Tag Archives: FX

WTA 101- Season 5 Roundtable!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:37:27 — 45.0MB)

Well, this season of The Americans generated so much chatter that we feel we must add to the noise! Who better than our crack panel of experts! We gather at the roundtable with our friends and co-hosts Kathleen (aka alternakat), Roland, Barb & Chris to break down fave moments, theories, music and scenes, plus the unfortunate demise of Hans (sorry Kathleen)!

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 100- Kelly AuCoin Interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:53 — 24.1MB)

Can you believe we turn 100 this week with The Americans, tovarischi? Us neither! Who better to celebrate this milestone with us than the man who started our interviewing adventures, our good friend Kelly AuCoin aka Pastor Tim! Kelly chats up Season 5, the latest on the Tims, his take on the show as a fan, and he talks a bit about some of his other projects, especially his work as Dollar Bill on Showtime’s “Billions”!

WTA 99- Feedback for The Soviet Division

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:07 — 49.9MB)

What a gripping ending to the penultimate season of The Americans! We start out with a bloody mess, get a beautiful moment in Moscow, check in with many of our characters, and wind up ever more tortured with Philip and Elizabeth and an uncertain future! This was all in Season 5 Episode 13 “The Soviet Division” which aired May 30, 2017. It was written by the showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, and was directed by Chris Long.

This is Episode 99 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 98 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

Musical numbers pervade our history segment, as we sing along with the radio and the amazing Soviet songstress Alla Pugacheva, while laughing with President Reagan joking that we begin bombing the USSR in 5 minutes! We then head to the music room and pull out the old turntable, go to section E for some Elton John and put on our fave Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, followed by alt-rock sensations R.E.M. and their brooding So. Central Rain! Then we look for any info we can about The Soviet Division of the CIA and come up empty (darn spies!) so we go to our bookshelf for some good old James Michener and learn about Space! Then we pull out our walkie-talkie to check in with our operatives in the car outside our house! We are then ready to hear some wonderfully insightful feedback from everyone! Plus our friend Bob Connally shares a terrific article about the importance of the characters on The Americans!

And we do love to hear your thoughts about The Americans so please keep sending 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 or Stitcher!

WTA 97- Feedback for The World Council of Churches

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:37:53 — 45.2MB)

It’s the penultimate episode of the penultimate season, so the J’s threw everything plus the kitchen sink at us! Oleg, the PGU, and the Burovs! Stan, Dennis and Sofia! Poor Pasha and Tuan! Paige, Henry, Philip and Elizabeth! Mischa and his unknown kind family! And the beloved Pastor Tim! Stay with us because there is so much going on in The Americans Season 5 Episode 12 “The World Council of Churches” which aired May 23, 2017. It was written by the showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, and was directed by Nicole Kassell.

This is Episode 97 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 96 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

Once again we got so much history & tech we had to cull them to fit the show! We head over to The World Council of Churches, riding along the rails of the Baikal–Amur Mainline with our tovarisch Yuri Andropov & and his frenemy Viktor Grishin. Thank goodness KITT and Knight Rider are waiting at the train station to take us to the store to use all the cool coupons we have been hoarding! Then it’s time for more feedback and crazy cool theories than we have ever heard!

WTA 96- Season 5 Episode 12 The World Council of Churches

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:05 — 38.0MB)

This is Episode 96 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 97.

A dual interview leads the news this week from TV Fanatic featuring Costa Ronin and Chris Long discussing filming in Russia and Oleg’s Journey. Then real life intersects The Americans’ in The LA Times where we learn that a defense engineer has plead guilty after trying to forge a ‘The Americans’-type pact with a phony Russian spy! Truth is strange as fiction!

Then we try to keep track of all the storylines! We begin with Pastor Tim and Paige talking – he’s heading to Rio! No, Buenos Aires but still. Wonder how that happened? Pasha gets pretty beat up, but it looks like the Morozovs aren’t going anywhere. Yet. Sofia stops by to see Stan and Dennis…with Gennadi! Her fiance! Whoa! Stan and Dennis worry they are being played, and Agent Wolfe chills them out. Henry and Chris make a surprise dinner, with asparagus! Philip and Elizabeth tell Claudia they want to go home. Home home. They see Pastor Tim to get his opinion on what will happen with Paige and Henry if they do. He doesn’t offer one, but he does. Mischa get a visitor – Uncle Pyotr! Then he dines with his newly found family! Oleg denies any involvement with William’s blown operation. He saves Ekaterina from prison, learns the price Yelena paid in the camp, and commiserates over vodka with Igor. Tuan comes up with a novel idea – get Pasha to attempt suicide! Philip and Elizabeth rush over to try to save him…

Remember that we do love to hear your thoughts about The Americans so please keep sending them in! 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 95- Feedback for Dyatkovo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:06 — 38.0MB)

Action? You want action? Elizabeth and Philip deliver the mayhem this week for sure! Plus: the triumphant return of the beloved FBI Mailbot! And we have our friend and special guest host Barb Rankin to boot! It’s The Americans Season 5 Episode 11 “Dyatkovo” which aired May 16, 2017. It was written by Joshua Brand and was directed by Steph Green.

This is Episode 95 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 94 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

Historic singing begins at the outset as we join in with Mark Naumovich Bernes and his 1968 Soviet smash hit Zhuravli! Then we drive over to Dyatkovo to get some tasty Kentucky Fried Chicken and it’s finger lickin’ good too! At last we head to Fomina’s office to test out her fancy Russian typewriter! All that action gets us in the mood for your incredible feedback!

WTA 94- Season 5 Episode 11 Dyatkovo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:25:05 — 39.3MB)

This is Episode 94 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 95.

We actually lead the news this week with our interview featuring show creator Joe Weisberg and co-showrunner Joel Fields! Then there’s a nice chat in Seat42 that’s shining the spotlight on composer Nathan Barr!

We then tackle this popping episode! Philip and Henry talk, and maybe Henry can go to fancy school! Claudia (boo) tells Philip and Elizabeth they need to give the aleeged murderer Natalie Granholm some sweet justice. Oh and by the way the Soviets weaponized the Lassa virus. Variant V! Henry gets to visit the FBI, sees the vault, meets Dennis, and says hey to the FBI mailbot! Plus, Kentucky Fried Chicken! Stan and Dennis gather intel from Sofia. Oleg and Ruslan find an incriminating ledger in Fomina’s desk, and they confront her. She scoffs at them defiantly. Philip and Elizabeth tail Natalie, and they get the word to move in on her. They bust into her house. She denies being the monster they claim. Is she? No. Wait, yes? Yes! And husband John comes in just in time to hear her confession. They have a tender moment, Philip hesitates, and then bam bam! Elizabeth shoots and kills! As they ride away, Elizabeth says they should go home.

WTA 92- Feedback for Darkroom

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:37 — 36.8MB)

Quiet family dinners in Moscow, hockey player boyfriends, lies and a wedding! All this and more await us in The Americans Season 5 Episode 10 “Darkroom” which aired May 9, 2017. It was written by Stephen Schiff and was directed by Sylvain White.

This is Episode 92 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 91 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

Singing and church go together like history and tech this week! We attend a fine Russian Orthodox Church wedding with Mikhail and Nadezhda (so beautiful!), and to celebrate after we fire up the Karaoke machine and tackle “Slice of Life” from Bauhaus’ epic album Burning from the Inside! Exhausted, we retire to the library to learn that hockey player Gennadi Bystrov is just a character, courtesy of our amazing World Book Encyclopedia! Then it’s more feedback than ever, including a great post on Facebook from Bob sharing two cool links about a documentary on the Russian Orthodox church and an LA Times tv review of the film!

WTA 91- Season 5 Episode 10 Darkroom

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:31:30 — 42.3MB)

This is Episode 91 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 92.

The web is chock full of interviews this week! First up is EW chatting with Matthew Rhys on The Americans ending. Next we have Variety’s talk with Holly Taylor on realizing her dream ‘for Paige to kick butt’, and we close with another Variety interview with fan fave Alison Wright talking Martha’s return, life in Russia and the future!

Then we get right to the episode! Philip and Alexei drink Kvass, and Alexei and Philip are sad. Elizabeth and Evghenia talk and Evghenia is sad. Tatiana returns! She encourages Evghenia to come home to Mother Russia. The Burovs eat despondently. Tuan gets the mean boys to put some dog poo in poor Pasha’s locker. Sofia gets a hockey boyfriend and Stan & Dennis are going to use him. Paige reads Pastor Tim’s diaries. Bad girl. Claudia lies to Philip and Elizabeth. They lie to Paige. Again. Pastor Tim encourages Paige. Philip surprises Elizabeth with Father Andrei and a real marriage ceremony. Beautiful. Paige babysits for the Tims, takes pictures of Pastor Tim’s diary, and asks her parents to find him a new job. Then Philip and Elizabeth turn the laundry room into a darkroom and read what Pastor Tim thinks. Not good…

WTA 90- Feedback for IHOP

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:08:01 — 31.5MB)

The slow burn of season 5 is really heating up! Henry off to boarding school? Oleg under fire? What will Stan do now? Is Tuan really calling home? And where is Paige? Plus: Martha and Gabriel! We are all eating pancakes and talking about The Americans Season 5 Episode 9 “IHOP” which aired May 2, 2017. It was written by Peter Ackerman and was directed by Dan Attias.

This is Episode 90 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 89 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

Man are we hungry for history and tech this week! So of course we head to our Harrisburg IHOP while listening to one of our faves, Forever Young by Bob Dylan. We have to steel our resolve for more questions from The PGU (First Main Directorate) in Yasenevo. Once we escape their clutches, we side onto a Greyhound Bus, pull out a Belomorkanal and fire it up with our Bic Lighter! Then we can relax with all your awesome feedback!