Tag Archives: Watching the Americans

WTA 99- Feedback for The Soviet Division

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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 90- Feedback for IHOP

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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!

WTA 66- The Americans Season 4 Review

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:47:52 — 49.8MB)

Well, that was an AMAZING season of TV, wasn’t it? The Americans just gets better and richer each year, and Season 4 ranks as one of the best of any TV show in recent memory! It was so good we had to break it down with the big events and our thoughts on the characters and their story arcs. It was so big we had to ask our friend Kathleen aka alternakat to join the fun!

And we do have one exciting bit of news via The Hollywood Reporter: the Television Critics Association has nominated The Americans for three awards, including best actor Keri Russell, Best Drama, and Best Program!

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 61- Rob Yang Interview

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Sometimes a new actor joins a show and makes an immediate impact! Rob Yang has done just that as Don Seong, the target of Elizabeth and the KGB in Season 4 of The Americans! Rob joins us from the West Coast and talks about being a fan of the show, getting the role of Don, and his experiences on the set. We highlight in particular the episodes “The Day After” and “Dinner for Seven”. Rob also tells us about moving from the world of high finance to comedy and then acting, and a special project he has put up on YouTube. Plus he also answers many of your questions!

WTA 56- Season 4 Episode 10 Munchkins

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Well, we totally didn’t see much of this coming on The Americans this week! From Alice’s rage to poor Agent Gaad, we were absolutely flabbergasted! It’s Season 4 Episode 10, and it aired May 18, 2016. It was written by Peter Ackerman and directed by Steph Green.

This is Episode 56 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 57.

Newstime courtesy of Vremya this week! We begin with The New York Times’ interview with Richard Thomas on Agent Gaad’s Fate, John-Boy and Jimmy Carter, followed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s 5 reasons to give ‘The Americans’ a try. Next up is Inverse with Philip and Elizabeth’s Most Brutal Moments on ‘The Americans’, then we wind up with Deadline’s chat with Frank Langella on Broadway’s ‘The Father’, ‘The Americans’ & HBO’s ‘All The Way’.

Then it’s time to say goodbye to yet another main character, Agent Gaad, as more shock and death await us this week! Tensions build between Young Hee and Don as he is overwhelmed with guilt after Patty’s honeypot trap. Pastor Tim disappears while on a relief mission in Ethiopia. His wife Alice confronts Philip and Elizabeth demanding their help and threatening to expose them if they don’t find and safely return PT. Paige once more confronts her parents about their mission and futures. She seeks solace from Alice, who tries to give it but is overcome and Paige must console her instead. Stan and Dennis meet the new boss, definitely not the same as the old boss! They must mind their margins. They later meet with Martha’s father and they assure him they are still looking for her. Oleg and Tatiana have a candid discussion about why she is in the US. In Thailand, retired Agent Gaad is approached by Russian thugs and he is mortally wounded trying to flee them. Arkady learns the news and is devastated. Paige later talks with Matthew who takes her to the church where she learns that Pastor Tim is safe and will return soon. Gabriel presses Elizabeth about getting access codes from Don for William, and he asks her if she would like him to see if the centre has another way in. She pauses for a long moment, and says “yes”!

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 52- Feedback for The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears

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What an emotional plane ride this week for Martha as we fly 7 months into the future! This week we are talking The Americans Season 4 Episode 8 “The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears”, which aired May 4, 2016. It was written by Stephen Schiff and directed by series star Matthew Rhys.

This is Episode 52 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 51 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

Learning history involves reading, and we join Philip with the book Est (Erhard Seminars Training : 60 Hours That Transform Your Life) by Adelaide Bry before learning about the Afghan city of Herat. Next we are off to the movies for a double feature of Tender Mercies and The Outsiders then while we head home to watch David Copperfield do some magic we put on our Walkmans and listen to “End of the Line” by Roxy Music. Maybe we should stop and play some Putt-Putt (aka Miniature Golf) if we have the time! Amazingly we have no tech to report on, so it’s straight into your thoughts and ideas in some amazing feedback!

WTA 51- Season 4 Episode 8 The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:20:15 — 37.1MB)

This is Episode 51 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 52.

Pravda newstime begins with Vox’s stupendous chart that explains all 47 episodes of The American so far, followed by GQ which believes that The Americans has joined the TV time-jump hall of fame. Then it’s time to turn the interviewing tables as Yahoo asks the fans about The Americans so that showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields get some answers, and we close with one story reported to us by regular contributor Chris G from The Guardian about the day some real-life illegals’ kids discovered their parents were Russian spies!

Then it’s time to talk about the crazy emotional ride! Will Martha get on that plane? What will happen to Philip if she does? There’s sure to be heck to pay at home as he adjusts to his new reality, that is if Elizabeth will let him. She tries to understand both him and Paige, and may only end up explosively alienating them both. Gabriel is sure to try and help, although he will need Claudia to help him figure out what to do. Poor Gaad looks like a goner from the FBI, and Stan can only offer platitudes. What is the deal with Oleg and Tatiana? And what is Lisa’s problem and what will she do about it? Can Elizabeth control her anymore? Can David Copperfield REALLY make the Statue of Liberty disappear? (Hint: maybe). Then we may even do the Time Warp again! At least for 7 months!

WTA 50- Feedback for Travel Agents

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Do you really want to use these people for your travel agents, Martha? We think maybe not, and many of you agree! This week we are talking all about The Americans Season 4 Episode 7 “Travel Agents”, which aired April 27, 2016. It was written by Tanya Barfield and directed by Dan Attias.

This is Episode 50 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 49 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

History often includes what we eat, and we have some delightful Borscht courtesy of our friend Ginger aka Joan, then we turn on the TV and check out the young Brooke Shields

In her scandalous Calvin Klein Jeans Commercial. Then it’s off to the trails in Rock Creek Park Valley and we stop and reflect with our brethren at First Trinity Lutheran Church. Of course we drove there in our Ford Granada, and we found the church using a Grid Search that we drew on a map using a cool Compass! Then we listen to all your tremendous feedback!

WTA 48- Feedback for The Rat

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Who is the rat in this episode? You are going to have to listen to us break it down, along with your help! We are breaking this into two episodes once again, and we will continue doing two eps for the rest of the season! This is Episode 48 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 47 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. Of course, this week we are all about The Americans Season 4 Episode 6 “The Rat”, which aired April 20, 2016. It was written by Joshua Brand and directed by Kari Skogland.

In the world of history, we go down under to examine the potential of Australia as a Republic, and then we tune into the Today Show and watch Jane Pauley do some scintillating interviews. She should be especially interested in the world of biowarfare tech, including the nasty bacteria Tularemia! Thank goodness we have so much incredible feedback to share with everyone!

WTA 47- Season 4 Episode 6 The Rat

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:02 — 27.9MB)

Who is the rat in this episode? You are going to have to listen to us break it down, along with your help! We are breaking this into two episodes once again, and we will continue doing two eps for the rest of the season! This is Episode 47 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 48. Of course, this week we are all about The Americans Season 4 Episode 6 “The Rat”, which aired April 20, 2016. It was written by Joshua Brand and directed by Kari Skogland.

There are some really cool news items this week, heavy on the Martha! We start with TV Guide revealing Alison Wright’s most memorable fan encounter, and it was with our friend Elena Georgieva! Next up is Uproxx with 20 questions for Alison Wright, and we wind up with a terrific piece in the LA Review of Books comparing the marriages of Showtime’s “Billions” and “The Americans”!

Then it’s time to pull out the Valium and relax (hah!) with Martha as the tension almost blows up our widescreen! We watch in disbelief as Philip takes Martha’s future into his own hands, all the while angering Gabriel and enraging and hurting Elizabeth! The rezidentura moves into action to assist. Stan and Dennis inform Gaad about their suspicions about Martha and do some sleuthing that doesn’t make them happy. At least Paige and Henry get a moment with Elizabeth! And that last scene between Gabriel and Martha has us screaming NOOOO!