The parallels between this miniseries and Fox’s 24 are obvious, but Sleeper Cell focuses primarily on the terrorists’ lives, with only some references to the counterterrorism/intelligence apparatus monitoring them. The hero is an agent of course, but one gets an immediate sense that he is simply along for the ride and has very little control over the cell’s actions, and in particular its charismatic and delicious-looking leader, Farik (Oded Fehr).

Ah, Oded Fehr, where to begin. He played a stereotypical “noble Arab warrior” type in one of my favourite movies, a tacky yet oddly authentic (i.e. dialogue was written using actual Ancient Egyptian words and grammar) adventure flick called The Mummy. In Sleeper Cell, he is a magnetic sociopath who pretends to be Jewish, even going as far as playing coach to a Zionist little league team, the Sinai Maccabees (Fehr is Jewish in real life, which probably makes this part unusual, if not challenging). His perspective on Islam is deeply frightening, as is his ability to manipulate the emotions of his subordinates.

The most interesting aspect of the show so far is the diversity of the cell itself. Apart from Fehr’s character (hinting at Saudi, nationality may be revealed in later episodes), all the other members are non-Arabs: a Bosnian, an ex-skinhead Frenchman and a blonde, blunt-featured American. The FBI agent is black, an issue that is raised early in the show when his comrade wondered why an Arab would trust him with anything significant. Quite a lot of effort is put into developing the characters and revealing their motivations. In one scene, the Frenchman is sobbing on the phone with his Moroccan wife, telling her that he still imagines them together and wishes they could see one another again. It does not inspire sympathy, but it does give him some dimension. I am not personally fond of the brooding FBI agent or his on-again-off-again girlfriend, but the rest of the characters are a fairly interesting group of psychopaths.

Being a spy drama, Sleeper Cell does have its fair share of exotic and overdrawn storylines, such as the shootout in Tijuana between the cell members and a Mexican business partner who oversees local drug smuggling and child prostitution operations under the supervision of a “terrorist accountant”. Still, it is fun to watch, in spite of the occasional bit of moralizing on what it means to be Muslim (just in case viewers aren’t clear on the difference between Muslims and al-Qaeda).

I’m not sure if the miniseries is already over or if there will be reruns. Apparently the DVD version comes out in March 2006. In any case, the first three episodes are worth watching.