Monthly Archives: April 2015

WTA 33- Season 3 Episode 13 March 8, 1983

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:47:10 — 49.4MB)

So many people have a bad day in the Season 3 finale of The Americans we can hardly keep track! It’s Season 3 Episode 13 “March 8, 1983” written by Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields and directed by Daniel Sackheim. The original air date was April 22, 2015.

Paige and Elizabeth journey to West Berlin where they meet Elizabeth’s dying mother. Gabrielle confronts Philip who is becoming more and more unglued. Philip visits another EST seminar where he meets and talks with Sandra. Stan reveals to Gaad that he has been working Oleg and has him on tape confessing treason and Zinaida’s role as a double agent. Gaad furiously tries to have Stan fired and is overruled by the Deputy Attorney General. Philip kills FBI computer specialist Greg and frames him for bugging Gaad’s office. Paige and Elizabeth return home, and Paige tells her mother she doesn’t think she can lie to everyone like her parents do. Philip tries to tell Elizabeth how he is feeling about what he has done and she turns away from him. Elizabeth tells Philip she believes Paige is doing fine with her new knowledge, while Paige weeps in the room next door. She calls Pastor Tim and tells him she is in pain, and that her parents aren’t who they say they are – the are Russians!

We have your latest news! First up we have a great interview by Alan Sepinwall from Hitfix with Joe and Joel and their view that ‘it may be that our sense of bad is changing’. Next up is a piece from Grantland all about Spies in the House of Love, and we wind up with the HuffPo revealing 7 Reasons ‘The Americans’ Was So Addictive This Year.

We have good things for you in history and tech this week! We start with Anton and Nina in their Siberian labor camp, then we listen to President Reagan’s Evil Empire Speech. For tech we fire up the trusty Commodore 64 Computer, pack up our Samsonite Suitcases, and call Pastor Tim on our stylish Princess Phone.

Plus we get your great thoughts about the Season 3 finale!

We do so love to hear your thoughts about The Americans so please send them to us! You can email text or audio feedback to watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or signal us (we have replaced the operator!) at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans. Please like us on our Facebook page Watching The Americans. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in iTunes!

WTA 32-Season 3 Episode 12 I Am Abassin Zadran

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:38:09 — 45.3MB)

Poor Martha and Paige! It’s their time to shine in The Americans’ Season 3 Episode 12 “I Am Abassin Zadran” written by Peter Ackerman & Stuart Zicherman and directed by Christopher Misiano. The original air date was April 15, 2015.

Paige continues to angrily question her parents about her history and place in the world. She escapes by going to Pastor Tim and Alice’s house, and Philip and Elizabeth take her back home. Stan makes an unexpected visit to Martha. He later confronts Aderholt about his insinuations and accusations. Lisa’s husband Maurice inserts himself into her undercover work for Michelle. Oleg and Tatiana attempt to persuade Arkady to continue Operation Zephyr in the FBI using the Mailbot. Philip and Elizabeth meet Mujahideen leader Abassin Zadran and goad him into attacking his fellow leaders. Claudia returns and Gabriel meets with her to discuss the Jennings. Martha is picked up by Hans who takes her to meet Clark. She shares her panic with Clark who tries to reassure and calm her. Martha continues to unravel, calls home, and prepares to go there. Clark arrives and stops her by revealing more of himself by removing his toupee. He is not bald!

Two fun news items await us! First is a great interview with fan favorite Margo Martindale who gets candid in the Hollywood Reporter about her role as Claudia and what may be in store next season. Then we take a look at the latest and greatest review from Alan Sepinwall from Hitfix and his What’s Alan Watching review of this episode. Alan writes some of the best stuff out there so do check it out!

Lots of history and one bit of tech are here this week! We start by saying farewell to Hawkeye and the gang on the last episode of M*A*S*H called “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”, then take a break to read about feudal Japan in Shōgun while we nosh on a delicious Kolach. Next we journey with Gabriel to Sergach and catch a showing of the great dark film King of Comedy. Finally, we wind down and we mean down with Ultravox’s “Vienna”, played of course on our vintage clock radio.

We love to hear your thoughts about The Americans so please send them to us! You can email text or audio feedback to watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or signal us (we have replaced the operator!) at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans. Please like us on our Facebook page Watching The Americans. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in iTunes!

WTA 31-Interview with Alison Wright aka Martha Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:28 — 12.5MB)

What a surprise treat we have in store for you this week! Alison Wright aka Martha Hanson joins us for a terrific interview! She discusses acting, how she got the role of Martha and her approach to it, and she answers our questions about the character and last week’s monumental episode. Plus, she responds to some really thoughtful listener questions! You REALLY don’t want to miss this!

WTA 30-Season 3 Episode 11 One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:21 — 42.7MB)

This week’s episode of The Americans allows us to breathe a bit after last week’s shocking revelation. A bit! It is Season 3 Episode 11 entitled ”One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov” written by Stephen Schiff & Tracey Scott Wilson and directed by Andrew Bernstein. The original air date was April 8, 2015.

In this episode, more and more pressure mounts as Martha expresses worry over her interview with agent Taffet. Paige continues the adjustment into her new reality. Gabriel informs Elizabeth that her mother is close to death, which prompts Phillip to lobby for a visit. As Elizabeth is making strides on one front, at the hotel; she’s hit with an untimely ultimatum from Lisa’s husband. Anton Baklanov slips further into Nina’s emotional grasp.

We have a couple of items in the news for you. The Atlantic believes the long-anticipated revelation has reinvigorated The Americans, and Vox states that The Americans is on one of the best runs of episodes in TV drama history!

Cool history and tech await us this week! We begin with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s compelling novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, then we take a look with Agent Gaad inside the FBI Vault – Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, and we lament the demise of the United States Football League with Oleg and Tatiana. In tech of yesteryear we swing a pulwar, and then we check into that hotel with its fancy EECO hotel management system.

WTA 29-Interview with Kelly AuCoin aka Pastor Tim

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:17 — 17.0MB)

We couldn’t resist, and he couldn’t say no to our request…Kelly AuCoin, aka “Pastor Tim” on “The Americans” is back with us in a special episode for you!

After Philip and Elizabeth’s mind-blowing revelation to Paige last week, we checked back in with Kelly to find out the scoop on his performance in the episode, his terrific opening scene with Matthew Rhys, and his thoughts on how he approaches Pastor Tim. Plus, we get to talk just a bit about his new role in Season 3 of “House of Cards”!

WTA 28-Season 3 Episode 10 Stingers

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:09 — 49.9MB)

This week’s episode of The Americans has to rank as the best of the season, and one of the best of the whole series so far! It is Season 3 Episode 10 entitled ”Stingers” written by showrunners Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg and directed by Larysa Kondracki. The original air date was April 1, 2015.

To recap this week: Pastor Tim drops into the travel agency and has an interesting interaction with Philip. In a movie theater’s bathroom, Zinaida is shown to be leaving a message, confirming she is a double-agent. In Siberia, Anton tells Nina that he needs photographs to aid his work. Tatiana tells Arkady that someone is sabotaging their operation with agent “Willow”. After retrieving a tape from the briefcase belonging to Kimmy’s father, Philip and Elizabeth learn Pakistan’s ISI is sending someone to the U.S. to discuss America’s CIA involvement in Afghanistan. Elizabeth checks into a hotel to set up a contact for her plans to spy on the people coming to meet with the CIA. Henry and Stan bond over films and games. Paige, at Pastor Tim’s urging, confronts her parents about their secrecy. They confess to being Russian spies but caution her about not telling anyone. This blows everyone’s mind!

We lead off with the GREAT news from EW that The Americans is renewed for season 4! Then Vulture has an exposé exploring if The Americans and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt are connected, and we visit the incredible view of the Soviet Hockey team’s later history in the recent documentary Red Army.

There is so much history to cover this week, beginning with Adam and the Ants monster hit “Stand and Deliver”, followed by the lucrative trade in Pirated Videos, one of which we saw this week: the movie Tron. We also see another movie, Tootsie, then play Strat-O-Matic while watching the soap opera General Hospital, and then regale ourselves with Eddie Murphy’s SNL classic Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood. In tech of yesteryear, we once again learn more about ancient telephones and what happened if you left a telephone off the hook which would lead to a permanent signal, and then we unwind by firing off a few Stinger Missiles.