The Americans (FX TV): More than Good Sex with Glasses on!

Welcome to My Cyndi's Secrets™

Embrace a joy of life -.Joie de vivre
Be the Personal Best YOU Can Be! Ooo la la!

Shhhh! My Cyndi's Secrets!

My Dear Friends,

Recently I received a special invitation to an advance screening of this week’s season finale of FX TV’s hit show, The Americans. The evening included a panel discussion with the cast and producers of the show followed by a cocktail reception.Your Cyndi Sleuth was there and I’ve got the scoop! Shhhh! 🙂

Let me share My Cyndi’s Secrets!™ Shhhh!   (I invite you to leave your feedback at the bottom)

The Americans (FX TV): More than Good Sex with Glasses On!  (Videography and photos by Gator)

Espionage – the word itself conjures up thoughts of intrigue, mystery, and dangerous undercover operations. I think of spies, detectives, the CIA and the FBI. I think of James Bond, Charlie’s Angels and double agent Mata Hari. For those who don’t know Mata Hari; she was a courtesan and an exotic dancer accused of being a spy during World War I. Mata Hari was executed by a firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany. Whew! What or who do you think of?

It is true that one cannot negate the fact that in real life reconnaissance missions and counter intelligent operations do exist and can put lives in jeopardy.   However, fess up – many of us delight in the fantasy of being a world class spy. You know – the kind that can kick butt, drive fast cars, save the world and wear great clothes without messing up a strand of hair.  LOL! No other era better demonstrates this delicious double agent danger than the 80’s. It’s no surprise than that numerous fans tune in each week to watch FX TV’s hit show, The Americans. It takes place during the cold war in the midst of the Reagan administration. What does create an element of surprise is that although I get my spy fix each Wednesday night, The Americans is much more than Espionage – It’s about family. Ok- they may be a Russian spy family pretending to be American so they get the goods on our intelligence but they are a family.  The interesting twist is that although I am an American and this family of spies is on the other side, I care about them. In fact, during the panel discussion a woman in the audience stated that during the TV shows she finds herself routing for the KGB. When I watch the show, I too stop and remind myself that, Hey – these are the bad guys. Then I keep watching!

The show tells the story of Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Mathew Rhys) who are two soviet KGB officers, posing as an American couple married and living in the suburbs of Washington D.C.. Living directly across the street from them is FBI Agent Stan Beeman, played by a very believable Noah Emmerich. I thought this was a clever move by the writers as it is interesting to see the FBI and the KGB agents carry on as enemies by day and yet socialize and be true friends during their free time. Of course, neither of them really knows the entire truth about each other’s double life. It is very humanizing to experience BOTH sides dealing with marriage, family, and other life issues while fighting for love of country and motherland.

Admittedly, part of the show is a bit campy. The characters own more wigs and disguises than your average costume shop. LOL! But that’s ok because they are spies after all. The wigs make me laugh each week along with the high waistlines, plaid pants and other fashion giggles!  I particularly love when the character Philip goes undercover as a US undercover agent using the name of Clark. He is sleeping with the character Martha Hanson played by Alison Wright. She is a secretary at the FBI and Philips’s informant. Below is a shot of Mathew Rhys and me at the screening.

The character Clark is a bit dorky in an adorable way. He may be cute but It kills me each week to see the character Martha whom I mentioned above, fall deeper and deeper in love with him when I know Clark is just using her to get the FBI info. What a scoundrel! Now I care so much about Martha that I hope she dumps him “before” she gets hurt! …. Request to the writers…. Hint! Hint! 😉

One thing is for sure and that is that you can always count on these two having sex. Of course, being that Clark is a spy he wears his requisite blonde wig and glasses. This makes me laugh every time. Find out the scoop in this video conversation between Mathew Rhys and me at the screening. Click the link:

In The Americans the character of Claudia is played by Margo Martindale. Claudia is a KGB supervisor of  Elizabeth and Philip (the shows lead characters). KGB – OMG!  Let’s just put it this way – I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of Claudia. Fortunately, in real life Margo Martindale is a hoot! She is so convincing as a tough agent that I was amazed by her fun loving personality. Here I pose with Margo.

Below is a shot with Noah Emmerich who does an excellent job of playing FBI agent Stan Beeman. I have to love Stan because although his character has some flaws, he is a good guy . Besides, my Dad’s name was Stan. 🙂

The beautiful Russian spy Nina is played by Annet Mahendru. She told me that she is actually a combination of Russian and Indian.

Executive producer and writer Joe Weisberg is actually a former member of the CIA. How cool is that? – A  spy show “executed” by a real life spy! Hmmmm! Perhaps “executed” isn’t the best choice of words in the espionage world. LOL! He also made me laugh when he said that real life CIA members sometimes write him because they catch minor things in the show that may not be exact CIA protocol. He has to try to explain to them that when you work on a TV show budget with a tight time schedule there can sometimes be production problems. That means you might have to bend CIA rules in the story line. LOL!

Here I pose with Executive Producer Joe Weisberg. He is indeed one of the great masterminds behind this production.

Another great mastermind is Executive Producer and writer Joel Fields.  He is multitalented and has worked on a zillion productions. One of my faves is the hit TV show Ugly Betty of which he was an executive producer. I was honored to chat with and pose with Joel in the photo below.

At the event was Graham Yost. Graham is an Executive Producer of The Americans. He recently appeared to a packed room at The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for A Conversation with Graham Yost. He is a two-time Emmy-winning producer (Band of Brothers and The Pacific) He also is the Executive Producer of the critically Acclaimed FX drama series “Justified”.  I enjoyed my chat with Graham. Here I pose with him  at the screening.

Below is a shot of the panel. From left to right is the evening host and moderator Maureen Ryan, Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields,Mathew Rhys, Noah Emmerich, Margo Martindale, and Annet Mahendru. Unfortunately, the lovely and talented Keri Russel was unable to attend due to her shooting schedule on a film project.

Be sure to tune in this Wednesday night May 1^st, 2013 for the season finale of The Americans on the FX TV network at 10:00pm EST/PST. I promised the producers that I would not tell you the ending but I will say this much – it is reallllly good and you don’t want to miss it. OK – I’m tempted to tell you everything but if there is anything I’ve learned from The Americans TV show is that you don’t want to mess with a group of spies. So your little Cyndi sleuth is signing off with a Cyndi Secret I’m afraid I can’t tell. You just have to watch the show.  Mission Accomplished! Shhhh!

And until next time……….Strut your stuff on the red carpet of life! Shhhh!

Life is too short so I say – InJOY!

Love ya,

Cyndi Targosz 

Subscribe to FREE My Cyndi’s Secrets!™

Click here to follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Subscribe to Cyndi Targosz Youtube channel

You can also Cyndi Chat: If you need private phone consultation to work on more specific and individualized goals I am now offering some of the same services that I give to my celebrity clients.

Copyright  2013 STARGLOW Productions, Inc.