PeterLuria

You really can't review "The Americans" as traditional television "entertainment". In terms of acting; photography; writing and the seemingly modest musical score this is the best show to have ever appeared on television. For emotional impact and overall aesthetics (writing; directing; use of light imagery) only a few of the episodes from the original "Roots" and more recently "The Sopranos" come even close to equaling it. But really that misses the point. "The Americans" exists in a political and "moral " universe so different than anything else each individual viewer must come to his/her own conclusion. It is the television equivalent, in some sense, of "Five Easy Pieces"; an illustrated novel rather than a film or in this case a T.V. series. Anyone think I'm reading too much into the fact that the speedometer on the car Phillip and Elizabeth were using to deliver their kidnap victim for "ex-filtration" in Episode 1 read "666"? "The Possessed" by Dostoevsky ?