Sleeper Cell

While America fights overseas, TV has spent the post-9/11 years focusing on the enemies among us. You can see the domestic rusting-from-within expressed as a supernatural metaphor on horror series such as "Invasion" and "Surface," as evil infiltrates the United States through an essential resource: water. And you can see it more directly as terrorism drama on "24" and, now, Showtime's "Sleeper Cell," which gives us radical fundamentalists who shop at Wal-Mart , have birthday parties in the park, and quote A Tribe Called Quest.

The Good Wife 10 p.m., Channel 4 The publicity for the season premiere of “The Good Wife’’ promises that Alicia (Julianna Margulies, pictured) will choose between Will and Peter, her husband. But of course that’s just promotion — the show’s writers have other, trickier, more long-term ideas in mind to keep that issue interesting over the coming weeks. Watching tonight’s episode, I felt happy to see the series return in such good form. The family drama and the office politics are still juicy as ever, with Michael Ealy (so great in “Sleeper Cell’’ — rent it)

The Good Wife 10 p.m., Channel 4 The publicity for the season premiere of “The Good Wife’’ promises that Alicia (Julianna Margulies, pictured) will choose between Will and Peter, her husband. But of course that’s just promotion — the show’s writers have other, trickier, more long-term ideas in mind to keep that issue interesting over the coming weeks. Watching tonight’s episode, I felt happy to see the series return in such good form. The family drama and the office politics are still juicy as ever, with Michael Ealy (so great in “Sleeper Cell’’ — rent it)

Like some of the best sci-fi, ABC’s “V’’ is bursting with allegorical possibility. The alien “Visitors’’ who come to Earth appear as attractive GQ models, and they try to seduce us into cult-like devotion to them. They promote peace and prosperity, glowing with the tranquillity of the “after’’ photos on antidepressant ads. They’re particularly interested in appealing to teenagers, as their ships hover over the cities of the world like ultimate video games. Among the Visitors’ promises: “Complete medical services to all’’ - yup, universal health care.

One reason "24" is so popular is its unrealism, as the bad guys shape-shift among nationalities and the FBI surveillance experts seem to have ESP. The Fox drama deploys guns, bombs, blood, sweat, torture, and grim lighting, and yet the action isn't truly scary so much as thrilling, like a car chase. Showtime's "Sleeper Cell," on the other hand, is truly scary. And that may be why the gripping terrorism series hasn't become the TV phenomenon it ought to be. Back for an eight-episode second season thanks to a ratings-blind move by Showtime, the drama is constructed out of the evil specifics of...

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A month after the US Supreme Court said people held as enemy combatants may challenge their detention, a defense lawyer still is trying to meet with a man who has been held for more than a year at the Charleston Naval Consolidated Brig. Lawyer Andy Savage filed a motion in federal court last week demanding to see Ali Seleh Al Marri, a native of Qatar who has been held without access to family, friends, or attorneys. "The Supreme Court's decision is clear: There's no wiggle room," Savage said Monday.

Like some of the best sci-fi, ABC’s “V’’ is bursting with allegorical possibility. The alien “Visitors’’ who come to Earth appear as attractive GQ models, and they try to seduce us into cult-like devotion to them. They promote peace and prosperity, glowing with the tranquillity of the “after’’ photos on antidepressant ads. They’re particularly interested in appealing to teenagers, as their ships hover over the cities of the world like ultimate video games. Among the Visitors’ promises: “Complete medical services to all’’ - yup, universal...

WASHINGTON -- The government will try to determine whether commercial data can be used to detect terrorist "sleeper cells" when it checks airline passengers against watch lists, the official running the project says. The Transportation Security Administration has been testing the project, known as Secure Flight, since November, but the project is being criticized on grounds it violates privacy laws. Secure Flight is supposed to be a more accurate method of checking manifests against terrorist watch lists than the current system, which is run by the...

Third in an eight-part series. "Flight attendant Cameron?" the voice from Dallas barks. "Are you going to sign in for your trip? Are you stuck in traffic?" Halle Cameron squints at the clock on her nightstand: 7 a.m., Sept. 11, 2001. American Airlines Flight 11 departs in 45 minutes from Logan International Airport, nonstop to Los Angeles. She had finally earned the seniority to pull cross-country flights like this, after 10 years of short-hop connections and layovers in Des Moines.

Surprisingly, Ray Liotta is not the flagrant psychopath in "Smith. " That role belongs to pretty boy Simon Baker, who kicks cats and blows away strangers who irk him. This time, Liotta is a closet psychopath, a rabid thief who's under cover as a suburban LA dad. He's gentle with his wife and kids, but he's got a gun and a fierce glare -- the Liotta glare -- always at the ready. "Smith" is about closets, about hiding in public, but it's not light like "Weeds," in which a suburban mom deals pot. This sharp new CBS series, premiering tonight at 10 on Channel 4, is a drama...

One reason "24" is so popular is its unrealism, as the bad guys shape-shift among nationalities and the FBI surveillance experts seem to have ESP. The Fox drama deploys guns, bombs, blood, sweat, torture, and grim lighting, and yet the action isn't truly scary so much as thrilling, like a car chase. Showtime's "Sleeper Cell," on the other hand, is truly scary. And that may be why the gripping terrorism series hasn't become the TV phenomenon it ought to be. Back for an eight-episode second season thanks to a ratings-blind move by Showtime, the drama is constructed out of the evil specifics of...

While America fights overseas, TV has spent the post-9/11 years focusing on the enemies among us. You can see the domestic rusting-from-within expressed as a supernatural metaphor on horror series such as "Invasion" and "Surface," as evil infiltrates the United States through an essential resource: water. And you can see it more directly as terrorism drama on "24" and, now, Showtime's "Sleeper Cell," which gives us radical fundamentalists who shop at Wal-Mart , have birthday parties in the park, and quote A Tribe Called Quest.

WASHINGTON -- The government will try to determine whether commercial data can be used to detect terrorist "sleeper cells" when it checks airline passengers against watch lists, the official running the project says. The Transportation Security Administration has been testing the project, known as Secure Flight, since November, but the project is being criticized on grounds it violates privacy laws. Secure Flight is supposed to be a more accurate method of checking manifests against terrorist watch lists than the current system, which is run by the airlines.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A month after the US Supreme Court said people held as enemy combatants may challenge their detention, a defense lawyer still is trying to meet with a man who has been held for more than a year at the Charleston Naval Consolidated Brig. Lawyer Andy Savage filed a motion in federal court last week demanding to see Ali Seleh Al Marri, a native of Qatar who has been held without access to family, friends, or attorneys. "The Supreme Court's decision is clear: There's no wiggle room," Savage said Monday.

MINNEAPOLIS -- A former Boston cabdriver who authorities believe may have been part of an Al Qaeda "sleeper cell" obtained a license to haul hazardous materials months after he was identified as a suspected terrorist by the FBI, officials said. The FBI identified Mohamad Kamal Elzahabi as a suspected terrorist before the attacks of 2001, the Star Tribune reported in yesterday's editions, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. Yet Minnesota Department of Public Safety officials said they did not know that Elzahabi was suspected of having Al Qaeda connections when he applied...

BERLIN — Germany’s top security official yesterday said he will reduce the number of police officers patrolling railway stations and other public places since a terrorism warning last year, but he made clear that a threat to the country still remains. Germany is a target for Islamic extremists, but the incidents that prompted the heightened security have been addressed, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said. Those included an unsuccessful attempt by Al Qaeda’s Yemeni offshoot to blow up two cargo planes over the United States, and a report that Islamic extremists...