9-10 nightly, Sunday, Dec. 10-17
Showtime

Quick, will someone check to see if Saudi Arabia is on the Showtime payroll? Last weekend, as if part of some incredibly ingenious marketing plan for Showtime's eight-hour sequel miniseries, "Sleeper Cell: American Terror," the desert sheikhdom rounded up 139 alleged sleeper cell members. News reports said they had links to al-Qaida and were nabbed in the nick of time.

The new "Sleeper Cell," a taut, fast-paced account of terrorists in our midst, is as exciting as the original and, as the Saudi Arabian arrests demonstrated, every bit as relevant. The sequel broadens the scope of the story. This time, there's more than a sly game of preventing a deadly attack and uncovering terrorist commanders. There's also a closer examination of tangled international alliances and the methods used to interrogate prisoners.

The new miniseries picks up where the old one left off, after undercover FBI agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed (Michael Ealy) thwarted a plan for a chemical weapons attack on a crowded Dodger Stadium. In the opener, Darwyn infiltrates a new sleeper cell in Los Angeles. At the same time, Faris Al-Farik (Oded Fehr), the captured leader of the old cell, defies a variety of brutal and subtle interrogation techniques.

"Sleeper Cell," the creation of exec producers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, is at its best during the surprising, often violent confrontations between the terrorist plotters and outsiders and among the members of the cell itself -- and there are plenty of these tense moments. Reiff and Voris have come up with yet another full-bodied story with lots of mercurial characters.

They also ask us to accept a seemingly contradictory set of circumstances. Although Darwyn's agile mind saves the day over and over again, his superiors are bureaucratic bunglers with little understanding of the terrorist mind. Agent Russell (Jay R. Ferguson) became Darwyn's handler both because of nepotism and a belief that the operation would fail. If it's important enough to assign Darwyn to the risky role of infiltrator, why isn't it important enough to give him a handler who isn't a doofus?

When Fehr reprises the role of Faris, he re-creates one of the most vivid and frightening villains of our time. His cause is abhorrent, but his discipline and dedication are astounding. Ealy is a charismatic hero, carefully walking a tightrope to protect his true identity.

Production credits are strong, lending credibility to the worldwide scope of the drama. Especially praiseworthy is the work of director Clark Johnson, who helmed the first two episodes. His work here, as well as on "The Shield" and "The Wire," puts him on the highest tier of those who tell nail-biting stories with richly textured characters.

Showtime will show a new episode every night until the conclusion Dec. 17.

SLEEPER CELL: AMERICAN TERROR
Showtime
Cardboard Guru Prods.
Credits:
Executive producers/creators/writers: Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris
Producer: Ann Kindberg
Co-producers: Kamran Pasha, Alexander Woo, Angel Dean Lopez
Director: Clark Johnson
Director of photography: Matthew Jensen
Production designer: Stephen Marsh
Editor: Lance Anderson
Music: Paul Haslinger
Set designer
Casting: Felicia Fasano, Kim Coleman
Cast:
Darwyn Al-Sayeed: Michael Ealy
Faris Al-Farik: Oded Fehr
Ilija Korjenic: Henry Lubatti
Mina: Thekla Reuten
Salim: Omid Abtahi
Benny Velasquez: Kevin Alejandro
Gayle Bishop: Melissa Sagemiller
Agent Russell: Jay R. Ferguson
Agent Serxner: Sonya Walger
Agent Diaz: Carlos Gomez