One of the best from Showtime: Homeland

A few words on the Showtime series "Homeland," which, based on the first episode, is an exciting and taut story about an American prisoner rescued from Iraq who has "turned": or at least that's the suspicion of a CIA operative in the States (Clare Danes). Excellent set-up of the dramatic situation and good quick sketch of the key characters and the crises they are facing: the returned prisoner tormented by his experiences in captivity (including - spoiler here - fact that he was forced to beat fellow prisoner to death - wasn't that a main plot point in a recent movie? Brother?); prisoner's wife who's been having a long relation with his best friend Marine buddy, assuming he's long since dead; wise CIA intellectual (Mandy Patinkin) who's Danes's "rabbi" but also knows he can't completely trust here, most of all Danes herself, who apparently screwed up in some serious way when posted to Baghdad and suffers from various maladies including an apparent addiction to prescription Rx - the flawed heroine (a bit of a Showtime trope there - Nurse Jackie , q.v.) - Though some of the set-up is not credible - the idea that even a rouge CIA team could have access to the returning prisoner's house to put in surveillance equipment seems way beyond the pale, for example - other elements play very well, including a very tense opening sequence in Iraq. A series worth keeping an eye on - hope it's available soon on disc.