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From The Desk Of The Sharp Things’ Perry Serpa: “Homeland”

Having actually included MAGNET as one of my favorite things (and I promise that’s not sucking up, I really love the publication), you can imagine how chuffed I was at the prospect of a guest editorship. Over the past, well, several years of the Sharp Things‘ existence, Eric Miller has been a friend and an advocate, even when no one else was, so I’m honored to be able to ramble on a bit about a bunch of shit that I dig, because I want everyone to know about it and, more significantly, because it makes me feel important. 😉 Over to you, me …

Homeland

It’s 8:15 on Sunday night. Homeland will be on in 45 minutes. I can’t wait.

In what seems like a whole other life ago, I kinda sorta knew Claire Danes.

Despite her marked celebrity status even back then, she was an incredibly nice, accommodating and positive spirit, and I respected her as both a person and an actor. A decade later, here’s Homeland: a political psychothriller that prompted the wife and I to purchase Showtime, against our will.

Claire’s Carrie Matheson brings the sort of pivotal genius in the character’s complicated and empathetic personality to a sort of “we’re not worthy” level. I am so glad that she only had a few cool films, not to mention the greatness that was My So Called Life, under her belt when I’d met her the first time—grateful that Homeland was still a bunch of years in her future otherwise, I would have most definitely made a fool of myself, over-addressing the political implications of each perfect episode, asking stupid questions about her co-stars, and so on. I had a moment in time when I could say hi to this cool lady and she’d remember my name (she probably would not now), perhaps partially because I didn’t bring up what she did, but if it were Homeland, I wouldn’t have been able to resist and she would have walked to the other side of the street when she saw me coming.

Video after the jump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W18ZHrU3XYQ