The Americans: Season 2

+++Warning, this contains minor spoilers from season one, but no major season two giveaways+++Season two of The Americans is set a few months down the line from the events that ended Season one, with Elizabeth being shot. She and Phillip concoct a story about having to visit an ailing aunt to explain her absence while she recovered from Paige and Henry (and to a large extent Stan). Paige begins to become more and more suspicious of her parents as the season goes along, with a very strong, will he figure it out vibe. As was the case in season one, the series has a blend of procedural and serial elements. There are self-contained missions and several story arcs that thread throughout the season. One of those involves the murder of another pair of illegals whose lives are fairly similar to the Jennings. Then there are several missions that involve the Jennings trying to steal stealth technology and the precursor to the internet called the ARPNET. There are several additions to the cast this year with Susan Misner (who plays Sandra Beeman), Annet Mahendru (who plays Nina), and Alison Wright (who plays Martha) being promoted to series regulars, and the addition of Costa Ronin as Oleg Igorevich Burov, a new KGB officer working out of the Soviet Embassy.For those who get the DVD set, there are a handful of extras including a featurette on the real "Directorate S", a featurette on the morality (or lack thereof) of the series, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. The show was not released on Blu-Ray, which sucks for those of us who prefer that format and purchased season one on Blu-Ray. But, Fox has a strong preference for just streaming shows and is putting fewer and fewer shows out on Blu-Ray and only putting some out on DVD. So, the fact that this one got a physical release at all, given that it never had a huge fanbase, is kind of surprising.Overall, the series continues to be great. The acting and writing are both top-notch, and the show is definitely a blast from the past for those of us who actually grew up in the 1980s. The early seasons of the show were set in 1983 when I was still pretty young, but I do remember some things about that time and I think they recreate it pretty well. There is still a lot of violence and sexual content (and as much nudity as they could get away with on basic cable) so it is not family-friendly, but if you watched and enjoyed season one, you already know that. To me, the show is, along with Breaking Bad, one of the best dramas of the 2010s, and is definitely worth watching, especially if you are into crime and spy dramas.

"The Americans" continues to be one of my favorite television series. Set in the last years of the Cold War, it follows the lives of KGB agents under deep cover inside the United States. They've been here for years, running a business and raising a family. They are right next door OMG THE ENEMY!!!! And they're just like us.We seem to enjoy shows that ask us to empathize with horrible people, and the main characters in this show really are horrible people, regardless of what one thinks of their politics. But they're also the family next door. They aren't gangsters without morals like The Sopranos. And they aren't acting simply out of self-interest, like Walter White from Breaking Bad. They are highly trained operatives doing what they feel they must for their country, which adds a new layer to this antagonistic protagonist sort of show.The writing is brilliant. The acting is brilliant. There doesn't seem to be any need for weak plot filler to take up space because the main story isn't strong enough to last a whole season. Everything in this show informs the viewer about the characters and their mission, and about the struggles they face trying to carry it out.On a personal note, as someone who would be just a few years older than the oldest kid, Paige, the show does a great job of recreating the look and feel of the 80's. They concentrate perhaps just a little too much on reminding you of certain bits of music - Ultravox, Yaz - but at least it's good music, and it is stuff you'll remember if you were around at the time.The Jennings are the people we were taught to fear growing up, and it's very fun to look back now with a sense of "Here's what was going on right under your nose the whole time." It's also fun to catch yourself rooting for the safe escape of a KGB agent, and then wonder why you aren't hoping they all die horribly in a fire.This is a great show that solidly captures that old Cold War spy novel feel, combining it with a family drama sensibility. I can't recommend it enough.

Started watching The Americans DVD, and am finding it quite good. The acting is great and the premise of Russian Spy’s having been embedded in the US for many years, very interesting. If you enjoy adventure, spying, and suspense shows, this is the show for you. There are good plot twists, so that you think you know what is going to happen, but something entirely different happens instead, so it keeps you on your toes. I’m enjoying it to date. Hope you do to. :D.

Sehr gute Serie. Man will immer wissen, wie es mit der Familie weitergeht. Nur schade, dass es ab Staffel 2 keine deutsche Tonspur mehr gibt.

Perfecta

スパイものにプラス家族ドラマ仕立てで、コメディではなくシリアスな面がグッと来ます。主人公の様々な変装も楽しいです。たまにコメディタッチな場面もありますが、あまりにシリアス過ぎても視聴者が疲れますので。レンタル店でこれを扱っているか分かりませんが、あったら、是非借りて見てください。

Quelle série ! Un scénario intelligent, une direction cinématographique dynamique et efficace, des comédiens interprétant leur rôle à merveille, sur un sujet plus qu'original, se situant à l'époque troublée de la guerre froide entre les blocs de l'ouest et de l'est.Tout y passe entre les coups tordus des agences américaines et les coups tordus des services soviétiques, la manipulation des uns et des autres, et les exécutions des abandonnés pour la bonne cause.Après la saison 1 que j'avais déjà adorée, celle-ci est de la même veine et je ne saurais que trop la recommander.Vivement la suite alors qu'a l'heure actuelle sort la saison 4 aux USA.Dans ce domaine les américains montrent qu'ils savent faire