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'The Americans' on FX HD - Page 2

post #31 of 629
1/31/13 at 11:55am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeewing View Post

They did have the TV-MA rating in the beginning along with every letter they could find in the alphabet. i don't remember if they actually said "Viewer discretion is advised" but I know Fox/FX loves to say that as a badge of honor.

Thanks for replying. I'm sitting in-front of the TV and the "TV MA" screen is crooked. There's red on the top and bottom portion, while the gray middle part slopes down on the left side. Almost like a broken "T" with the right of the "T" is cut off. I don't think I've ever seen this on FX before. Maybe it's a special thing for The Americans. Just an observation, not complaining about it tongue.gif
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post #32 of 629
1/31/13 at 11:58am
I really enjoyed it. The leads are perfectly cast, and I think the premise is provocative, and, well, a little different. These are anti-heroes who are doing what they do for (what they consider to be) a higher purpose--not killing for killing's sake, or for money or power. In a weird way it allows us to root for them and not feel guilty about it. Well, there IS the whole take down the US government thing, but still...
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post #33 of 629
1/31/13 at 12:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bruce73 View Post

Personally, I was hoping for something a lot smarter. We'll see...

Well, 'Rubicon' was really smart and we saw what happened to it. frown.gif In American commercial television, smart gets you killed; a fact that I'm sure didn't go unnoticed by the creators of this show.
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post #34 of 629
1/31/13 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by archiguy View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by bruce73 View Post

Personally, I was hoping for something a lot smarter. We'll see...

Well, 'Rubicon' was really smart and we saw what happened to it. frown.gif In American commercial television, smart gets you killed; a fact that I'm sure didn't go unnoticed by the creators of this show.

True that. I like the premise, though, so that's pulled me in ... for now. wink.gif
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post #35 of 629
1/31/13 at 2:27pm
So someone explain where they go with this show? Are we going to see show after show of doing their espionage without letting neighbor snoopy pants finding out? without the kids finding out? Pull off an assassination but be there for your kids' parent/teacher meeting? How much of this before you just go "meh!" I was actually really interested in the idea of their defecting and trying to explain things to the kids and staying safe. You could almost revisit the Sopranos with that stuff.
Edited by daryl zero - 2/1/13 at 7:49am
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post #36 of 629
1/31/13 at 3:33pm
I thought it was a mixed bag of goods. Sometimes it was interesting, others it was boring. The fighting was well choreographed, but often felt unnecessary, like some budget kung-fu movie, "Now we fight!" The scene where he was getting the jumper cables from the car was pretty silly ...I can't see a guy holding a hostage ever doing that (or the hostage just laying there silently). Overall, I wasn't blown away by it, but will give it a couple more episodes.
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post #37 of 629
1/31/13 at 3:39pm
I thought it was kind of clear that he kind of enjoyed messing with his neighbor's head, thus that scene. He knew they were looking for that model car already.
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post #38 of 629
1/31/13 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Young C View Post

Thanks for replying. I'm sitting in-front of the TV and the "TV MA" screen is crooked. There's red on the top and bottom portion, while the gray middle part slopes down on the left side. Almost like a broken "T" with the right of the "T" is cut off. I don't think I've ever seen this on FX before. Maybe it's a special thing for The Americans. Just an observation, not complaining about it tongue.gif

Yeah, that's the way it was displayed. And they've said viewer discretion advised at least 3 times.
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post #39 of 629
1/31/13 at 6:00pm
Thanks to a rave review by Andy Greenwald, which I read on Grantland yesterday and linked in Post #13, I came into The Americans with very high expectations and they were met. There are, of course scenes that require conscious suspension of disbelief but in a well made spy thriller like The Americans, a little suspension of disbelief is well worth the effort. What follows is a quote from the Grantland piece, linked to above, which I think is a fair summary of what has made this new series so fascinating so far.
Quote:
Philip and Elizabeth — their real names are kept secret, even from each other — aren't transgressive bad guys. At best, they're highly skilled functionaries, no different from the other harried nine-to-fivers wearing Cavariccis and going out for ice cream, give or take some hand-to-hand-combat training. Surrounded by the extravagant temptations of the "Me Decade" — to buy a sports car or to wear cowboy boots, to exact brutal revenge on an assailant or to defect and run away forever — the two are richly drawn and immediately compelling, their sham marriage a remarkable window into very familiar struggles with work and life, allegiance and love. Despite its clever, propaganda-themed promotional art, The Americans doesn't turn our flag upside down; it merely replaces the red, white, and blue with an intoxicating shade of gray.

Indeed!
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post #40 of 629
1/31/13 at 8:52pm
If I believe in the characters I can let some implausibility slide. In this case I found both of the main characters fascinatiing in their complexity as well as the give and take of their relationship. Almost as important, the supporting characters were also more than just cardboard figures existing only to further the plot-even the predatory pervert in the little time he was onscreen showed a human side. I thought it was impressive that even in the midst of setting up the premise like a pilot has to do they still managed to make the characters worth caring aboutIn that way it did remind me of Homeland.
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post #41 of 629
2/1/13 at 6:40am
I really enjoyed it. Felt well put together and I liked the main actors. Hopefully it continues. I found myself drifting in and out due to second screenitis so I made an effort to actually watch it.
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post #42 of 629
2/1/13 at 7:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by UGAd13 View Post

I thought it was pretty good – having been born in the early 80s the Cold War/KGB is a little foreign to me but still rather intriguing.
Random Thoughts:
Keri Russell looks great! It may take a few episodes for me to believe Matthew Rhys character is a bad a$$ Russian spy. My wife used to watch Brothers & Sisters…

No worries its still going on . http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/whos-who-in-the-russian-spy-ring/
That was in 2010. Figure this was the spark for this show, they have lots of info to keep this going for bit.

Hell the woman (Anna Chapman) from 2010 has been in Maxium

That is one of the more tamer pics you can find more if you search nothing Xrated. Just not sure if I can post any from her shoot here so I don't
So watch those neighbors!


Enjoying the show fyi smile.gif
Edited by Wytchone - 2/1/13 at 8:02am
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post #43 of 629
2/1/13 at 12:01pm
watched this last nite. i thought it was pretty good. i thought the fbi agent moving in across the street was just a little too much coincidence...but i will definitely give it at least a few more episodes. just a comment on the picture quality...gee wiz, were they using standard def cameras? it was pretty awful.
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post #44 of 629
2/1/13 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wytchone View Post

No worries its still going on..
Yup, I remember that. I guess I can amend my statement to when it was in it's heyday.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grubadub View Post

watched this last nite. i thought it was pretty good. i thought the fbi agent moving in across the street was just a little too much coincidence...but i will definitely give it at least a few more episodes. just a comment on the picture quality...gee wiz, were they using standard def cameras? it was pretty awful.
Agree - the soft/washed out scenes looked like poo. I guess it's on purpose to capture the feeling of a show that takes place in the 80s.
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post #45 of 629
2/1/13 at 1:05pm
I'm willing to give it a shot for a while ....

NitPicks:......

A) Dude is in the trunk, husband comes home & tells wife, " All I know right now is they're lookjing for a 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Sedan that fled the scene" ....
A little while later FBI Neighbor, out in the street, asks for jumper cables, & Husband actually brings FBI guy all the way into the house, all the way into the Garage, right where the 1977 Olds is parked, & then actually opens the trunk where the bound up dude & jumper cables are, while FBI guy is right there.... REALLY, REALLY? ..... No simple "let me go check if I have cables for you, I'll be right back" ....

B) Kerri Russel is actually about 36, not sure about husband actor's age ..... The part must have been written for a slightly older actress...
In the "1960" cadet training scene .. Kerri would actually had been 15, & in the "1964" Newlywed/Hotel scene, 19... Writers could have easily made it "1963 / 1967 " or so, just for a little more believeability, with no apparent difference to the storyline or ability to have kids their ages ...

C) Highly experienced FBI guy didn't notice the smell of Bleach/ cleaners, or apparent cleanup of empty trunk, when he's right inside of it .. Kerri could have easily thrown various oily rages, garage tools type things into the trunk after cleaning, to make that scene more belieable ..

Again, just nitpicks ...
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post #46 of 629
2/1/13 at 2:01pm

Hmmm I can see it now...
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post #47 of 629
2/1/13 at 2:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MeatChicken View Post

I'm willing to give it a shot for a while ....

NitPicks:......

A) Dude is in the trunk, husband comes home & tells wife, " All I know right now is they're lookjing for a 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Sedan that fled the scene" ....
A little while later FBI Neighbor, out in the street, asks for jumper cables, & Husband actually brings FBI guy all the way into the house, all the way into the Garage, right where the 1977 Olds is parked, & then actually opens the trunk where the bound up dude & jumper cables are, while FBI guy is right there.... REALLY, REALLY? ..... No simple "let me go check if I have cables for you, I'll be right back" ....

My guess, the husband was looking at it two ways:

1) He can test the FBI agent to see how he reacts and by showing off the car, he hopes the agent won't think he's actually that ballsy. Don't forget, back then, that car description would be like "a grey Mazda 3" a few years back or a "Harvest Gold Ford Explorer" in the last couple years. I drive a Ford F-150. A description that matched mine would likely get me looked at, but without seeing any evidence it really is the vehicle, it would be dismissed since the truck is so common. Don't forget, too, that the plates were DC in the description and their car hard Maryland plates. Granted, they should have really used something like a similar era Caprice or Country Squire if they wanted to really create doubt through shear numbers.

2) If the FBI agent rings him up, he can make a deal to defect, which is something he was game to do. It would force the hand and his wife couldn't fight it without losing the kids. Maybe he was hoping to be caught.
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post #48 of 629
2/1/13 at 3:29pm
I quite enjoyed the pilot episode. The 80's soundtrack was great. Looking forward to more.
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post #49 of 629
2/1/13 at 4:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Waboman View Post

I quite enjoyed the pilot episode. The 80's soundtrack was great. Looking forward to more.

The wife and I thought the same thing. She loved the music too.
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post #50 of 629
2/1/13 at 9:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NetworkTV View Post

My guess, the husband was looking at it two ways:

1) He can test the FBI agent to see how he reacts and by showing off the car, he hopes the agent won't think he's actually that ballsy. Don't forget, back then, that car description would be like "a grey Mazda 3" a few years back or a "Harvest Gold Ford Explorer" in the last couple years. I drive a Ford F-150. A description that matched mine would likely get me looked at, but without seeing any evidence it really is the vehicle, it would be dismissed since the truck is so common. Don't forget, too, that the plates were DC in the description and their car hard Maryland plates. Granted, they should have really used something like a similar era Caprice or Country Squire if they wanted to really create doubt through shear numbers.

2) If the FBI agent rings him up, he can make a deal to defect, which is something he was game to do. It would force the hand and his wife couldn't fight it without losing the kids. Maybe he was hoping to be caught.[/quote




I like your reason #2. It makes good dramatic sense, showing the conflict Phillip is having over being a spy. It also meanss a perceived weakness in the writing was actually a strength.
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post #51 of 629
2/2/13 at 5:01am
Caught the pilot last night. If the series as a whole can keep it up, this is going to be very good TV. No real weaknesses that I saw, although if I were picking nits, I'd would have had Philip say he didn't have any jumper cables, been meaning to buy some, etc. It was pretty ballsy letting the FBI agent into the garage. Said FBI agent noticing something a bit "off" about the too-perfect neighbors, then doing a little investigative work on his own, and almost getting caught, all of it nerve wracking. Love that the commitment level of the two spies was different, and that it's the woman who's the real hard case. Both seem perfectly cast.

The hand-to-hand combat scenes were better choreographed and more "dangerous" than you typically see. You believe that these people were well-trained, smart, and extremely competent. Which makes them even more believable in their roles. Loved the look of malice in Elizabeth's face as she faced her old captain/rapist -- she wanted her revenge. And Philip gave it to her, which ignited a passion that either had been long dormant or which was never there to begin with. Great stuff all around. I'm so in.
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post #52 of 629
2/2/13 at 8:44am
I thought it was great and can't wait to see more, the interplay between the two spies in particular was excellent as was the music. The wife says the jury's still out for her, she has this thing about not liking it if she thinks the leads are beotches and so far she puts Liz in that category.
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post #53 of 629
2/2/13 at 9:19am
Agreed, I liked it a lot. It feels like home with the Cold War setting.
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post #54 of 629
2/2/13 at 9:24am
First let me say that I thought this show was extremely well done. It was a pleasure to have a format that was a little out of the box. With that said, I have to admit that as a person who lived through the cold war and had air raid drills in kindergarden in 1961 ( I know, I'm old) where we had to hide under our desk with terror that the Russians were dropping nukes on us (like that was gonna help much), the Kerri Russel character made me most uncomfortable at times. I know we are so used to black and white in cinema, good guys and bad guys, but there is much grey here. She was living her life to bring down our way of life and I was just unable to take any pleasure in watching it. Yes, her acting was superb, Why else was I having such a visceral response? I just somehow didn't like it. No doubt I will keep watching.
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post #55 of 629
2/2/13 at 1:39pm
I don't know if it was so much they wanted to "bring down our way of life". More like they didn't want us to bring down theirs. (Recall the general saying we had "elected a madman".) And vice versa. It's admittedly a fine line, but there is a difference.
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post #56 of 629
2/2/13 at 2:11pm
Worth checking out for awhile, but wouldn't FBI guy have smelled all the cleaning agents she used on the trunk? It would have stunk. Lame writing all around with the cables, I hate artificial tension.

Has potential though.
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post #57 of 629
2/2/13 at 7:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fjames View Post

Worth checking out for awhile, but wouldn't FBI guy have smelled all the cleaning agents she used on the trunk? It would have stunk. Lame writing all around with the cables, I hate artificial tension.

Has potential though.
It depends on what she used.

If she used isopropyl alcohol, club soda or some other similar ingredient, there wouldn't be a chemical smell. No matter what she uses, it won't remove blood completely, so she only needed something to make it invisible to the eye. Even a salt solution would at least reduce the appearance of stains.

It's not like the guy completely bled out in there.
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post #58 of 629
2/2/13 at 8:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSmith83 View Post

There is definitely a lot of potential. So far it seems that FX has another winner on its hands.

Thankfully, they already burned through the obligatory use of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight." No show's use of that song will ever come close to matching its placement in the Miami Vice pilot episode.

Quote:
Originally Posted by StonesCat View Post

Got a good laugh out of the Juice Newton line dancing. That year is one of the first I can really remember as a kid, and that song was played alot.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Waboman View Post

I quite enjoyed the pilot episode. The 80's soundtrack was great. Looking forward to more.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mmarki View Post

The wife and I thought the same thing. She loved the music too.

I never could have imagined watching anything--ever-- with Fleetwood Mac's Tusk bookending the beginning and end of the episode. biggrin.gif

Interesting show. Reminds me of Homeland's start. I'm in.
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post #59 of 629
2/3/13 at 7:29am
Loved it.
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post #60 of 629
2/4/13 at 6:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by NetworkTV View Post

It depends on what she used.

If she used isopropyl alcohol, club soda or some other similar ingredient, there wouldn't be a chemical smell. No matter what she uses, it won't remove blood completely, so she only needed something to make it invisible to the eye. Even a salt solution would at least reduce the appearance of stains.

It's not like the guy completely bled out in there.

Did he bleed at all? He was bound and gagged in there and IIRC he was killed by snapping his neck.
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