Sleeper Cell 12/18/2005 (S01E09/10) "Hijack / Youmud Din"

[jschuur]

A very tense finale to watch. I was mislead by the guide data a little. DirecTV says 'Darwyn discovers that the explosion is a decoy', and I kept expecting Dodger Stadium to not be the target, especially since they had so much (show) time left after they left their hide out.

Also interesting that Darwyn had a stand-in during the press conference, so his true identity was never revealed (even to Farik). There is, after all, at least the Washington cell left for a new season to cover.

[Amnesia]

Also interesting that Darwyn had a stand-in during the press conference, so his true identity was never revealed (even to Farik). There is, after all, at least the Washington cell left for a new season to cover.What do you mean a stand-in? The guy was Alim Saleh, the FBI Special Assistant for Terrorism (and introduced by name). He wasn't pretending to be Darwyn Al-Sayeed.

In any case, Darwyn wasn't listed on the chart at all. If I were Ilija, that would certainly raise a lot of flags for me...

The thing that I thought was strange is that the Darwyn/Gayle storyline wasn't tied up. She should have asked what he was doing there or something. Maybe if Darwyn had been wearing an FBI vest, then she would have understood...I'm sure he explained later, but I thought it strange not to show the resolution of their series-long conflict...

[JohnB1000]

I have really enjoyed the show but must admit to being a little disappointed by the finale. It was as expected but somehow would have been more powerful if something more significant had happened. The most powerful movie moment I ever saw was in the movie Sum of All Fears

When the nuclear bomb went off in the stadium

The end was as you would expect but was just a little flat and too easy for my taste, he switches the batteries, he leaves the ticket etc.

I agree that leaving his name of the cell list was a little odd, they should have listed him as deceased or something.

[jschuur]

What do you mean a stand-in? The guy was Alim Saleh, the FBI Special Assistant for Terrorism (and introduced by name). He wasn't pretending to be Darwyn Al-Sayeed.

Whoops. I must have misheard the name.

[Idearat]

I'd been enjoying the series, but it all fell apart the last episode. Letting the truck drive to Dodger Stadium made the FBI look more like the Keystone Cops. Oops, the big red truck, the only one leaving the fire, slipped away?

Oh, the remote control that started the decoy fire somehow magically made it out of the magically shielded warehouse to trigger the explosion. For weeks the FBI has been deaf and blind while they're in the building due to impenetrable shielding. Darwyn had to sneak up to the roof to make cell call.

At the stadium, Darwyn thinks it's better to have a prolonged fistfight with the french guy while the truck heads for the stadium rather than just shooting him. Did he really expect him to lie down as soon as he said "FBI" ?

Twenty agents surround the truck and threaten to shoot Farik. They believe he has his finger on a detonator and is about to blow himself up. How the heck is threatening to shoot him supposed to be a deterrent? That would seem to be a time they'd start shooting a little sooner.

I was happy with the series up until the finale, but seems like the ran out of ideas and just needed to finish up quick.

[Amnesia]

At the stadium, Darwyn thinks it's better to have a prolonged fistfight with the french guy while the truck heads for the stadium rather than just shooting him. Did he really expect him to lie down as soon as he said "FBI" ?I had thought the same thing, but remember that Darwyn had been undercover for a long time, spending lots of time with this guy. He probably didn't want to kill him if he didn't have to...

[newsposter]

Comments about several eps since there aren't threads for each:

Some of the holes above also bugged me. I wanted to see his name and pic on the poster board as escaped. Except since that one guy really did escape, he probably saw Darwin being attended to by the fbi people. Maybe I watch too many cop shows but shouldn't they take in the UC in addition to the bad guys? I'm sure all these Cells talk to each other .

The gun thing bugged me too. He could have shot his friend in the leg, no problem, didn't have to kill him. But it seemed he got some pleasure or something saying fbi.

another problem I have is why didn't farik know/look at darwins cell phone at any time? If they all had throw aways, I'd wonder who they were calling on their personal phone? If at anytime he checked the memory, darwin would have been fried.

When the girlfriend said "i think my boyfriends a terrorist', it was funny yet surreal. Talk about getting back at someone that pissed you off. That's the way to do it.

I agree that no one would hesistate to shoot first and ask questions later knowing for sure that the man had explosives and a remote with him. So when the asked farik to surrender, it was purely a waste of time and not real at all. If the batteries were in there, they'd all be dead.

going back to the start, I dont think when they stoned their friend in the field, they did a very good job of hiding the body. With something so important (link to them), you would think they would fry him or something.

While I felt bad for darwin's handler getting killed, wouldn't you pat someone down first then when you get them into custody? Loved the other lapd guy getting sent to sri lanka...wish they showed him over there.

[GadgetFreak]

Any news on season 2?

[JohnB1000]

Surely there's no way they could ever have planned a season 2. This has to be a one time shot.

Why did they show it over two weeks, were they just burning it off or was that planned. It worked well for me but it's not the normal way things are done.

Tony

[Idearat]

Comments about several eps since there aren't threads for each:
another problem I have is why didn't farik know/look at darwins cell phone at any time? If they all had throw aways, I'd wonder who they were calling on their personal phone? If at anytime he checked the memory, darwin would have been fried.

going back to the start, I dont think when they stoned their friend in the field, they did a very good job of hiding the body. With something so important (link to them), you would think they would fry him or something.


The phone thing was pretty stupid. As tight as Farik was with security he got more lax as the date approached.

It was mentioned only briefly, but the body was found by the FBI and they planted the story with the papers, it wasn't found by hikers. I don't remember the reasoning behind it, but it was done on purpose. They would have found it with information provided by Darwyn.

[dswallow]

They probably are using the FBI Undercover firmware in the phone -- the one that allows specific phone numbers to be hidden and never show up on lists, and permits the FBI to dial the phone to eavesdrop without any indication on the phone itself.

[darthrsg]

(quote)While I felt bad for darwin's handler getting killed, wouldn't you pat someone down first then when you get them into custody?(quote)

he trusted darwin plain and simple they were pals.


(quote)Any news on season 2?(quote)
none planned, but i hope it signifies a new approach to serial tv.

[newsposter]

They probably are using the FBI Undercover firmware in the phone -- the one that allows specific phone numbers to be hidden and never show up on lists, and permits the FBI to dial the phone to eavesdrop without any indication on the phone itself.

Would this include darwin speed dialing out to his boss all the time secretly so they can listen in? You only mentioned the fbi dialing in, not him dialing out. And it appeared darwin only pressed one button to dial out....glad farik never pressed that button by accident.


It was mentioned only briefly, but the body was found by the FBI and they planted the story with the papers, it wasn't found by hikers. I don't remember the reasoning behind it, but it was done on purpose. They would have found it with information provided by Darwyn.

I forgot about that but remember it now vaguely. However it only makes me wonder further why expose the finding of the body in any way? I'd think it's better for all concerned to let them think it was never found



(quote)While I felt bad for darwin's handler getting killed, wouldn't you pat someone down first then when you get them into custody?(quote)

he trusted darwin plain and simple they were pals.

But in that circumstance, I dont think darwin would have ensured his terrorist friend was weapon free in any circumstance.. He was taking his friend to a park to meet that agent woman friend and the terrorist apparently had the knife. Now if darwin had said 'he's clean' or something, then i can see where the trust thing comes in. But since the handler surprised, and knew he surprised darwin, i would have thought more care in taking a known terrorist would be in order.

of course there is the possibility he was going to toss him against a car to pat him down, like i see on Cops, but i dont know fbi protocols all that well.

[dswallow]

Would this include darwin speed dialing out to his boss all the time secretly so they can listen in? You only mentioned the fbi dialing in, not him dialing out. And it appeared darwin only pressed one button to dial out....glad farik never pressed that button by accident.
Must I also point out the fingerprint scanner in that speed dial button?

:)

[jkbird59]

where have i seen the blond fbi agent before?

[JTAnderson]

Shortly before Farik collected all the cell phones and calling cards, there was a scene on the roof (I think) with Darwin and Farik where important information was spoken. I sort of assumed that Darwin had activated his cell phone so his FBI buddies could listen and they were being coy about it. But that turned out not to be the case. I wonder why Darwin didn't activate his cell phone for this conversation. (Maybe he forgot.)

[northmoor]

I'd been enjoying the series, but it all fell apart the last episode. Letting the truck drive to Dodger Stadium made the FBI look more like the Keystone Cops. Oops, the big red truck, the only one leaving the fire, slipped away?

Oh, the remote control that started the decoy fire somehow magically made it out of the magically shielded warehouse to trigger the explosion. For weeks the FBI has been deaf and blind while they're in the building due to impenetrable shielding. Darwyn had to sneak up to the roof to make cell call.

At the stadium, Darwyn thinks it's better to have a prolonged fistfight with the french guy while the truck heads for the stadium rather than just shooting him. Did he really expect him to lie down as soon as he said "FBI" ?

Twenty agents surround the truck and threaten to shoot Farik. They believe he has his finger on a detonator and is about to blow himself up. How the heck is threatening to shoot him supposed to be a deterrent? That would seem to be a time they'd start shooting a little sooner.

I was happy with the series up until the finale, but seems like the ran out of ideas and just needed to finish up quick.

I agree with most of that. ... Plus, Farik or another member of the sleeper cell put the video tape of their farewell messages into the mail/drop box. And, when CNN got it, I'd expect that they'd air it as a scoop .. and on that tape was Darwyn. I guess Darwyn would have had to tell the FBI/HS about it, and then they went to intercept it at CNN?

The finale was just "okay" ... I didn't think it was particularly good. It was more like "as expected." But, I guess I was kind of subconciously expecting something more from this series on a premium channel like Showtime. So, it was a little disappointing in that sense.

[dswallow]

It might've been an interesting ending if the plot had succeeded and Darwin had been killed trying to stop it.

Of course, they'd never have been able to keep that ending a secret. ;)

[newsposter]

who was the mom of the blond terrorist?

And why didn't darwin, immediately upon talking to his fbi friends at the stadium...tell them that he deactivated the trigger? He knew it wasn't going to work. So why not tell the others there via their commander/radio etc and thus they would know better how to react in that situation.

[JerryLBell]

I hope Showtime got good ratings for this and that it wins a few awards as it's certainly the best thing I've ever seen Showtime do. It gives great HBO series like "The Sopranos", "Carnivale", "Deadwood" and "Rome" a run for their money (and, big fan of all four of those that I am, that's saying a lot!)! Great finale and a basically every episode leading up to it had me on the edge of my seat.

[northmoor]

I hope Showtime got good ratings for this and that it wins a few awards as it's certainly the best thing I've ever seen Showtime do. It gives great HBO series like "The Sopranos", "Carnivale", "Deadwood" and "Rome" a run for their money (and, big fan of all four of those that I am, that's saying a lot!)! Great finale and a basically every episode leading up to it had me on the edge of my seat.

I'd say Weeds is the best show I've seen on Showtime. If you missed it, you might check it out. It's a different type of show, a comedy. But, I thought it was much better than Sleeper Cell. I'd probably rate Huff and Dead Like Me as being better, too, but that's a closer call, to me.

All that being said, I would watch a second season of Sleeper Cell if they do that.

I haven't watched The L Word, but have heard good things about it.

[pjenkins]

I'd been enjoying the series, but it all fell apart the last episode.
I wouldn't say "fell apart", but it was flat compared to the rest of the series/buildup. I expected a better finale myself...

Letting the truck drive to Dodger Stadium made the FBI look more like the Keystone Cops. Oops, the big red truck, the only one leaving the fire, slipped away?
And yet, that is so true to life and shows how, in the midst of a panic situation, people are not paying attention to what they should be, especially basic first responders. It is actually an Al Qaeda technique used very effectively in many past attacks.

Oh, the remote control that started the decoy fire somehow magically made it out of the magically shielded warehouse to trigger the explosion. For weeks the FBI has been deaf and blind while they're in the building due to impenetrable shielding. Darwyn had to sneak up to the roof to make cell call.
Easy to do actually, the buildings were within hard wire range and the detonation control that the remote triggered was most likely in the shielded building wired to the C4 in the other.

At the stadium, Darwyn thinks it's better to have a prolonged fistfight with the french guy while the truck heads for the stadium rather than just shooting him. Did he really expect him to lie down as soon as he said "FBI" ?
As stated earlier, I think Darwyn (who was excellent in this, btw) had serious remorse about taking down his 'brothers' who he considered, for the most part, just 'seriously misguided Muslims'

Twenty agents surround the truck and threaten to shoot Farik. They believe he has his finger on a detonator and is about to blow himself up. How the heck is threatening to shoot him supposed to be a deterrent? That would seem to be a time they'd start shooting a little sooner.
That seems, again, typical of a US/FBI/Police response IMO.


I was happy with the series up until the finale, but seems like the ran out of ideas and just needed to finish up quick.
I agree it was flat, and I didn't like the way it ended myself, but for different reasons than these I guess :)

where have i seen the blond fbi agent before?
She was the wife on the HBO mini-series Mind of the Married Man. Quite attractive, IMO :) Sonya Walger http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0907427/

who was the mom of the blond terrorist?
Do you mean what is the actress' real name? Ally Walker (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001824/) She was on Profiler IIRC..

And why didn't darwin, immediately upon talking to his fbi friends at the stadium...tell them that he deactivated the trigger?
In all that confusion, he was only talking to her for 5 seconds and for all he knew, Farik had a backup, he couldn't be sure and they had to pursue immediately.

I'd say Weeds is the best show I've seen on Showtime. If you missed it, you might check it out. It's a different type of show, a comedy. But, I thought it was much better than Sleeper Cell.
I disagree, Sleeper Cell was much better than Weeds, but Weeds was good. The best Showtime series though has been Dead Like Me, brilliant show IMO.

[JTAnderson]

I hope Showtime got good ratings for this and that it wins a few awards as it's certainly the best thing I've ever seen Showtime do. It gives great HBO series like "The Sopranos", "Carnivale", "Deadwood" and "Rome" a run for their money (and, big fan of all four of those that I am, that's saying a lot!)! Great finale and a basically every episode leading up to it had me on the edge of my seat.
From what I've read, the ratings were abysmal, even by Showtime standards. Around 300,000 viewers for the finale and 200,000 on average. In contrast, Fat Actress premiered to 942,000 viewers (most of which it eventually lost).

[newsposter]

thx, I actually remember profiler..amazing how many current shows like it

[Mabes]

What I liked was the fact that they were not only terrorists, but master painters. What a job they did on the "emergency vehicle".

Also liked the fact that Darwyn was able to go through a car window head first and still be able to break the French guys neck.

But overall I enjoyed it.

[Havana Brown]

I thought Alex Nesic was great with the different languages and accents, and hot to boot. :o