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HOMELAND

homeland2 homeland1
 
Full Name: Homeland
Nationality: American
Organization: CIA
Occupation Agent

Creator: Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa
Time Span: 2011 - 2015

ABOUT THE SERIES

Carrie Mathison is an agent with the CIA.

Prior to going to work for the Agency, Mathison had been an Arabic language student at Princeton and it was there that she was approached and eventually recruited by a hardened agent named Saul Berenson. Upon graduation, she took the job with the CIA and began to earn a good reputation for her keen intellect and insight-fullness.

While she was attending university, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She hid this situation from the Agency and manages to maintain a balance, sometime precariously, by quietly taking clozapine which she gets with the help of her older sister, Maggie.

As the series opens, Mathison is in her early 30's, making her career thus far having been probably just shy of a decade. The dates, according to the Homeland wiki, would indicate a speedy college transition as she was born in 1979 (in Maryland) and graduated from Princeton with a BA in Arabic Languages and Literature in 1979, having already earned a Bachelor's degree in Near East Studies and Linguistics from Northwestern and studying Arabic and Farsi in the American University of Beirut. However she accomplished all that, it clearly shows a very sharp mind and a determined attitude.

Working against that impressive brain, of course, is her bipolar problems which she medicates to maintain balance, sometimes having to add Lithium to the mix. She also, over the course of her time with the CIA, has had trouble with alcoholism, likely brought on as she fought the main problem.

Causing her some additional trouble is a rumored affair she had early in her time with the CIA with her boss, David Estes, which might have brought about his divorce. Certainly the current relationship is interesting at times.

Mathison is a dedicated intelligence officer who is willing to step outside the lines to get the job done, risking her career and even her life to get to the truth.

BOOKS

Number of Books:2
First Appearance:2013
Last Appearance:2014

1 Homeland: Carrie's Run Homeland: Carrie's Run
Written by Andrew Kaplan
Copyright: 2013

A prequel to the first season of the television show, this adventure details Carrie Mathison's narrow escape from an ambush and how ti leads her to know that a terrorist plot is in the works. Unfortunately, no one else believes her.
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2 Homeland: Saul's Game Homeland: Saul's Game
Written by Andrew Kaplan
Copyright: 2014

Another prequel to the television series, this story recounts the hunt for a traitor inside the Intelligence community who is helping notorious terror mastermind Abu Nazir evade capture. Saul Berenson has a plan that can draw him or her out but it means putting Carrie Mathison front and center as bait.
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TELEVISION


Number of Episodes:5
First Appearance:1997
Last Appearance:2001
Network:

REGULAR CAST
Claire DanesCarrie Mathison [ 1-5 ]
Mandy PatinkinSaul Berenson [ 1-5 ]
Damian LewisSgt. Nicholas Brody [ 1-4 ]
Morena BaccarinJessica Brody [ 1-4 ]

1 Pilot
Episode 1-1, first aired 10/02/2011

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2 Grace
Episode 1-2, first aired 10/09/2011

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3 Clean Skin
Episode 1-3, first aired 10/16/2011

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4 Semper I
Episode 1-4, first aired 10/23/2011

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5 Blind Spot
Episode 1-5, first aired 10/30/2011

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6 The Good Soldier
Episode 1-6, first aired 11/06/2011

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7 The Weekend
Episode 1-7, first aired 11/13/2011

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8 Achilles Heel
Episode 1-8, first aired 11/20/2011

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9 Crossfire
Episode 1-9, first aired 11/27/2011

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10 Representative Brody
Episode 1-10, first aired 12/04/2011

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11 The Vest
Episode 1-11, first aired 12/11/2011

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12 Marine One
Episode 1-12, first aired 12/18/2011

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13 The Smile
Episode 2-1, first aired 09/30/2012

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14 Beirut is Back
Episode 2-2, first aired 10/07/2012

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15 State of Independence
Episode 2-3, first aired 10/14/2012

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16 New Car Smell
Episode 2-4, first aired 10/21/2012

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17 Q&A
Episode 2-5, first aired 10/28/2012

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18 A Gettysburg Address
Episode 2-6, first aired 11/04/2012

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19 The Clearing
Episode 2-7, first aired 11/11/2012

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20 I'll Fly Away
Episode 2-8, first aired 11/18/2012

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21 Two Hats
Episode 2-9, first aired 11/25/2012

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22 Broken Hearts
Episode 2-10, first aired 12/02/2012

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23 In Memoriam
Episode 2-11, first aired 12/09/2012

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24 The Choice
Episode 2-12, first aired 12/16/2012

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25 Tin Man is Down
Episode 3-1, first aired 09/29/2013

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26 Uh... Oh... Ah...
Episode 3-2, first aired 10/06/2013

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27 Tower of David
Episode 3-3, first aired 10/13/2013

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28 Game On
Episode 3-4, first aired 10/20/2013

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29 The Yoga Play
Episode 3-5, first aired 10/27/2013

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30 Still Positive
Episode 3-6, first aired 11/03/2013

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31 Gerontion
Episode 3-7, first aired 11/10/2013

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32 A Red Wheelbarrow
Episode 3-8, first aired 11/17/2013

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33 One Last Thing
Episode 3-9, first aired 11/24/2013

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34 Good Night
Episode 3-10, first aired 12/01/2013

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35 Big Man in Tehran
Episode 3-11, first aired 12/08/2013

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36 The Star
Episode 3-12, first aired 12/15/2013

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37 Special - Debrief
Episode 4-0, first aired 09/01/2014

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38 The Drone Queen
Episode 4-1, first aired 10/05/2014

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39 Trylon and Perisphere
Episode 4-2, first aired 10/05/2014

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40 Shalwar Kameez
Episode 4-3, first aired 10/12/2014

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41 Iron in the Fire
Episode 4-4, first aired 10/19/2014

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42 About a Boy
Episode 4-5, first aired 10/26/2014

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43 From A to B and Back Again
Episode 4-6, first aired 11/02/2014

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44 Redux
Episode 4-7, first aired 11/09/2014

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45 Halfway to a Donut
Episode 4-8, first aired 11/16/2014

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46 There's Something Else Going On
Episode 4-9, first aired 11/23/2014

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47 13 Hours in Islamabad
Episode 4-10, first aired 12/07/2014

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48 Krieg Nicht Lieb
Episode 4-11, first aired 12/14/2014

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49 Long Time Coming
Episode 4-12, first aired 12/21/2014

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50 Separation Anxiety
Episode 5-1, first aired 10/04/2015

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51 The Tradition of Hospitality
Episode 5-2, first aired 10/11/2015

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52 Super Powers
Episode 5-3, first aired 10/18/2015

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53 Why Is This Night Different?
Episode 5-4, first aired 10/25/2015

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54 Better Call Saul
Episode 5-5, first aired 11/01/2015

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55 Parabiosis
Episode 5-6, first aired 11/08/2015

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56 Oriole
Episode 5-7, first aired 11/15/2015

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57 All About Allison
Episode 5-8, first aired 11/22/2015

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58 The Litvinov Ruse
Episode 5-9, first aired 11/29/2015

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59 New Normal
Episode 5-10, first aired 12/06/2015

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60 Our Man in Damascus
Episode 5-11, first aired 12/13/2015

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61 A False Glimmer
Episode 5-12, first aired 12/20/2015

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REFERENCE BOOKS

Number of Books:1
First Appearance:2014
Last Appearance:2014

1 Homeland Revealed Homeland Revealed
Written by Matt Hurwitz
Copyright: 2014

An in-depth look at the show's first three seasons including behind-the-scenes photos and information about the characters.
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MY COMMENTS

There is absolutely no doubt that the television series is top-notch and a must-see for any spy fan. The writing is superb and truly deserves the awards it has earned and the acting by all players is fantastic. Claire Danes is incredible. Damian Lewis, an actor I really liked in the short-lived series Life, is wonderfully charismatic at times and diabolical at others. And Mandy Patinkin is, well, Mandy Patinkin - one of the best.

The two-book series that has been written are really good reads and provide terrific background information on the main characters. They are well crafted and superbly penned by an accomplished scribe and deserve to be read. The only downside to them is that they are, by necessity since the series was ongoing, prequels. Still, if you are a fan of the series, you should read them.

The main focus of the series was the desire by Mathison to uncover the truth behind the returned POW, Brody. All things must come to an end, though, or else impatient fans like myself would get annoyed and bored so the later seasons move beyond Brody which is a good thing. Losing Damian Lewis is a shame but Claire Danes remains as compelling an actress as ever. And there are lots of other bad guys out there for her to sniff out.

GRADE

My Grade: A

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