Random TV Talk IV: We're So Broken Inside

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Apparently Mothers of the Disappeared was a front-runner for that scene as well!

http://www.vulture.com/2018/05/the-americans-series-finale-oral-history.html

Amanda Krieg Thomas (co-music supervisor): “American Pie” lived in there for a while. I can’t remember who, but it was rubbing someone not quite right. We weren’t really sure about it. It wasn’t ‘80s. Myself and [co-music supervisor] P.J. Bloom, we both really felt that having it be of that period was really important. There were a couple of Pink Floyd songs that were front-runners, and then another U2 song [“Mothers of the Disappeared”] was a front runner. [“With or Without You”] hit that emotional beat of Paige and seeing that moment, and having that hit Elizabeth and Philip.

Long: In some ways, that “American Pie” song overwhelms what we were watching. That was the reason why we didn’t go there in the end. That U2 song was released that year and it felt relevant.

Krieg Thomas: “With or Without You” is one of the songs [U2 is] most precious about and most particular about how it’s used and where it’s used. We were very fortunate in that we heard people in their camp were fans of the show. A lot of times when you’re clearing songs like that, you have to fight that battle for an unknown show. We were fortunate. But it was not easy by any means. It was down to the wire, like last day of the mix, chasing down the manager and giving them full-court press. The last possible day it could be cleared, it cleared.
 
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I could see the appeal in having Mothers of the Disappeared, and the "sons and daughters" line would be great. But the tone wouldn't be quite right, and in a way would not reflect the Jenningses' responsibility.

"Nothing to win and nothing left to lose" was just perfect for that moment.
 
The show was a little hit or miss with me over the years, but I'm glad I stuck with it. That was one of the best show finales I've seen.

re: Paige

I am dying to know more of Paige's plan ... if she even has one. Does she think the FBI won't be on the alert for her? Is she thinking "I might go to jail, but at least Matthew will have a family member in the country?"



But you know, if I'd been saddled with that unfortunate new look, I'd have gotten off the train, too.


Finally, I thought the use of Brothers In Arms was more powerful than the use of U2.
 
The show was a little hit or miss with me over the years, but I'm glad I stuck with it. That was one of the best show finales I've seen.

re: Paige

I am dying to know more of Paige's plan ... if she even has one. Does she think the FBI won't be on the alert for her? Is she thinking "I might go to jail, but at least Matthew will have a family member in the country?"



But you know, if I'd been saddled with that unfortunate new look, I'd have gotten off the train, too.


Finally, I thought the use of Brothers In Arms was more powerful than the use of U2.

Agreed. The finale was so true to the series' entire spirit, it's remarkable. That 11-minute garage only resonated as much as it did because of the years and years of emotional buildup. Even the Renee side story. I kept wondering throughout the season where that was heading, and it was the perfect set up for perhaps the most tragic line of an already tragic episode - "I'm not sure how to say this, but I think there's a chance Renee might be one of us". Damn.

My only super minor criticism of the finale is that I think they could have ended it with Paige on the train platform. I guess the scene with Elizabeth and Philip nearby Moscow was also powerful - her line "we could have met on a bus" is as much of a love declaration as she'd ever made to Philip - but it was not essential. That train scene was just about perfect, and I would have left it there.

The Americans was never as popular, but I think in time it will be referred to as part of the peak TV pantheon with Mad Men, Sopranos, The Wire and Breaking Bad.
 
I have a used copy of The Americans S1 boxed set, and only got about 3 episodes in. I liked what I saw. Need to get back to that one of these days.

Of course, I also have S1 and S2 of The Sopranos that I still haven't watched.

:reject:
 
I don’t think I’ve been as bummed out about a celebrity death since Joe Strummer as I am about Anthony Bourdain. Dude was NY, punk rock, a Renzo Gracie jiu jitsu guy (first article I saw about his death was actually on an mma site), and I’m quite the sucker for any time several things I like intersect. Quite a few of my now-favorite foods I was convinced to try as a direct result of Parts Unknown and No Reservations. [emoji20]
 
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I'm also quite enjoying the light-hearted Netflix wrestling romp GLOW starring Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin.
 
Anyone watch Are You the One? Hands down the best reality TV show I have ever seen. Season 7 currently airing. I've seen the other six seasons. So good. So rewatchable.
 
season one is the third-best season of the show. you're in for a treat.

i want to talk about the show so much but i don't want to risk spoiling anything for you.
 
I just finished The Wire.

Without reading anything about what I’m supposed to think/what the consensus of fans is, my season ranking goes like this:

3
4
1
5*
2

*would be higher if I didn’t completely hate what McNulty did.

My favorite parts of the whole series were Bunny Colvin taking matters into his own hands in season 3, Prez teaching in season 4 (with the payoff at the end of season 5), and the campaigning of Littlefinger. I’m sure there is more that I loved but those are the first three things that came to mind.

As for this being heralded as the best show ever, it probably was when it was released. But probably because other shows have been produced at extremely high quality in the interim based around similar structure, I didn’t feel like it was the best show I’ve ever seen. It was really good, yes, and likely inspired a lot of the similar dramas that made me feel like something I’ve seen before.

It was really interesting seeing a lot of actors I knew from other things like The Walking Dead, Game Of Thrones, Black Panther, The Night Of, and Idris Elba.

Hot takes!
 
I'd flip 4 and 3, but that list looks right. 4 is seriously one of the best seasons of televisions I've ever watched and probably at least had a subconscious impact on my own career path.
 
I just finished The Wire.

Without reading anything about what I’m supposed to think/what the consensus of fans is, my season ranking goes like this:

3
4
1
5*
2

*would be higher if I didn’t completely hate what McNulty did.

My favorite parts of the whole series were Bunny Colvin taking matters into his own hands in season 3, Prez teaching in season 4 (with the payoff at the end of season 5), and the campaigning of Littlefinger. I’m sure there is more that I loved but those are the first three things that came to mind.

As for this being heralded as the best show ever, it probably was when it was released. But probably because other shows have been produced at extremely high quality in the interim based around similar structure, I didn’t feel like it was the best show I’ve ever seen. It was really good, yes, and likely inspired a lot of the similar dramas that made me feel like something I’ve seen before.

It was really interesting seeing a lot of actors I knew from other things like The Walking Dead, Game Of Thrones, Black Panther, The Night Of, and Idris Elba.

Hot takes!

this is the furthest thing from a hot take because it is, in fact, 100% correct.

LM is also right though, 3/4 are the best and it just depends on whether you like the political storyline or the school storyline best - i think the kids' arc is better but season 3 also had hamsterdam and the resolution of the barksdale arc so i fully understand why some people like that one more.

personally i like 2 better than 5 because i felt 5 sort of went off the rails a bit with mcnulty's scheme (and i HATED that lester was such an enthusiastic participant, although yay bunk :heart: ), and the newspaper arc wasn't that great relative to what came before. i also related to ziggy in a real personal way when i first saw it 10+ years ago and had a bit of a "there but for the grace of god go i" sense while watching the last couple episodes, so emotionally that one stuck with me a little more.
 
2 vs. 5 is a tough call because 5 is actively irritating with very impressive highs (the finale!), whereas 2 is just kind of flat throughout but generally watchable. 1, 3 and 4 are all different shades of excellent.
 
Regarding season 1, it’s definitely the most raw. I was thinking during maybe season 4 and trying to remember when I stopped hearing all the “5-O!” callouts.

I think the thing that I liked about 5 was the resolution. It should Prez matured. It showed Colvin’s success. It showed Bubbles straightened out. Now a lot of that was right at the end, sure, but sometimes a good ending can make up for a lot and they really nailed it. They left me wanting more, but also satisfied.

I want to know what happened with characters later on, but I don’t want them to bring it back.
 
There are few TV characters I've loathed more than Ziggy. So it makes S2 a tougher watch. Of course, 2 also had Beadie Russell, who is up among my fav characters from the series.

I don't have the issue with S5 as many others seem to. Forgive me if I've made this comparison here before, but Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers was critiquing our addiction to violence in media, yet it traffics in that same imagery. Is it hypocritical, or needing to wallow in the glorification to make its point?

With the serial killer plotline, Simon was clearly trying to address sensationalism in the media (and pointed specifically towards print journalism here), and I think he knew very well that what McNulty does is over the top and strains credulity.

Regardless of whether that works for you, as Tourist and El Mel indicate above I think it's safe to say most felt that Simon did stick the landing with the actual end of the show, so I think it went out on a high note.
 
Actually, Simon has stated repatedly that it would be more probable to stage a serial killer as McNulty did than to have Bunny Colvin's Hamsterdam last as long as it did without nobody discovering it and leaking it to the press or the city hall (before silly Herc did anyway). If one is into the Hamsterdam plotline as most people are... it seems weird that the serial killer plot is discarded so quickly as being incredulous or not in line with what the show was about before. And it does go into the sensationalism theme of the newspaper media and the fact that real news are not being reported.

Nevertheless, I'm still on the fence on a lot of character aspects in season 5. Maybe it was due to the condensed running time, but I'd still like to see more inner struggle in McNulty and especially Lester with regards to that plotline. Most of their outrageous decisions were depicted for shock value purposes. McNulty's alcoholism seemed to inexplicably fade away by the end of the season, and the resolution with Beadie seemed like an afterthought. McNulty's wake was such a great scene that I tend to ignore all the circumstances that everyone chose to ignore that led to it (I mean, the guy is indirectly to be blamed for that copycat).

Still a great season and plenty of amazing moments (the final two scenes in Late Editions with Michael and Dukie are emotionally the most devastating ones for me in a series that had plenty of those), but certainly the most problematic one.
 
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