So I watch a lot of TV and I figured that it was more than
time to do an article about shows that in my opinion are worth watching,
further than that these show are great with usually top notch writing and
thoroughly entertaining characters that keep you coming back. In this action
packed instalment of Shaftsword we will be discussing three top shows Vegas,
NCIS LA and Homeland.
VEGAS
Set in 1960s Las Vegas, the series
centers on Sheriff Ralph Lamb (Quaid) and his dealings with Chicago mobster Vincent Savino (Chiklis), who moved west to set
up his own operation. The Lamb character is based on a real-life former rancher
who served as Sheriff of Clark County from 1961 to 1979.
I really wasn’t sure what to expect given it is a period
drama but I took the plunge initially because Michael Chiklis was one of the
principals and after being a dedicated fan of The Shield. I am not usually a fan of period dramas but
the glamour of Vegas in its infancy sucks me right in. It reminds me a bit of
OTR (Old Time Radio) broadcasts from the 1920s to the 1950s which told of
private detectives, cops, robbers and speakeasies.
Dennis Quaid is the right choice for Ralph Lamb a former
military investigator who is pressed into service as a sheriff when things the
previous sheriff disappears. Between him and Michael Chiklis you have two
opposing forces that can’t help but clash over control of Vegas. In this story
it is a mob boss and a sheriff but it could easily be two opposing countries
locked in a desperate war it is a simple tale that is presented very well with a
variety of support characters that hold your interest so you end up wanting to learn
more about them too.
NCIS LA
Pretty much everyone knows NCIS either you know Gibbs and
his angry cop routine or like me you pine after Ms Sciuto. That show has been
going for 10 years and doesn’t look like it is about to end. NCIS LA is of
course a spinoff… of a spinoff but somehow it is still kinda awesome. For me
its success is in its simplicity it is a buddy cop movie but it pretty much as
three pairs of buddies appealing to broad demographics. Add to that an average
of about 10 clips of ammunition spent per episode and you have something that
just works.
HOMELAND
The first season of this epic show blew my mind, I mainly
went to it because I was a fan of Damian Lewis and was pretty upset at the two
season run of Life which in my opinion was one of the finest cop procedural
shows out there. Now thinking about Damian’s performance in Life it does have
some similarities to what he brings to Homeland. Both of these are stories
about men who are loss then found and struggling to adapt their new found freedom.
Life of course has a vein of comedy running through it whereas Homeland is as
serious as a heart attack.
Homeland is based on an Israeli Television show Hatufim
(Prisoners of War), the series stars Claire Danes as Carrie
Mathison, a Central Intelligence Agency officer, and Damian Lewis as Nicholas
Brody, a U.S. Marine. Mathison has
come to believe that Brody, who was held captive by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of
war, was turned by the enemy and now threatens the United States.
So that was my roundup of three excellent shows that maybe
you should check out. You can leave comments on here or tweet me @shaftsword. Thanks for visiting.
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