South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The gripping, heart-stopping spirit of “24” inhabits the Showtime miniseries “Sleeper Cell.”

Islamic fundamentalist terrorists have targeted major American cities for attacks, the scope of which have no parallel – including Sept. 11. It falls upon one heroic figure, working deep undercover, to thwart the conspiracy.

“Sleeper Cell,” which plays out in 10 hourlong episodes, doesn’t boast the desensitizing body count and relentless mayhem of “24,” and the hero falls short of the charisma Kiefer Sutherland brings to Jack Bauer. On the other hand, the freedoms of premium cable allow “Sleeper Cell” to employ storytelling techniques, language and sexual explicitness that would be unacceptable on a broadcast network. Overall, when it comes to edge-of-your-couch tension and provocative plotting, the two serialized dramas are close kin.

Michael Ealy has the pivotal role as Darwyn Al-Sayeed, an undercover FBI agent and devout Muslim who is so intent on infiltrating the inner circle of a terrorist organization that he goes to prison to enhance his street credibility.

His motivation is simple and strong: He is sickened by what a relative handful of hate-mongers are doing in the name of his religion. “These guys have nothing to do with my faith,” he says.

The politically correct message that Islam is a religion of peace is pervasive, although not to a strident extent. This was a priority, according to co-executive producer Cyrus Voris, who said Muslims were purposefully hired as members of the crew and writing staff for their input.

“I think this show is a pretty balanced portrayal of what’s really out there. We have Islamic terrorists but the lead character is a practicing Muslim. I think that sort of balances out the issue of (whether) we are just portraying Islamic terrorists, because obviously we are not.”

Ealy is a strong presence as Darwyn, but the actor probably best known for “Barbershop” seems to be a few lead roles away from demonstrating the ability to carry as ambitious a production as “Sleeper Cell.”

Oded Fehr walks away with the film as Farik, the leader of the cell. Farik is said to be so well connected that he has access to the top, whoever that means.

Farik is a meticulous planner, staging rehearsals and dry runs so convincing that his closest lieutenants are unaware they are not carrying out the real thing. He also is a heartless commander, given to sadistic murders of those who lose his trust for the slightest transgression.

At the same time, Farik is a smooth-talking conniver, sufficiently adept at disguising his hatreds that he is able to pass himself off as a Jew, coaching a temple’s youth baseball team and charming the mothers of his players.

Fehr brings a built-in advantage to this aspect of his character, having been born in Israel. But he still had to stretch quite a bit, he said. “This character is the exact opposite of me. Playing such a bad human being was kind of scary for me.”

Fehr was so taken aback by Farik, he almost turned down the role. “I was going back and forth on it until I talked to my brother. He said, “So the script is great and the character is great and they’re paying you for this. You are an actor, aren’t you? I don’t see the problem.’ And I kind of went, “You know what? You’re right.””

Besides the career boost this role is going to give Fehr, whose credits include “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns,” playing a fanatical Muslim turned out to be an educational experience. “What’s really beautiful for me is that the show taught me about the other side of the peaceful Muslims, who live here in America and all of a sudden have to deal with being the enemy,” he said. “You know what? They are as scared as we are.”