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Homeland Security USA: Season 1
  • Network: ABC
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 6, 2009
  • Season #: 1
Metascore
47 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
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  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    50
    While some of the "finds" the security officers uncover at border crossings tonight at the Los Angeles International Airport, at the Blaine, Wash./Canada border, at the US/Mexican border and while patrolling the desert outside Tucson, are interesting, most are not.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    50
    As is so often the case, however, it's difficult to invest real-life police work with the sense of excitement that television doles out in scripted programming--even with music whose urgency borders on the comical.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Tom Shales
    50
    There's little about Homeland Security USA that's warmly reassuring in the post-9/11 world. But the agents do behave with commendable civility (at least while cameras are trained on them) and apparent diligence.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Richmond
    50
    Creator/producer Shapiro and company do a commendable job establishing the formula early on. The problem is that the concept is by nature wholly repetitive.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    40
    Homeland Security USA is a powerful ego boost for insecure civil servants, but it doesn't reveal much about the homeland's actual security.
  6. Slate
    Reviewed by: Troy Patterson
    40
    Rolling the wars on terror, drugs, and illegal immigration into one rhetorical package, Homeland Security USA plays partly like a pumped-up recruiting film, partly like a public-affairs outreach video for hard-core video gamers.
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User Reviews

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User Score
6.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 2 out of 5
  1. AhrenW
    0
    They need to show them hunting down illegal aliens that have not commited any crimes other than being here illegally to really make this an unbiased look at Homeland Security. They need to show the innocent American children that go through the hardship of lossing one or both parents to deportation. This show disgusts me. Show the stories your trying to keep secret from the public. No one is illegal. When my great grand parents emigrated here from Western Europe their was no such thing as an illegal immigrant. We need to cancel this show. Stop punishing innocent people for wanting a better life for themselves and their children. Thank you.… Full Review »
  2. JennetP
    0
    This is not a television show; it's an infomercial. No drama, no interesting characters, just one illustration after another of what a fine job the Homeland Security folks are doing to keep us all safe in our beds. No, it's not the first show to paint a rosy picture of law enforcement; even those psychotic bounty hunters on "Dog" enjoy the ethical airbrushing that American television applies to everyone chasing lawbreakers. Where this show offends is in portraying every violation of customs and immigration law as implicated in terrorism. Complex policy issues that we face as a nation are not helped by portraying every illegal farm worker as a potential recruit and every $5 marijunana purchase as a contribution to the C-4 kitty. If this is a product of the "liberal media" that pundits are always bleating about, then I'd hate to see what a conservative media would serve up. Live capital punishment, perhaps? When all is said and done, the show is not really interested in keeping us safe in our beds; it's interested in keeping us asleep, a goal aided by the fact that, on top of everything else, the show is BORING. It's an infomercial selling complacency, and I fervently hope American viewers are not buying,… Full Review »
  3. RandyW
    10
    This show just gives us the truth about the types of things these Border Patrol guys come across. It's a variety of threats, events, and misunderstandings. It's pretty cool tp watch.… Full Review »
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