NBC's The Brave: a new show I'm enjoying and why
I'm really enjoying the NBC show The Brave. The show is a lot of fun, has a great ensemble cast with characters who are interesting and also a little bit hawt.
Blurb: In the dark and complex world of America's elite undercover military heroes, Defense Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Patricia Campbell and her team of analysts wield the world's most advanced surveillance technology from headquarters in D.C. All the while, Adam Dalton and his heroic Special Ops squad of highly trained undercover specialists use their unbreakable bond and commitment to freedom to save lives of innocent people and execute missions in some of the most dangerous places in the world.
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At present, season 1 is only comprised of 12 episodes, 9 of which have aired as at end of November 2017:
It's just incredibly disappointing to me because Seal Team is so crappy by comparison ahd has been renewed. The Brave despite having some of the usual military/intelligence tropes actually feels quite different/new in some ways and I do enjoy that it's a truly ensemble cast.
The "team" is split into the Washington team back at the Defence Intelligence Agency back in Washington, D.C. and the Omega Team in the field, based out of the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.
Washingon-based team
Patricia Campbell, Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency played by Anne Heche.
Noah Morgenthau, an analyst at the DIA and former CIA operative played by Tate Ellington.
Hannah Archer, a former operative turned analyst at the DIA played by Sofia Pernas.
The US-based team are the weaker link given that I'm not a huge fan of the Patricia Campbell character and Hannah Archer is a little nondescript, but Noah's character has some good moments in the episode The Seville Defection.
Incirlik-based team
The real strength of the show lies in the Omega Team based at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. OMEGA is a Joint CIA-JSOC unit of “Hunter/Killer Teams.” From what I have read, it's a combination of the best of the best in military operations and intelligence, with the CIA providing targeting intelligence, and JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) providing Special Ops soldiers to do the heavy lifting in the field.
To quote Mike Vogel, one of the main characters: "Our unit, our team, is an Omega team. What they do is they pool from the best. They pool from Dev Group [Naval Special Warfare Development Group], Delta Force, MARSOC [United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command] and CIA. So, they bring the best of the best together for very mission-specific missions. Our characters come from very different backgrounds, but the tactics amongst these special operations units share a lot of similarities. It’s important to move as a unit, as one organism, in conjunction with one another without even having to communicate. That’s what’s important. That comes from getting to know the person to your left and your right to the point that you know who that is even in darkness just by the way they move. And if they move a certain way, you can pick up on their signs. And this is what is really developed into them."
Adam Dalton, a former Delta force operator, communications director for the team, played by Mike Vogel.
He could come across as your generic, Teutonic, blond hero type but I like him. He's likeable and smart and he respects his team. Tangentially, I've also liked Mike Vogel since his days of playing the very sympathetic character of Johnny Foote in the movie The Help. Like his wife Celia, they're just incredibly endearing ...
CPO Ezekiel "Preach" Carter, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, played by Demetrius Grosse
Preach is a little bit bland because while we know that he has a wife and daughters, we know little else about him except that he is Christian and does have a habit of preaching at the team. He is observant though and out of everyone, seems to be the most insightful in terms of relationships and dynamics.
Sergeant Jasmine "Jaz" Khan, the team's sniper, played by Natacha Karam
Natacha Karam for Homeland fans played undercover Mossad agent Mina in season 6:
Her rôle in The Brave is much less sexualised and portrays a very capable woman who does not rely upon her appearance or sexuality to do her job. Jaz is, without a doubt, my favourite character. It's not just that she's a female sniper which is already cool... Her character is strong without being clichéd and stereotypical. She is extremely capablele, strong and brave but she has shortcomings - for instance the way she behaves towards Amir initially.
Dalton trusts her to take the overwatch position and protect the team, he also often selects her to be his partner in the field, trusting her with his life unhesitatingly. He doesn't do the usual: "Oh I must protect her and make irrational decisions," that you expect when there's a female in the team.
gifset by gargoyles42
In fact, he trusts her judgment and as demonstrated in episode 1.02, does not intervene but trusts her to think on her feet even when she's in very dire circumstances.
At present there is nothing romantic between the two of them, but I totally ship them. I just can't help it. There's a nice dynamic and chemistry between them and they're two somewhat isolated, lonely souls. They tick all my boxes in terms of what I like in a ship so of course I've started writing fan fiction about them even though canon might come along and totally blow my fic out of the water. .
Sergeant Joseph J. "McG" McGuire, the team's combat medic, a former Delta operator, played by Noah Mills
McG is likeable but we've only just started getting a back story for him. Played by a Canadian Dolce & Gabbana model, I find it a little hard to take him seriously but at present he is decent in his performance which requires him to be a bit of a player.
Hadi Tabbal as Agent Amir Al-Raisani, intelligence director and newest member of the team.
I didn't much care for Amir in the first episode but he has really grown upon me and by the episode It's All Personal, I'm very impressed by actor Hadi Tabbal's performance. Smart, multi-lingual and driven, Amir is very nuanced and I'm quite impressed by how he can portray sensitive, menacing and unsure ... The actor is also very impressive, being a a stage actor and professor as well as a television actor. There's an interesting article called ‘The Brave’ star leading the charge against Muslim stereotypes on TV which has some interesting information on Tabbal.
So there you have it. I will probably do some episode pic spams/recaps but I thought I would do an initial introduction about the show.
Things I don't like about the show:
Links
Not a huge amount of discussion but there are a few places for information and discussion about the show.
Blurb: In the dark and complex world of America's elite undercover military heroes, Defense Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Patricia Campbell and her team of analysts wield the world's most advanced surveillance technology from headquarters in D.C. All the while, Adam Dalton and his heroic Special Ops squad of highly trained undercover specialists use their unbreakable bond and commitment to freedom to save lives of innocent people and execute missions in some of the most dangerous places in the world.
*
At present, season 1 is only comprised of 12 episodes, 9 of which have aired as at end of November 2017:
- Pilot
- Moscow Rules
- The Greater Good
- Break Out
- Enhanced Protection
- The Seville Defection
- It's All Personal
- Stealth
- Desperate Times (airs 20 November 2017 US time, 21 November 2017 Australian time)
It's just incredibly disappointing to me because Seal Team is so crappy by comparison ahd has been renewed. The Brave despite having some of the usual military/intelligence tropes actually feels quite different/new in some ways and I do enjoy that it's a truly ensemble cast.
The "team" is split into the Washington team back at the Defence Intelligence Agency back in Washington, D.C. and the Omega Team in the field, based out of the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.
Washingon-based team
Patricia Campbell, Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency played by Anne Heche.
Noah Morgenthau, an analyst at the DIA and former CIA operative played by Tate Ellington.
Hannah Archer, a former operative turned analyst at the DIA played by Sofia Pernas.
The US-based team are the weaker link given that I'm not a huge fan of the Patricia Campbell character and Hannah Archer is a little nondescript, but Noah's character has some good moments in the episode The Seville Defection.
Incirlik-based team
The real strength of the show lies in the Omega Team based at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. OMEGA is a Joint CIA-JSOC unit of “Hunter/Killer Teams.” From what I have read, it's a combination of the best of the best in military operations and intelligence, with the CIA providing targeting intelligence, and JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) providing Special Ops soldiers to do the heavy lifting in the field.
To quote Mike Vogel, one of the main characters: "Our unit, our team, is an Omega team. What they do is they pool from the best. They pool from Dev Group [Naval Special Warfare Development Group], Delta Force, MARSOC [United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command] and CIA. So, they bring the best of the best together for very mission-specific missions. Our characters come from very different backgrounds, but the tactics amongst these special operations units share a lot of similarities. It’s important to move as a unit, as one organism, in conjunction with one another without even having to communicate. That’s what’s important. That comes from getting to know the person to your left and your right to the point that you know who that is even in darkness just by the way they move. And if they move a certain way, you can pick up on their signs. And this is what is really developed into them."
Adam Dalton, a former Delta force operator, communications director for the team, played by Mike Vogel.
He could come across as your generic, Teutonic, blond hero type but I like him. He's likeable and smart and he respects his team. Tangentially, I've also liked Mike Vogel since his days of playing the very sympathetic character of Johnny Foote in the movie The Help. Like his wife Celia, they're just incredibly endearing ...
Click to viewCPO Ezekiel "Preach" Carter, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, played by Demetrius Grosse
Preach is a little bit bland because while we know that he has a wife and daughters, we know little else about him except that he is Christian and does have a habit of preaching at the team. He is observant though and out of everyone, seems to be the most insightful in terms of relationships and dynamics.
Sergeant Jasmine "Jaz" Khan, the team's sniper, played by Natacha Karam
Natacha Karam for Homeland fans played undercover Mossad agent Mina in season 6:
Her rôle in The Brave is much less sexualised and portrays a very capable woman who does not rely upon her appearance or sexuality to do her job. Jaz is, without a doubt, my favourite character. It's not just that she's a female sniper which is already cool... Her character is strong without being clichéd and stereotypical. She is extremely capablele, strong and brave but she has shortcomings - for instance the way she behaves towards Amir initially.
Dalton trusts her to take the overwatch position and protect the team, he also often selects her to be his partner in the field, trusting her with his life unhesitatingly. He doesn't do the usual: "Oh I must protect her and make irrational decisions," that you expect when there's a female in the team.
gifset by gargoyles42
In fact, he trusts her judgment and as demonstrated in episode 1.02, does not intervene but trusts her to think on her feet even when she's in very dire circumstances.
At present there is nothing romantic between the two of them, but I totally ship them. I just can't help it. There's a nice dynamic and chemistry between them and they're two somewhat isolated, lonely souls. They tick all my boxes in terms of what I like in a ship so of course I've started writing fan fiction about them even though canon might come along and totally blow my fic out of the water. .
Sergeant Joseph J. "McG" McGuire, the team's combat medic, a former Delta operator, played by Noah Mills
McG is likeable but we've only just started getting a back story for him. Played by a Canadian Dolce & Gabbana model, I find it a little hard to take him seriously but at present he is decent in his performance which requires him to be a bit of a player.
Hadi Tabbal as Agent Amir Al-Raisani, intelligence director and newest member of the team.
I didn't much care for Amir in the first episode but he has really grown upon me and by the episode It's All Personal, I'm very impressed by actor Hadi Tabbal's performance. Smart, multi-lingual and driven, Amir is very nuanced and I'm quite impressed by how he can portray sensitive, menacing and unsure ... The actor is also very impressive, being a a stage actor and professor as well as a television actor. There's an interesting article called ‘The Brave’ star leading the charge against Muslim stereotypes on TV which has some interesting information on Tabbal.
So there you have it. I will probably do some episode pic spams/recaps but I thought I would do an initial introduction about the show.
Things I don't like about the show:
- Not a huge fan of Patricia Campbell. I find Heche's portrayal a little forced
- Not a huge fan of the possible ship between Dalton/Patricia. It's just a bit yucky.
- Sometimes the Washington scenes are a little weak
- The Omega team
- Dalton's leadership of his team
- The interactions of the Omega team
- Jaz
- Amir
- Jaz-Amir interactions (non-shippy)
- Jaz-Dalton interactions (shippy and non-shippy)
- The truly ensemble nature of the cast. Dalton might be the lead, but we are gradually learning about each team member. For instance, the pilot gave us tiny crumbs about each of them. We learned more about Dalton in 1.02 Moscow Rules, more about Amir in 1.07 It's All Personal, more about McG in 1.08 Stealth and little snippets about all of them throughout the series.
Links
Not a huge amount of discussion but there are a few places for information and discussion about the show.
- reddit forum for The Brave
- previously.tv forum
- youtube channel for The Brave
- Official twitter for The Brave
- instagram of Natacha Karam
- instagram of Mike Vogel
- images of Mike Vogel in The Brave from mike-vogel.com
- NBC Official site
- Official Facebook page for The Brave
- ao3: The Brave fan fiction. As at 21 November 2017 there are only 9 works, but I'm hoping there will be more soon.
- The Brave tag on tumblr