Best And Worst of 2011
Great Performances - TV
Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, Homeland

by Dave Karger, Entertainment Weekly, December 23, 2011

Most cat-and-mouse games cease being interesting once the rodent is caught. But Homeland's real fireworks began after Claire Danes' and Damian Lewis' characters -- unstable CIA agent Carrie Mathison and suspected terrorist Sgt. Nicholas Brody -- acutally met. In an instant, they went from spy and target to friends, lovers, and competitors in a fascinating mind game. Danes, 32, adeptly balanced Carrie's intuitive skills and shocking recklessness, while Lewis, 40, perfectly captured the swagger of an American war hero (even thought he actor himself is British). Thanks to their gripping performances, the first season of Homeland was sometimes nail-biting, sometimes sexy, and always surprising. "It got pretty crazy," Danes says of the show's twists and turns. "It got so complex that there were times when I was like, 'This. Is. Ridiculous. I don't even know how to play this.'" But it was our pleasure to watch it.

Caption: Damian Lewis and Claire Danes on Homeland.Best And Worst of 2011
Best And Worst TV - Our Favorite Episodes
2. Homeland: "The Weekend" (Nov. 13, Showtime)

by Melissa Maerz, Entertainment Weekly, December 23, 2011

Like all the best scary stories, this one started in the woods. When CIA agent Carrie (Claire Danes) brought possibly "turned" POW Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) to her family's cabin, it was either a romantic getaway or a very dangerous experiment -- or possibly both. Is Brody a terrorist, or is Carrie just off her meds? And even if she's paranoid, does that mean she's wrong? Every tense moment changed your mind -- until the final twist left it blown.