Can you keep a secret?
The best show on TV that hardly anyone is talking about is The Americans, which airs on FX Canada. The second season wrapped up in June. It's a show about secrets as it features two Russian KGB operatives (well portrayed by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys) living in Washington, D.C. in the early 1980s. The two of them are so deeply embedded in American society that they speak perfect English, have been there for more than 15 years and are raising two children who have no idea what their parents really do for a living outside of the travel agency they own.
The Americans, created by Joe Weisberg, a former CIA officer, does a few things differently, like giving Oliver North a screenwriting credit for an episode he consulted on. There are long subtitled scenes in Russian and several episodes of season two start with Annet Mahendru, who plays Nina, saying "previously on The Americans" in Russian.
The show uses music extensively. The pilot episode featured most of Fleetwood Mac's Tusk during an extended chase and fight scene down dark alleys. The season one finale came to a close with Peter Gabriel's 1980 classic Games Without Frontiers.
Gabriel's work appears again in season two. As with Games Without Frontiers, most of Here Comes The Flood, the final song on his 1977 self-titled debut record, is played with a minor edit and minimal dialogue on top.
Best of all, the show used the original studio version, which featured a full band and is louder and more dramatic. Gabriel rerecorded the song with only piano and his voice for the Shaking The Tree greatest hits package he did in 1990 and that's how he performs it live.
Thankfully, The Americans has been renewed for a third season so there's plenty of time to get caught up on this unique and captivating drama. As for Here Comes The Flood, the original studio recording can be heard at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb7htoJAK7g.
