`SLEEPER CELL' BACK WITH MORE TERRORISM.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic Just in time for the holidays comes another installment of Showtime's ``Sleeper Cell Noun 1. sleeper cell - a cell of sleepers; "an al-Qaeda sleeper cell may have used Arizona as its base" cadre, cell - a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement ,'' this one subtitled ``American Terror,'' another nerve-rattling miniseries about fundamentalist Muslims plotting another strike against America and determined to trouble your sleep. Michael Ealy Michael Ealy (born Michael Brown on August 3 1973 in Silver Spring, Maryland) is an American actor. Ealy grew up in the suburban Maryland neighborhood of Stonegate. He attended Springbrook High School and the University of Maryland, College Park. returns as Darwyn, a Muslim FBI agent dispatched to infiltrate a terrorist cell in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. . It's a group prone to internal strife, with members including Mina (Thekla Reuten), a Dutch Muslim demolitions expert who lost her husband in Iraq, and Salim (Omid Abtahi Omid Abtahi is an American actor of Iranian descent. Before moving to the United States Abtahi and his family lived in Europe and the Middle East. Before acting on television Abtahi performed on stage in many theatrical productions including Fraulein Else at the ), whose inability to reconcile his fundamentalist beliefs with his internal demons Demons See also devil; evil; ghosts; hell; spirits and spiritualism. ademonist one who denies the existence of the devil or demons. bogyism, bogeyism recognition of the existence of demons and goblins. leads to an explosive temper. Oded Fehr also returns, as Faris Al-Farik, the charismatic leader captured at the end of the previous series. Al-Farik withstands some brutal interrogation interrogation In criminal law, process of formally and systematically questioning a suspect in order to elicit incriminating responses. The process is largely outside the governance of law, though in the U.S. with grim bravado -- He warns his questioners, ``Your world is never going to be safe again until you make peace with Islam on our terms.'' But Al-Farik is too cagey ca·gey also ca·gy adj. ca·gi·er, ca·gi·est 1. Wary; careful: a cagey avoidance of a definite answer. 2. Crafty; shrewd: a cagey lawyer. and committed a villain to sit in a prison cell and serve as a punching bag for an entire miniseries, so a convenient, if dubious twist frees him to plot against America anew, and with an even fiercer vigor. Once again, Darwyn must tread a fine line between serving his country and not tipping off his colleagues in the terrorist cell as to his true intentions while proceeding to facilitate the planned attack. This is made doubly tricky this time around, as he doesn't trust his case agent, Russell (Jay R. Ferguson Jay Rowland Ferguson Jr. (born July 25, 1974 in Dallas, Texas) is an American actor. His notable roles include Taylor Newton in four seasons of the CBS sitcom Evening Shade, and a starring role as Rich Connelly in the 2005 NBC television series Surface ), who in fact is working behind Darwyn's back, coaxing his girlfriend Gayle (Melissa Sagemiller) to find out and report what Darwyn might be withholding from his employers. What made the first miniseries so riveting was the toe-to-toe confrontation between Darwyn and Al-Farik, between the conflicted righteous agent and the ingeniously charismatic madman. By definition, that dance cannot take place here, and this follow-up suffers a little in comparison. It doesn't help that creators Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris feel compelled to insert some gratuitous sex and/or nudity within the first 10 minutes of each of the first six episodes in what feels like a synthetic effort to keep certain viewers engaged. Still, the story manages a fairly sturdy job of connecting dots demonstrating how terrorists could go about the business of securing weapons for a horrifically deadly attack within our borders. Brutal and disturbing, ``Sleeper Cell: American Terror'' is a grim evocation of the enemy within. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com SLEEPER CELL: AMERICAN TERROR - Three stars What: Eight-part sequel to last year's miniseries about the war on terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism. The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism at home, with Michael Ealy as the Muslim FBI agent who infiltrates another domestic terror cell and Oded Fehr as the terrorist heading up another attack. Where: Showtime. When: 9 and 11 tonight; subsequent episodes daily at 9 and 11 p.m. through Dec. 17. In a nutshell: Sturdy, if at times a bit contrived. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Oded Fehr is terrorist leader Faris Al-Farik in ``Sleeper Cell: American Terror,'' starting tonight on Showtime. |
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