NFT: What happened to the show Homeland?

but I didn't like last season very much, so a continued decline isn't that surprising to me.

and I'm with you, i may pull the plug. I said i would at the end of last season when they pulled the ridiculous "24" Jack Bauer'esque stunt at the end.. so shame on me for giving it another try.

Looking forward to Billions starting up in 2 weeks at least.

I think I've been ready to abandon this show since the end of season 2.

Post-Brody, I stuck around largely for the Quinn story and Dar and Saul to a degree.

But it's just dreadful now, and I feel done too.

but this one has been pretty bad. The biggest problem is Carrie as a mom. It just makes the show so stupid and I can no longer buy her being able to do everything while also completely ignoring her child for days on end.

Her having a kid was the downfall of the show, IMO.

couldnt agree more, loved this show first few seasons.

has been dragging along lifeless for almost 3 seasons now, so terrible.. i hate myself that i cant stop tuning in every sunday for more terrible acting by carrie mathison.

We get it, When Carrie is off her meds she is some type of Super spy who will bang her way to get the truth. Yet she can never find the time to be with her daughter or pick her up from school.

I love the Saul character, but his story line is heading in the shitter as well. I think the Brody/Carrie dynamic is what put this show on the map. Once Brody died, they should have introduced a new set of characters and story lines. They tried too hard to tie parallel real life instances (the election season was just brutal) into the show.

I didnt see last night

Last season was bad almost as bad as season 3.

My Rank
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everything else was bad

they got rid of Sergeant Brody. Looks like I made the right call.

Carrie is a Mom now? LOL.

Didn't seem to be worth the effort.

In comment 13859614 Gary from The East End said:

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Didn't seem to be worth the effort.

The thing is the latter part of last season picked up and had a few quality shows - shows i want to say 6 through 9 (after an incredibly slow start to the season) -- but then they went and ruined everything with maybe the most absurd ending in television history.

They havent recovered this year - the show either needs to be put out to pasture or they need to remove Claire Danes from the producer role, just have her act, and find writers/producers who know what they're doing from here.

if the people on and around the show know how bad it is, but they're under contract, so they say F-it let's just get through this and move on to something we have passion about.

Or if they're oblivious and think it's a masterpiece.

I mean, they have to know, right?

I won't get in to too many spoilers, but the whole Carrie plot is beyond ridiculous, the right-wing zealots plot was so predictable, the President is a caricature, her Chief of staff or whatever he is, is so unrealistic it's beyond unbelievable, and Saul is only really best when he's "playing" against interesting adversary (like Dar). I'm going to just DVR it and if I get really bored maybe will watch, but probably not.

I'm looking forward to Billions too. Seems like between HBO and SHO when Sundays used to be a DVR juggle there is nothing new that is very compelling, and I don't watch a lot of TV to begin with.

I like the term "hate watching"! I have done that too! I dont know what the problem this year is with the show - writers, less money for big scenes and/or actors, bad premise for the season?
Each previous season had at least one "holy shit" episode - CIA office blown up, embassy in mid east blown up etc. Not feeling the Waco type "shootout" - over in a blink. I hope this is not the last season, but it could be!

1-4 were all excellent. Then season 5 happened and I couldn't believe it. It was beyond terrible. Peter Quinn was an all time character for me in any TV series and the way they wrote his character and the Carrie thing beyond season 4 was just absolutely painful

and preposterous season. (FOLLOWING ALL SURMISE) I don't know the politics of Howard Gordon, the creator and (one of) the executive producers, but the series' stories SEEMED to me to lean politically to the right. Could be wrong. But my guess is that he, the show, the network and especially the leads, are in some kind of political tangle--maybe amongst themselves based on the political forces dividing the country. All the above people are strongly independent people -- you have to be to succeed in that business -- and if there is strong disagreement there it's either do it the way of the loudest voice (s) or find a compromise of some kind. Having been a writer in that business for close to thirty years, I can tell you that in my experience (grantly, mostly in comedy) "compromises" generally weaken whatever vision the creator/producer may have. IMO, creatively, a bad vision is generally superior to one that's been distorted by compromises. I think we're watching the "weakening" result of the series vision, whatever it may have been to the creators. All they have left from all that is Carrie and her personal strengths and neuroses, which is being pitted against the powerful. Basically, against the "swamp." Against, one could say, democracy. SHe's generally on the right side morally and ethically, IMO, but the stories are so twisted that we don't know what's right and/or wrong for her. You can already see the political adjustments being made in characters -- the President's Chief of Staff (after ordering the Syrian attack) in a speech in which he tries to rehabilitate the President's aberrant authoritarian tendencies by telling her (AND US) that she will be potentially one of the great presidents ever, but she's got to please the political winds of the public. and stay in office to fulfill whatever greatness she has in her. Sorry, gone on too long. Thanks for listening.

In comment 13859667 ryanmkeane said:

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1-4 were all excellent. Then season 5 happened and I couldn't believe it. It was beyond terrible. Peter Quinn was an all time character for me in any TV series and the way they wrote his character and the Carrie thing beyond season 4 was just absolutely painful

Exactly how I feel. They did a great job reinventing the show after Brody for a couple seasons, but it hit the wall last season. I’ve tried to get through the first episode of this season twice and both times lost interest and gave up.

I hate to go there, but the PC effect killed the show in a way. They’re afraid to make Islamic terrorists the bad guys anymore, so now they’ve turned evil government/CIA officials into the bad guys.

There are some legit storylines to explore there, but they choked on it last season

BORING. They were great early...now they are boring. I don't care if they are ridiculous or filled with plot hoes...it's when they get boring that I can't watch anymore.

In comment 13859675 mfsd said:

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Exactly how I feel. They did a great job reinventing the show after Brody for a couple seasons, but it hit the wall last season. I’ve tried to get through the first episode of this season twice and both times lost interest and gave up. I hate to go there, but the PC effect killed the show in a way. They’re afraid to make Islamic terrorists the bad guys anymore, so now they’ve turned evil government/CIA officials into the bad guys. There are some legit storylines to explore there, but they choked on it last season

Yup. Honestly, I think the show should have just ended after season 4. They should have let Quinn kill Haqqani , him and Carrie quit to move wherever together, and just ended the series there. It would have been perfect.

I pulled the plug two seasons ago. Carrie is just too whiny.

My oh no moment this season. 1st episode , Carrie is living with her sister's family and there is a 16 year old teenage girl proclaiming about something "That is so unfair." Oh no, Dana is back. You just know somewhere this year she is going to get into some kind of trouble and Carrie will have to put on hold stopping the bad guys to save her.

and have been too busy to watch so far....but it looks like I'm not missing anything.

Sound like I made the right call

With last season and this season even moreso. I’m tired of Carrie and her med problems and yes, having the child is an annoyance. Plus, I don’t like the plot line at all.

In comment 13859701 ryanmkeane said:

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In comment 13859675 mfsd said: Quote: Exactly how I feel. They did a great job reinventing the show after Brody for a couple seasons, but it hit the wall last season. I’ve tried to get through the first episode of this season twice and both times lost interest and gave up. I hate to go there, but the PC effect killed the show in a way. They’re afraid to make Islamic terrorists the bad guys anymore, so now they’ve turned evil government/CIA officials into the bad guys. There are some legit storylines to explore there, but they choked on it last season Yup. Honestly, I think the show should have just ended after season 4. They should have let Quinn kill Haqqani , him and Carrie quit to move wherever together, and just ended the series there. It would have been perfect.

Right. And they could've created a nice Mr. & Mrs. Spy kind of show. I'd have watched that in a heartbeat.

But I admit this season is very difficult to get into - going with fake news, the racist part of the conservative party, guns, etc. Waiting to see how it plays out before I hit the eject button...

it seems their going to chase down the Russian Connection after Saul talked to his Russian Friend from Berlin. Maybe that's just another red hearing thou?

In comment 13860640 Mike From Brielle said:

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it seems their going to chase down the Russian Connection after Saul talked to his Russian Friend from Berlin. Maybe that's just another red hearing thou?

yeah, the Russian fake news angle wasn't hard to predict either.

everyone in the real world is tired of it regardless of which side you are on. I’d rather them tackle a different subject.

The problem is Carrie can’t leave DC since she has a kid so the show is stuck there unless they get rid of Franny. Maybe the sister will adopt her, allowing Carrie to leave, but I can’t even buy that happening at this point.

It's easy to follow. Past seasons tended to get confusing.

and stick around only because I need a non-zombie show for Sunday night.

as pure entertainment. Every once in a while I allow myself a guilty pleasure.

isn't up to par with the first few, but I don't mind its tie-ins with real-life events and concerns (including mention of the Russia-falsified "crucified boy" by Ukrainians). The militia-vs-FBI standoff was a harrowing depiction of what can happen if those tactics are used against us.

In comment 13863068 santacruzom said:

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isn't up to par with the first few, but I don't mind its tie-ins with real-life events and concerns (including mention of the Russia-falsified "crucified boy" by Ukrainians). The militia-vs-FBI standoff was a harrowing depiction of what can happen if those tactics are used against us.

they've happened (WACO, Ruby Ridge for example), but it's trite and cliched, poorly scripted, poorly acted and executed and a vast departure from what made the show interesting (to me at least).

that there will be at least one OMG OMG OMG twist that these shows are compelled to unveil at some point, but for the moment its absence doesn't bother me.

I'm much more annoyed by the idea that a president will just come to accept the chief of staff fabricating a presidential order to the military.

after watching him on Vikings. I keep thinking he’s going to make a reference to Wessex at any moment.

In comment 13863144 UConn4523 said:

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after watching him on Vikings. I keep thinking he’s going to make a reference to Wessex at any moment.

Second I saw him I thought, awesome, King Ecbert.

and then I can't stand his unrealistic character.

The Vikings role was a million times better.