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Mara
01-29-2013, 07:00 PM
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d185/thirdmango/lesamericains_zps1b317c79.jpg

I, for one, am cautiously optimistic.

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/29/the_cunning_the_americans/

ledfloyd
01-29-2013, 07:11 PM
I'm curious enough to give the pilot a look which is more than I can say about most shows these days.

Lucky
01-29-2013, 09:21 PM
Already have it set to record. Probably watch this one live though.

MadMan
01-30-2013, 04:10 AM
I will try and watch it live. I'm optimistic to a certain extent that this will be good.

MadMan
01-31-2013, 06:47 AM
Its weird how this show reminded me of so many different others I've watched over the years. I know you can say that about any show, but it felt really obvious here. The opener was 24-isque, while the majority reminded me somewhat of The Sopranos. I'm completely hooked, that's all I do really know. Plus Keri Russell is still really gorgeous, even though the makeup is aimed at making her look even order.

Mara
01-31-2013, 07:50 PM
I liked this. It's an interesting twist to see an action/espionage show that doesn't have GPS or cell phones, but where people could be genuinely isolated like we see with the couple in this episode. Having them completely cut off from their support system for most of the run was an interesting way to go.

Plus, the cold war was such a fascinating time.

Some moments were too Hollywood for me-- the inconvenient neighbor, the silly scene with the jumper cables (a person locked in a trunk with no bathroom would smell TO HIGH HEAVEN), revenge on the pedophile, etc.

I really like Russell as an actress, and her character here is fascinating, with so many layers of icy that it's unclear if there's anything underneath it.

ledfloyd
01-31-2013, 07:57 PM
Yeah, the episode could've been much better without the whole pedophile thread. I didn't get much out of that at all. I also felt the flashbacks could have been handled a lot better. There's still enough to keep me coming back next week the cold war/espionage angle is fun, natch, but I really like the idea that these parents who are so dedicated to this ideology have to raise American children and American children that they love. It's a pretty intriguing scenario. Also, the inconvenient neighbor didn't strike me as too controved, I mean in the grand scheme of things it seems relatively plausible, but it could just be that Noah Emmerich stole every scene he was in.

MadMan
01-31-2013, 09:48 PM
I didn't mind the FBI agent being their neighbor, because it feeds into the show's idea of paranoia and how this supposedly loving couple is actually a pair of Soviet agents trying to bring down the system that they are incidentally benefiting from at the moment (their kids go to public schools, they engage in capitalism by having the house, the backyard, buying things, etc).

The pedophile part is just a subplot that may not pay off. It also had Phillip looking like James McAvoy, which was really weird.

PS: I'm trying to remember what the Fleetwood Mac song that played as Phillip chased the defector through the streets is called. Also I loved it when the FBI guy plays a hunch and breaks into the garage, and Phillip is just waiting right there with a silenced pistol. Give me chills, actually.

Mara
01-31-2013, 09:57 PM
It was "Tusk," I think.

Loved the period soundtrack and details, like Phillip drinking from a coffee cup that holds, maybe, eight ounces; or the overhead projector.

Lucky
01-31-2013, 10:40 PM
Yes, it was "Tusk." Loved that.

This show made me realize how much I missed Alias. I haven't invested in a quality spy show since then. Some of the plot threads were clunky, I agree. The show lacks the finesse of TV's finest, but then again, it's just the pilot. I also like that Elizabeth is the more hardened soldier in the pair. They kind of flipped traditional spy gender roles here, and I think it will add an interesting layer when you throw in the motherhood angle.

Very good. Was not let down.

ledfloyd
01-31-2013, 11:11 PM
like Phillip drinking from a coffee cup that holds
whatever happened to those? these new ginormous ones are messing up my hot cocoa and tea proportions.

MadMan
02-01-2013, 05:26 AM
Thanks guys. I had heard it previously before, I just couldn't remember what its title was.

amberlita
02-03-2013, 04:09 AM
The fantastic placement of Fleetwood Mac was countered by the unfortunate placement of In The Air Tonight. That stuck out like a sore thumb.

But I was there and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin
I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies

A little too on the nose aside from that song just being WILDLY overexposed. Ranks at least a 7 on the unintentional comedy scale.

I otherwise loved the hell out of this premiere.

MadMan
02-03-2013, 08:34 AM
I dug the use of In The Air Tonight, but hey I'm a tad biased. Sexual climax during the drum solo part FTW! :lol:

ledfloyd
02-03-2013, 02:32 PM
I don't think it's possible to use that song effectively after Miami Vice.

edit: I just read this in an interview with Keri Russell


Also, any time you can work Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight” into a love scene is good times.
Did they keep that in the pilot, or did they take it out?

It’s in there.
Oh, good! They wanted it out. But it’s exactly what the moment calls for. I heard the network was thinking it would remind people too much of Miami Vice, but I don’t think so. And, I mean, who cares? It’s our turn.

Winston*
02-07-2013, 12:05 AM
I watched the first episode and thought this wasn't very good. The rape aspect was really inconsiderately handled. Killing your wife's rapist leads to Phil Collins backed car sex. Noah Emmerich's character seems like a pretty dumb plot device.

Compelling premise though. Might watch the next to see if it gets better.

Lucky
02-07-2013, 12:16 AM
I think you're oversimplifying it a bit. It wasn't because he killed his wife's rapist, it's because he committed himself to her. In the scene they shared before that he was threatening to end it all. I kind of agree with your second point, though. I let it slide because it brings an old-fashioned cat and mouse element to the show.

Winston*
02-07-2013, 12:25 AM
But he killed the dude because he found out he raped her, not because of any commitment to the cause.

Winston*
02-07-2013, 12:30 AM
Beyond that the aspect felt too much of a callous attempt to cable-ify the show.

Lucky
02-07-2013, 01:39 AM
But he killed the dude because he found out he raped her, not because of any commitment to the cause.

Not to the cause, I agree, but her. Whereas moments before he was set to betray her.

Side note: I don't have any recollection of rating this thread. I must have done it accidentally on my phone somehow, I'm still adjusting to everything. If there's a way to delete that, please feel free mods. I probably would have given the pilot 4/5.

Lazlo
02-07-2013, 03:20 AM
Tonight's episode was fucking awesome. So tense and gripping. Both leads are fantastic and Rhys really shines.

Lucky
02-07-2013, 08:29 PM
Yeah, I'm digging this show.

ledfloyd
02-07-2013, 08:39 PM
This was a much better episode without the flashbacks and the Phil Collins.

Mara
02-08-2013, 07:05 PM
Holy crap, that is good television. Much more assured than the pilot (which was already good.)

Apparently, the ratings for the second episode tanked. I hope it gains some traction.

slqrick
02-09-2013, 01:40 AM
Already feels like a show that knows exactly what it wants to do. I hope they don't do flashbacks, because it was a much better episode without those momentum killing scenes.

Sxottlan
02-11-2013, 09:36 AM
I love the premise. Pilot was real solid. Weirdest scene was probably when they're introduced to each other in Moscow already in character. Noah Emmerich's character being a neighbor was the only big contrivance, but I like how it'll ratchet up the tension to every banal across-the-fence interaction.

Second episode saw no drop off in quality. Would have liked a little more background on why they were tailing the woman. We don't get it until he walks up to her at the market. I guess them being travel agents of some kind will help explain them being away at weird hours, but it does feel like the show will forget about their children when it's convenient.

Again, love the premise. Ballsy to see a Cold War series from the point of view of Soviet spies. I think what we'll end up seeing is a constant move, counter move as in Episode 2. It will always be about a zero sum game. I guess we shouldn't be surprised if the ratings don't do so well given the show's POV. I hope the ratings stabilize.

I'm still just trying to wrap my head around how we're seeing period pieces in the 1980s.

I assume we'll see a flashback of their training in those mythical "America Town" simulators.

Mara
02-15-2013, 11:26 PM
MARGO MARTINDALE.

MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE.

(I haven't watched it all the way through yet, but this was an important moment for me.)

Mara
02-16-2013, 12:22 AM
Done. Another strong episode, and I love how much we're digging into the emotional gray area of their marriage.

Martindale is a stone cold, matronly killer... which is perfect.

ledfloyd
02-16-2013, 12:54 AM
The scene where they grabbed that guys wife off the street was so smoothly directed. Movies could learn a lot about spatial awareness and wordless storytelling from that scene.

MadMan
02-17-2013, 10:32 PM
I'm midway through the third episode. The second episode was really great TV, and I was captivated throughout. Please don't cancel my new favorite show about commie spies hiding out in 80s 'burbs America, FX.

Winston*
02-20-2013, 07:45 PM
Big improvement over the pilot with the second and third episodes. On board now.

Mara
02-21-2013, 05:35 PM
Very, very good integration of a past historical event. In retrospect, we don't think about the Reagan assassination attempt as being a big deal-- crazy guy, a few bullets, whatever. In fact, watching this episode I was shocked to hear someone actually died during it. (Turns out, no. That was initial misinformation.) But it's great to see how frustrating and frightening it must have been. When everyone's finger is on the trigger, don't jump into a room and yell "Boo!"

This was also a great opportunity to spear the couples' second honeymoon by pointing out what problems they already have-- each argument sounds like they've been having it for a decade. And it doesn't matter if they're talking about a nuclear football or who drank the last of the milk-- a marital fight is a marital fight. And I love that we got to see another marital fight between the FBI agent and his wife, about how marriages change over time, because that's great thematic continuity.

I did not expect this show to be quite so good. I've really been impressed so far.

Keri Russell's hair is so flipping pretty that I can hardly handle it. I don't have terribly clear memories of the early 80's, but I don't remember anyone having hair that great. It was a frizzy, fried, crunchy decade.

The daughter's boyfriend looks like Michael Cera.

Mara
02-21-2013, 05:49 PM
The daughter's boyfriend looks like Michael Cera.

I did NOT make the connection that M.C.-guy was FBI guy's son. Whoops.

Not too much of a fan of that. It's a little too tidy in a storytelling sense.

Lucky
02-21-2013, 06:22 PM
Have they explained where the kids think their parents are all these nights?

Man, I was not expecting her to shoot that patrol officer like that.

I agree with everything you said, Mara. I actually came in here ready to comment on how I like the thematic echoes of the FBI agent and his wife's marriage. I'd also like to add that the stuff happening behind the camera is just as impressive. The editing and cinematography are right up there with the best of television.

EDIT: Oh, one thing I do disagree on. I don't see Michael Cera. I see a younger kid from American Horror Story (Tate in S1/Kit in S2).

Mara
02-21-2013, 06:31 PM
Is number8 watching this show? And if not, why not?

Sxottlan
02-21-2013, 11:49 PM
Renewed (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118066442/) for a second season!

ledfloyd
02-22-2013, 03:05 AM
I didn't like this episode quite as much as the previous one, but I'm still really into this show. Some fantastic work from Noah Emmerich, again.

Henry Gale
02-22-2013, 03:32 AM
Really good word-of-mouth was a plus, but after still not having seen any of this, today's renewal is pretty much my official go-ahead to comfortably do so. I mean at best, I know there's gonna be 26 episodes of it.

Mara
02-22-2013, 01:15 PM
Apropos of nothing, watching this show has led to a bit that my roommate and I are doing about the cat. Willow Cat is a total sweetheart until she's not, and we've decided her bouts of bad behavior are because she likes to pretend to be an undercover Soviet spy named Catya Willowski trying to sabotage our capitalist pleasures.

Sxottlan
02-23-2013, 07:12 AM
"I won't tell if you won't." :lol:


Apropos of nothing, watching this show has led to a bit that my roommate and I are doing about the cat. Willow Cat is a total sweetheart until she's not, and we've decided her bouts of bad behavior are because she likes to pretend to be an undercover Soviet spy named Catya Willowski trying to sabotage our capitalist pleasures.

http://www.recaption.com/uploads/24040501e8b6e0b5ac.jpg

Thirdmango
02-25-2013, 07:35 AM
now that this has been renewed I'll start watching it.

Lucky
02-28-2013, 11:10 PM
FX is replaying the first five episodes Friday for those who want to jump on.

Latest episode is my favorite so far. I'm starting to get whiffs of Mad Men here. Not only is this series heavily integrating the political/social milieu of its time, but it's making intriguing commentary on gender roles. I do not predict a happy road ahead for dear Nina.

Mara
03-01-2013, 03:07 AM
I'm glad that they're moving beyond "what forced sex is doing to their marriage" into "what forced sex is doing to them as human beings." It's an interesting, tricky twist to take.

Also, the spy stuff continues gripping.

slqrick
03-07-2013, 05:13 PM
I knew where the plot was heading after the first few minutes, but it was still another damn good episode. The core family relationships have been done really well. I thought even the kids held their own in this episode, Homeland should take some cues.

The actions scenes are incredibly well shot for TV...I'm amazed at how badass Felicity is looking.

Mara
03-07-2013, 06:12 PM
I knew where the plot was heading after the first few minutes

Me too, but I was surprised how riveting it still ended up being.

I'm going to start rating every episode by the number of times I gasp aloud. This one was a four-gasper.

Mara
03-07-2013, 06:35 PM
Combing through some online reviews I'm finding criticisms of the subplot with the kids, which I actually really liked. This is the first time we see how much the children are like their parents, instead of unlike them: alone and isolated, they behave with a mixture of caution and bravado; but when threatened, they become violent and proactive. And, more than anything: loyal to each other, and secretive. I thought it was great.

Mara
03-07-2013, 06:43 PM
My feelings are coming out in dribbles today.

I was shocked-- totally shocked-- to see a fit, gorgeous badass like Elizabeth beat the crap out of the face of an older, doughy woman who was incapable of fighting back. (Part of it is that I love Martindale, but part of it was that you don't see that.)

ledfloyd
03-07-2013, 07:13 PM
The scenes with the kids this week were wonderful.

Lucky
03-07-2013, 09:53 PM
I was completely ok with the midepisode twist being predictable. The episode title coupled with the "previously on" segment kind of gave it away anyway. They didn't drag it out and it created good conflict. It was less of a hinge and more of a propellant.

As beautiful as Keri Russell is in this, I'm kind of enamored by the actress playing Nina. I'd love to see her role continue somehow instead of meeting her predictable doomsday.

Thirdmango
03-09-2013, 09:26 AM
It's my Spring Break so I watched the first episode. Good stuff.

Mara
03-09-2013, 11:40 AM
It's my Spring Break so I watched the first episode. Good stuff.

It was good. But it's gotten better.

ledfloyd
03-09-2013, 01:53 PM
Yeah, the first episode is easily the worst.

Thirdmango
03-10-2013, 12:30 AM
oh that's good to hear, I mean I did like the first episode but I didn't immediately go on to the second. Probably will watch the second tonight.

Thirdmango
03-12-2013, 11:20 PM
Caught up. Episodes three and six have been my favorite so far. It's so good to see Margo. I totally thought the kid was Michael Cera.

I loved how they treated the kid subplot in this last episode.

I absolutely adore Matthew Rhys. He is in a couple of seconds able to go from supporting and loving to the creepiest kind of man right back into supporting and loving. I love what he can do with just a change of hair.

slqrick
03-13-2013, 01:27 AM
I think Rhys is definitely given the less flashy role in terms of the married couple but he knocks it out of the park.

Thirdmango
03-15-2013, 02:04 PM
What a hard choice, of course the show couldn't go on if he had made that choice but I think I almost would have. Good episode.

Mara
03-15-2013, 02:13 PM
I'd pick Elizabeth any day.

Solid episode, although not earth-shattering.

Stan is going straight down a rabbit hole.

Sxottlan
03-17-2013, 08:11 AM
Stan is going straight down a rabbit hole.

I'm starting to wonder if Nina is really the dead meat we're all assuming she is or if she'll start turning the tables on Stan.

Mara
03-22-2013, 11:46 AM
Marriage Teeming With Sexual Tension (http://www.theonion.com/articles/marriage-teeming-with-sexual-tension,1995/)

This was a "move the pieces around" episode, so not a whole lot to comment on, but I'm interested in what they appear to be setting up.

For a handsome man, the costumers sure know how to make Rhys look like a dweeb every time he wears a wig or glasses.

ledfloyd
03-25-2013, 05:38 PM
I fell behind a few weeks, but all caught up now. Still great.

Mara
04-05-2013, 06:44 PM
Took me a few days to catch up this, but WOW. Gut-punch episode. This show is wowing me every episode.

Mara
04-05-2013, 06:47 PM
Also, Emmerich will get a best supporting Emmy, and he will deserve it.

He also deserves the Cuttie, but I don't know if enough are watching it.

MadMan
04-06-2013, 08:22 AM
I am still watching, its just that I'm now only two episodes behind instead of many. Thank God for DVR because without it I would have had to quit since I've worked so many Wednesday's when the show has been on. Oh and aside from one weak episode the ones I've viewed have been great. Really the show is captivating and exciting, and the actors do great work. I'm still worried it will get canceled, though.

Lazlo
04-06-2013, 11:03 AM
I am still watching, its just that I'm now only two episodes behind instead of many. Thank God for DVR because without it I would have had to quit since I've worked so many Wednesday's when the show has been on. Oh and aside from one weak episode the ones I've viewed have been great. Really the show is captivating and exciting, and the actors do great work. I'm still worried it will get canceled, though.

It's been renewed for a second season.

I'm also really enjoying it. Lots of Cuttie nominations coming its way from me.

Sxottlan
04-07-2013, 05:00 AM
"We're hitting the pause button."
"There is no pause button."

Pretty great episode. Went places I wasn't expecting. Reminiscent of "Killer Within" and "Baelor."

Even though "only" a supporting character bit the dust.

And even with the flashbacks feeling like a last minute attempt to provide more depth to the relationship between the characters, it was still effective.

And they're trying a separation! :cry:

MadMan
04-07-2013, 07:54 AM
It's been renewed for a second season.

I'm also really enjoying it. Lots of Cuttie nominations coming its way from me.Oh really? That's fantastic news.

Lucky
04-08-2013, 01:31 AM
My recording got cut off. Last scene I saw was the flashback of Stan and Amador after Stan found the body. Did I miss anything important? Tempis fugit/shame talk was the last thing I heard.

Mara
04-08-2013, 01:35 AM
My recording got cut off. Last scene I saw was the flashback of Stan and Amador after Stan found the body. Did I miss anything important? Tempis fugit/shame talk was the last thing I heard.

...yeah.



Stan shot Vlad in the head.

Lucky
04-08-2013, 02:26 AM
...well, shit.

Time to update the DVR recording settings so I won't miss something like that again.

Lazlo
04-08-2013, 04:03 AM
...well, shit.

Time to update the DVR recording settings so I won't miss something like that again.

FX has already said it was their mistake, so I'd guess it won't be a problem again.

Sxottlan
04-08-2013, 10:04 AM
I was about to say the same thing happened to my DVR as well.

Mara
04-13-2013, 09:35 PM
Finally watched the last episode. Disappointed. I feel like there was much more they could have done with Gregory's character.

In other news, Russell continues to have the best face.

Lucky
04-15-2013, 04:10 AM
I liked the episode aside from the silly sacrificial ending. I would have liked to see Elizabeth pull the trigger there.

MadMan
04-17-2013, 07:20 PM
Um as much as I love this show I'm going to have to wait for it to hit Netflix to finish, mostly because I'm going to be 4 episodes behind after tonight and I'm low on DVR space.

Mara
04-18-2013, 07:23 PM
This episode felt a little clunky? It wasn't bad, exactly, but not all the scenes really succeeded. And I dislike the retconned father figure.

However, Clark meeting Martha's parents was hysterical. Is it just me, or does Phillip hate Martha? Also, what happened to that unbalanced blonde wife that was in love with him earlier in the season?

Elizabeth's scene with Claudia was great, too.

ledfloyd
04-18-2013, 07:33 PM
I agree. I think they still struggle to work in flashbacks, and I'm not sure any of the flashbacks to date have added anything critical to the series. Fantastic otherwise, I loved the Clark scene as well.

Lucky
04-18-2013, 11:47 PM
Elizabeth's pickup line was gloriously cheesy.

Mara
04-25-2013, 05:41 PM
Now we're cookin'.

Lucky
04-26-2013, 01:11 AM
Indeed. Poor, poor Martha. And yes, Nina. The post wedding chat was an emotional highlight for the season.

Mara
04-26-2013, 02:34 AM
I feel sorry for Martha, but I'm not on her side. I'm reading reviews online that have turned completely against Phillip and Elizabeth, but I am still totally rooting for them. Martha is so silly and sad that I have trouble empathizing too much.

Although I'm beginning to wonder if Phillip and Elizabeth might not get back together-- at least, not for a long time yet.

Benny Profane
04-29-2013, 06:16 PM
Finally caught up. Anyone think that Phillip and Elizabeth will be caught, and next season they betray the Soviets and work for the U.S?

Mara
04-29-2013, 07:07 PM
Hmm. It would be more interesting if only one of them did.

ledfloyd
04-30-2013, 06:47 PM
Just caught up. So much going on that episode, but we need to stop and focus on the glory of Margo Martindale playing Pac Man.

Mara
05-02-2013, 12:05 PM
This season knocked it out of the park. I cannot believe how surprising, absorbing, and increasingly addictive it was. I'm crossing my fingers that this isn't a one-season wonder and that they can continue to keep this level of excellence.

Mara
05-02-2013, 12:05 PM
Martindale made my best supporting actress Cuttie nom ballot for that one scene where she was the doddering aunt, and then got all throat-slicey. Damn that woman is amazing.

Lazlo
05-03-2013, 01:29 AM
Brilliant, brilliant television. It managed to join Mad Men and Game of Thrones as a show that I have to keep up with every week. That's a feat, as I've always got stuff piling up. These last two episodes were so tense and masterful. Love it.

Lucky
05-03-2013, 03:46 AM
Martindale made my best supporting actress Cuttie nom ballot for that one scene where she was the doddering aunt, and then got all throat-slicey. Damn that woman is amazing.

Good lord, yes. I wish they continued that scene with a longer monologue.

number8
02-14-2014, 02:12 AM
So good.

Mara
02-14-2014, 12:18 PM
Are you caught up? Awesome. My post from last year:


Is number8 watching this show? And if not, why not?

number8
02-14-2014, 12:22 PM
I watch all my FX shows a year behind. Almost done with Justified season 4!

slqrick
02-14-2014, 12:47 PM
Cannot wait for this season.

Scar
02-14-2014, 01:25 PM
I watch all my FX shows a year behind. Almost done with Justified season 4!

Crap, I gotta get back to Justified season 1.

Mara
02-14-2014, 01:56 PM
I'm using my Amazon Prime free trial to rewatch. I might break down and buy the DVDs.

number8
02-14-2014, 02:57 PM
Just get Prime. It's worth it. They have a lot of good stuff Netflix and Hulu don't. Also, 2 day shipping saved my life a bunch of times.

Yxklyx
02-05-2020, 10:19 PM
So is this show good? My friend who recently started to watch BB (lucky dog) recommended it.

Peng
02-06-2020, 12:25 AM
So is this show good? My friend who recently started to watch BB (lucky dog) recommended it.

Loved it, and it ended great too.

Yxklyx
02-16-2020, 01:53 AM
A solid first three episodes - will watch the rest of the season.