The Americans on FX doesn’t return until this fall, but I’ve been seeing Soviet spies Elizabeth and Phillip’s daughter Paige — played by Canadian actress Holly Taylor — in much more modern circumstances.
She’s sporting three piercings in her ear, and is constantly on her mobile phone.
I know it’s just a commercial, but all I can think is — modern Paige would be such a big help to her parents in the 1980’s spy game!
(That mobile phone alone would give them a huge advantage.)
Posted in Academy Awards, Advertising, Celebrities, Entertainment, Food, Humor, Shopping, Television
Tagged advertising, Canada, celebrities, commercials, entertainment, FX Network, Holly Taylor, mobile phone, modern girl, pierced ears, Soviet spies, spies, spy game, Stouffers, Television, The Americans
Thank you America!
You made The Americans the FX Network’s most watched series debut yet.
And now FX Network has decided to renew the freshman series for a second year! Season 2 will also have 13 episodes, an increase from this year’s 9-episode order.
K-G-Beautiful!
Now, I’m sure many of you made the decision to watch the spy drama all by yourselves. But for those of you who decided to give it a look-see based on my recent post —
You are truly great Americans.
If you’ve missed out, check out The Americans marathon starting tomorrow night at 10pm ET on FX Network — all five episodes shown to date, back-to-back-to-back.
Get your shoe phone ready.
Posted in Entertainment, Humor, Life, Television, TV
Tagged America, blog, blog post, boris and natasha, drama, entertainment, freshman series, FX Network, Humor, KGB, life, marathon, shoe phone, spy drama, Television, The Americans, TV, tv episodes, tv series, tv series renewal
Don’t you miss the Cold War?
I didn’t think so either.
But then I started watching The Americans on FX.
Have you seen it?
The Americans is set during the Reagan presidency. Two KGB spies live in Washington D.C., posing as your typical American married couple with two kids. Their neighbors think they’re travel agents. Their kids do, too. But they are really working with a network of spies and informants to further the cause of Mother Russia in the States.
It is so cool.
Only three episodes have aired, and I am totally hooked. My neighbor Margo Martindale — of Justified fame — popped up last night as a KGB officer. I mean, come on! You simply have to watch.
They’ll know if you don’t.
Posted in Commentary, Entertainment, History, Humor, Life, Politics, Television, TV
Tagged Cold War, commentary, entertainment, FX, FX Network, history, Humor, informants, Justified tv show, KGB, life, Margo Martindale, married couple, moose and squirrel, Mother Russia, politics, Ronald Reagan, spies, spy network, Television, The Americans tv show, travel agents, TV, Washington DC
After a long day yesterday, I was excited to see that Tropic Thunder, the hilarious Vietnam War movie-within-a-movie, was playing on FX. 
So I settled on the couch, prepared to laugh away my lethargy. But I was soon too annoyed to enjoy the film.
Why?
One of my favorite scenes in the movie — which is also one of the most controversial — was censored. As in bleeped. When no curse words were used.
In the scene, actors Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.), a five-time Oscar winner, and Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), an action hero whose career is definitely waning, are discussing Tugg’s recent performance in the movie Simple Jack, where Tugg portrayed a mentally challenged boy ala Forrest Gump.
The conversation pokes fun at actors — how they choose these roles to garner major awards — and not at the characters they portray. But the comedy is apparently too subtle for some, because FX bleeped out certain words in Lazarus’s speech, thereby killing the scene and the movie (for me).
If he had belittled the Simple Jack character, that would be one thing. But the whole scene made fun of actors.
Actors!
Trust me, they can take it. And hopefully have maintained their sense of humor.
Posted in Business, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies, Television, TV
Tagged actors, Ben Stiller, bleep, Business, celebrities, censorship, comedy, commentary, curse words, entertainment, Forrest Gump, FX, FX Network, Humor, Jack Black, Kirk Lazarus, life, major movie awards, movie scenes, movie-within-a-movie, Movies, Oscar-winning actor, Oscars, poking fun, Robert Downey Jr., Simple Jack movie, Television, Tropic Thunder movie, Tugg Speedman, TV, Vietnam War
What is it about twins that spooks people?
I’m sure you remember the two little girls who haunted the hallways of Stephen King’s classic movie thriller, The Shining. Whenever they appeared, the music changed and bloodshed was sure to follow.
Or I think it did. I always watched that part between my fingers.
Not to be outdone, the new FX series American Horror Story introduces its ‘twins of terror’ in the very first show’s very first scene.
Ginger-headed, the two boys insult a young girl with Down’s Syndrome and then immediately destroy an old, decaying mansion, baseball bats swinging! Clearly they’re not nice people, and are most likely headed for a life of crime…if they live that long, that is.
But hey – it’s a horror series. Even if the terror twins die, we probably haven’t seen the last of ’em.
Jesus, woman — turn around!
They’re right behind you.
Posted in Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies, Television, TV
Tagged American Horror Story tv show, baseball bats, bloodshed, commentary, Down's syndrome, entertainment, FX Network, ghosts, ginger hair, gothic mansion, haunted hotel, horror, Humor, life, life of crime, movie thriller, Movies, scary twins, Television, terror twins, The Shining movie, TV, twins
Ever since I moved to New York City, I have prided myself on being ‘one of the nice ones.’
You know — the type of New Yorker who will gladly help out a tourist who needs directions or has a question…because it wasn’t that long ago that I was was of them.
But yesterday? Things took a turn. Because I was hanging out with a native New Yorker who has no such compulsion to play nice-nice.
I was doing some extra work on a new television show called “Lights Out” on FX Network. We were filming outside the Pierre Hotel on the Upper East Side near Central Park.
Myself and Herbert — I’ve changed his name because I’m nicer than he is — were portraying press photographers outside the hotel, attempting to get pics of two heavyweight fighters as they entered the venue for a championship bout.
We were standing on the sidewalk for quite a while — one shot took most of the afternoon — so lots of tourists walking by asked us what we were filming.
My response? “The show’s called ‘Lights Out.’ It’s new on FX Network.”
Herbert’s response? “Lindsay Lohan’s rumored to be meeting her lawyers here. We’re trying to catch her coming out for ‘Inside Edition.'”
OR
“Queen Elizabeth has made an unannounced visit to the United States. Rumor has it she’s inside.”
Evil. But pretty darn funny.
But the time we had finished, I had joined in the fun, telling every tourist who walked by a different story. I figured it wasn’t really lying; it was adding another layer to their vacation…and would make a great story when they got home.
That sounds like something a New Yorker would say.
Yes!
Posted in Business, Entertainment, Humor, Movies, Television, Travel, TV
Tagged boxing, Business, Central Park, entertainment, extra work, extras, fights, FX Network, heavyweight championship, Humor, Inside Edition tv show, Lights Out tv show, Lindsay Lohan, Movies, New York, New York City, New York City Central Park, New York City tourism, New York City tourists, New York City Upper East Side, New Yorkers, Pierre Hotel, Pierre Hotel New York City, Queen Elizabeth, Television, television extras, Travel, TV, Upper East Side
The Sticky Egg 
EMMY: Egregious Misses Mark Year
I have made no secret of my love for The Americans on FX.
I lobbied for viewers upon its debut.
I celebrated its second season pickup and increased episode order.
And now I’m gonna whine on the show’s behalf —
Bitch, moan and complain.
Because The Americans did not receive Emmy nominations for Best Drama Series, Best Actor or Best Actress…and my brain simply cannot wrap itself around this egregious snub.
EGREGIOUS
Kudos to my Upper West Side neighbor Margo Martindale, who did receive a Best Guest Actress nod for her role as a KGB agent. She deserved it. She’s amazing. Everyone on the show is…
And I burn at the injustice.
1 Comment
Posted in Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Television
Tagged actor, actress, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Guest Actress, bitch, celebrities, complain, Emmy Award nominations, Emmy Awards, Emmys, entertainment, FX Network, Humor, Kerri Russell, KGB, life, Margo Martindate, Matthew Rhys, moan, series debut, series pickup, snub, Television, television episode, television show, The Americans tv show, Upper West Side, whine