Chuck Todd interviews me about alternate histories
Showing posts with label The American West. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The American West. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

The Americans 5.5: Wrong about the Bugs

Well, the robins are finally beginning to come home to roost on The Americans 5.5 - or, more precisely, the bugs or pests that the Soviets think the Americans are nefariously breeding to attack Soviet crops and starve the Soviet people.

Elizabeth discovers that the scientist she's bedding is actually trying to create a super-grain, resistant to pests. which can feed the world.  The Center, in other words, has been dead wrong about these American scientists are trying to do.

Understandably, Philip is upset, to say the least, when Elizabeth lets him know about this.  In a moving scene at the end, Philips says he's been upset about this - killing people - for a long time. Killing an innocent person is even worse.  When Elizabeth offers to do this on her own, from now on, to relieve Philip of the burden, he says no, it's us - the two of us, the couple who are Soviet agents, have to stop doing this.

But how will that happen?  Though Gabriel is always sympathetic to their plight, he can't even bring himself to let Philip's son see him.  Or maybe Gabriel did that precisely because he is indeed sensitive to what Philip is going through, and wants to protect one of his best agents.

Whatever the exact reason, relationships are clearly coming to a boil on The Americans.  And that's not even including Stan's new love - who, if she is a Soviet agent, would throw another serious monkey wrench into all of this.

I keep thinking that Philip shouldn't get so close to Stan, shouldn't be tailing him, even when he's in disguise.  And that's because I'm convinced that, sooner or later, Stan will discover the truth about his neighbors.

Just a matter of time ...









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Sunday, June 26, 2016

Hell on Wheels 5.10: Nitroglycerin and Love

Well, I have to hand it to Hell on Wheels in 5.10 last night, delivering one of the best loving-making scenes ever, on television or the movies, as Bohannon and Fong make love with bottles of explosive nitroglycerin teetering on the counter.   They do it passionately but with just the requisite amount of quiet and stillness, and the scene will go down as one for the ages.

The rest of the night showed the awesome explosive power of nitro, in terms of moving the railroad construction along and killing workers if they even breathe too hard in the wrong direction. Bohannon had another good night, with no one that he cared a lot about - including, especially Fong - getting hurt.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the rail, the one approaching from the East under Durant's leadership, we also get some good amorous scenes.  Durant is not my favorite character, but it's good to see him getting a little, and seeing the humanizing effects it's having on him.

Also on AMC, in the hour after and before Hell on Wheels, depending on when you watch, we're being treated to a pretty good docu-drama in The American West.  At this point, Jesse James and his train robberies is one of the main stories - along with Custer, Crazy Horse, and the Indian Wars - and it was fun seeing this paralleled in Hell on Wheels.  Durant kidnapped, and even being brave about it, was good to see.

Of course, Durant is much further west than where Jesse James attacked trains, and it will be interesting to see who this train robber is and how Durant gets out of this.   He obviously no longer has Bohannon to save him, but you never know ...

See also Hell on Wheels 5.1: Rails and Truckee ... Hell on Wheels 5.2: Mei and Cullen ... Hell on Wheels 5.3: Prejudice ... Hell on Wheels 5.8: Letting Him Live? ... Hell on Wheels 5.9: A Good Night for Bohannon

And see also Hell on Wheels 4.1-2: Rolling Again ... Hell on Wheels 4.5: New Blood ... Hell on Wheels 4.6: Bear and Sanity ... Hell on Wheels 4.7: Why? ... Hell on Wheels 4.8: Aftermath and Rebound ... Hell on Wheels 4.9: High Noon ... Hell on Wheels 4.10: A Tale of Two Sicko Killers ... Hell on Wheels 4.11: The Redemption of Ruth ... Hell on Wheels 4.12: Infuriating and Worthwhile ... Hell on Wheels Season 4 Finale: The Buffalo

And see also Hell on Wheels 3.1-2: Bohannan in Command ... Hell on Wheels 3.3: Talking and Walking ... Hell on Wheels 3.4: Extreme Lacrosse ... Hell on Wheels 3.5: The Glove ... Hell on Wheels 3.6: The Man in Charge ...Hell on Wheels 3.7: Water, Water ... Hell on Wheels 3.8: Canterbury Tales ...Hell on Wheels 3.9: Shoot-Out and Truths ... Hell on Wheels Season 3 finale: Train Calling in the Distance

And see also  Hell on Wheels: Blood, Sweat, and Tears on the Track, and the Telegraph ... Hell on Wheels 1.6: Horse vs. Rail ... Hell on Wheels 1.8: Multiple Tracks ... Hell on Wheels 1.9: Historical Inevitable and Unknown ... Hell on Wheels Season One Finale: Greek Tragedy, Western Style



deeper history

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