Countdown Season 1 Finale: An Exciting Season-and-a-Half

You know, I don't I've ever seen a series like Countdown before, the first season of which just finished on Amazon Prime Video.

[Some general spoilers ahead ... ]

I'm not talking about the story line, which, as I said in a review of a prior episode, was exciting, with some original elements, and reminiscent of 24.  I'm talking about the structure.  The first 2/3rds or so of the 13 episodes told one story, which was resolved (at least, as far as the good guys getting the bad guys).  The final third tells a very different story, with no connection to the first, other than more or less the same Federal task force is trying to save the day (actually, a Senator and President from being assassinated).

There's also a romantic relationship that was put on hold, even though the two agents -- a man and woman -- are still very attracted to each other.  But other than that continuing romantic story, there's no connection at all -- at least none that I could discern -- between the first story, which is resolved, and the second, which ends with a cliff-hanger.

In other words, we're treated in Countdown to a new narrative structure, which come to think of it, was also the case with 24.   And I have to say I very much enjoyed it.  Being presented one complete story (as far as getting the villains) and one half of another, well, it's radically unconventional, but it worked for me.  Who says storylines have to be cut neatly into individual television seasons?  Why can't a single season present one-and-a-half story lines?

I'm certainly going to watch Season 2 if there is one -- and I hope there is.  I'm eager to find out what happens in the second story.  And find out what part of a new story, or complete story, comes after.

See also Countdown: A Touch of 24 and More

Dexter: Resurrection 1.9: And Then There Were Two

I said and discussed in my review of Dexter: Resurrection 1.8 last week that Dexter was facing three potent enemies (individual and groups) in New York, and Batista was the weakest.  In tonight's Emmy-worthy episode, we see all three of them at work, and one of them eliminated.

[Spoilers ahead .... ]

And that indeed was Batista, who is not killed by Dexter, after Det. Wallace of the NYPD gives Batista his marching orders -- get out of our New York, or I'll arrest you tomorrow for impersonating a police officer -- but by Prater.  In a brilliantly effective scene (one of many in this episode, and in this series), Dexter cuts not Batista's throat (or plunge the knife into him as Prater is requesting) but Batista's bonds that are holding him on the killing table.   And Batista, still understandably fired with fury at Dexter for the killings of LaGuerta and Doakes, jumps Dexter, but is shot (presumably to death) by Prater before Batista can choke Dexter to death.

I thought this was one of the most memorable scenes in the entire constellation of Dexter series.   Dexter tells Batista that he (Dexter) wasn't the one who killed LaGuerta and Doakes.  Batista says that doesn't matter, Dexter was still responsible for their deaths, as he will soon be for Batista's, lying there bleeding from numerous bullets.   I say he's "presumably" dead, however, because I've long had a principle in TV viewing and reviewing: if you don't see a character literally blown to bits, or at least their head blown off, they could still be alive (see what happened from time to time in 24).  After all, Dexter: Resurrection is based on that very principle, seeing as how it sure seemed that Harrison had shot Dexter to death at end of Dexter: New Blood.

There were many other prime scenes in this superb episode.  It was great seeing Dexter get the drop on Charley, and great seeing Harrison talk his way through Charley attempting to find out more about Dexter. 

Just one more episode of this debut season of Dexter: Resurrection left , and I'm looking forward to seeing which of his enemies is left standing.

See also: Dexter: Resurrection 1.1-1.2: The Imposter ... 1.3: Killers and Prey ... 1.4: The Nefarious Club ... 1.5: Father and Son and the Watch ... 1.6: What's Half of Gemini? ... 1.7: Batista and Dexter in the Car ... 1.8: The Enemies: An Evaluation

And see also Dexter: Original Sin 1.1: Activation of the Code ... 1.2-1.3: "The Finger Is Missing" ... 1.4: The Role of Luck in Dexter's Profession and Life ... 1.5: Revelations and Relations ... 1.6: On the Strong, Non-Serial-Killer Parts of the Show ... 1.7: First Big Shocker ... 1.8: Dexter's Discovery ... 1.9: Brian's Story ... Season 1 Finale: Satisfying

And see also Dexter: New Blood 1.1: Back with a Vengeance ... Dexter: New Blood 1.2: Dark Tendencies ... Dexter: New Blood 1.3: Fathers and Sons ... Dexter: New Blood 1.4: Harrison and Kurt ... Dexter New Blood: 1.5: No Satisfaction for Serial Killers ... Dexter: New Blood 1.6: Breaks and Arm Breaks ... Dexter: New Blood: 1.7: Dexter vs. Kurt ...Dexter: New Blood 1.8: The Hug in the Car ... Dexter: New Blood 1.9 One Down, One To Go ... Dexter: New Blood Finale: Superb, and I Didn't Like It All

And see also Dexter Season 8 Premiere: Mercury in Retrograde, Dexter Incandescent ... Dexter 8.2: The Gift ... Dexter 8.3: The Question and the Confession ... Dexter 8.4: The "Lab Rat" and Harry's Daughter ... Dexter 8.5: Just Like Family ... Dexter 8.6: The Protege ... Dexter 8.7: Two Different Codes? ... Dexter 8.8: "A Great Future" ... Dexter 8.9: The Psycho Son ... Dexter 8.10: Watch Out, Buenos Aires ... Dexter 8.11: "Not the Old Dexter" ... Dexter Series Finale: Solitude, Style, and a Modicum of Hope

And see also Dexter Season 7.1-3: Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 7.4: The Lesson in Speltzer's Smoke ... Dexter 7.5: Terminator Isaac ... Dexter 7.6: "Breaking and Entering" ... Dexter 7.7: Shakespearean Serial Killer Story ... Dexter 7.8: Love and Its Demands ... Dexter 7.9: Two Memorable Scenes and the Ascension of Isaac ... Dexter 7.11: The "Accident" ... Dexter Season 7 Finale: The Surviving Triangle

And see also Dexter Season 6 Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 6.4: Two Numbers and Two Killers Equals? ... Dexter 6.5 and 6.6: Decisive Sam ... Dexter 6.7: The State of Nebraska ... Dexter 6.8: Is Gellar Really Real? .... Dexter 6.9: And Geller Is ... ... Dexter's Take on Videogames in 6.10 ...Dexter and Debra:  Dexter 6.11 ... Dexter Season 6 Finale: Through the Eyes of a Different Love

And see also Dexter Season Five Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 5.4: Dexter's Conscience ...Dexter 5.8 and Lumen ... Dexter 5.9: He's Getting Healthier ... Dexter 5.10: Monsters -Worse and Better ... Dexter 5.11: Sneak Preview with Spoilers  ... Dexter Season 5 Finale: Behind the Curtain

And see also Dexter Season 4: Sneak Preview Review ... The Family Man on Dexter 4.5 ...Dexter on the Couch in 4.6 ... Dexter 4.7: 'He Can't Kill Bambi' ... Dexter 4.8: Great Mistakes ...4.9: Trinity's Surprising Daughter ... 4.10: More than Trinity ... 4.11: The "Soulless, Anti-Family Schmuck" ... 4.12: Revenges and Recapitulations

And see also reviews of Season 3: Season's Happy Endings? ... Double Surprise ... Psychotic Law vs. Sociopath Science ... The Bright, Elusive Butterfly of Dexter ... The True Nature of Miguel ...Si Se Puede on Dexter ... and Dexter 3: Sneak Preview Review

Reviews of Season 2: Dexter's Back: A Preview and Dexter Meets Heroes and 6. Dexter and De-Lila-h and 7. Best Line About Dexter - from Lila and 8. How Will Dexter Get Out of This? and The Plot Gets Tighter and Sharper and Dex, Doakes, and Harry and Deb's Belief Saves Dex and All's ... Well

See also about Season 1: First Place to Dexter 

Foundation 3.5: Cleaving Closer to Asimov's Trilogy

Gaal's words to Dawn near the end of Foundation 3.5 say it all:

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Hari Seldon's Plan did not account for such a strong Empire at this stage of Galactic evolution.  Meta-note: Of course it didn't.  There was no Cleonic triumvirate DNA-enabled clonal rule of the Empire in Asmov's trilogy or its sequels.  So, in effect, Gaal is speaking for Asimov here.

And we can see at this point of the third season of this television adaptation of Asimov's masterwork now playing out on Apple TV+,  that the forces of television, Asimov, and narrative logic are giving the clonal triumvirate quite a beating at this point: Dawn has been cast out in a space suit into outer space, unkempt Day who has already all but abdicated has fled the Trantor scene, and back home on Tranter, Dusk is just about set to move into death to keep the Empiric rotation going.

Now, of course, not only is none of this written in Seldon's Plan, none of it is written in stone.  As I often say in my reviews, unless you see a character's head blown off or body blasted to smithereens, there's a chance he or she is still alive (see 24 for many examples).  Someone or some force could rescue Dawn from deep space; Day could get homesick and come home; Demerzel could decide to give the current Dusk more time for existence.   But the movement towards a weakened Empire, as called for in Seldon's Plan, is undeniable.

Meanwhile ...  in episode 3.5 we learn that Magnifico's music may be a weapon used in the Mule's capturing and control of people's emotions.   My friend Joel McKinnon thinks Magnifico may actually be The Mule, and Magnifico is controlling the cardboard villain who has announced himself as The Mule.  This is an interesting theory, but it would have to account for what we saw when the villainess Mule -- that is, The Mule with hair -- actually did his palpably fatal damage on Kalgan.

One thing is sure:  there'll be some powerful, game-changing events ahead in this third season of Foundation.

See also Foundation 3.1: Now We're Talkin'! ... 3.2: "The Fault, Dear Brutus, Is Not in Our Stars" ... 3.3: Dawn and The Mule ... 3.4: Cleon Knows His PKD

And see also Foundation 2.1: Once Again, A Tale of Two Stories ... 2.2: Major Players ... 2.3: Bel Riose and Hari ... 2.5: The Original Cleon and the Robot ... 2.6: Hari and Evita ... 2.7: Is Demerzel Telling the Truth? ... 2.8: Major Revelations ... 2.9: Exceptional Alterations ... Season 2 Finale: Pros and Cons

And see also Foundation 1.1-2: Mathematician, Man of the People, and Cleon's Clones ... Foundation 1.3: Clonal Science Fiction, Hari Seldon as V. I. Lenin ... Foundation 1.4: Slow Hand, Long Half-Life, Flipped Coin ... Foundation 1.5: What We Learned in that Final Scene ... Foundation 1.6: Folded Variations ... Foundation 1.7: Alternate History/Future ... Foundation 1.8: Divergences and Convergences ... Foundation 1.9: Vindication and Questions ... Foundation Season 1 Finale: Right Up There

 

Countdown: A Touch of 24 and More

My wife and I saw the first three episodes of Countdown on Amazon Prime last night -- the debut of the 13-episode series, which will proceed one-by-one until it concludes in September -- and we liked it a lot.

It reminded me in some ways of 24 -- a very good thing, because we were devoted fans, and I put the best of 24 in the Top 10 of all-time best television series.  I mean, there's no Jack Bauer, and no ticking clock, and each hour-long episode is not an hour of the same day unfolding in the story, but it is called Countdown, it does say "every second counts" in the above poster, and the good guys are struggling to prevent a terrorist attack in Los Angeles that would take as many lives as September 11th did in New York City.

[And there are some slight spoilers ahead...]

And what Countdown also has in common with 24 is some of the good guys, a task-force taken from several Federal agencies, get killed in the ongoing narrative.

And Countdown has something which I don't recall seeing in 24:  Mark Meacham (well-played by Jensen Ackles) has a glioblastoma tumor in his brain which will drastically shorten his life.  His doctor advises him to head off to some tropical isle to enjoy what's left of his life, but Meachum would rather spend his remaining time bringing down these bad guys.  This makes him a unique agent, who can be fearless to the max in fighting human monsters because he has literally almost nothing to lose.  (Incurable optimist that I am, I'm nonetheless hoping that he gets some new immunotherapy, and lives on beyond the end of this season -- or, if renewed, which I hope does happen, beyond the end of the series.)

I also have to say that it does my heart and soul good to see Federal agents doing what we need and want them to do -- fighting terrorists and true enemies in this country and keeping us safe -- rather than pulling good and decent people off the street because they weren't born in this country, or attacking a US Senator because he dared to pose a question to the Secretary of Homeland Security while she was talking in Los Angeles.  In other words, I'm glad to see a narrative like Countdown because I'm sad, to say the least, about what's really happening in our country.

See also Countdown Season One Finale

Zero Day: Thrilling Enough, But Not That Much Like Today

I binged the six-episode Zero Day that went up on Netflix.  Herewith my thoughts, with no major spoilers to warn you about [except in the very last paragraph].

First and foremost, the acting was outstanding.  I mean, with Robert De Niro, Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons, and Connie Britton in major roles -- not to mention Matthew Modine and Angela Bassett with slightly less screen -- how can you go wrong.   From the point of view of the acting, every scene was a real pleasure to watch.

As to the story ... well, I've heard this limited series touted, in more than one place, as strikingly similar to what we've been seeing and hearing on our cable news stations, laptops, and social media these days.  Of course, any plot about a terrorist attack that kills lots of people, and the government veering towards fascist tactics to find the culprits, and stop this from happening again, resembles our times.  But actually, it resembles what George W. Bush and the Congress did with the Patriot Act after September 11 (mentioned in Zero Day) far more than it resembles today.  And that's because our current swerve towards fascism has nothing to do with a terrorist attack.  It stems from the voters of the United States electing to office a President whose every other pronouncement is out of Joseph  Goebbels's handbook.   So yes, although high-tech digital prowess and at least one billionaire are part of the action in Zero Day, the heart of the story is something else.

And that heart, which we've also seen in other movies and TV series on various screens, is a pretty good narrative, with affairs, difficult family relationships, politics reminiscent of what Jack Bauer had to deal with in 24 and prevalent in House of Cards, all done up nicely with a few real newscasters, a house on the Hudson, and of course the nation's capital.   So, if you're looking for a thriller brought to you by flat-out great acting and a decent-enough storyline, I'd recommend Zero Day.  But don't expect anything searingly relevant to what's actually going on today.  De Niro's character is named Mullen, and he gives a report to Congress in the last scene.  A nod to Mueller and the report he gave to Congress in Trump's first administration, right?  But that was long long time ago, in terms of the speed with we've slid and are still sliding into fascism right now.

The Night Agent: Right Good

The wife and I binged The Night Agent on the Netflix the past few nights, and enjoyed it.  Both the story, and the fact it was streaming rather than spun out episode by episode over ten weeks, or shown in two parts.

Shawn Ryan put it all together. He did The Shield, probably the best cop show ever on television, and Timeless, not the best time travel ever on television, but pretty good.  I'd say The Night Agent is better than Timeless and not as good as The Shield, but that means The Night Agent is well worth watching indeed.

It's the most reminiscent of 24, even though it takes longer to unfold than a day, and there's no clock literally ticking.  In fact, two of the medium important actors from 24 -- D. B. Woodside and Kari Matchett -- had important roles in The Night Agent, and they both did well.  Woodside played a President (of the United States) in 24, and Matchett plays the same in The Night Agent.

The two lead characters -- Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland who works for the Night Agents and Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin -- who evolves from depending on Sutherland for her very life to saving his more than once -- are a sharp, spunky couple, and I look forward to seeing them again, whether in another season of The Night Agent (just renewed for a second season) or in other shows.

The villains are probably the weakest part of the story, on all levels, because we've seen something like all of them in one way or another many times before.  But they propel a plot with surprises in every episode, and take part in lots of superb action scenes.

So, yeah, see The Night Agent,  hold on to your seat, and enjoy.

Reacher 1: Peach Pie, Stirred Not Shaken

Hey, see Reacher on Amazon Prime Video.  At its best, and that's more than some of the time, the lead character named Jack Reacher but known just by his last name has some of the quick thinking and lethal delivery of another Jack, last name Bauer, on 24.  And sometimes Reacher even recalls James Bond, with his wit and penchant for the sharp retort.

And Reacher has two assistants all his own:  Roscoe, a bright and beautiful and deadly when necessary young cop in a small town down in Georgia, and Finlay, detective captain in the same small town, who came down there from Boston.  There's almost constant action, unpredictable twists, bad guys and worse guys in this thriller based on the Jack Reacher book series by Lee Child.

Which I haven't read.  Come to think of it, I've been saying that about a lot of series and movies I've been streaming and reviewing here in the past few years, and that's likely because there are so many good series and movies out there and up there to stream.  Reacher is one of the best.

Here are some of the things I liked most in this eight-episode series which I'm sure will have some sequels:

• Reacher and the peach pie (I figured I'd start the list with a rhyme)
• Reacher and the dog (which Finlay names Jack -- ok, a spoiler)
• Reacher's tendency to say no to things he doesn't want to do, even when that answer is not socially advantageous
• The folk wisdom of even the minor characters, like the woman who says about her dead husband, something like it's amazing what a woman will put up with, if her man "throws" her a good "hump"
• The range of cities in which the action takes place, not just the small town, but Atlanta, New Orleans, and New York.
• Alan Ritchson as Reacher, Willa Fitzgerald as Roscoe, and Malcolm Goodwin as Finlay.

So, ok, you get the picture.   See what you think when you see the picture, actually, the series.  And I'm wondering where possibly up north I can get a piece of that peach pie, and happy I was able to deliver this review with no real spoilers at all.

See also Reacher 2: Better than Reacher 1

 

Homeland 8.1: Lost Time

Homeland was back tonight for its eight and final season, with a strong episode, situated mainly in Afghanistan, that fired on all cylinders.

The main, nearly choking vice that Carrie finds herself in this time is the months of missing time - time she can't remember - inside a Russian prison.  This is a theme we've seen on spy shows before - Howard Gordon was a mover of 24 and does much the same for Homeland - so it's not surprising that Jack Bauer and Carrie Mathison have been in similar situations.  But Carrie's is more laden with danger than even Jack's, given her bipolar disorder.

In episode 8.1, Carrie worries that she may have revealed information about her source in Afghanistan that got him killed.  Seeing Yevgeny in Kabul amplifies those fears - she had come to rely upon him in the Russian prison, and who knows what she may have said to him.   But I have to say, maybe it's something about Costa Ronin's manner - he played a sympathetic Russian in The Americans - that makes hope that he's not the bad guy.  In fact, he'd actually make a good partner for Carrie, but that's not likely to happen, either.  We'll just have to see.

Back to our reality, I'm also wondering if this final season of Homeland will deal in any way with Trump in the White House?  Like 24, the Presidents in Homeland have pretty much avoided any parallels to Presidents actually in office (Elizabeth Keane might have been like Hillary, but the Electoral College decreed otherwise).  But here's a thought: Homeland will be over before Americans have a chance to vote Trump out of office.   The producers had to know this when they were making this final season.  They surely must have been tempted to put something of our reality into this narrative.   It will be fun to see how much.

See also Homeland 7.1: The Worse Threat ... Homeland 7.2: Carrie vs. 4chan ... Homeland 7.3: Separating Truth from Hyperthinking ... Homeland 7.4: Fake News! ... Homeland 7.5: "The Russian Angle" ... Homeland 7.6: Meets The Americans, Literally ... Homeland 7.7: Meets The Americans ... Homeland 7.8: Evenly Matched ... Homeland 7.9: Franny vs. the Job or the U.S. Hacks Twitter ... Homeland 7.10: President Trump and President Keane ... Homeland 7.11: Carrie in Action ... Homeland Season 7 Finale: The President

And see also Homeland 6.1: Madam President-Elect ... Homeland 6.2: Parallel Program ... Homeland 6.3: Potentials ... Homeland 6.4: "A Man with Painted Hair" ... Homeland 6.5: The Attack on Carrie's Brownstone ... Homeland 6.7: The Arch Villain ... Homeland 6.8: Peter's Problem ... Homeland 6.9: The Tide Begins to Turn ... Homeland 6.10: Fake News! ... Homeland 6.11: Quinn and Dar ... Homeland Season 6 Finale: Chilling - and True to Life

And see also Homeland 5.1: Moving into the Age of Snowden ... Homeland 5.2: Who Wants to Kill Carrie ... Homeland 5.3: Carrie and Kerry ... Homeland 5.5: All Quinn ... Homeland 5.6: Saul Wises Up ... Homeland 5.7: Tough to Watch ... Homeland 5.9: Finally! ... Homeland 5.10: Homeland and Homeland ... Homeland 5.11: Allison as Primo Villain ... Homeland Season 5 Finale: RIPs

And see also Homeland 4.1-2: Carrie's State of Mind ... Homeland 4.3: Quinn and Carrie ... Homeland 4.4: Carrie's Counterpart ... Homeland 4.5: Righteous Seduction ... Homeland 4.6: The Biggest Reveal ... Homeland 4.7: The Manifestation ... Homeland 4.8: Saving Someone's Life ... Homeland 4.9: Hitchcock Would've Loved It ... Homeland 4.10: The List ... Homeland 4.12: Out of this Together

And see also Homeland 3.1: Sneak Preview Review ... Homeland 3.2: Sneak Preview Review ... Homeland 3.3: Two Prisons ... Homeland 3.4: Twist! ...Homeland 3.6: Further Down the Rabbit Hole ... Homeland 3.7: Revealing What We Already Knew ... Homeland 3.8: Signs of Life ...Homeland 3.9: Perfect Timing ... Homeland 3.10: Someone Has to Die ... Homeland 3.11: The Loyalist ... Homeland Season 3 Finale: Redemption and Betrayal

And see Homeland 2.1-2: Sneak Preview Review ... Homeland 2.3-5: Sneak Preview Review ... Homeland 2.6: What Brody Knows ... Homeland 2.7: Love Me Tinder ... Homeland 2.8: The Personal and the Professional ...Homeland Season 2 Finale: The Shocker and the Reality

And see also  Homeland on Showtime ... Homeland 1.8: Surprises ... Homeland Concludes First Season: Exceptional

Line of Duty: Brilliant Hunt for Bent Coppers

I watched the first season of Line of Duty a few years ago, and my wife and I just binge-watched the next four seasons (on Acorn TV via Amazon Prime).   It's an outstanding series, with pretty much everything you could want in a police series - twisted loyalties, unexpected turns, and lots of action.

The protagonists are in a special squad that investigates and attempts to root out "bent" coppers (the series is British).  The antagonists are a ruthless, vicious mafia-like gang, with people placed in the highest echelons of all kinds of police detective units.   The questioning of suspects is the most intense and best I've ever seen in any cop series.  What we get just a bit of in most series is often center-stage and brilliant in Line of Duty.

The action is breathtaking, with major characters often on the verge of getting killed, and indeed sometimes dying.  The three most major characters are Superintendent Ted Hastings (played by Adrian Dunbar), DS (I love those British titles) Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), and DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McLure).  Actually, some of those titles change as the series progresses, but the acting stays constant at superb.   There are also some notable guest stars, my favorite being Polly Walker who made such a good impression in Rome.

The series also has a unique way of telling new stories each season while weaving in unresolved elements from prior seasons.   In that sense, as well as the very fast pace and short time period in which each season takes place, Line of Duty has a lot in common with 24, one of my all-time favorite series.

This fifth season just started streaming and aired last month across the Atlantic.  There's a six season coming along.  It's at the very top of my wife's and my series to watch.   Kudos to creator Jed Mercurio - who also did another powerhouse series, Bodyguard - for a great piece of work! 

 

The Widow: Jolt to the Heart of Darkness

Check out The Widow, eminently binge-able on Amazon Prime Video, a top-drawer action series with great locations in the Congo and strong acting by Kate Beckinsale in the lead role.

She's the widow, and gets caught up in lethal twists and turns after she sees what looks like a quick shot of her husband in a demonstration in Kinshasa three years after he was reported killed in a nearby plane crash, in which not every passenger's body was identified.  Just about everyone is a culprit - including, yes, our dependence on smartphones - and memorable characters abound, from a 12-year old girl pressed into service as a child-soldier (well played by Shalom Nyandiko) to a guy from Iceland (with a love of Whistler's Mother) who did survive the flight but was blinded (well played by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson).  Even Charles Dance puts in a customarily suave, savvy, and dexterous performance.

But Beckinsale runs the gamut from heartbroken to furious to tender - not always to different people - and since her Georgia Wells had some military experience, she's also good with a gun.   There've been many other screen narratives of people looking for lost loved ones, but none with this level of kick-in-the-stomach shockers in just about every episode, and none situated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.   The combination of the downed flight in the jungle, intercutting of all kinds of flashbacks, and psychological stressors undergone by all sides in the story are reminiscent of Lost at its best (including a strong supporting role by Alex Kingston), and in a different way, of 24: Redemption, which thrust Jack Bauer into a fictional African nation beset by all manner of murderous characters.

I wouldn't quite say Georgia Wells is a female Jack Bauer, but they do have a lot in common, and I certainly would be up for seeing her continue in a sequel series.  Kudos to writers Harry and Jack Williams.

 

Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime: Right Up There

You've got to give Amazon credit, doing a new, rebooted Jack Ryan series, starring John Krasinski in the title role, after the likes of Harrison Ford, Alex Baldwin, Ben Affleck had knocked the role out the ballpark - well, certainly Harrison Ford - in a series of riveting movies from 1984 through 1996.  Sort of like what Amazon attempted when it brought Philip K. Dick's alternate history masterpiece novel The Man in the High Castle to the streaming television series screen with little-known actors.   And with the same result: both succeeded splendidly.

I haven't read any of Tom Clancy's novels, which I think is actually good when judging a movie or a television series based on the novels, because it allows appreciation of the movie or TV series on its own terms.   And my wife and I, binge-watching the eight Jack Ryan episodes in just two nights, really enjoyed this first season of this classic American spy-action story.

The trapping are familiar and updated - ISIS in Syria, attacking a church in Paris, and before the end of these episodes, bringing the fight to the U. S. homeland, with an ebola virus and a dirty bomb designed to wreak havoc.   But although this new Jack Ryan is reminiscent of both Jack Bauer and Homeland, with some Doron from Fauda thrown in, it has a pace and a heart all its own.

Jack is determined to not only save the day but do the right thing - as in trying to come through for the people around him on his commitments - for not only his friends but relative innocents caught up in the struggle.  His immediate boss, James Greer, is played by Wendell Pierce, who gives the best performance of his long career since The Wire.  Abbie Cornish is good as Dr. Cathy Mueller, who we know in a subsequent story will become Cathy Ryan or Mrs. Jack Ryan (Jack, by the way, is a Dr., too - a PhD in economics).  Ali Suliman as Suleiman is scathing, sensitive, and memorable as the terrorist mastermind.

There's humor, surprises, interludes of non-stop action and deaths - expected and unexpected - in just about every episode.  I'm ready for the second season, which I'll review here as soon as it's up on Amazon.

Homeland 7.10: President Trump and President Keane

With James Comey's book about to released, with him about to be interviewed (at 10pm on ABC) about what he wrote in the book -- all about what led up to Trump firing him as FBI Director - we get episode 7.10 of Homeland, in which President Elizabeth Keane, in a no-holds-battle to save her Presidency, fires four of her Cabinet members to stop the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which could remove her from office.

This could well be a true story in the not-too-distant future about Trump.   Except ... Well, the members of his cabinet are not the kind who would ever invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.  Nor is it likely (but of this I'm less sure) that Vice President Pence would ever in any way be part of an effort to remove Trump, as circumstances moved VP Warner into doing.  But what I am sure of is Keane is no Trump.  She's not perfect or even great, to be sure, but she's the victim of Russian attempts to impair our democracy, in contrast to Trump, who was likely the beneficiary of Russian meddling in our election.

Invoking the 25th Amendment has previously been done in 24 - by the same savvy producers of the two shows.   It has indeed been talked about, extensively, regarding Trump.  I say good for Homeland for raising this issue so effectively and dramatically - in a way that brings it to our attention, right now.

Of course, 24 had Jack Bauer and Homeland has Carrie.  And in the other part of tonight's brilliant episode, Carrie gives up parental custody of Franny to Maggie - an extraordinary decision, given that Carrie has evidence in her hand which would have shut down Maggie's attempt to get legal custody of her niece, Carrie's daughter.  But Carrie has realized that her truest devotion is to her calling - in this case, going to Russia to bring back Simone, which could be the last card that President Keane has left.

What a season.  What a world!  I'll see you back here next week.

See also Homeland 7.1: The Worse Threat ... Homeland 7.2: Carrie vs. 4chan ... Homeland 7.3: Separating Truth from Hyperthinking ... Homeland 7.4: Fake News! ... Homeland 7.5: "The Russian Angle" ... Homeland 7.6: Meets The Americans, Literally ... Homeland 7.7: Meets The Americans ... Homeland 7.8: Evenly Matched ... Homeland 7.9: Franny vs. the Job or the U.S. Hacks Twitter

And see also Homeland 6.1: Madam President-Elect ... Homeland 6.2: Parallel Program ... Homeland 6.3: Potentials ... Homeland 6.4: "A Man with Painted Hair" ... Homeland 6.5: The Attack on Carrie's Brownstone ... Homeland 6.7: The Arch Villain ... Homeland 6.8: Peter's Problem ... Homeland 6.9: The Tide Begins to Turn ... Homeland 6.10: Fake News! ... Homeland 6.11: Quinn and Dar ... Homeland Season 6 Finale: Chilling - and True to Life

And see also Homeland 5.1: Moving into the Age of Snowden ... Homeland 5.2: Who Wants to Kill Carrie ... Homeland 5.3: Carrie and Kerry ... Homeland 5.5: All Quinn ... Homeland 5.6: Saul Wises Up ... Homeland 5.7: Tough to Watch ... Homeland 5.9: Finally! ... Homeland 5.10: Homeland and Homeland ... Homeland 5.11: Allison as Primo Villain ... Homeland Season 5 Finale: RIPs

And see also Homeland 4.1-2: Carrie's State of Mind ... Homeland 4.3: Quinn and Carrie ... Homeland 4.4: Carrie's Counterpart ... Homeland 4.5: Righteous Seduction ... Homeland 4.6: The Biggest Reveal ... Homeland 4.7: The Manifestation ... Homeland 4.8: Saving Someone's Life ... Homeland 4.9: Hitchcock Would've Loved It ... Homeland 4.10: The List ... Homeland 4.12: Out of this Together

And see also Homeland 3.1: Sneak Preview Review ... Homeland 3.2: Sneak Preview Review ... Homeland 3.3: Two Prisons ... Homeland 3.4: Twist! ...Homeland 3.6: Further Down the Rabbit Hole ... Homeland 3.7: Revealing What We Already Knew ... Homeland 3.8: Signs of Life ...Homeland 3.9: Perfect Timing ... Homeland 3.10: Someone Has to Die ... Homeland 3.11: The Loyalist ... Homeland Season 3 Finale: Redemption and Betrayal

And see Homeland 2.1-2: Sneak Preview Review ... Homeland 2.3-5: Sneak Preview Review ... Homeland 2.6: What Brody Knows ... Homeland 2.7: Love Me Tinder ... Homeland 2.8: The Personal and the Professional ...Homeland Season 2 Finale: The Shocker and the Reality

And see also  Homeland on Showtime ... Homeland 1.8: Surprises ... Homeland Concludes First Season: Exceptional