'The Americans' on FX HD - Page 3

He had to have gotten banged up a little in the fight with Philip when he was captured, so he made have bled a bit. It did show Elizabeth scrubbing something out of the trunk, but it may not have been blood. He was stuck in there for a long time.

Good point, I hadn't thought of that. And thanks for being discreet.

I just watched the pilot (finally) and really liked it. This is a show I think I will enjoy.

The second episode was also very good.

Recorded it; will watch today.

According to this NY Times story from 1982 Beluga Caviar was $25 an ounce.

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/12/nyregion/food-caviar-beyond-its-place-on-a-buttered-piece-of-toast.html

At $25 and ounce, assuming caviar weighs about the same as tuna, the can would run around $125-$150 (roughly 5-6 ounces).

Still pricey, but not $500 an ounce - or even $500 a can.

Now, it's possible the black market stuff was somehow better (fresher, maybe) and more prized, but I'm OK with them emphasizing the price by exaggerating it a bit...

^^^^

You know a new series is good when one of the main points of discussion is the price of CAVIAR!!

Actually, I'm really being drawn into this series for a number of reasons, including a very capable cast, an excellent storyline, and the time period in which it takes place. It really seems strange hearing the the female lead refer to Ronald Reagan as a babbling madman; most of us (true Americans) would think the opposite. I can't recall the last time I saw a series (or a movie) where America is looked at from the Communist perspective and it's intriguing to see two young, intelligent spies that have been brainwashed into this mindset...and yet at the same time there are elements of America that they enjoy and actually covet. I love how their love for their children is creating a conflict of interest (especially with Philp) between their devotion to the "Motherland" and their devotion to them.

I had caviar once, I don't see the reason to get excited about it. Not impressed at all.

Great Episode 2 last night.

Love the old school spy techniques of this show. There's no internet, GPS or all the gadgets we have today. Interesting how they did things in the "old days".

Whoever thought you'd see squeaky-clean "Felicity" and "John-Boy" on a series playing these type of characters?

Now wait a second....

We used to have all kinds of discussions about the books Sawyer read, the brand and era of computer the numbers were typed into and various other similar things with Lost.

I think it's a sign of a good show when we're nitpicking the price of caviar as opposed to the story or acting. On the opposite side, there's Revolution and, before that, Terra Nova, where story and acting is all people nit about.

Shows like Mad Men and all its detail have made us more aware of accuracy in period dramas. We care if they get the price of caviar right.

I love seafood but hate caviar. I, too, had it as a child and spit it out, making my uncle (whose house we were at) very upset. I tried it again at a seafood buffet when I was an adult and wanted to spit it out then also, but gagged it down. Never again.

I never understood why someone would give a child something as "exotic" as cavair, then be upset when they don't like it.

Kids thrive on spagetti-o's, hot dogs, french fries and chicken fingers, for cryin' out loud. They'll eat anything with enough ketchup or cheese on it.

I knew someone who would complain about spending hours cooking gourmet dishes for dinner, only to have the kids turn their noses up at the stuff.

Well, duh...

It amazes me the number of adults that seem to think children are some sort of household pets begging for scraps instead of actual people with minds and preferences of their own.
Edited by NetworkTV - 2/7/13 at 9:47am

Yeah, this is definitely off-topic, but the same uncle cooked expensive filets on his barbecue grill and became upset when my wife asked for hers to be "well done." He replied, "You don't overcook expensive steaks. I'll make them medium" She saw a little blood and wouldn't finish hers. He had also made one for our 3-year-old son, so I ate mine and took 2 home that night. He was mad for weeks.

Your post illustrates my point. Instead of choosing to respond to other comments I made (about Ronald Reagan, Philip & Elizabeth's conflict of interest, etc.), you chose to speak only of my comment on caviar. I guess my other observations pale in comparison to caviar.

This show is taking place during the 80's, correct? We need to know what caviar was going for at that time, it doesn't matter what it's going for now. I poked around a bit, but never could nail down a price during the 80's, but it appears the price has fluctuated a lot over the years. Endangered species, etc...

I know nothing about caviar. Is it still widely available today or is it politically incorrect to produce like foie gras?

Check out this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beluga_caviar

evidently the price varies wildly depending on the type.

Well to get off the caviar discussion for a second...

There's an interesting dilemma with this show that I really felt in watching the second episode, in that: You find yourself rooting for this couple to successfully sabotage American interests. So, I think they're going to have to limit the scope, and the ramifications, of the operations they carry out, so you can root for them to complete their mission without feeling too guilty about it.

That's the thing, though, those points were already addressed.

The caviar played a significant role in the show - including how expensive it was and how it tastes (in particular, how the Russian spy pretended not to like it).

If the subject of the Acoustic Kitty comes up, I'm sure we'll be discussing that in depth, too.

How is that any different than rotting for characters like Dexter or some other criminal in a show? Vic shoots a guy on his own team in the first few minutes of the premiere episode of The Shield, yet we root for him to keep out of trouble.

When you watch Matlock, it's not about seeing the accused get off. It's about seeing how Matlock gets them off (innocent or not).

In this case, we want to see how they keep out of hot water and cope with our culture.

Besides, we all know they didn't win in the end...

I continue to enjoy The Americans. On the surface, our "heroes" are a loving couple and apparently really are loving parents. Nevertheless, they don't hesitate to torture and kill in the furtherance of their missions. This mixture of good and evil has created a very interesting dichotomy. I'm hooked.

Ditto! This is exactly where the "conflict of interest" (that I alluded to in a previous post) comes into play. Philip's exercise of conscience came into play first, but in the last episode Elizabeth's heart was most definitely softened, especially by the bond she has with her daugther.

I am amazed at how quickly I came to really love this show. I know we're only two episodes into the season, but I think it's a definite keeper.

As to the method Elizabeth and Philip used to get the bug planted, I think they made it pretty clear that had they been allowed enough time to properly plan the mission (Philip said it would ideally take 6 months), they would have been able to find another way. But with only 3 days to work with, they had to go with the most extreme - and expedient - approach. It was distasteful to them both. And you could see the relief on their faces that they didn't have to kill that young man. As it is, they both lost a piece of their souls anyway.

Interesting that they used the infamous "poison umbrella" trick made famous by the Bulgarian spy agency a few decades back. I think it's on display in the Spy Museum in Washington, isn't it? I hear that's a great place to visit if you're in DC; it's on my bucket list.

And now we've seen the FBI plant a mole in the Soviet embassy using blackmail against a low-level girl. So, the implication going forward is that neither side had clean hands in the global game of cold war espionage. The spies were just soldiers in the field, following orders, doing their jobs.

Interesting that the blond girl spying for Philip, whom he described as unbalanced, is kind of going off the reservation. Philip clearly doesn't want to cheat on Elizabeth or indulge this girl's fantasies, but he has to. She's going to be big trouble down the line.
Edited by archiguy - 2/8/13 at 5:32am

2 episodes in and I like it a lot. That means it's getting cancelled.