Reviews

Or else, why keep on insisting in wasting the viewers time with the "child problem"? This is supposed to be a story about a top notch CIA-operative and international relations. Nobody cares about the kid, nobody cares if Carrie has problems with her annoying sister, because it slows down the pace in the main story! In this episode, at last, the kid leaves the scene! (custody goes to the sister). But why so late, only two episodes left for the hard stuff, the real story. Generally, this series is much better when evolving outside the US, both the Pakistan and Berlin seasons were terrific. The reason seems to be that when in the US, the writers are on their home turf and simply have to make a mixture of "everyday life" and being an agent. Imagine, people have common and simple lives themselves and knows all about these problems already. Intelligence agencys, however, is a bit more interesting.

Please locate season 8 in Switzerland or Norway. (hint: Geneva is in Switzerland and Norway has a border to Russia)

*** SPOILER ***

40 (?) years has past. However the big bad guy dresses like Vader, the Stormtroopers are having their old stupid white armor and helmets and the death-star officers are wearing the same old fascist-look-alike uniforms. The evil forces are having the same old recipe to conquer the universe: A DEATH STAR. But bigger. Otherwise same useless defense against our heroes, and the same useless fighters (you know, the ones looking like two solar panels connected with a rear axle from a Ford -57).

A universe capable of hyper-drive that isn't evolving and still using Millennium Falcon with WW2-style cannon towers. This concept is no more.

Only one thing surprised me, although slightly. Han Solo dies. Preferably he will not resurrect, since he is not connected to the force. Neither am I, not any more.

The plot is very standard: hard core cop who left his job because he did "the right thing" according to "public opinion", which is as usual NOT done according to present legislation. He would have gotten away with it, but was unlucky and caused collateral damage, which is in the US regarded as not OK, but very OK if it happens in for instance Irak. Hard core cop has to live as a poor but good PI, for hire only if the moral is OK, money is no object.

The cop gets in a moral dilemma: help drug dealers AND simultaneously help their innocent relatives? Liam Neeson does a god job, the standardized character isn't overdone or overplayed and this would easily be given a "6", if not for some of the stupid screenplay writing. (possibly the novelist, I really don't know).

For some reason, in the US you can only help alcoholics if you involve God? Nobody struck by alcoholism can be in self control without God? For this reason, there is an AA-voice-over talking religious stuff (a wild guess is it about the Christian God) in the beginning of the finale. Intervention by a divine being??? This completely undermines the main character and his actions.

Try to endure the "God-stuff" and this could be a reasonable entertainer for a Friday night, if your standards aren't too high. For me, as a standard European atheist, it's a disappointment.