What I’m Watching: Homeland

Homeland: Season 4, Episode 5 “About a Boy” (B+)

As if Carrie’s actions at the end of last episode weren’t impulsive and shocking enough, now she’s spending all of her time with Aayan and not answering her phone, which led to not one but two serious missteps including an abducted Saul. At least she managed to get Aayan to trust her fully, admitting that his uncle isn’t actually alive and expressing a deep connection to the one family member he has left. She’s going to have her plate full with Quinn pissed off and a vengeful American uncovering some of her most dangerous secrets. Dennis is ready to do some major damage after breaking into Carrie’s apartment and taking pictures of her baby photo and her prescriptions, and she’s going to have more to worry about than being beaten to death by an angry mob since we know that the intelligence is going straight to Tasneem. This whole terrorist organization is formidably small, since Tasneem was also directly responsible for the orchestration of Saul’s abduction, which came right in the middle of his frantic pursuit of Farhad, whose visibility was too good to be true. He’s a main character on the show, and while that didn’t save Brody, I think that Saul is both considerably more valuable as an intelligence asset and not nearly as controversial, so he’s just going to be one of the many ways that Tasneem is going to try to force Carrie’s hand for whatever the next step of ISI’s plans in Pakistan turn out to be.

Round Two: About a Boy

About a Boy: Season 1, Episode 2 “About Total Exuberance” (C-)

I had hoped that maybe I might like this second installment better than the first since this show is decently enjoyable and relatively harmless. It proved more irksome than anything else, however, and I’m not sure I’m up for the task of continuing to watch and review it. The main problem is that its two main characters are created as such polar opposites that you can’t possibly believe that they would ever be able to reach some common ground. Aside from being impossibly precocious, to the point that he can hack into Will’s wifi (maybe it’s not password-protected) and tunnel into his house, Marcus also prints pictures of him and his older friend that read “best friends forever” and has the big child help him color in his wheel of emotions. Will, by contrast, can’t be serious for a second, and to think that Marcus putting on a puppy face or Fiona yelling at him would motivate him to do anything nice just doesn’t track. Bringing Marcus to a wild party for adults only and then abandoning him for its entirety so that he could pick up chicks sadly made more sense considering the already bankrupt logic of this show. If Will was a bit less arrogant and obnoxious and Marcus was more muted, this show might work better. The same goes for Minnie Driver’s Fiona, who sometimes seems like the perfect foil for Will and other times seems like a completely hapless fabrication who couldn’t possibly be a real person.

Pilot Review: About a Boy

About a Boy (NBC)
Premiered February 22 at 11pm

Assessing this pilot should begin with a look at its star, whose presence is loud, uninhibited, and a definitive factor in whether people will enjoy the show. David Walton has actually appeared in a bunch of shows in the past decade, not one of which made it to a second season. I first saw him in “100 Questions” and “Perfect Couples,” both on NBC in 2010, and my reviews of the pilots (I don’t remember much about either show) don’t include any real mention of his performance. He was, however, front and center in “Bent” opposite Amanda Peet, and that was a positive use of him. Many felt that he was excessive and irritating on “New Girl” as Jess’ pediatrician boyfriend, and now he’s back at NBC anchoring his own show all by himself. This adaptation of the popular 2002 film, which was based on a Nick Hornby novel, casts Walton in the role inhabited by Hugh Grant in the film. Grant gives off a much more likeable vibe, and so we’ll have to get to like Walton’s Will based on the merits of his nonchalant lifestyle and love for grilling meat. His relationship with precocious young Marcus is not one that’s meant to be taken literally, since Marcus could never be real, but it’s the backbone of a show that really just doesn’t work since it’s not trying very hard at all. Leslie Bibb’s Dakota is far too gullible and eager, but I did enjoy Minnie Driver’s vegan mother, who might be more compelling if she wasn’t so prone to crying. Recreating the talent show from the film led to an endearing if awkward ending, and while I think this show was fairly fun to watch, it’s far from good.

How will it work as a series? The jig is up regarding Marcus posing as Will’s son, and he might have done well by stepping in to save the day and Marcus’ reputation at school at the same time. Now he and Fiona can try to be friends, which will surely be a difficult path, but one that should provide some laughs along the way.
How long will it last? Premiering on a Saturday night isn’t exactly indicative of how the show will fare, but the numbers were pretty good, and given that it airs its second episode tomorrow, it might have a fighting chance at building momentum. Walton shouldn’t get his hopes of finally getting a second season up just yet, but it could happen.

Pilot grade: C-