Sleeper Cell the Series, discussion and more

Call for stories

2013-04-11T20:06:18Z

My name is Angelia Sparrow. I've been a member here since the series was airing.

These days, I run Inkstained Succubus Press.

We've got an anthology call out right now that begs for talented writers to get published and get paid. Filed off is a collection of fanfiction turned into original fiction. Any fandom, any pairing, any heat level. But you must "file off the serial numbers."

If your story is between 5000 and 10000 words, and you'd like to give this a try, check out the submission guidelines at http://www.inkstainedsuccubus.com All anthologies pay royalties on a quarterly schedule.

(We have a number of anthologies open right now, and are always reading stand alone work)

Thank you for your time, and my apologies if you see this more than once.

show music

2010-02-21T19:41:17Z

Hi folks,

Is there a web page where I can find playlists of the music used in the show? I'm specifically looking for the song used at the beginning of 1x03, but any other information would be great.

eta: found it: is the cover of im nin alu on cheb i sabbah's album la kahena.

Sleeper Cell now on DirecTV

2009-02-28T16:22:45Z

Just wanted to pop in and say they've been re-showing Sleeper Cell on DirecTV 101. If you have DirecTV you can catch it on that channel every Wednesday. I'm hoping that this means DirecTc bought a third season, similar to what they did for Friday Night Lights but I have seen nothing on the Internet to support that.

Also, for an unpopular opinion, I have to say I like Gayle. She really doesn't seem that bad.

Fic Post -- one slash, one gen

2007-08-01T02:14:51Z

I posted this today for smallfandomfest and thought I'd cross post here.

Title: Seeing Allah
Author: moosesal
Pairing/Characters: Christian/Tommy (with mentions of Zhara and Tommy's mom)
Rating/Category: NC17/slash (with het mentions)
Spoilers: general season 1
Summary: Christian reflects on his relationships with lovers and with Allah.
Beta: Thanks to romanyg for the beta.

Seeing Allah

---------------

I wrote this for Yuletide, but never linked here.

Title: There Is No God But God
Author: moosesal
Characters: Darwyn, Gayle, Farik
Rating: PG-13 gen fic
Spoilers: end of season 1
Summary: Gayle, Darwyn, and Farik all question their faith.
Beta: Thanks to romanyg for the beta.

There Is No God But God

Disappointed in no Season 3

2007-04-20T00:46:16Z

There's some nice wallpaper downloads at the above site. Too bad Showtime doesn't know a good thing when they have it. I bought both Seasons on DVD and watched them straight through. I just loaned them out to friends that are also hooked on them. I was really hoping for a third season.

Sleeper Cell on MySpace

Cancelled

2007-03-11T00:04:05Z

Showtime will not be renewing Sleeper Cell for a third season.

He also emphasizes that ratings aren't the primary factor in what drives him to renew or cancel a show. Because the premium network isn't beholden to advertisers, Greenblatt also takes into consideration critical acclaim and kudos, which led to a second-season pickup of the critically praised but low-rated drama "Brotherhood."

"For us, it's a matter of having a great lineup of shows that (subscribers) want to spend money on," he says.

But it's also a matter of limited shelf space, which led to the demise of the acclaimed "Sleeper Cell" after two installments.

"I would love to do more, but it really comes down to the economic question," he says. "These shows are very expensive to produce."

From the Hollywood Reporter article here.

Micheal Ealy has moved on to a new project...

Michael Ealy has landed a lead role in the ABC pilot "Suspect," a fast-paced procedural drama analyzing a lineup of suspects to determine the identity of the perpetrator.

And accorind to one imdb poster, fayvor2003, this was the idea for s3.

okay, here's the inside scoop on what was gonna' happen in the 3rd SLEEPER CELL -- of course, Darwyn is not dead. He wakes up in a US embassy Hospital, having been brought there by a mysterious blonde guy (re:Ilija). 18 months later, he's back in LA, most of his physical wounds healed(but not his psychological ones) & assigned to a Joint Terrorism Task Force Unit investigating terrorist threats on american soil. The Big Reveal is that Darwyn is undercover again -- this time working for an FBI internal investigations group that suspects someone inside the JTTF of leaking crucial info to Al Qaeda -- and Darwyn is tasked with finding the culprit...

MEANWHILE, unbeknownest to Darwyn, Farik has snuck back into the US and is hiding out on skid row in LA as the new Homeless Man and is recruiting new members to a new Sleeper Cell, determined to make one last strike against america -- but really Farik is on a suicide mission to eliminate Darwyn, revenge for the death of his wife, Samia...

that was the planned set-up for Season 3...

So disappointed we won't see that play out. I know a lot of people said there wasn't anywhere for the show to go after the second season but I really want to see Farik and Darwyn now openly at odds and Ilijia possibly working from the inside to help Darwyn and warring with his own feelings.

*sigh*

Henri Lubatti Interview

2007-03-01T02:46:35Z

Interview

Podcast

Check out a recent interview with Henri for my online magazine. You can read the hard copy and/or listen to the podcast. If you know of any places where these links should be posted, please feel free to do so. However, we do not give permission for any content from the interview to be posted.

sleeper_cell @ 2007-01-24T01:01:00

2007-01-24T06:08:46Z

Anyone know who does the cover of "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" in the last episode?

sleeper_cell @ 2007-01-19T01:41:00

2007-01-19T06:43:03Z

I have my local Borders ordering the soundtrack for me, but the theme isn't on it. Dammit.

Anyway, upon first seeing the last episode of season two I had assumed that Darwyn was still alive at the end, and since Farik got away I figured they pretty much left it wide open for a season three. But I just watched the last episode again and I'm not so sure. In the last scene did he die?

sleeper_cell @ 2007-01-15T18:09:00

2007-01-15T23:11:21Z

I happen to think that if Darwyn hadn't had interceded that Salim could have not done the dirty bomb. I think he was in that place of wavering in his belief in the extremist movement. Anyone else think so?

Growing tension (and violence) between Sunni and Shi'a in the U.S.?

2007-01-14T22:27:06Z

Also in the news:

The Detroit News reported that a spate of vandalism over the weekend involving stores owned by local Iraqis could stem from brewing sectarian Islamic tension in the United States.

While Shi'a and Sunni Muslims are fighting in Iraq, the two groups generally get along in Metro Detroit and the United States. But Muslim and Arab leaders say the recent hanging of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, spurred hard feelings.

They say the vandalized property was owned or operated by people of Iraqi descent who are Shi'a.

(The two major branches of Islam are split over governance of the faith. The Sunnis believe that because the prophet Muhammad designated no successor, the leader should be chosen or elected from the most knowledgeable Muslims. The Shi'a believe the leaders should be drawn from the bloodline of the prophet, from his daughter Fatima and her husband, Ali, who also was Muhammad's cousin.)

"People are scared to come here. It's very dangerous, this place," said Inaam Alkhafaji, referring to her Detroit business, Dana Media, whose windows were broken.

"It's a war with the Iraqi people. Maybe next time they kill us."

Next door, the window of the Al-Akhasi restaurant was boarded up - it, too, had been smashed.

The incidents follow similar acts of vandalism at stores along Seven Mile near Woodward, local Muslim leaders say.

FBI report details more interrogation techniques at Gitmo

2007-01-14T22:04:33Z

Anyone else see this? The Washington Post reported on an FBI report on the mistreatment of Muslim detainees at Gitmo:

A Marine captain pretended to urinate on a copy of the Koran during questioning of a Muslim detainee.

Interrogators wrapped a bearded prisoner's head in duct tape "because he would not stop quoting the Koran."

One interrogator bragged to an FBI agent that he had forced a prisoner to listen to "Satanic black metal music for hours," then dressed as a Catholic priest before "baptizing" him.

One agent reported being told that while questioning male captives, female interrogators would sometimes wet their hands and touch detainees' faces in order to interrupt their prayers. Such actions would make some Muslims consider themselves unclean and unable to continue praying.

Other tactics included wrapping a prisoner in an Israeli flag, subjecting others to extreme heat and cold, and sleep deprivation.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said all the information from the survey has been turned over to the Defense Department's inspector general.

My perspective on the show

2007-01-07T05:40:33Z

A little bit of background here: My name is Brittany, I'm twenty-one and a revert Muslimah. I consider myself pretty progressive in regards to my view of Islam.

I really wasn't interested in the show when it first came out. But when the second season started, I began watching it and became a big fan. I am in the process of watching season one now. I've only finished disc one of the three disc season one set but I'm really loving it already.

There were three moments when I really felt so disturbed I had to turn it off for a sec. These were after Bobby was stoned in the first episode, when that Muslim girl they were following was shown on the news and the camera went on her father ( I pretty much knew what the story was with that when I saw that part) and after the killing of the scholar. As a human being, and as a Muslim, I truly take offence at these barbaric people with their absurd ideas of what and what is not Islam, and to say 'sallahu aleyhi wa salaam' after the name of the Prophet all the way, saying these were things he would've done. It's really quite a mindset I find difficult to wrap my head around.

My only problem with it are what I like to call the "True Islam" moments. Where Darwyn is talking to some non-Muslim who makes a stupid comment about Muslim stereotypes and he has to correct them. It seems so 'like duh'ish to me. Like "You mean Muslims don't drink blood and eat children?" "Surah blah blah blah you eat one child you eat all of childhood." I hope you get what I mean.

Anyway. I can't find anywhere where I can download the damn theme. Oh well. Those are my thoughts.

sleeper_cell @ 2007-01-05T21:11:00

2007-01-06T02:13:12Z

Anyone perhaps know where I can find music from the show, or download the theme?

Fanfiction, we have fanfiction

2007-01-01T15:37:32Z

And baby, it is soooooooooooo good!

The yuletide fic exchange is targeted to small fandoms. Well. I went small with my request, and I got "Sleeper Cell" fic. *is still happy-dancing*

There is no God but God is short, but a very intensive look at Gayle, Darwyn and Farik as they each try coming to terms with what God wants of them, what they believe and who they really are.

It's one of the best short stories I've read all year, and I say that as an author who got three anthologies as trib copies.

(typo apology, my husband's computer font is tiny and I am not at my best before caffeine)

Some Icons...

2006-12-28T23:48:43Z

This is the first time I've played with making icons. So be gentle with me. :-)

Comments are love.
Credit to extant for the caps.
Credit is a must to both tinga13 and extant
Do Not Hotlink!!!!

QUESTIONS....

2006-12-18T21:28:26Z

Sorry if this has already been asked before but im new to the community & live in the U.K. I loved Sleepers Cell and it was one of the best shows ever!
I;ve been re watching some of the episodes on DVD & so happy to discover that there is a sleeper cell community!I was just wondering are there any muslims who watch this? And what is their opinion on the way Islam is portrayed in it?
I have 1 or 2 muslim friends who think the director did a great job.But one of my online Muslim friends said he found it offensive, how they showed a sex scene with Darwyn & Gayle with the "Azaan" playing in the background, she also said she thought it was hippocritical how they're making Darwyn seem like the "good" Muslim when he has committed fornication (sex before marriage)

any thoughts?

Golden Globe Nomination

2006-12-18T01:54:33Z

Michael Ealy is up for a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television," for his work as Darwyn.

He's got some stiff competition: Robert Duvall, Matthew Perry, Ben Kingsley and Bill Nighy

full list here:
http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2007/globes

Song Question & Episode Reaction

2006-12-17T03:24:40Z

Does anyone happen to know the name of the song used at the end of tonight's episode? I loved it but can't seem to find anything related to the lyrics at all. Thanks.

I just wanted to throw it out there that this season was my first season of Sleeper Cell. I just bought the first season on DVD and I'm really excited to be able to understand the full story. ;)

I've already noticed my feelings regarding Gayle are completely different than everyone else's but I was extremely upset that she was killed off. I personally loved her character and her relationship with both her son and Darwyn. I knew her relationship with Darwyn was going to be over this season the moment Agent Russell asked for her to spy on Darwyn, I just didn't know that she would end up being killed. I think the only good thing that came from her death is that now when and if there is a Season Three, Darwyn will definitely have more of an edge to him.

I too was able to catch the finale episode on my On Demand channel and have to say, great finale. The Darwyn that was portrayed in this episode is definitely going to be interesting to watch next season.

</div>

Just watched the whole thing...

2006-12-16T02:17:07Z

I don't want to spoil anyone who hasn't seen it all so....

I think they should have ended it at episode 7. Episode 8 felt strange to me, like I wasn't watching another show and the end felt like someting out of High Noon/The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, I mean what was that supposed to be about? It was awful! There wasn't any reason for it, it felt like it belonged in season 3 or something.

Farik is like a cockroach, you step on him and he's still alive, I just want him flushed down the toilet, what a tool. When Darwyn said "The female for the female" Farik was like...."oh shit," and because of him, his wife was blown away, well I didn't like her either, she was useless. I think the women were useless this season, I couldn't stand Gayle and Mina was worse. Gayle was a whiner and Mina was a character from a Lifetime movie, her husband was killed, she lost her baby and her employer is making her have sex with him. I don't know if we were supposed to feel sorry for her, but I didn't. She's a single white woman with no kids, who speaks multiple languages and lives in America, sounds good to me.

Gayle was even more useless this season than last season, I could never get what Darwyn saw in her except easy sex. I wish they didn't kill Patrice Sexner because she was a great character who had real chemistry with Darwyn.

The only part I like was Salim and his lover Jason, but then Salim wanted to blow himself up with Jason too...WTF, did he think they'd get to live together in Paradise or something? Their scenes were smoking! WoW.

Anyway hopefully Ilija will get tired of Farik, kill him, go back home and become a gangsta rap star.

sleeper_cell @ 2006-12-15T19:14:00

2006-12-16T00:14:56Z

I had to share this....I have suddenlink as a cable company and i went to re watch season 2 episode 1 and to my surprise they had loaded the entire season 2 on demand. Not sure how long it is going to be there so I am taking advantage of it.

sleeper_cell @ 2006-12-12T23:02:00

2006-12-13T04:02:49Z

hey does anyone happen to know the name of the actor who played the peaceful sheikh with the glasses from the first season?

TV Guide interview with Oded Fehr

2006-12-08T09:27:15Z

Oded Fehr on Sleeper Cell's Return: "Farik Is Still All-Powerful"
by Matt Webb Mitovich

If you think that Islamic extremist Faris Al-Farik, whose terror network's scheme to wreak explosive havoc on Los Angeles was foiled during the first season of Showtime's acclaimed Sleeper Cell, is down for the count, think again. Premiering Sunday at 9 pm/ET, and airing for eight consecutive nights, Sleeper Cell: American Terror finds Farik in U.S. captivity, but no less a force to be reckoned with. All the while, FBI agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed gets sucked into going undercover with another deadly cell. TVGuide.com asked Farik's portrayer, the compelling Oded Fehr, for a preview.

TVGuide.com: Were you concerned at all about the fate of Farik at the end of last season?
Oded Fehr: Really, I didn't know where we were going. I didn't even know whether we'd have a second season. I was very proud of the show, and then we got nominated for a Golden Globe.... Once we passed the first year and I realized that these writers are fantastic, that I can trust the material, I knew we'd do great.

TVGuide.com: From the first new episode alone, it looks like Farik might be as dangerous and capable in captivity as he was out.
Fehr: I think that's what they're trying to suggest, which is great. It works really well that way.

TVGuide.com: There's a chilling moment where he almost impossibly utters the name of a we-soon-learn-is-doomed FBI agent. What is your favorite moment from the first episode?
Fehr: Probably that one, and when Farik turns on [one of his captors] with a cup of tea. But that first moment was great, underlining, "Where the heck did he get that information from?" Even though he's in captivity, he is still kind of all-powerful, which is kind of cool. The ending of the first episode, I think, is very, very powerful and very disturbing.

TVGuide.com: Do you think the series is as relevant, or even more relevant, this season?
Fehr: I think it is as relevant as it was last year. The writers are very good at making the show as real as dramatically possible, and they draw on real life as much as they can. The character of the female terrorist [Mina, played by newcomer Thekla Reuten] is something they never felt comfortable doing until they read about the two girls who were European and converted to Islam and attempted to join the insurgents in Iraq. They really imitate life in that way.

TVGuide.com: Considering the new circumstances, can we expect any scenes with you and Michael Ealy (Darwyn)?
Fehr: Of course. There are not many, I'm afraid to say, which was really hard this time around, but there's definitely going to be a big meeting at the end.

TVGuide.com: Which of the new cast members is the one to watch?
Fehr: They are all the ones to watch, really. Felicia [Fasano], our casting director, is absolutely amazing at her job, so every actor that we've had, whether a guest star or one of the leads.... I mean, Henri Lubatti, who plays Ilija, this year really gets to explore his character, and does a fantastic job. The interesting thing is that last year involved a lot of technical things, whereas this year we delve into these characters a bit more. Everyone gets to stretch their acting muscles.

TVGuide.com: What would you say the theme of this season is?
Fehr: Self-doubt. There's a lot of self-doubt going on in all of it.

TVGuide.com: Yeah, we see a hint of that in the season opener, with Michael.
Fehr: With everyone. Nothing is as black and white as it was last season. Even with Farik, nothing is black and white — even though he tries to keep it that way.

TVGuide.com: What's your take on Showtime's plan to make all eight episodes available online starting Sunday? And to air them all during one week?
Fehr: It's great. It's one of those shows, I find, that people enjoy watching one episode after the other. Everyone I spoke to who saw it on DVD watched it within one or two days.

TVGuide.com: A lot of Showtime's programs are like that.
Fehr: Yeah. The reason, especially with our show, is that each episode isn't standalone. It's not like you can watch one and go, "OK, that was great. I feel very fulfilled." It's very enjoyable watching it one after the other, consecutively.

TVGuide.com: On to other topics: a comic-book fan friend of mine wants to ask you why Justice League was canceled? [Fehr voiced Dr. Fate.]
Fehr: I have no idea. I did quite a few episodes of it and loved it, so I'm very surprised they have canceled it.

TVGuide.com: Do you own your own action figure?
Fehr: No, I don't. I never knew one existed, so your friend needs to get me one, please! [Laughs] I'll pay him for it. Seriously.

TVGuide.com: Where do things stand with the Deuce Bigalow and The Mummy franchises?
Fehr: Deuce Bigalow, my feeling is that it's done. As far as The Mummy, I have no doubt that Universal will be interested to do another one in some shape or form. My character, Ardeth Bay, is still to be reckoned with, though the last script I heard about only had Rachel [Weisz] and Brendan [Fraser]'s characters. If they ever ask me, I will be more than happy to do another one. The Mummy is what made me a working actor, and I'm very proud of it.

TVGuide.com: Lastly, what can you tease about the next Resident Evil movie?
Fehr: We shot it all in Mexico, a lot of it in the dunes of Mexciali, so it has a very postapocalyptic, Mad Max feel to it. The script was better than the first two, and visually it's going to be better. There will be a lot of great action in it, and there are great new characters in it. Ali Larter (Heroes), obviously, joined the group, and she's great. I think it's going to be the bomb, the best of all three, for sure.

source

x-posted

Article about the new season

2006-12-07T12:32:40Z

Sleeper Cell': A gripping tale that'll keep you up at night

MAUREEN RYAN, Chicago Tribune

It’s hard to imagine an acting challenge more difficult than the one faced by Oded Fehr in “Sleeper Cell: American Terror.”

In the second season of this solid Showtime series (8 p.m. Sunday), as in the first, he plays Islamic terrorist Faris Al-Farik, a man who not only plans heinous deeds but indeed looks forward to the resulting death tolls.

In Fehr’s hands, as much as you despise the character’s twisted goals, you never lose sight of the beliefs that drive Al-Farik. The man’s tenacity and determination must be acknowledged, as well as his charismatic reserve.

The series would fall apart if Al-Farik were a cardboard cutout villain. Who’d want to watch eight hours of this man’s journey if he were just a shallow action-movie bad guy? But thanks to Fehr’s brave, layered performance, it’s impossible to ignore Al-Farik or the ideas that motivate him.

And that may be the point. We may not want to think that people so cunning and committed to our destruction are in our midst, but the terrifying truth behind this timely series is that they must be.

At the opening of season two, which runs for eight consecutive nights, Al-Farik is in U.S. custody. The terrorist plot of the previous season was broken up, thanks to the work of undercover agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed (Michael Ealy). Al-Farik’s captors think that through torture and psychological games, they can break the Al Qaeda operative and get him to spill secrets. What they find is that he’s manipulating them more than they thought possible.

“Accept that your world is never going to be safe again until you make peace with Islam on our terms,” Al-Farik says through gritted teeth to his American interrogators.

Much of what drove the first season was the tension between Al-Sayeed and Al-Farik. The FBI agent Al-Sayeed, a deeply devout Muslim convert, had to hide his loathing for Al-Farik’s twisted version of their faith - and conceal the fact that he was not a true believer but an American agent working to foil the cell’s plot.

In the second season, Al-Sayeed, whose part in disrupting the previous plot was never made public, ends up leading another terror cell in Los Angeles. He has to not only keep down the body count of his unruly underlings, a motley international crew, he also has to contend with an FBI case officer more intent on glorifying his career - and covering his behind - than on helping the undercover agent.

Ealy Ealy plays the role of Al-Sayeed with hunched, inward-looking body language; his true self is in hiding, or so the agent thinks. Without Al-Farik to spar with, Al-Sayeed’s inscrutability and “Sleeper Cell’s” occasionally shallow writing slow things down, though there are passages, especially at the end of the first episode, in which Al-Sayeed erupts with electric fury at developments that mirror unthinkable things that have happened in the real world.

In this season, as in the last one, the lesser characters in the plot aren’t as compelling as they could be, especially compared with Al-Farik. And Al-Sayeed’s continuing romance with a civilian woman, who last season wasn’t aware of his real job, often seems like an afterthought or a convenient plot device. Why would this man, so smart in other ways, be so rash and thoughtless as to involve an innocent bystander and her child in a world that is so dangerous? The series never adequately explains that.

And this season, instead of following one cell’s plans, we get three parallel plots in the first few hours: Al-Farik’s harsh stints in the custody of Americans and then the more brutal Saudis; former cell member Ilija’s attempt to stay undercover with his girlfriend; and Al-Sayeed’s takeover of the L.A. terrorist cell. As the strands come together, the story gains in tension and you want very much to know what happens next.

Even if what happens next is the unthinkable.
Also on Sunday, HBO premieres the elegiac fictional mini-series “Tsunami: The Aftermath” (7 p.m.); the second half airs Dec. 17. As with “Sleeper Cell,” we are given a well-made glimpse into events and situations that we might rather look away from.

Families glowing with relaxation chill out at a resort in Thailand, hardworking employees go about their business - the biggest problem anyone faces is a polite disagreement at the reception desk. Then, the deluge comes. The disaster - along with its aftermath - is depicted with accuracy and sensitivity by a cast that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Okonedo, Tim Roth and Toni Collette.

It’s heartbreaking to watch. But in this world, as both “Sleeper Cell” and “Tsunami” show with great honesty and seriousness of purpose, we are all connected, from Thailand to England, from Bosnia and Saudi Arabia to L.A. Even if we wanted to ignore that fact, we can’t.

source

Article and Sneak peek

2006-12-04T08:24:55Z

Over here you can read a small article about the second season, but more importantly they give away a link to watch the first episode:
http://www.sho.com/site/vip/home.do
Password: sneakpeek

Judging from your comments, ~~I seem to have posted the wrong link the last time~~, because now I'm able to watch the episode :)

ETA: Sorry, it seems to be the same link that fortunately works now :)