Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
Accretionist
Nov 7, 2012
I BELIEVE IN STUPID CONSPIRACY THEORIES

vermin posted:

I was thinking of starting this series. Is there action? Is it mostly people talking about relationships? Is there a clearly marked best season and worst season?

It's an espionage slow-boiler with a realistic feel and good-to-great writing throughout. The action, relationships, etc. are all in that context and it all fits together snugly.

I'd rank it as one of the best shows on TV right now.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Nouvelle Vague
Feb 16, 2011

Endut! Hoch Hech!
The first season is the least "good" so it's all the way up.

precision
May 7, 2006

by VideoGames

vermin posted:

I was thinking of starting this series. Is there action? Is it mostly people talking about relationships? Is there a clearly marked best season and worst season?

There's action, of the "abrupt and disturbing violence" variety, not really many "action scenes" per se. Lots of talking about relationships and politics and the 80s. The plot is deeply serialized and if you don't start at the beginning you'd be largely lost, thankfully season 1 starts very strong and generally speaking the show has done a good job of steady upward progress in quality.

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009

howe_sam posted:

I think I saw this episode of the X-Files.

And there's the FX mandated bare rear end.
That was corn :spergin:

While I don't doubt that they were researching all kinds of stuff, I'm not aware of anything happening with the grain supply. What was their reason for jumping to this conclusion anyway? 1. US supplies grain 2. Also performing experiments with bugs => therefore, must be trying to sabotage supply??

Accretionist posted:

They could hit a real sentimental note in the finale if they show an adult Paige staring wistfully at something while rubbing her fingers together.


Hmm, family-time is getting intense... must be incest.


The intensity made me anxious, too, but I thought it was going to be some weird depersonalizing meditative exercise. Or something off-putting about covers like, "You have to find it within yourself to make it real."
Time for a family meeting, Paige!

What's depressing is that this might be a legit finale for them too. :gonk:

Anyway, the actual technique they were describing I thought would be more appropriate for Henry. "If you ever feel that you're losing control and about to blow it with your date, just rub your fingers together and think of your mother and father!"

BIG HEADLINE
Jun 13, 2006

"Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"
The Soviets started importing grains after a pretty major drought in 1963 made a huge dent in their livestock from panicked slaughtering, but my guess is that this storyline might've been suggested to them by their new advisor. The Soviets were uber-paranoid in the early 80s, because they could begin to see the end coming, and thought every little thing was a capitalist plot to perform the ~coup de grace~.

Zero One
Dec 30, 2004

HAIL TO THE VICTORS!

Grinning Goblin posted:

He did, they had a conversation about the first time they met.

I think Red means Henry who was only seen briefly while sleeping this episode.

Antifa Sarkeesian
Jun 4, 2009

yo les digo que no, que no soy la madre de nadie, pero que, eso si, los conozco a todos, a todos los jóvenes poetas del DF, a los que nacieron aquí y a los que llegaron de provincias, y a los que el oleaje trajo de otros lugares de Latinoamérica, y que los quiero a todos
I wonder who they are setting Paige up to have to defend herself against. I wouldn't be surprised if she slips and tells Matthew about her parents, then realizes what a mistake she just made and that the last time she told someone it almost blew up in her face. That would be a hell of a setup for the last run of episodes if what makes Stan finally start to suspect the Jennings is Matthew getting killed or getting disappeared. By Paige of all people. Then again, they did a lot of alluding to Martha having to shoot someone with her gun and that never happened.

banned from Starbucks
Jul 18, 2004




Someone remind me what was the last we heard from pastor tim? He was nabbed in africa then came home and i forgot after that

BIG HEADLINE
Jun 13, 2006

"Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"

banned from Starbucks posted:

Someone remind me what was the last we heard from pastor tim? He was nabbed in africa then came home and i forgot after that

He, his wife, and their child died on the way back to their home planet.

Paige isn't acting like she has ~Christ's love~ in her heart anymore, and thank gently caress for that (apologies to maybe the 1-2 faithful lurkers in this thread who liked that storyline).

Qtotonibudinibudet
Nov 7, 2011



Omich poluyobok, skazhi ty narkoman? ya prosto tozhe gde to tam zhivu, mogli by vmeste uyobyvat' narkotiki

banned from Starbucks posted:

Someone remind me what was the last we heard from pastor tim? He was nabbed in africa then came home and i forgot after that

And where's Kimmy damnit.

Teriyaki Hairpiece
Dec 29, 2006

I'm nae the voice o' the darkened thistle, but th' darkened thistle cannae bear the sight o' our Bonnie Prince Bernie nae mair.

anatoliy pltkrvkay posted:

And where's Kimmy damnit.

Yeah whatever did happen with that.

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

BIG HEADLINE posted:

He, his wife, and their child died on the way back to their home planet.

Paige isn't acting like she has ~Christ's love~ in her heart anymore, and thank gently caress for that (apologies to maybe the 1-2 faithful lurkers in this thread who liked that storyline).

Yeah, regarding the new watcher, I think the thread is giving him good advice but I also thought season three was a bit of a dip in quality, mostly due to the Paige and Kimmy storylines.

Mind, season three was very good, it just had those missteps.

drunkill
Sep 25, 2007

me @ ur posting
Fallen Rib
During last season the writers said it was implied that Phillip was checking up on Kimmy all the time to gather tapes, they just didn't show it all the time because it wasn't necessary. It might pop up again if they want information on the American side as to some big event in the Afghanistan war but I don't know too much about it, other than it went on awhile. There was a ramp up of forces in 1985 so we might see it as a subplot again next season or later this season if there is another time jump.

drunkill fucked around with this message at 08:39 on Mar 16, 2017

Accretionist
Nov 7, 2012
I BELIEVE IN STUPID CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:

Yeah whatever did happen with that.

Not much, thank God.

That was a lot of edge-of-my-seat Nononononono-ing.

TheCenturion
May 3, 2013
HI I LIKE TO GIVE ADVICE ON RELATIONSHIPS
They've made it fairly clear that E&P have all sorts of agents-in-place that they're running, legends that they're maintaining, and that they only show the ones that are relevant to the plots they're actively telling. So yeah, P occasionally puts on his young-guy clothes and sparks a doobie with Kimmie, E probably still goes and hangs out with Black Power types, and so on.

Really, these two have way too much going on, and I feel like the show should show them failing more often, and it being treated strictly as the nature of the beast. Hey ho.

Now, as to 'Stupid reds think that the US is poisoning their grain,' the thing to remember about the USSR was that it was actively loving itself over, while hewing to a philosophy that this was impossible. Everybody Knows that Marxisim, as expressed by Lennin, is the truly progressive way, and that reactionary capitalists and bourgeois are destined for the ash-heap of history. So, for example, when farming is collectivized, because of course collective farms will work far better than private farms, and yield goes to absolute poo poo, the problem simply cannot be that we were wrong; nope, must be outside influence. Must be those drat reactionary Americans, seeking to fatten themselves on the backs of the workers and peasants.

vermin
Feb 28, 2017

Help, I've turned into a manifestation of mental disorders as viewed through an early 20th century lens sparked by the disparity between man and modern society and I can't get up
Watched the first episode and was pleasantly surprised :v: I was expecting it to be Mad Men but with Russian accents

Teriyaki Hairpiece
Dec 29, 2006

I'm nae the voice o' the darkened thistle, but th' darkened thistle cannae bear the sight o' our Bonnie Prince Bernie nae mair.

vermin posted:

Watched the first episode and was pleasantly surprised :v: I was expecting it to be Mad Men but with Russian accents

Some of Mad Men is about marriage.

Giant Tourtiere
Aug 4, 2006

TRICHER
POUR
GAGNER

BIG HEADLINE posted:

The Soviets started importing grains after a pretty major drought in 1963 made a huge dent in their livestock from panicked slaughtering, but my guess is that this storyline might've been suggested to them by their new advisor. The Soviets were uber-paranoid in the early 80s, because they could begin to see the end coming, and thought every little thing was a capitalist plot to perform the ~coup de grace~.

Within the show, the Jennings were clearly primed to reach this conclusion by Gabriel. It's kind of fun that this news has now flipped Philip over to taking his turn at being *intense* about dealing with this project: 'Why don't we just kill Morozov immediately, stab stab stab' and Elizabeth has to tell him to chill for once.

I assume the 'not treating Paige like a child' process will go beyond playing the world's tiniest violin, but I agree this sets them up for some nice subtle scenes down the line if they show Paige doing the technique at key moments.

Accretionist
Nov 7, 2012
I BELIEVE IN STUPID CONSPIRACY THEORIES

vermin posted:

I was expecting it to be Mad Men but with Russian accents

A show podcast interviewed a KGB officer who did this poo poo for real, and he said that they do a pretty good job of showing the friction between a spy life and a cover life.

HUGE SPACEKABLOOIE
Mar 31, 2010


Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:

Yeah whatever did happen with that.

Things that cannot be shown or spoken about on TV

Mameluke
Aug 2, 2013

by Fluffdaddy

HUGE SPACEKABLOOIE posted:

Things that cannot be shown or spoken about on TV

loving goons. Philip is not loving a child off-camera. That was literally dealt with during the third season.

Giant Tourtiere
Aug 4, 2006

TRICHER
POUR
GAGNER

Mameluke posted:

loving goons. Philip is not loving a child off-camera. That was literally dealt with during the third season.

I thought the way he got out of it was hilarious and awesome, too.

'Will you... pray with me?'

HUGE SPACEKABLOOIE
Mar 31, 2010


Mameluke posted:

loving goons. Philip is not loving a child off-camera. That was literally dealt with during the third season.

Calm yourself I was kidding

vermin
Feb 28, 2017

Help, I've turned into a manifestation of mental disorders as viewed through an early 20th century lens sparked by the disparity between man and modern society and I can't get up

HUGE SPACEKABLOOIE posted:

Calm yourself I was kidding

Philip was kidding too :smugbert:

I have no context for what I'm saying

Dr.Caligari
May 5, 2005

"Here's a big, beautiful avatar for someone"

Accretionist posted:

A show podcast interviewed a KGB officer who did this poo poo for real, and he said that they do a pretty good job of showing the friction between a spy life and a cover life.

Can I get a link to that? Sounds interesting

Accretionist
Nov 7, 2012
I BELIEVE IN STUPID CONSPIRACY THEORIES

evenworse username posted:

I thought the way he got out of it was hilarious and awesome, too.

'Will you... pray with me?'

JESUS SAVES



Dr.Caligari posted:

Can I get a link to that? Sounds interesting

I'll see if I can find it later. I'm pretty sure it was the show's official podcast.

Naylenas
Sep 11, 2003

I was out of my head so it was out of my hands


Dr.Caligari posted:

Can I get a link to that? Sounds interesting

https://soundcloud.com/panoply/the-americans-s4-e2-pastor-tim-slate-tv-club

BIG HEADLINE
Jun 13, 2006

"Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"

"The rest of you roll for damage."

kanonvandekempen
Mar 14, 2009
Has there been any word on when (or if) the 4th season will appear on netflix? The first 3 seasons have been available for a long time now, and I assumed the 4th would be released by the time the new season would start airing, but I haven't seen anything about it.

precision
May 7, 2006

by VideoGames

kanonvandekempen posted:

Has there been any word on when (or if) the 4th season will appear on netflix? The first 3 seasons have been available for a long time now, and I assumed the 4th would be released by the time the new season would start airing, but I haven't seen anything about it.

Seasons 1-4 are on Amazon, are you in a non-US country?

Cactus Ghost
Dec 20, 2003

you can actually inflate your scrote pretty safely with sterile saline, syringes, needles, and aseptic technique. its a niche kink iirc

the saline just slowly gets absorbed into your blood but in the meantime you got a big round smooth distended nutsack
i like that paige is still wearing her cross. it makes it more believable that they tracked away from that storyline. it makes it seem more "kids go through phases and she's drifted after everything that's been happening recently" and less just straight up "this storyline got dropped"

e: either that, or like the kimmy thing, her churchgoing is still happening and just isn't being depicted because it isn't relevant right now

Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared

evenworse username posted:

I thought the way he got out of it was hilarious and awesome, too.

'Will you... pray with me?'

I binged through S2 - S4 on Amazon, and having actually used an identical bullshit story to get out of getting involved with a girl I didn't like, I thought that was hilarious and one of the best moments of the series.

kanonvandekempen
Mar 14, 2009

precision posted:

Seasons 1-4 are on Amazon, are you in a non-US country?

Yea should have mentioned that, I'm in Belgium.

Giant Tourtiere
Aug 4, 2006

TRICHER
POUR
GAGNER

Doronin posted:

I binged through S2 - S4 on Amazon, and having actually used an identical bullshit story to get out of getting involved with a girl I didn't like, I thought that was hilarious and one of the best moments of the series.

That and Philip's "I feel like poo poo all the time" to one of his assets, which I think was the same season. It really felt like the mask slipped completely away for a second there and you saw how much of a toll all the awful things the Jennings constantly have to do takes on this guy, who also has to constantly pretend that everything is fine, even with his own side.

That might have been my very favorite moment so far.

Well. That or Gaad v. Mail Robot.

Accretionist
Nov 7, 2012
I BELIEVE IN STUPID CONSPIRACY THEORIES

savinhill
Mar 28, 2010

evenworse username posted:

That and Philip's "I feel like poo poo all the time" to one of his assets, which I think was the same season. It really felt like the mask slipped completely away for a second there and you saw how much of a toll all the awful things the Jennings constantly have to do takes on this guy, who also has to constantly pretend that everything is fine, even with his own side.

That might have been my very favorite moment so far.

Well. That or Gaad v. Mail Robot.

Yeah, that season was really good with how they built everything up to make it seem that everything was reaching a breaking point, very tense and dark. Too bad they've been dragging things out to keep as much of the status quo as possible since then.

DarklyDreaming
Apr 4, 2009

Fun scary
The new target's wife isn't happy he dropped everything to commit treason and move to America

howe_sam
Mar 7, 2013

Creepy little garbage eaters

Tuan is wound way too tight.

CBJSprague24
Dec 5, 2010

another game at nationwide arena. everybody keeps asking me if they can fuck the cannon. buddy, they don't even let me fuck it

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S MARTHA.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Zero One
Dec 30, 2004

HAIL TO THE VICTORS!
MARTHA!

  • Locked thread