The Americans

January 31st, 2013 at 6:47:59 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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I have to say that the pilot episode of "The Americans" on FX television is possibly one of the strongest pilots I have ever seen. Leonid Brezhnev is still alive, and the series focuses on Russian KGB operatives who have been under deep cover in a VA suburb of Washington DC for 17 years.

I encourage you to watch it.
February 22nd, 2013 at 4:00:28 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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I just watched the third episode. It is a trifle melodramatic, but the show still has me on the edge of my seat. I really wish someone would comment on it.

It is probably the closest a TV series has come IMHO to reading a novel by John le Carré.

The woman (and her colleagues) that were the inspiration for the story are actually much younger than the characters in the series. This KGB agent was only born in 1982
February 22nd, 2013 at 7:48:24 PM permalink
zippyboy
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Okay, I'll comment. I've seen them all and will give it a few more episodes. The FX network has produced some excellent programming in the last decade so I'm sticking with it a bit longer, but I wonder how long it'll be before it's cancelled. Keri Russell just doesn't have the sex appeal of her youth unfortunately (and her character is kind of dislikeable I think), and I doubt the public will stay focused on a plot about spies in the 1970's. The show doesn't have the attention to detail like Mad Men, or the love-to-hate-them characters like The Shield did. But all of the FX dramas have been so good, I'll keep watching.
February 23rd, 2013 at 2:52:06 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Quote: zippyboy
The FX network has produced some excellent programming in the last decade so I'm sticking with it a bit longer, but I wonder how long it'll be before it's cancelled. Keri Russell just doesn't have the sex appeal of her youth unfortunately (and her character is kind of dislikeable I think), and I doubt the public will stay focused on a plot about spies in the 1970's.


The FX series are about the edgiest on basic cable.

Keri Russell's character is very unlikeable , but not unsympathetic. She can be very cold, but you do feel how manipulated she has been her whole life.
February 23rd, 2013 at 4:47:23 AM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
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Quote: Pacomartin
Keri Russell's character is very unlikeable , but not unsympathetic. She can be very cold, but you do feel how manipulated she has been her whole life.
I would think that the very young KGB agent that you posted would be more innately manipulative than manipulated. The FX series may suffer from its being too wishy washy an attempt but I hope to enjoy the episodes before the impending(?) cancellation.

Now a more realistic depiction featuring that gorgeous real KGB agent ... that might grab audience levels for sure.
February 23rd, 2013 at 6:07:15 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Quote: Fleastiff
Now a more realistic depiction featuring that gorgeous real KGB agent ... that might grab audience levels for sure.


The spy was only one of two to use her real name, Anna Chapman. She married a British man.

US Vice-President Joe Biden, when jokingly asked by Jay Leno on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, "Do we have any spies that hot?", replied in a mock serious tone, "Let me be clear. It was not my idea to send her back." In October 2010, Chapman posed on the cover of Russian version of Maxim magazine in Agent Provocateur lingerie. The magazine also included Chapman in its list of Russia's 100 sexiest women.

A reality show with a KGB agent like that lacks a little of the drama of the Russians believing that there might be a coup after Ronald Reagan was shot.
February 23rd, 2013 at 6:24:19 AM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
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Quote: Pacomartin
A reality show with a KGB agent like that lacks a little of the drama of the Russians believing that there might be a coup after Ronald Reagan was shot.
True, but it would more than make up for that by featuring the Agent Provocateur lingerie. Its unfortunate that such a well educated and well endowed agent was caught up in a minor sting instigated by some had-been Colonel Nobody. She lost the UK citizenship and UK travel rights, she lost the limelight in Manhattan ... and all due to some lousy little scheme from Colonel Nobody to show his FBI handlers he still had some influence.
April 8th, 2014 at 1:16:20 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
In some ways the second season is more intense than the first. Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings remind us in the first episode that they may be loving parents who have grown accustomed to living in America, but first and foremost they are brutal assassins who can be cold and manipulative as the worst of the worst.

The Mossad enters as a third party to complicate and endanger everyone's lives.