes a short selection of excised scenes.
  • Week Ten - Prologue to Season Two (1080p, 3:53): This gives fans a short preview of what is to come in season two.
  • Homeland Season One: Under Surveillance (1080p, 33:46): This is one the best making-of documentaries I have seen for a TV show. It is short in length, but there is no filler. It covers everything from the origins of the show to the character development. 

Homeland is one of those shows that I missed out watching from the beginning, and when I heard how great it was it was too late. There is a reason for the multiple Emmy nominations, it is a damn fine show. The characters are powerful and the plots read like they have been pulled right from a CIA playbook. The first season is on shelves now and for me it is a must own for fans of psychological dramas. 


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