Tag Archives: The Americans FX

The Americans S6E10 START

WTA 130- Series Finale Roundtable!

Tovarishchi! After six amazing, incredible, and ultimately beautifully heartbreaking seasons, The Americans is done. There is so much richness in this show, and we want to take one last look at it all. To do so, we have our roundtable friends Kathleen (aka alternakat), Barb, Roland, & Chris to join the fun! We reflect on the series, compare the pilot to the finale, and discuss everything from favorite characters and scenes to best disguises and wigs of all time!

Even though The Americans is over, we would still love to hear your thoughts 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 check out 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!

As we move on, there may be more content to share like reviews of a series dvd or blu-ray set, special events, or even interviews to share. And when we find our new venture, we will announce on our social media and in our feed so stay subscribed to Watching the Americans!

 

The Americans S6E6 Rififi

WTA 118- Feedback for Rififi

It has taken almost six seasons, and now Henry finally takes center stage! Maybe the only reason he isn’t completely messed up is because the family left him alone all this time! It’s Thanksgiving and we see almost everyone left back together for a meal at the Beemans! Things are starting to look dicey for the Russians, and just when you thought they might finally be done, Philip and Elizabeth may not be! All this and more are in The Americans Season 6 Episode 6 “Rififi” which aired May 2, 2018. It was written by Stephen Schiff and Justin Weinberger, and directed by Kevin Bray.

This is Episode 118 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 117 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

It’s getting so hard to fit all the history, tech and feedback into one episode! We start out at The Key Theatre, there like Elizabeth to check out Rififi, Bob le Flambeur and one she didn’t want to see, Three Men and a Baby (we have a soft spot for Tom Selleck!). On the way home we fight over the radio and end up with Tears for Fears “Ideas as Opiates”, which would sound amazing if done by The California Raisins at an outdoor show at Walden Pond. The tech to get us there involves full-scale versions of slot car racing cars, which can only be bought using special invoices printed in invisible ink cracked with steganography. We have a tie for Wig of the Week between Elizabeth’s French film look and Marilyn’s dark curly lock! After all that, it’s time for your incredible thoughts in your awesome feedback!

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!

The Americans S6E6 Rififi

WTA 117- Season 6 Episode 6 Rififi

It has taken almost six seasons, and now Henry finally takes center stage! Maybe the only reason he isn’t completely messed up is because the family left him alone all this time! It’s Thanksgiving and we see almost everyone left back together for a meal at the Beemans! Things are starting to look dicey for the Russians, and just when you thought they might finally be done, Philip and Elizabeth may not be! All this and more are in The Americans Season 6 Episode 6 “Rififi” which aired May 2, 2018. It was written by Stephen Schiff and Justin Weinberger, and directed by Kevin Bray.

This is Episode 117 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 118.

There are three choice news items at the TASS bureau this week, beginning with The Washington Post showing us that before ‘The Americans’ and ‘Homeland,’ Russian TV spies were simple villains. No more. Next up we have Collider’s intimate chat with showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields on navigating the Intense, emotional final season, and we wind up with  Uproxx’s Alan Sepinwall with a comment from the Js on finances and financing and Russian spies.

We pick up this week right where we ended, with Philip confronting Elizabeth about the Kimmy operation and his decision to end it! It’s Thanksgiving though, so Henry comes home and shines as the true American in the Jennings household! Dennis asks Stan to come back and help counterintelligence because that the FBI has found an illegal in Chicago and Dennis thinks they will be able to find all of them in the US and quickly! The Beemans host everyone except Elizabeth for a Thanksgiving feast along with a side of patriotic speechifying from Stan. Henry has some time with Philip, and he gets an unusual call from Elizabeth that leads Philip to offer to help her in Chicago!

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!

 

The Americans S5E2 Pests

WTA 76- Feedback for Pests

What sort of creatures could be bugging Philip and Elizabeth and Soviet grain? We get a tease in this week’s The Americans Season 5 Episode 2 “Pests” that aired March 14, 2017! It was written by showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg and directed by Chris Long.

This is Episode 76 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 75 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

We have history and crackpot theories combined this week! We start with the US Department of Agriculture and its evolution, then we drive along with Elizabeth to St. Clair County, Illinois. Our theory is only 35 miles away…at Monsanto! Then we retreat to the hothouse and the old school and pick the old-school tech from Master Lock, and after all that we must use Emotional Self-Regulation to maintain control! Then we get some awe-inspiring theories and feedback from our tovarischi!

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!

 

The Americans S5E1 Amber Waves

WTA 73- Season 5 Episode 1 Amber Waves

At last we have new episodes of The Americans! Season 5 has begun and what a terrific debut! Hear all about it as we dive into Season 1 Episode 1 “Amber Waves” that aired March 7, 2017. It was written by showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg and directed by Chris Long.

This is Episode 73 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 74.

Now that Russia has become such a big deal in the news in the real world, what better time to examine how things have evolved? Slate shows us Spies Then vs. Spies Now and How the Evolution of Technology Changed Espionage. Then The J’s talk with NPR On Writing the Cold War-Era Drama Amid New Russian Relations!

We begin the episode with some high schoolers who are not Americans, Tuan and Pasha. We learn that Tuan is a Vietnamese spy working with Philip and Elizabeth’s newest cover, as airline pilot and stewardess the Eckerts. Through Tuan they meet with Morozovs, defectors from Russia who are connected to the Agriculture Ministry. Oleg returns to Moscow and begins his new job with an investigative branch of the KGB that will be looking into corruption in agriculture. Stan and Philip talk girls, while Elizabeth teaches Paige rudimentary self-defense. Henry was exposed to radiation that made him a monster. Gabe and Claudia take a moment. Gabe give Philip and Elizabeth one last encounter with poor William – exhumation for the Lassa virus in his body. In an extraordinary sequence, Philip and Elizabeth and goons including poor Hans sneak into Fort Detrick and silently dig up the body. Hans falls into the hole, cuts his hand where William cut his own, and is exposed to the virus. He says he’s fine. Elizabeth shoots 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.

4x04Chloramphenicol

WTA 43- Feedback for Chloramphenicol

Holy Toledo y’all – The Americans was absolutely riveting up until the last shot! There is so much in this week’s episode that we split our show into two parts! This is Episode 43 and contains our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments. Please check out Episode 42 to get the news and our episode breakdown and analysis.

With such a monumental show we asked our friend Kathleen aka Alternakat to join us! This is all about The Americans Season 4 Episode 4 “Chloramphenicol”, which aired April 6, 2016. It was written by Tracey Scott Wilson and directed by Stefan Schwartz.

In our history segment, we fly on Aeroflot to the mighty city of Tula, all the while listening to our Walkman with a mix tape including Misty Blue by Dorothy Moore and Lucky Number by Lene Lovich. Then we do our research in tech of yesteryear on the side effects of that vaccine used against Glanders containing Choramphenicol. After that we have a ton of great feedback!

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!

The Americans 4x04 Chloramphenicol

WTA 42- Season 4 Episode 4 Chloramphenicol

Holy Toledo y’all – The Americans was absolutely riveting up until the last shot! There is so much in this week’s episode that we split our show into two parts! Episode 42 presents the news and our episode breakdown and analysis, and Episode 43 will contain our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments.

With such a monumental show we asked our friend Kathleen aka Alternakat to join us! This is all about The Americans Season 4 Episode 4 “Chloramphenicol”, which aired April 6, 2016. It was written by Tracey Scott Wilson and directed by Stefan Schwartz.

With the death of a major character, there was an explosion of news. We start with Hitfix and Alan Sepinwall’s interview where the executive producers explain why they did THAT in this episode, followed by Vulture talking with Alison Wright on the tragedy of playing Martha, and then The New Yorker comparing Outlander and The Americans. Then we delve more into Nina’s fate with EW and another interview with the showrunners explaining what happened and we close with The NY Post and the scene that left Annet Mahendru in tears.

After all that it’s time to talk about the events that happened this week, including Gabriel and Elizabeth dealing with Glanders and its vaccine, Elizabeth’s surprising change of heart about Paige, Martha’s unusual dinner with Aderholt, Stan’s search for the truth about Martha, and the end of Nina’s story.

Don’t forget part two is coming soon!

We do 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!

 

The Americans 4x03 Epcot

WTA 41- Season 4 Episode 3 Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow

Are we going to Epcot this week? Not exactly! Though we might just be needing a vaccine after this week’s The Americans! It’s Season 4 Episode 3 “Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow”, which aired March 30, 2016, which was written by Stephen Schiff and directed by Kevin Dowling.

For your news pleasure, we have some choice items. First up a great overview of the show in Vulture on making ​The Americans great, again, followed by Den of Geek’s review of “Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow”, and then the cool blog Film School Rejects’ piece with the opinion that on The Americans everything is horrible and we’re all doomed!

Then we launch into our episode recap and discuss all of the amazing events, including the confrontation Philip and Elizabeth have with Pastor Tim, Nina facing a very uncertain fate, Stan wanting to enlist Aderholt’s help surveilling Martha, and Gabriel’s turn for the worse. Plus, Epcot!

For our history segment we visit (finally!) the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow, buy some Cabbage Patch Kids, try out Mary Kay cosmetics, and summit Mount Rogers. In tech of yesteryear we get a shot of Chloramphenicol and make sure to keep all our vaccination records inside our Trapper Keeper. Then it’s time for super feedback!

We do 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!

Glanders

WTA 39- Season 4 Episode 1 Glanders

At long last, Season 4 of the best show on television aka “The Americans” is here! It’s an incredible debut entitled “Glanders”, it aired March 16, 2016, was written by executive producers Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg, and was directed by Thomas Schlamme!

We have a couple of great news items to begin this week! First up is The WaPo confirming that yes, ‘The Americans’ is still the best drama on television, followed by Variety talking to co-showrunner Joel Fields about Martha, Stan and Planning a series finale. Then we get into our episode recap and discussion, discussing the introduction of biowarfare, Martha and Clark, the new illegal William, and the confrontation between Stan and Philip. In our history segment we go over the disease Glanders and the KGB’s mysterious Department 12, then in tech we delve into the ins and outs of biological warfare. We wind up the week with lots of terrific feedback!

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!

The Americans Pastor Tim

WTA 38- Kelly AuCoin Season 4 Pregame Interview!

With only days to go until the debut of “The Americans” fourth season, we were able through illegals’ means to “invite” Kelly AuCoin, aka “Pastor Tim” to chat with us about the upcoming season! Kelly talks about working on the new episodes, attending the gala premiere party, and reveals what little he can without being sent to join Anton Baklanov in the Gulag! And it’s all spoiler-free!

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!