Question of the week #55

[treonb]

The Americans has received widespread critical acclaim, but has thus far failed to grow an audience equal to the size of a lot of other "prestige dramas." What do you think the reasons are for that?

You can expect spoilers for the entire first three seasons in the comments.

(There's no expiration date on these questions, so if you're reading this post months later and feel like jumping in, please do.)

Comments

[jae]

I actually don't believe it has anything to do with the show being depressing. That didn't stop "Breaking Bad." I mean, I think there are certainly people who don't want to watch the show because it's depressing, but the people (and there are plenty) who don't mind depressing dramas aren't watching it, either.

Instead I keep going back to the various times that critics Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan have talked about the show on their "Hollywood Prospectus" podcast. Greenwald loves the show--he's as big a fan as any of us. Ryan thinks it's okay but nothing special. And if you look at what Ryan says about it, you'd think he's talking about some completely different show. "Every episode is exactly the same," he said. "Nothing ever happens." This is a smart man--and a professional TV critic--and yet there's something about the show that he's just not "getting," not seeing when he watches it.

Anyway, I don't know what it is or why it is, but I really do think that for whatever reason, there's a large group of people out there that doesn't understand the show. Maybe they keep trying to watch it on the level of spy hijinks and find that it doesn't live up to their expectations (because this isn't really a show about spy hijinks).

-J

[treonb]

I don't watch a lot of TV, so my point of reference is skewed, but it is by far the most depressing show I watch. And for me, the intensity of it was also unexpected.

I think Ryan does have a point. Again, I don't have much reference, but the show does seem to develop the story very slowly. Most episodes, I felt were buildup for the next ones. In S3, they didn't even bother resolving most of the story-lines, so the buildup wasn't even realized yet (though I did prefer that over their S2 attempt to try and solve everything in ten minutes).

And while there is enough spy hijinks, there isn't much coming from the FBI/Stan's side. I realize the FBI can't get too close, but they're barely investigating. How does that compare to Breaking Bad? I suppose they had the same problem there (?)

[sistermagpie]

And while there is enough spy hijinks, there isn't much coming from the FBI/Stan's side. I realize the FBI can't get too close, but they're barely investigating. How does that compare to Breaking Bad? I suppose they had the same problem there (?)

Not a problem on BB. There was a lot of stuff on the DEA side all the time, and the Stan character was much more neck and neck with Walter a lot of the time. But it was also a very plot-driven show where things happened and people reacted to them and there was evidence to track etc. Most of the seasons of the show all took place within a year of show-time.

I don't actually think it was depressing, though. I think people found it exhilarating in ways they couldn't find this show. Walter was invigorated by his stressful life, plus he was already dying. So while the narrative was destructive, it was destructive in a way that I think appealed to power fantasy types. It was like the hero had a scorched earth policy. It didn't have the grinding hopelessness of this show at all.

[sistermagpie]

Yeah, the problem with the "it's depressing" idea is that it seems like there'd need to be something in the actual premise that signals "this is going to be depressing" and there just isn't. On paper it sounds like fun hijinx. It's not like The Wire where people got "depressing" from the subject matter.

When I've looked on the Facebook page people there often do also seem to be watching a different show, despite the fact that they're actually watching the show. They're still looking out for shocking twists and action movie type plot things.

[(Anonymous)]

I commiserate with the sense that many folks are not 'getting' something, and with the degree and locations of the show's intensity.

Nothing about the show's summary, which every article must shoehorn in there, lets people know that much of the drama focuses on family members who (start off) not knowing each other well, have absolutely no ability to communicate (or even get in touch with) what's going on inside them, and deal with incredible fear for their family's destruction almost entirely internally.

I forget who compared P&E's emotional image, and called Philip 'volcanic'.
I think that's exactly right.
I'm riveted by him (and Elizabeth) just looking out a window, and can only guess at the roiling emotions, iron discipline, stark knowledge of the consequences of one's actions, and cold evaluation of possible reactions to whatever they're thinking about.

Ryan is right that every episode is (partly) the same, and that (quite often) nothing happens, but those 'quiet' parts are the ones that resonate most with me. The hijinks can be exhilarating, but the dramatic tension is seismic.

Yet, I can totally see how someone who has different expectations or hopes for a spy show may be confused by lots of long stares and awkward attempts at communication.

[jae]

Such a smart comment! I'm sorry I haven't responded until now--it's been a busy time.

I think you're right that the emotional aspects are hard to convey in a summary, and yet more than anything those are the parts that make the show what it is. There's a new German show called "Deutschland 83" that has a very similar summary, but the shows couldn't end up being more different, as a result of the comparative absence of those emotional/interpersonal bits in "Deutschland 83."

-J