Tag Archives: Watching the Americans

WTA 10-Season 2 Episode 9 Martial Eagle

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In this week’s all-new Watching the Americans, we analyze The Americans Season 2 episode 9 entitled “Martial Eagle.” This episode’s story was by Oliver North & Tracey Scott Wilson, the teleplay was by Tracey Scott Wilson, and it was directed by Alik Sakharov. The original air date was April 23, 2014.

In the news, we discuss the latest ratings for the show and The Wire’s feature “Wig of the Week.”

In our episode discussion, we talk about how dark the emotions are for all of the main characters, especially Philip. We go over the startling beginning of the episode and the ramifications that follow. We explore Paige’s big day at church and how that affects her parents. We look at how Stan finally gets clearance to really dig deep into the US government’s Stealth project while simultaneously losing Sandra. Agent Gaad has a surprise meeting with Arkady. Philip goes very dark with his daughter, and also with Martha and with Pastor Tim. He can barely pull back from more violence in the end.

In our history segment, we learn about Abundant Life from John 10:10, discover invisible rabbits, learn about Alcoholics Anonymous, and find out who Dr. Ruth is. During tech of yesterday we review the audio microcassette.

We love feedback so please send in your thoughts about The Americans by emailing us watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or calling us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans. And don’t miss our brand-new Watching The Americans Facebook page!

WTA 09-Season 2 Episode 8 New Car

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In this week’s all-new Watching the Americans, we analyze The Americans Season 2 episode 8 entitled “New Car.” This episode was written by Peter Ackerman and directed by John Dahl. The original air date was April 16, 2014.

In the news, we discuss the exciting announcement of the renewal of The Americans for Season 3, discuss the latest ratings uptick and the surprise involvement of Oliver North with an upcoming episode.

In our episode discussion, we talk about Lucia’s inability to let go of her hatred for Larick and its consequences, Philip’s rash new purchase and Elizabeth’s reaction to it, and the difference in Philip and Elizabeth’s views about living in America. Throughout the episode there are themes about what it is to be a “good person”, how the characters view “right” and “wrong”, and the balance between making decisions based on emotion or based on a greater cause. We also look at how the various KGB agents react after they learn that one of their operations may have resulted in the deaths of Soviet submariners, and end with Henry’s feelings about himself after being caught doing something wrong.

In our history segment, we rock with the Stray Cats, and go to Gorky Park, while during tech of yesterday we review the U.S. Stealth Technology program, pinball, and the ultra-cool third generation Camaro Z28.

WTA 08-Season 2 Episode 7 ARPANET

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In episode 8 of Watching the Americans we share our thoughts on The Americans season 2 episode 7 entitled, “ARPANET.” “ARPANET” aired on April 9, 2014, was written by Joshua Brand, and was directed by Kevin Dowling.

In our episode discussion of “ARPANET” we discuss all of the lying and Nina’s ability to beat the polygraph test. We also talk about Henry spying, Philip wanting the American dream, Philip not pulling the trigger, Charles’ glasses, and what we might get in next week’s episode, “New Car.”

We also talk about the history of silly putty, ARPANET, lie detectors, Cleopatra, Selva Negra Cloud Forest, The Heritage Foundation, The Illegals Program, and Bic pens.

Send in your thoughts about The Americans by emailing us watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or calling us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans

WTA 07-Season 2 Episode 6 Behind the Red Door

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In episode 7 of Watching the Americans we share our thoughts on The Americans season 2 episode 6 entitled, “Behind the Red Door.” “Behind the Red Door” aired on April 2, 2014, was written by Melissa James Gibson, and was directed by Charlotte Sieling.

In this episode of Watching the Americans we share a news article from TV Guide about the actor who plays Oleg, Costa Ronin. We also share a report from CNN about rumors that Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys are a real life couple, and an article from Entertainment Weekly about the various wigs used in The Americans.

During our discussion about “Behind the Red Door” we talk about Oleg playing Stan as a fool, the red door and why the number 33 is significant, some of the wild and uncomfortable moments of the episode, and the ending goodbyes of Elizabeth and Claudia. We also talk about Optical Character Recognition, dot-matrix printers, and ARPANET, and share some listener feedback!

Send in your thoughts about The Americans by emailing us watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or calling us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans

WTA 06-Season 2 Episode 5 The Deal

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In episode 6 of Watching the Americans we share our thoughts on The Americans season 2 episode 5 entitled, “The Deal.” “The Deal” aired on March 26, 2014, was written by Angelina Burnett, and was directed by Dan Attias.

We share our insights on the episode and talk about the exchange of Anton and the 1500 Israelites, Anton’s heartbreak as he looked at the moon, and all of the episode’s plot lines and character developments. We also discuss Kibbutzim, Shamans, ARPANET, Hill Street Blues, David Copperfield, Coloumbia House Records, and Obyta Cigarettes.

Send in your thoughts about The Americans by emailing us watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or calling us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans

WTA 05-Season 2 Episode 4 A Little Night Music

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In episode 5 of Watching the Americans we share our thoughts on The Americans season 2 episode 4 entitled, “A Little Night Music.” “A Little Night Music” aired on March 19, 2014, was written by Stephen Schiff, and was directed by Lodge Karrigan.

We share our thoughts on there possibly being a third party involved besides the FBI and KGB, the focus on religion in this episode, Oleg’s new clearance level, what might be the cleanest laundry in existence, and other plot developments. We also talk about stealth technology, Intellivision, record stores, Yuri Andropov, and the serenade, “Eine Kieine Nacht Musik.”

Send in your thoughts about The Americans by emailing us watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or calling us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans

WTA 04-Season 2 Episode 3 The Walk In

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In episode 4 of Watching the Americans we share our thoughts on The Americans season 2 episode 3 entitled, “The Walk In.” “The Walk In” aired on March 12, 2014, was written by Stuart Zicherman, and was directed by Constantine Makris.

We give a brief recap of “The Walk In,” talk about Paige’s visit to Aunt Helen, Dameran’s troubles, Sandra’s encounter with Stan, and Nina typing in Cyrillic. We also talk about the technology of the skywheel, dark rooms, and the history of Erhard Seminars Training, and the battle of Khe Sanh.

Send in your thoughts about The Americans by emailing us watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or calling us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans

WTA 03-Season 2 Episode 2 Cardinal

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In episode 3 of Watching the Americans we share our thoughts on The Americans season 2 episode 2 entitled, “Cardinal.” “Cardinal” aired on March 5, 2014, was written by Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, and was directed by Daniel Sackheim.

We give a brief recap of “Cardinal”, talk about Oleg being a jerk, the KGB finding out that the FBI killed Vlad, and the events involving Emmet, Martha, Paige, and Fred. We also discuss the history of Nicaragua, Super Bowl XVI, the Contra war of the 1980’s, Bo Derek, and Ariel Sharon.

Send in your thoughts about The Americans by emailing us watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or calling us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans

WTA 02-Season 2 Episode 1 Comrades

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In episode 2 of Watching the Americans we share our thoughts on The Americans season 2 premiere entitled, “Comrades.” “Comrades” aired on February 26, 2014, was written by Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, and was directed by Thomas Schlamme.

We give a brief recap of “Comrades” talk about what happened with Paige, Amelia, Sanford, Nina, Stan, and Martha. We also discuss the technology of the mail robot, video games, give a history of Russians in Afghanistan, and more.

Send in your thoughts about The Americans by emailing us watchingtheamericans@gmail.com or calling us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @WatchAmericans

WTA 01-Season 1 Review

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Welcome to Watching the Americans! In our first episode we take a look back at the first season of The Americans and give a brief recap of each episode. We also discuss our favorite moments of the season, what we want to see in season 2, and why we love The Americans and started this podcast.

You can send us in your thoughts about each episode of The Americans by calling our voice mail line at 919-907-0542 or sending us an email at watchingtheamericans@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter at @WatchAmericans.