Grade: A | Genre: Drama/Suspense Summary: Sleeper Cell is the best new drama of the year. It is a cutting edge series, providing a haunting portrait of a subject all of us know and fear yet most know painfully little about. Since the 9/11 attacks, the word terrorist triggers that pit to form in America's collective stomach. We've learned that nothing is safe and all of us are targets for no other reason than for the country we call home. This generalized fear has been deftly exploited by our politicians at the highest level of government and even plunged us into an unjust war. The fear is nameless and shapeless, and we are held hostage by something we can't grasp. Even if we could define it, I think most of us are afraid to take a really long look at exactly what 'it' is. It could be our neighbors, our colleagues, even our family. What separates the terrorists from the people we come across in our everyday isn't as radical as we would like to believe. Extremist ideals are often covered over by little league games and family picnics in the park. Showtime's cunning new series Sleeper Cell takes our gravest enemy and sticks him in our living room. We're asked to watch him eat, play with his children, and find his way in life -- putting a face on the terror that seeps into our nightmares.

Sleeper Cell is a new Showtime series that follows FBI agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed (Michael Ealy) as he goes deep cover, infiltrating a radical Muslim terrorist cell in Los Angeles. He is able to convincingly blend into the group because he is a Muslim himself, though with a twist -- he's African American. His fellow avengers come from all walks of life. We've got everything from a French ex-skinhead (Alex Nesic) to a blonde haired, blue-eyed, corn feed American boy (Blake Shields) seemingly angry because he wasn't breastfeed as a baby. Farik (Oded Fehr) is the head honcho, orchestrating all the moves. He only allows scrapes of information to escape moments before its about to happen. After four episodes, we've seen them do a test run of unleashing weapons grade anthrax through the air ducts in a busy LA shopping mall, the stoning of one of their own whose lips were too loose, and taking on mobster money men in Tijuana.

Sleeper Cell Starring: Michael Ealy, Oded Fehr, Alex Nesic, Blake Shields, Melissa Sagemiller & James LeGros Related Articles Crowe Says Al-Qaeda Wanted to Kidnap Him Flightplan Peter Krause Takes on Indie Film Email this article to a friend

Sleeper Cell really reminds you of a cross between the Sopranos, 24 and Reservoir Dogs. You have this group of guys tasked with a mission where they know zilch about their fellow patriots in Jihad. It's a very sinister clan always scheming, planning their next attack or simply working through the fundamental day-to-day of operating a terrorist cell. The small elements make this series jump off the screen. There is an episode where there is a bottleneck in their money supply from a drug runner who also dabbles in child prostitution in Mexico. We watch them burrow across the border to take on these heavy hitting Hispanic mobsters who despise them, yet work hand-in-hand with them to get their drugs carried into the States. Seeing them hold their own against these Soprano types shows they aren't some ill-trained motley crew. They are the real deal.

Perhaps the show's strongest asset is its attempt to breakdown the fallacy that all Muslim believers are borderline terrorists and hate America. Islam is a peaceful, loving religion. Unfortunately, the radical Muslim terrorist sects, much like Christianities version: the Branch Davidians at Waco, steal all the attention away from the true cause. You can hunt and peck through the Holy texts of any religion and bend the interpretation to support your warped ideologies. Darwyn makes it abundantly clear that this group of soulless individuals share about as much with his faith as a clan of devil worshippers. It also seeks to wear down the lazy misconception that not all people who look of Middle Eastern descent necessarily are. One episode showed a Sikh on the subway getting hassled by a group of punk kids. Darwyn kicks their sorry asses while heatedly explaining that Sikhs hate Muslims you ignorant bitches. Just like Showtime's Queer as Folk before it, ignorance is Sleeper Cell's toughest enemy to topple.

Sleeper Cell is the best new drama of the year. It is a cutting edge series providing a haunting portrait of a subject all of us know and fear yet most know painfully little about. Sleeper Cell stares our enemy in the eye and refuses to avert our gaze. Some may complain that such a series only plants scary ideas in the heads of susceptible individuals, but I would counter that a series like this educates all of us to the reality of the lives these men lead. By accepting that they merely human like the rest of us, twisted though they may be, we are better able to counter our fear and fight back, trying to understand something that escapes understanding.