The Americans: Pilot

I finally sat down to watch The Americans last night, a show that has gotten some rave reviews from all circles after the airing of the pilot this past Wednesday.  Unfortunately for me, I’ll rarely have a review of it posted in the few hours after it airs – I go to bed far too early to watch it live, or even do the TiVo catch up.  But, having finally found an hour or two to sit down and power through the oddly timed 69 minute pilot episode (spread out over an hour and thirty seven minutes of broadcast space), I am hooked.  As I referenced, I was hoping for weird familial relations, lots of 1980s references, and geopolitical breadcrumbs, and the pilot delivered.  There’s so much 80s and Americana intricately weaved in to a show about family and paranoia, but it never felt like I was being clubbed over the head with the setting or mood.  There’s certainly plenty to talk about, but first, I need to go investigate my gardener for being a Sandinista, because I have a funny feeling.

The Return of the Champ

It may be temporary, but Bill Simmons reached back and delivered a fastball from his early 2000s days with his column today about PEDs in football.  I’m heartened to believe that he is back with a vengeance.  He actually seems disappointed in himself, which is important, because I think his fans seem disappointed in himself as well.  I have a long history with Bill Simmons’ work, and haven’t sat down to read a column of his in some time.  Today, when I saw that he’d written The PED Question with a provocative picture of stabber/linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, I knew I had to read it.  I tore through it like a horse too long in the desert without an oasis.

The Americans reviews

I’m going to try and write a response to each episode of FX’s upcoming show “The Americans” starring Keri Russell.  I want to challenge myself to put my dime-store analysis of the episodes to work.  I have begun to really enjoy quite a bit of what FX puts on, including “It’s Always Sunny,” “Archer,” “Sons of Anarchy,” and “Justified.” The former two are the comedies, but Sons of Anarchy and Justified are the two that are Tuesday Night dramatic showcases.  They are nuanced, layered, and long-form in their storytelling.  I am hoping that “The Americans” is similar to that.

Our Abortion Debate - Nothing to Hang Your Hat On. Or coat.

This past Tuesday was the 40^th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on the case of Roe vs. Wade, legalizing abortion in the United States.  We’ve spent countless hours since then ripping ourselves apart at the straw man argument of all or none: should there be free, legal, and available abortions at all times, or should we outlaw them in the name of the sanctity of life?  These two distinctly opposite arguments have produced countless spider-webbing discussions that have produced their own discussions as well: When does life begin? Does an embryo, and the stem cells contained therein count as a person? Do all babies, in fact, wanna get borned? Here’s what we aren’t doing: working to eliminate the need for abortions.

Off-Target Gun Debate

We’re having the wrong debate about guns right now.  Despite pleas from both sides to avoid politicization of the horrible events in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and then accusations lobbed at one another about the other side’s politicization of the event, we are having the wrong debate.  Schools are not the real world and either stance, more gun control or less gun control in society, isn’t applicable to the circumstances of this incident.