http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/18/smash-extended-preview-spielberg_n_1155709.html
Steven Spielberg or not, little in life bores me more
than musical theater, so I'll allow those who like
those sorts of things to follow this series. May it
somehow find a place in your life in between the other
celebration of musical and dance mediocrity shows I
avoid. I shall leave this one to the queens among us,
drama or otherwise. :-)
But for real drama (as opposed to the faux kind), my
kudos go to Dexter and Homeland for the season
finales of the year. Dexter ended with *exactly* the
scene I thought it would, but it took its time getting
there, while filling in the proper emotional content
to give it the big payoff it deserved. Good performances
from Michael C. Hall (as always) and Jennifer Carpenter
(ditto), plus a surprisingly good performance by Colin
Hanks. Not nearly up to the standard set in season four,
but good, and a perfect setup for what I hear will be
Dex's last season next year.
The surprise for me this year was Homeland. Hearing
that it was a remake of an Israeli series, and by the
guy who did 24, I wasn't expecting much. But it turned
out to be a genuinely engrossing thriller with many high
moments, most of them provided by Claire Danes, Damian
Lewis, and Mandy Patimkin. In many ways I would have
preferred that the season go out with a bang (those who
have been watching will get this), but I thought it went
pretty well anyway, setting up next season admirably.
