Podcast Episode 32: Predicting the Unpredictable 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards

Every year David and Mike try to predict the very unpredictable Primetime Emmy Awards in a very special episode of Dual Redundancy. This year they try and forecast who will take home the gold in all the major categories for the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

This special is going to be released at first as a YouTube exclusive. To make sure you don't miss out on any specials and fall behind on all the latest in entertainment be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Unsure how to? Follow these easy instructions!

As an added bonus be sure to print out your very own Emmy ballot where you can keep track of our predictions and have an easy guide to follow along during the show!

Keep checking back to the Dual Redundancy blog during Emmy week for more Emmy news and predictions!

TV Catch-Up: Homeland: How Will Season 2 End?

photo courtesy of screencrush.com

ML- To preface, many apologies for the overall lack of effort on my part in staying up-to-date with reviews. Just returned home from a whirlwind semester in Los Angeles and had barely had time to watch all my TV, let alone organize my thoughts.

A lot has happened since I last blogged about the show. Six episodes, to be exact, have aired, and over the course of that time I've noticed the critical response to the show pull a near-180. A major complaint has been that the manic pacing and plot twists galore have worsened the show, rendering it more familiar to Howard Gordon/Alex Gansa's last hit, 24. From what I've heard 24 is a good show, but not the example of high art the Homeland proved it could be with tight, concise storytelling and well-developed characters last season. Instead, 24 took more liberties with believability and danced with absurdity too often, until it became Kiefer Sutherland running around shooting people and yelling "dammit!"

Right now, I'm afraid Homeland could become Claire Danes running back into places she absolutely should not run into and yelling "fuck!", because this is pay cable, after all. When she went back for the bag containing Brody's confession video in Lebanon, I complained that it stretched my suspension of disbelief. It turns out, that was to set a precedent of Carrie going back when everything otherwise says bail, as she did with Nazir in the mill. I'm frustrated that both times ended up paying off for her, as there was no sense of real accomplishment when she succeeded this time.

I guess that's not true and I can't go that far. Carrie got Nazir, her white whale. I'm disappointed the extent of their scenes together was limited to her emotional torture last week and a poorly-lit battle before his death. Carrie was obsessed with this man -- like enough to construct color-coded timelines and travel the globe hunting for clues to his whereabouts. Seeing her over his dead body didn't feel like a victory because in many ways, to Carrie, it wasn't. What happens to you when you're stripped of the thing you care most passionately about? You have to move on and fill that void with something new.

Which brings us to Brody. Brody loved Nazir like a father, we can assume, and Damian Lewis did a great job of glazing himself over in the subsequent scenes. I loved his mini-breakdown once he found out about Nazir's death. I also loved his near-confession to Jess in the car, and I loved how she stopped him from saying it, because she already knew. I'm worried what implications this has for Jess and the Brody family in the future -- but I'll get to predictions later.

Saul had a great episode too, sticking it to the man by giving the most entertaining polygraph outside of daytime TV. "Do people call you The Bear?" "I sure fucking hope not." Estes realized Saul knows too much and is canning him, but hopefully Saul is about to get all grizzly on some bitches to stay around. I'm glad the writers found a way to include him more in the action this season by adding him to the Quinn story, and Patinkin always nails what he's given.

Speaking of Peter Quinn (not his real name, as we've learned), I like him. I think we're supposed to like him. Sure, he's been plotting to kill off everyone's favorite anti-hero (or is it protaga-villain?) but he's made an impact in only a handful of episodes, a real unpredictable jolt to the storytelling. When he nearly shot Brody in the limo I finally grasped what a badass dude he is.

What is Estes' main goal using Quinn to off Brody? Can't merely be in the name of national security, as Estes has been shown as much more selfish than that. With Walden now dead (in a questionable scene that actually featured the line "I'm killing you!") Estes is going to be trying to find a way to profit off of the late veep's misfortune. Try to parlay this conquest into political credit? Makes the most sense, but there could be something deeper.

Oh, right, Dana. Ugh at the entire hit-and-run story that has taken things NOWHERE, considering Walden is now dead so boyfriend will probably be out of the picture. It was just killing time, wasn't it? I would have rather watched Chris and Brody play Hearts. At least that would have given him something to do!

photo courtesy of IGN.com

So, how does this clusterfuck of a season end? I've got some predictions, formulated by myself and my similarly Homeland-obsessed mother who has a knack for predicting season finales. To me, what we came up with makes perfect sense. Is that what the writers are going for? Sense? Or shock? We'll see:

When Quinn looked in on Carrie and Brody he didn't have the face of a heartless killer. He was torn, finally giving a damn about his cohort and her emotional struggles with a "terrorist". He knows that if he kills Brody, he's killing Carrie, too. Does he really want to ruin her life? No, he doesn't. He won't end up going through with the kill. And maybe, he'll report to a higher-up that Estes ordered a hit on a congressman, ruining his career or at least forcing him to step down. Best man to take Estes' place? The Bear himself!

We'll get a flashback to Brody's mysterious 12 hours with Abu Nazir and discover a shocking revelation: everything is going to plan. Brody knew Carrie would be kidnapped, and he would only kill Walden under the circumstance she knew his alibi. That way, she can attest he did it for her. Nazir himself knew he'd be killed, and sacrificed himself so that everyone's guard would be lowered. Carrie said it herself -- Nazir doesn't care about people dying along the way. The greatest trick Nazir will ever pull is convincing the world he's gone, when really, his disciple is all the more hell-bent on terrorism.

Brody's conflict last season, the reason why he didn't set off the bomb, was his love for Issa conflicting with his love for Dana, Chris and Jess. Now, he doesn't have to worry about them. They're better off without him. He let them go, and now there's nothing holding him back from getting revenge.

But what is his revenge act? This, I don't know. Walden is dead. The only other person we know who collaborated with Walden is Estes. Is he in Brody's crosshairs? Or could it be Carrie? I highly doubt he actually loves her like he claims he does. The man who destroyed his one love, Issa, is gone; is he going after the woman who destroyed his family? So many questions.

The last question: Will Brody die? I think he will. The Brody story has run its course. Everyone and their mother knows what he was planning to do. His political career is dead, as is his mentor. And how many times can he and Carrie break up/get back together before this becomes one of the bad relationships on Glee?

So Brody dies. Jess, Dana and Chris will get a final scene with Mike comforting them, establishing his role as rightful caretaker. Carrie is traumatized, only giving her more verve to hunt down these terrorists. The only downside to Brody's death would be the loss of Damian Lewis from the show (and, I suppose, Morena Baccarin).

Once he dies, the show is free to pick up on a new tangent. Start over, basically, with a new big bad in a new location and return to the pacing of season 1. Maybe establish a pattern, as if every 2 seasons a major story is dealt with and completed? If The Killing had said upfront Rosie's murder would be solved by the end of season 2, I might have stuck around.

Whether he lives or dies, this season of Homeland, for me, will be remembered fondly for the risks the show took. Did it get outlandish, unbelievable and sometimes stupid? Yes, but it was fun, and the acting was amazing, and there were moments of brilliance sprinkled within every episode. I think The Walking Dead is doing almost the same thing this season, except with worse acting and less fun and brilliance but also zombies. As long as the Homeland writers don't turn into zombies and start churning out crap for the sake of cheap thrills and water-cooler WTFs, I'd say the show will continue to find success.

Share your predictions below so you can rub it in my face when you're right and I'm wrong!

Catch-Up Episode Grades:
2x06: B
2x07: B+
2x08: B+
2x09: A-
2x10: B+

Episode Grade: B+
Episode MVP: Damian Lewis
Original Airdate: 12/09/2012

TV Review: Homeland 2x05: "Q&A"

Photo courtesy of tv.com

ML- It's the time of year when I start thinking of "Best Of" lists for the past 12 months. In terms of TV, I've been keeping track of my favorite shows since 2008, inducting the best I watched that year (either live, DVD or Netflix/Hulu) into a "Hall of Fame" which now consists of Six Feet Under, Survivor, Lost, Friday Night Lights and Community.

This year, the drama side has three clear frontrunners, and one of which is Homeland. Season 2 has been a whirlwind ride and is only half over, and perhaps by the finale it will be a runaway choice for HoF placement. While watching this week's episode, however, I spent a lot of time weighing it against the current top pick, Mad Men.

Mad Men aired an episode of its stellar fifth season called "At the Codfish Ball", in which several characters met for an awards banquet and faced differing forms of disillusionment and moral corruption.  Towards the end of the episode, there was a beautiful shot of all the involved characters sitting at the table, digesting their individual discoveries. That image stuck with me, as did the one of the 5 SCDP partners looking out of their new upstairs viewpoint, an endless world of possibilities lying ahead of them. It's instances like this where television stops being mindless entertainment and starts becoming art.

Homeland doesn't take the time to stage such poignant living artwork, but does that make it any less masterful? Obviously, the show is damn good, entertaining and full of uber-talented ladies and gentlemen. It lacks, however, the added flair of planned perfection I'd attribute to Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

Probably the best instance of such directorial depth comes from episode 3, "State of Independence", when Carrie took her pills and silently, submissively succumbed to her suicidal angst -- not before puking them out, of course. It transports the show from being dialogue and blocking and lighting and props to being a work of art. The image of Claire Danes' big bug eyes lying on the bed, waiting to die, is a picture worth a thousand words.

Homeland is a different kind of art. It's a grittier project, devoted to throwing your point of view out of whack and creating layers of doubt into your mind. When Carrie drinks her wine at episode's end, the speculation as to what's going through her head gives us another artistic moment. Is she a woman recklessly declaring her love for a terrorist, or a savvy interrogator just getting the job done? We don't know, and the best part is that the show itself doesn't know, either, or at least isn't ready to tell us yet. The pacing of this show is unlike any other I've seen (though I've heard it described to The Vampire Diaries) and is in itself a high mark for the case of the show as a work of art.

The reason I even brought any of this up was born out of a minor criticism of this fantastic episode. It has nothing to do with Carrie or Brody or newcomer Peter, as I thought every scene set in the interrogation chamber was perfection. (Side note: I read a great article in which a CIA expert fact-checked Homeland at every turn, especially regarding the interrogation. Check it out.)

My issue was with the scene in which the four Brody family members reunite at the end of the episode. Brody, having just gone through an emotional gauntlet; Dana, having just possibly killed someone while riding around with Lil' Veep; Jess, who keeps putting herself out there and accepts Brody's lies in the name of being a good wife (and achieving social status that gives her life some meaning); and Chris, who is STILL ABSOLUTELY USELESS. That's my major gripe, everyone: Chris. Had the writers developed him even one iota this year (or, let's face it, last year) they could have given him a beat that peaked in this scene with the rest of his family, matching the emotional resonance of "At the Codfish Ball"'s over the top, grandiose spectacle.

I guess I just have to come to terms with the fact that Homeland is not Mad Men, and that's not a bad thing. There's no comparing them, just as there's no comparing Breaking Bad or even Downton Abbey, the third front-runner for drama Hall of Fame this year. One man's Animal Practice is another man's Homeland, and there are bits and pieces of art in every show out there. Mad Men is classical music, Homeland is moody jazz with some rock influences.

I suppose we should actually cover Carrie and Brody. In hindsight, it's obviously the story would take them here: Brody will play triple-agent and report to the CIA on Nazir's retaliation plans after the nuclear facility attack. Carrie and Brody are back in each other's lives: his alibi is that they're having an affair. How long until the two start up with getting physical once again? The idea of the CIA operative and the terrorist falling in love is pretty poetic, in a Romeo and Juliet kind of way.

How long can this story be sustained? Let's assume the finale is Brody saving the day and preventing the attack. Does he relocate and get out of government, like Saul said? Does season 3 involve a personal attack on Brody from former Nazir loyalists, forcing Carrie to come to his aid? Or will Brody prevent the attack but pledge a darker loyalty, now out of the government cross-hairs? The show has options, but I'm not sure if they can remain interesting for 5-7 seasons.

By the way, Dana and her storyline are dumb, but hopefully they'll evolve into something more interesting. She now has some leverage against the VP, something Brody may be able to take advantage of, too. Just please, writers, give Chris a purpose, or kill him and send the family into a funk. Just don't keep him on the payroll in his current state of being. Do that, Homeland may be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Episode Grade: A
Episode MVP: Damian Lewis
Original Airdate: 10/28/2012

TV Recap: Parenthood 4x06: "I'll Be Right Here"

Photo courtesy of tv.com

ML- This was an incredibly strong episode that juggled many emotions and storylines perfectly... until the last act, when some balls were dropped.

Kristina's struggle was handled with grace, and the inevitable (and foreseeable) conclusion that the cancer had spread resonated greatly.  She put on such a strong face to everyone, especially Max, whose election speech she missed to go in for surgery. She came off as the perfect mother; once out of surgery, the first question she had was about her son, not her own well-being. That's quite an admirable feat for the character.

Then, she resorted to selfishness. As hard as her path has been and will continue to be, the decision to lie to Haddie and send her back to Cornell thinking everything is A-ok was unsettling. Perhaps it's because I'm Haddie's age and see things more from her perspective than Kristina and Adam's, but it seemed like they were treating her like a useless child who didn't need the burden. Haddie has proven herself to be a mature girl capable of helping the family, and perhaps taking the semester off from Cornell would benefit everyone. Now, they've lied to their daughter, which will obviously come back to bite them and strain the relationship once again. Honesty is the best policy, and now they've added even more stress to Kristina's life when they could have gained another set of helping hands.

The scenes of Adam and his siblings in the waiting room were touching and provided some much-needed humor. Everyone offering him tea was a quirky running joke that sent him into a fuss, but reminded us how strong the rest of the family becomes when one link is weakened. I've complimented Krause before and having nothing but good things to say about him again. Brilliant work.

Max Burkholder still continues to amaze as well. Leading up to the election, we all knew Max was in trouble. He refused to recieve any help or admit to nervousness. Kristina and Haddie did their best to get through, but it appeared nothing fazed him -- until he took the stage and delivered his one and only campaign promise: vending machines.

The crowd was silent, holding back laughter. It wasn't until Haddie's comment on his tenaciousness inspired him to keep talking, bringing up his Aspergers and framing it as a positive driving force in keeping his promises. In the most Hollywood of endings, the room erupted with applause and Max went on to win the election.

However sweet this was, it strayed from some of the more realistic handling of issues Parenthood has given us. These kids probably wouldn't have changed their opinions of Max that greatly after one speech. Anything is possible, however, and the moment was a triumph for Max, so I'll let the writers off  more easily here than with Haddie.

The other moment that bugged me was Crosby praying with Jabbar. Crosby proved this episode he's still the least-reliable Braverman, though probably the most eager-to-please. He took on the responsibility of both picking up dinner and walking the dog, which ended in the dog needing stitches and the food arriving late. After his support of Adam, he returned home for Jabbar's only scene and asked him to teach him to pray. Unless this is the start of a major character transformation for Crosby, it was definitely out of character and unrealistic for an agnostic dad to ask the young kid out of the blue for praying advice. Again, it makes for a sweet moment, but my eyes rolled. I'm all for Jabbar being the religious Yoda to Crosby's Luke Skywalker (sorry, the whole Lucasfilm/Disney deal is still on my mind) but it'll need further fleshing out.

I'm all for Ryan and Amber. It was totally realistic for her to invite him in and him to be hesitant, and it speaks volumes for the future of their relationship. This isn't some immature lust-ridden humpathon. Let's see these crazy kids settle down, ensuring all Friday Night Lights actors find steady, fulfilling work. That'd be nifty.

Drew was definitely not being nifty this week, if that is an appropriate use of the word. He complained about his move into Mark's house, refused to pack, threw his clothes out the window and bitched about lack of cable. Watching this with friends, we had differing opinions on his acting out. One friend thought he was being a baby, and that as a high school senior it shouldn't matter where he was living (since he didn't switch schools) and he should be supportive of his mother. I agree he was acting immature, but remembered he had gone through many other uprootings with Sarah and wanted some stability for his senior year, one that didn't involve ridicule from sleeping under the same roof as his teacher. I'm glad he and Sarah and Mark patched things up (pretty quickly, but whatever) and can start settling down.

Hank is still a factor, though, Sarah was definitely unsure about her feelings for him while chatting with Adam at the hospital. Could yet another displacement strain the Drew relationship further? Between him and Haddie, these damn Bravermans need to get their heads straight!

Episode Grade: B+
Episode MVP: Monica Potter
Original Airdate: 10/23/2012