JamesG
08-23-2017, 10:37 PM
"Homeland" Creator Responds to Open Letter From Angry Fans
by Michael O'Connell
August 23, 2017
Being a fan is hard. You spend years with a character and then, after only a season's worth of foreshadowing, he runs a Chevy Suburban through a hail of police gunfire in Midtown Manhattan. He dies, slumped over the wheel, without so much as a perfunctory last breath. You don't even get to say "goodbye."
Such was the fate of Peter Quinn, played by Rupert Friend for the past five seasons on Showtime's "Homeland", and a group of viewers care enough about his recent kill-off that they took out an ad in the Aug. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter.
The full-page declaration, both a rebuttal of Quinn's manner of exit and an airing of grievances about the drama in general, is framed as an open letter to the show's creators (namely showrunner Alex Gansa).
For those who do not watch the series: Quinn, a black ops CIA agent humbled by a stroke and drug addiction during his final season, was ultimately done in by his efforts to save central protagonist Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and a president-elect played by Elizabeth Marvel.
The depiction of his death was quite decisive. The group behind the letter, which goes by #NotOurHomeland, claims to have raised $4,000 in support of veterans charity Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and asked the producers to donate the same amount. They single out the portrayals of military vets, PTSD and survivors of stroke and sexual abuse as their biggest gripes with the show.
Their complaints did not fall on deaf ears. Gansa gave THR the following statement:
“It is painful to hear that that even a small segment of our devoted audience is disappointed in Homeland. Until now, I have refrained from commenting publicly on the death of Peter Quinn, believing that Rupert Friend's heart-wrenching performance should speak for itself. I have not changed my view.
Suffice to say that I mourn the loss of Peter Quinn as much as anybody and that the character was created not to denigrate but to honor the men and women who devote their lives to keeping America safe. In my eyes, he died a hero.”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/homeland-creator-responds-open-letter-angry-fans-1032053
by Michael O'Connell
August 23, 2017
Being a fan is hard. You spend years with a character and then, after only a season's worth of foreshadowing, he runs a Chevy Suburban through a hail of police gunfire in Midtown Manhattan. He dies, slumped over the wheel, without so much as a perfunctory last breath. You don't even get to say "goodbye."
Such was the fate of Peter Quinn, played by Rupert Friend for the past five seasons on Showtime's "Homeland", and a group of viewers care enough about his recent kill-off that they took out an ad in the Aug. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter.
The full-page declaration, both a rebuttal of Quinn's manner of exit and an airing of grievances about the drama in general, is framed as an open letter to the show's creators (namely showrunner Alex Gansa).
For those who do not watch the series: Quinn, a black ops CIA agent humbled by a stroke and drug addiction during his final season, was ultimately done in by his efforts to save central protagonist Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and a president-elect played by Elizabeth Marvel.
The depiction of his death was quite decisive. The group behind the letter, which goes by #NotOurHomeland, claims to have raised $4,000 in support of veterans charity Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and asked the producers to donate the same amount. They single out the portrayals of military vets, PTSD and survivors of stroke and sexual abuse as their biggest gripes with the show.
Their complaints did not fall on deaf ears. Gansa gave THR the following statement:
“It is painful to hear that that even a small segment of our devoted audience is disappointed in Homeland. Until now, I have refrained from commenting publicly on the death of Peter Quinn, believing that Rupert Friend's heart-wrenching performance should speak for itself. I have not changed my view.
Suffice to say that I mourn the loss of Peter Quinn as much as anybody and that the character was created not to denigrate but to honor the men and women who devote their lives to keeping America safe. In my eyes, he died a hero.”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/homeland-creator-responds-open-letter-angry-fans-1032053